Music by Caldor

Other than a brief fling with anti-apartheid activism in college, I've always kept my politics mostly to myself. Sure, if you know me well, you know I'm a liberal Democrat. But I don't speak out much about my views except in close company.

So you might be surprised to learn that the first 45 (remember those?) I bought was "Give Ireland Back to the Irish," a political screed written and recorded by Paul McCartney & Wings.

OK, screed might be too strong a word, but considering the song was written by the guy who penned "Ob-la-di, ob-la-da, life goes on, brah!", "Give Ireland Back to the Irish" is a pretty strong statement.

I have no idea why I opted for this song as the first single I bought from the Avon, Connecticut, branch of Caldor, the department store chain that closed in 1999. My parents would take my brother, sister and me there once in a while, and we kids would buy 45's there, then take them home and play them on our pop-up record player.

I guess the song must have been popular on the radio when I was 7 years old. Somehow, I grew up in a household devoid of Beatles music, and I didn't buy an album by the Fab Four until I was well into adulthood.

Digging through my musty stack of 45's in the attic, I did find, however, that one of us bought McCartney & Wings's "Jet," as well as Ringo Starr's "Oh My My."

I had no idea what "Give Ireland Back to the Irish" meant at that age. As I got older I came to an understanding of just what Great Britain was doing in Northern Ireland.

The song didn't mean much to me, but perhaps I thought of it during my time at Keene State College as a member of a student group that tried to raise awareness of the appalling apartheid in South Africa.

Oh, who am I kidding -- that didn't happen.

Here's a video of the song that shows the 45. Below this clip is an interesting video of the band practicing the song in somebody's living room.

The second 45 I bought had a bit more of an impact on my life.

"Rock 'n' Roll Hoochie Koo" by Rick Derringer continues to be a song that I listen to, and one that inspired a story in my short story collection, (C)rock Stories: Million-Dollar Tales of Music, Mayhem and Immaturity.

This one was also popular on the radio when I was young, but unlike McCartney's song, it continues to get airplay on classic rock radio.

Let's watch and listen together:

Other 45's I bought that I still have in my collection (but never play) include "Hot Rod Lincoln" by Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen, a song that also features in one of my (C)rock Stories; and The Knack's "My Sharona," the sleeve of which features a somewhat androgynous young woman in a tight, see-through tank top.

When I started writing this a few days ago I wasn't planning on digging through the little pink box that my siblings and I stored our 45's in, but now that I've done so, I think I'll write a few more installments in coming weeks.