He could remember hearing the music around the house since he was a little kid. His dad played guitar and some of his buddies would stop by the house and they'd sit around all evening playing. They'd play some of the old songs like Mule Skinner Blues, Gotta Travel On, or He's In The Jailhouse now, and every once in awhile somebody would be fooling around and they'd come up with a new song. The chords were simple and almost anyone could join in after a time or two through the chorus. The songs were about the things that were happening in their daily lives; drinking, cars, trying to get that pretty girl to dance with you at the Saturday night dance. The music was in their blood, and they wanted to carry it on. They tried to imitate the old-timers whose music they'd grown up with: Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry, Elvis or the Coasters. When they sang Yakety Yak or Get A Job they felt like the songs were written for them.

As they got older and got their first guitars, they wanted to carry on the tradition. Sure, there were new songs on the radio. There would always be new songs. But you could hear a little bit of Chuck Berry in Bruce Springsteen and the Beatles were doing Buddy Holly and Carl Perkins. They felt good, carrying on the tradition.

They were rock and rollers and they sang the songs that had defined their lives and their community. True traditional music.

Jerry