My mother had a romantic streak a mile wide. She used to read romance stories and listen to romantic music on the radio everyday. She also went to the movies as often as she could.
In those days, the drugstores sold romance magazines. I don't remember all of her favorite titles, but I recall Ranch Romances.
As a Southerner, her favorite songs were often, but not always, the songs she heard on the Grand Ole Opry and on other radio shows of her youth. I remember The One Rose That's Left in My Heart and Mexicali Rose. After we moved to California, she became a fan of Glen Miller and especially liked his Moonlight Serenade.
One of her favorite songs was Faded Love played by Bob Wills and his string band Texas Playboys. Patsy Cline later recorded it and then Johnny Rodriguez. I personally like Patsy's version.
Somehow, my mother loved the movies of Gene Autry. I recall that she would take me with her and we'd sit in the back row. The only movie of his that I remember from that time was some sort of surreal science fiction story about Gene traveling to another planet. Odd.
I actually never liked Gene Autry until I was much older. I considered singing cowboys sissies. Give me Johnny Mack Brown anytime. But oddly, his movies often included songs that I call Western Music to distinguish it from Country Music.
Western Music in my mind is a mixture of songs about cowboys and pop songs that found their way into the pop charts. Cowboy songs include tunes like Back in the Saddle Again and Cool Water. This was a Sons of the Pioneers version and very listenable.
One of Gene's songs that made it to the pop charts was his rendition of Blueberry Hill. This tune later became a rock and roll favorite by Fats Domino.
My mother continued to listen to this kind of music all of her life, and I've continued her listening habits. I have much of the music she loved on tapes and discs and I listen to them when the mood strikes me.
I hope that one of my daughters picks up on my musical tastes. Music is a generational glue, one of the means we have of passing along an authentic bit of American culture.
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