Musical Differences | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Kathy Manos Penn is a native of the “Big Apple,” who settled in the “Peach City” – Atlanta. A former English teacher now happily retired from a corporate career in communications, she writes a weekly column for the Dunwoody Crier. Read her blogs and purchase her book, “The Ink Penn: Celebrating the Magic in the Everyday” on her website theinkpenn.com.

    My husband and I have similar interests in many areas, but in others, our preferences diverge. Take music. He truly does think the music died when Buddy Holly did. He tolerates Beatles music but thinks it's second rate, and he likes only a few Eagles songs. To be sure I know what he thinks of both groups, he refers to them as the Beagles.

    I did get him to accompany me to see the Eagles at a Piedmont Park concert a few years back, and he confessed he enjoyed it. Paul McCartney, though, is a different case. I went with girlfriends in 2009 when Paul did Piedmont Park. We thought it was the experience of a lifetime. That's why I wanted to see Paul McCartney perform in Atlanta this year.

    Did my husband want to go with me this time? Not a chance. So I went with a girlfriend. Think about it: Paul isn't getting any younger; the date worked for me; he was conveniently appearing in Gwinnett County; why not go? And yes, it was a fantastic performance.

    There's some rock and roll music we both like, performers who actually came along after Buddy Holly. We both like Bob Seger, Neil Diamond, Van Morrison, John Mellencamp, John Fogerty, Fleetwood Mac, and the Allman Brothers. Yes, I realize all of these are considered a bit dated, but hey, we're a bit dated ourselves.

    There's one genre my husband loves that I can only dip my big toe in-cowboy music. If it's folk rock or what's coming to be known as Americana, I can go there. I like Nancy Griffith and Ian Tyson and Suzy Boggus, and I can listen to a bit of Don Edwards. I just can't listen to it nonstop, as he does. I have kindly gone with him to hear Don Edwards-several times-and our last musical adventure together was a visit to Eddie's Attic in Decatur to hear Tom Russell. I had no idea who the guy was until my hubby educated me.

    You may have heard of Ian and Sylvia, or then again, maybe not. I had no idea that Ian wrote "Someday Soon" and that Sylvia wrote "You Were on my Mind." They recorded both, but the songs became more popular when recorded by other artists. Both went on to solo careers after their divorce, and Ian shifted to cowboy music.

    And, what, you ask, do Ian and Sylvia have to do with me seeing Tom Russell? Because he wrote and recorded music with both Ian and Sylvia and has an album out covering some of their lesser known songs, my husband wanted to see him.

    I enjoyed the evening and enjoyed learning more about Russell's connection to other musicians. Wikipedia reports that his songs "Tonight We Ride' and "Navajo Rug" were chosen by members of the Western Writers of America as two of the top 100 Western songs of all time." See the things I learn by venturing out musically.

    You will note that I am more flexible in my listening tastes than my husband. That means he'll continue to have me as a date for the occasional cowboy music performance, and that I'll continue to find girlfriends to go with me to hear my favorite groups. Now, if only I could get him to cease constantly playing cowboy music in the car. Maybe I'll substitute a few Neil Diamond and Bob Seger CDs and see whether he notices.

    Look for Kathy's new book "Lord Banjo the Royal Pooch" due out in late August and find her collection of columns, "The Ink Penn: Celebrating the Magic in the Everyday," on Amazon. Contact her at inkpenn119@gmail.com.