Music

During our time in Rochdale in the mid 1960s through at least the mid 1970s, music permeated our neighborhood.

You could hear everything from pop, rock, soul, jazz and classical music from one corner of the development to the other, and like today's kids with their iPods, we had our own music devices.

Who can forget our home Hi-Fi systems, which pretty much consisted of a turntable and speakers? Sure, pretty primitive by today's standards, but back then, this type of system came in all shapes and sizes, and was even portable.

My family had one, and we moved everything from the foyer, where the system was normally kept, to our rooms when we listened to our records, 45s and LPs on a spindle that would play one on top of the other.

And for even more portable music, we all had transistor radios of all shapes and sizes.

That plays into one of my favorite memories of Rochdale, one that I will never forget.

Otis Redding was on the verge of becoming a huge star, crossing over from black radio to AM Top 40 with numerous songs like "Try a Little Tenderness.

He was about ready to become huge when he died in a plane crash in December 1967.

His record label rushed out "Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay" to honor his death, and I remember that it shot up to the top of the charts, eventually reaching No. 1.

And in mid-December, I did my usual bicycle riding from one mall to the other to buy comic books.

Incredibly, from one corner of Rochdale to the other, kids had their transistor radios out, and seemingly all you heard, from one end of the community to the other, was "Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay."

It was an incredible memory, one that showed the true power of the music we listened to.

Whether it was from A--the Animals--to Z--the Zombies--music was everywhere in the old neighborhood, and the music that made our lives during those years will be heard at the Reunion.

If you have any suggestions, please note them. They will all be presented to the committee, who will, in turn, probably make up a master list of tunes to the DJ.

Hopefully, you will hear your favorites.

I have mine, and I hope that the DJ plays them too.