I grew up with a record player in the house. The amp was kick-ass. The speakers were of the “blow the roof off” variety. It was heaven.
One of my first recollections as a child about our phonograph was Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band by the Beatles. It wasn’t just the music–which was, of course, fab–it was the physical album.
My dad, being British, had purchased one of the original copies of the album. The jacket cover was a kaleidoscope of crazy imagery. Like so many before me, I became mesmerized by the characters. But that particular copy of Sgt. Pepper also contained something else: a cloudy, marble-coloured vinyl.
I’d play that album over and over again just to watch the vinyl do its wonderful tricks on the phonograph. That too was mesmerizing, especially if you were 8 or 9-years old. It felt like I was Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds.
Fast forward some 40 years later and I’m still playing the Beatles. I’m not sure if I actually get through a day without spinning something from the Fab Four.
As I sit and write my next book–listening to the Beatles–I felt compelled to publish a short playlist that pays homage to my heroes from Liverpool.
Click here to be taken directly to the playlist on Apple Music.
Note: every month, author and leadership strategist Dan Pontefract curates a music playlist. Usually, there is a theme. Dan has always wanted to be a music DJ, so this is his thinly veiled attempt at accomplishing that lifelong goal. If you have any “songs” you’d like to see recognized, send him a note. As an aside, he took over as the DJ from his own wedding in 1995 because he didn’t think there were enough people dancing. Things changed rather dramatically when he took the stage.
Click for the entire list of playlists.
