Oldies Music

Through the years, I've learned to enjoy many different varieties of music. When I was a kid, my dad listened to a healthy dose of oldies music, which consisted of songs from the 1960's and '70's. And so with that exposure to those songs, I've come to enjoy many songs from that era. In this week's edition of "Music Thursdays," here are a few artists and some of their songs in which I enjoy. Obviously there are a lot, so here is just a small sampling of those artists and their songs.

Tommy Roe - One great memory of my childhood is seeing my dad sing along to some of Tommy Roe's biggest hits like "Dizzy" or "Sheila." Our family was even lucky enough to attend one of his concerts when he made an appearance at one of the casinos here in the U.P. Roe seems like such an honest, down-to-earth guy and it's really nice to see that he had such great success from his songs. A few other of his more noticeable songs include "Sweet Pea" and "Hooray for Hazel." Definitely true classics.

Tommy James and the Shondells - In my opinion, one of the all-time classics from that era of music is Tommy James and the Shondells' song "Crimson and Clover". I remember hearing it many times while my dad and I visited my uncle at his place when he had oldie's songs blaring from his radio. I prefer the shorter version of the song myself but either way, it's still one of those songs you'll always remember. A few other songs made famous by the group are "I Think We're Alone Now", "Crystal Blue Persuasion" and "Mony Mony".

Hermans Hermits - This is another group we had the pleasure to see in person a few years back at a concert, and they're still going strong touring. A couple of my favorite songs of theirs include "I'm Into Something Good" and "There's a Kind of Hush". Peter Noone even made an appearance on American Idol during season six when the contestants were doing a British Invasion week (not totally positive on the theme, but something like that). If you want a taste of the honest, feel-good music of the 1960's, listen to Hermans Hermits songs. A couple other of their most famous songs are "I'm Henry the VIII, I Am" and "No Milk Today."

The Animals - Here's another classic group from that era of music with an incredibly distinct sound. A couple of their biggest hits were "House of the Rising Sun" and "We Gotta Get Out of This Place". I think back to American Idol this past season when Siobhan Magnus sang "House of the Rising Sun" during one theme week. It just goes to show you that even today, music from that era is still very much relevant. It'll live on for many years to come. They're also known for other hit songs including "It's My Life" and their cover of "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood."

I hope you enjoyed this look back at a few great artists/groups and their songs. I know I mostly cover hit music from today on "Luke's Ponderings" - so it was nice to change it up a bit and look at a few classic oldies. And you can be sure we'll delve back into music from the 1960's and '70's again soon.