As I sit down here in the beautiful Arizona sun…listening to my Satellite radio this morning, I became momentarily sad for the young people of today, as most are becoming musical illiterates.

The people growing up in the 50’s and 60’s have a broad range of musical knowledge and enjoy listening to all kinds of music.

If Elvis just came into the world today, there is no station that would play his music…except maybe country stations. What station would introduce Dave Brubeck, (Take Five) Lawerence Welk, (Calcutta) the Kingston Trio, Percy Faith, (A Summer Place) and many, many others? EVEN BUDDY HOLLY would have no place to play his music on today’s radio stations.

What stations today would introduce songs from artists like Johnny Mathis, Fats Domino, Tom Jones, Dean Martin, Ray Charles, The Drifters, Louie Armstrong, Pat Boone or Bobby Darin?

What station today would introduce the instrumentals of people like Johnny & the Hurricanes, the Champs or Duane Eddy and what radio station would introduce the Beach Boys, the Four Seasons or the Platters?

For sure there is no radio station today that would introduce “Fun” artists like The Coasters, The Big Bopper, (Chantilly Lace) Ray Stevens, (Ahab the Arab) The Hollywood Argyles, (Alley Oop) and God forgive them to play the Chipmunks songs. (Can you hear me Alvin?)

I would dare to say that people like Tex Ritter, (Hillbilly Heaven) Jimmy dean, (Big John) Tennessee Ernie Ford, (16 Tons) and Ferlin Husky (Wings of a Dove) would have a “Slim” chance of being introduced into today’s country market. Most of today’s country artists have to be sexy, pretty, younger or ”Unusual” to be allowed into Nashville.

Here’s is just a few of the great artists that would have no place in today’s musical society, because they wouldn’t fit the format of the modern radio station: Roy Orbison, Chuck Berry, the Everly Brothers, Righteous Brothers, Simon and Garfunkel, Bobby Vee, Doris Day, the Association, Dell Shannon, Carpenters, Lou Cristi, Nat “King” Cole, Johnny Rivers, Bobby Vinton, Monkees, Dave Clark Five, Mamas and the Papas, James Brown, Barry Manilow, BJ Thomas, Peter, Paul & Mary, Sammy Davis Jr., The Fifth Dimension AND more….Maybe… even the Beatles.

And we all listened to these artists and songs… and they were played on one station, and they were all on the “Rock & Roll charts” REALLY! It’s sad that many of our young people will never see artists like these introduced into our current world. I’m glad that many of us have shared our musical memories with our kids and grandkids, a lot of them seem to enjoy it… but it’s history.