By the Forces of Gravity Throwback Giveaways – Week #2: Music!

Now that we’re about a month away from the release of By the Forces of Gravity, it’s time to really have some fun!

By the Forces of Gravity takes us back to the 1970s, and reading about this era is sure to stir up some nostalgia. In fact, no matter in what decade you came of age, reading a book like this will certainly drum up some memories. So, starting each “Throwback Thursday” for the next few weeks, we’re giving you a prompt inspired by the book!

This week, it’s music. It seems like there’s always something playing on the radio or turntable — or at a concert! — in Rebecca Fish Ewan’s book, so we asked her to compile a list of songs she featured! See her list below, which includes “Radar Love” which played on the radio during a memorable car ride in the memoir.

teen boy and girl in back seat of car with radar love coming out of speakers - pencil illustration by rebecca fish ewan
Illustration (c) Rebecca Fish Ewan, from By the Forces of Gravity

 

Becky Star Fish’s Playlist from By the Forces of Gravity

In compiling this, I see my musical coming of age is a mix of classic rock, Bay Area rock and funk, along with cornball hit radio fare. Music was an essential part of every day. By the time By the Forces of Gravity begins, I had chucked listening to Motown 45s on my sister’s hi-fi in favor of going to live concerts at the legendary Winterland ice follies venue turned mad house of music. Since I was just a kid and good at looking innocent, I got picked to smuggle booze past the Winterland security check (which was super lax by today’s standards).

Songs listed in the order mentioned in the book

  • Bare Trees (the entire album) – Fleetwood Mac (Fave songs: “Bare Trees” & “Sentimental Lady”
  • “Smoke on the Water” by Deep Purple
  • “On the Road to Find Out” by Cat Stevens
  • “Where Do the Children Play?” by Cat Stevens
  • “You’ve Got a Friend” by James Taylor
  • “Natural Woman” by Carole King
  • Every Picture Tells a Story (album) – Rod Stewart (Additional fave songs not called out in book by title: “Mandolin Wind”)
  • Abbey Road (album) – The Beatles (Additional fave songs not called out in book by title: “Something” & “Octopus’s Garden”)
  • Are You Experienced (album) – Jimi Hendrix (Fave songs: Title song, “Purple Haze” & “Foxy Lady”)
  • Eagles (album) – The Eagles (Note: I don’t actually like “Witchy Woman”)
  • Tea for the Tillerman (album) – Cat Stevens (Additional fave song not called out in book by title: “Wild World”)
  • Abraxas (album) – Santana (Fave songs: “Black Magic Woman,” “Oye Como Va” & “Samba Pa Ti”)
  • “Miles From Nowhere” by Cat Stevens
  • “Take it Easy” by The Eagles
  • “Witchy Woman” by The Eagles
  • “Peaceful Easy Feeling” by The Eagles
  • “Here Comes the Sun” by The Beatles
  • “Communication Breakdown” by Led Zeppelin
  • “Time in a Bottle” by Jim Croce
  • “Top of the World” by The Carpenters
  • “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” by Elton John
  • “Radar Love” by Golden Earring
  • “Dark Side of the Moon” by Pink Floyd
  • “Let It Be” by The Beatles
  • Exile on Main Street (album) – Rolling Stones (Fave songs: “Tumbling Dice,” “Happy” & “All Down the Line”)
  • “Tequila Sunrise” by The Eagles (Don’t actually care for this song much)
  • “Sunshine on My Shoulders” by John Denver (or this one either)
  • “Layla” by Eric Clapton
  • “White Punks on Dope” by The Tubes (or this one)

Thanks for sharing this list and commentary, Rebecca…

There you have it! A list of songs and albums that make up the soundtrack to this illustrated memoir!

What were some of your favorite songs in the era in which you grew up? Whether it was the radio, a turntable, a walkman, a Discman, an iPod, or your phone… share with us and win in one of four ways:

  • On this post on our Facebook page, add your story or image to the comments section
  • On Twitter, simply create a post using the hashtag #gravitymemoir with your tweet-sized story or photo and we’ll find it
  • On Instagram, simply use the hashtag #gravitymemoir with your photo or video update and we’ll find it
  • Comment here on this post!

We’ll select one person at random from among your shared posts to win an advanced reader copy of By the Forces of Gravity! We’ll announce the winner Sunday, May 13!

Thanks for reading and playing along with Books by Hippocampus!

By the Force of Gravity is available for pre-order now and will ship out near its release date, June 19.

 

~~~

 

BONUS TRACKS!!

But wait… there’s more from Becky Star Fish….

Additional Songs that always take me back to early 1970s Berkeley

  • Any Rolling Stones, especially Beggar’s Banquet, Let it Bleed and Sticky Fingers albums
  • Any Grateful Dead, especially American Beauty and Workingman’s Dead albums
  • Any Janis Joplin, especially Big Brother & the Holding Company, Cheap Thrills & Pearl albums
  • Any Led Zeppelin, especially…all of it
  • “Moonshadow” by Cat Stevens
  • Eat a Peach (album) – The Allman Brothers Band (Fave songs: “Melissa” & “Blue Sky”)
  • “Long Train Runnin’” & “Toulouse Street” by The Doobie Brothers
  • “The Joker” by Steve Miller Band
  • “Rock On” by David Essex
  • “White Rabbit” by Jefferson Airplane
  • Burgers (album) – Hot Tuna (Fave songs: “Water Song” & “Keep on Truckin’”)
  • “30 Days in the Hole” by Humble Pie
  •  “Happy Together” by Frank Zappa
  • “Laughing” by The Guess Who
  • “Spiders and Snakes” by Jim Stafford
  • “Dock of the Bay” by Otis Redding
  • “Susie Q” by Credence Clearwater Revival
  •  “Up on Cripple Creek” & “The Weight” by The Band — Before the Flood (album)
  • “If You Leave Me Now,” “Saturday in the Park” & “Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?” by Chicago
  • “Bennie and the Jets” by Elton John
  • “Jean Genie” by David Bowie
  • “What’s Going On?” & “I Heard It through the Grapevine” by Marvin Gaye
  • “Slippin’ into Darkness” by War
  • “So Very Hard to Go” by Tower of Power
  • “Until You Come Back to Me” by Aretha Franklin
  • “You Are the Sunshine of My Life” by Stevie Wonder

 

~~~

UPDATES!

Congratulations to Twitter user MaggyTheBrave for being randomly selected for week #2!

Here’s a look at some of the music we heard from:

And over on Facebook:

Cumi Ikeda: Alanis Morissette’s Jagged Little Pill album, with “Ironic” as a favorite.

Cindy Woy Bradley: You’re So Vain” Carly Simon, “Crocodile Rock” Elton John, “Locomotion” Grand Funk Railroad, “I Am Woman” Helen Reddy, “Peace Train” Cat Stevens, “Joy to the World” Three Dog Night, “Sugar, Sugar” The Archies, “Hooked on a Feeling” Blue Suede, “It’s Too Late” Carole King, “Maggie May” Rod Stewart, “Never Can Say Goodbye” Jackson 5…I could go on and on and on..

Carole Mertz: For a touching nostalgic “high”, nothing beats hearing Satchmo Sing”It’s a Wonderful World” while watching the Vietnam video of same, ending with a few words from Robin Williams. The turmoil of that era all wrapped up into those 2 minutes of musical joy, with the sadness of the war in the background!!!!!

Thanks SO much for sharing the memories with us!

Comments are closed.