Tuesday’s Tune: Guest Post Susie Lindau

Today’s Tuesday’s Tune is a guest post from Susie Lindau of Susie Lindau’s Wild Ride. I’ve been following and reading her blog for a while; I have followed her wild adventures from the mountain tops of the Rockies and to Europe and back. I admire her get up and go attitude and never letting anything hold her back; she’s more than a survivor, she’s a THRIVER and she’s been an inspiration to me. I’ll let Susie share her musical inspiration…

The first time I bought a record, they were vinyl and department stores carried them. I remember being in the 7th grade and had started babysitting for fifty cents an hour. I had some cold hard cash to spend. Okay. They were most likely coins.

My mother drove me to Gimbel’s. While she headed to women’s clothing, I took the escalator to the second floor. The music section was situated to the right. There were tables full of LP’s. I passed Carol King’s Tapestry, Rolling Stones’ Sticky Fingers, and The Who’s Who’s Next. Instead I sauntered over to the affordable 45’s. They had a recording of one song on each side. The A-side contained the hit and B-side had the lesser known tune.

220px-Carole_King_-_Tapestry

What did I buy? Judy Collins, Both Sides Now. I recognized her hit tune from a couple years before. Looking back, it’s pretty ironic.

Both Sides Now

Years later, while working as a medical illustrator at the VA Hospital in Madison, I met Judy’s brother. He was a speech pathologist. Like most doctors who worked at the VA, he also covered the UW Hospital since they are physically connected.

According to her book, Singing Lessons: A Memoir of Love, Loss, Hope, and Healing, her brother developed an interest in speech from a stutter he endured as a child. He had her big blue eyes. I drew a larynx for him.

Larnyx

Their father was a blind disk jockey, another auditory connection, but I never met him.

All these years I thought, Leaving on a Jet Plane was on the b-side and she did sing a cover of that song, but Who Knows Where the Time Goes is on the flip side.

She was the first singer I admired from afar. There have been many since. Ironically, after writing this blast from the past, I asked myself that same question. “Who knows where the time goes?”

Judy Collins Both Sides Now” by Source (WP:NFCC#4). Licensed under Fair use via Wikipedia

39 thoughts on “Tuesday’s Tune: Guest Post Susie Lindau

  1. You draw great larynx, Susie! That’s wild that you drew it for her brother. I remember that Both Sides Now was on Judy’s LP, Wildflowers. My sister, Dovima, bought it, but we always consulted each other on what records we bought because we shared a room. That one rated my seal of approval.

    1. I got my wife a turntable a few years back – it has a USB port so I can record, but I rarely use it. I still have my old vinyl and pulled out a few of the records the other day and gave them a spin – brought back memories. Thank you stopping by and visiting and have a wonderful week!

      1. Funny you should say that. When cleaning out my basement a couple of months I discovered we had stored all the old albums with both the sleeve opening and album cover opening facing up. After 20 years of basement dust, mold and scrunge falling in there, the records aren’t much use any more. ;(

  2. Even though I’d heard “Both Sides Now” many times before, I now think of “Mad Men” when I hear it. No wonder TV producers will pay through the nose for an iconic song to fit the moment. And “medical illustrator” — interesting! That isn’t a job title you hear often. Great rendition of the ol’ larynx. Good post, Susie!

  3. I never realized you used to be a medical illustrator. Very cool. You could’ve helped me out in anatomy class. 🙂

    It’s funny how we remember our first record album purchase. Mine was Olivia Newton John when I was in elementary school. Oh, how I loved her voice.

    1. I had forgotten – I remember reading a post on her blog when she shared, but i had forgotten! Mine was the Partridge Family, but my first serious musical purchase was Chicago 8 and it had a iron-on decal. Loved that album! Miss the days of listen while looking at the album sleeves with lyrics and liner notes…. thanks for stopping in.

    1. I’m back east on vacation and wasn’t able to get internet until today.
      There is something very memorable about “firsts.”
      Thanks Christina! It never occurred to become a book illustrator. Now that I’m a writer, maybe I’ll illustrate my own one day! Kind of like the old Nancy Drew’s…

Leave a Reply to The Regular Guy NYCCancel reply