Music has always been an enormous part of my life.  I have a pretty musical family, with one cousin even winning a few Grammy’s!  I played clarinet and piano, and sang in choir and a cappella groups for about ten years.  My parents both have great taste in music, and since they refused to get a car with a DVD player (still holding a grudge about that one!), our many road trips and car rides were all about the CD collection.

I still listen to the music my parents played when I was little all the time, and I realize how lucky I am to have been exposed to some of the greatest artists in history.  Last year, Buzzfeed did a piece on the idiots around the world who thought Kanye and Rihanna discovered Paul McCartney.  I almost spit out my drink reading it, because SERIOUSLY WORLD?!  I am an understanding person, to be sure, but if you don’t know who one of the Beatles is, I’m pretty sure we can’t be friends, and also I worry about you functioning as a member of society.  Like, Im still annoyed about it and just tweeted about it right now while writing this post.  Seriously.

But anyway, with David Bowie on my mind, I wanted to share with you some of the incredible artists that shaped my young life, and inspired me in so many ways…

The Beatles:  In my opinion, they are they greatest musicians the world has ever seen.  They transcend musical genres, generations, and changed the way we see music.  I saw Paul McCartney perform at Fenway Park two summers ago, and it will always be the greatest concert I’ve ever seen.  Hearing him sing “8 Days A Week” and “Here Comes the Sun” were unreal moments.  My dad used to play Beatles CDs for us to dance around to while he cooked dinner.  I think one of the happiest times in my life was spinning around singing along to “Ob-la-Di Ob-la-Da” with my dad and little sister.

Talking Heads:  They were the first truly funky band I ever heard, and I remember thinking that they had such weird and silly lyrics that didn’t make sense but sounded awesome.

Frank Sinatra:  This guy is such a huge part of my life.  “Our Love is Here To Stay” is my parents’ wedding song, and it always makes my heart burst with happiness.  If we weren’t listening to a Beatles record during dinner prep, the only alternative was Frank.  To this day, if no one can agree on what to listen to in the car, we put on the Spotify Sinatra page and its so comforting that we all sing along together.

Elvis:  I actually mostly discovered Elvis on my own when I was about nine years old.  We had to do a biography book report at school, and I chose to read about him.

Music is the most powerful thing in this world, because it makes you grow, question, and feel, and I’m so grateful that it and these people exist.  Who do you love to listen to?

XX, Gabrielle