“Mama Told Me”
“Mama told me not to come, Mama told me not to come, She said, that ain’t the way to have fun…” For sure Randy Newman’s mom must have had some influence on his musicality, but what about you?
For me, my Mom’s musical influence was a weekly, willing sacrifice of $5.00 and a trip to “town” for those 8:00 AM Saturday piano lessons (time and money were always in short supply in our household). She also constantly hummed and sang from my earliest memories, a repertoire of hymns, gospel, country, and when she thought no one was lookin’ she might be caught twistin’ to Chubby Checker or belting out “I Wanna Hold Your Haaaand” to the radio.

She was also the first to stand and proclaim in our little country church, which suddenly found itself without a pianist, that her 10-year-old daughter would be happy to fulfill that responsibility…and so it began and from that point on, rarely did I ever have to wash dishes or many of the other chores that came with country-livin’ because “Becky needed to practice for Sunday.” Thanks to Mom, I have a rich repertoire of music blueprinted in my brain, and no fear of playing, performing, presenting, or training before any crowd, a big plus that has served me well in this life.
Thanks Mom!

So tell us RockChatters, what are your earliest music-Mama moments? How did your mother’s influence impact you musically?