The Love Songs
Music plays a large role in my novel The Martin Luther King Mitzvah. My main character Adam Jacobs listens to his local AM radio station and he hears all of the Top 40 hits as they are presented during the timeframe of the story, from the autumn of 1966 through the spring of 1967. I myself was a twelve year-old in 1966, and the songs in that year that I heard on the radio were probably the best ever in the Top 40. So when I wrote my book, I decided to include a “soundtrack” to the story, which I’ve never seen before in novels. We all listen to the radio, but writers seem to ignore these musical elements when they write stories, as if songs never existed. But what would life be without music? Of course, movies have soundtracks, so why not a book?
Well, Adam carries around his transistor radio, so he hears these songs all the time; he also listens to them late at night, under the covers, so his parents can’t hear the radio. In this essay, I’ll focus on the “love songs” that Adam hears (in chronological order as they appear in the book, and as they did on the radio in real life). These songs (as they did for every young boy in 1966) enhanced Adam’s romantic feelings toward the object of his affection, in this case his classmate Sally Fletcher.
How about “Walk Away Renee” by The Left Banke, probably the prettiest single ever? Adam thinks about losing Sally when he hears this song, but he decides to hang in there and try to get closer to her. “Cherish” by The Association was another love song from my childhood that made you think about whatever girl you had a crush on whenever you heard the song. If only she heard the same song and felt the same way about you!
In the book, Adam hears “Good Vibrations” by the Beach Boys and thinks about the way the sunlight plays on Sally’s blonde hair; and he listens to “I’m a Believer” by the Monkees when he’s in dancing class, just like I did when I was a kid. If you were in love with a girl in 1966, listening to “I’m a Believer” just confirmed it for you. No more needed to be said, you were a believer. And how can we forget about “Happy Together” by the Turtles. Adam is happy together with Sally, believe me. It’s hard to fathom that all of these great songs came out in the same year, and there were so many more on the radio when I was twelve and thirteen years-old.
Near the end of the book, Adam and Sally hear “Groovin’” by the Young Rascals on Adam’s transistor radio, while they are groovin’ together at Manor Park on the Long Island Sound; then Franki Valli releases the classic “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You” and Adam ponders over his inability to take his eyes off of Sally; and when he and Sally hear “San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)” by Scott McKenzie, Sally tells Adam that if she ever goes to San Francisco, she already wears flowers in her hair (that is one of her most charming traits.)
As I was writing The Martin Luther King Mitzvah, I listened to all of these songs again, and they brought back great memories of my childhood. The music from AM radio in 1966 and 1967 sounds just as good today as it did back then. I hope by including these AM hits in my novel, it adds some flavor to the story and makes the readers feel as if they are going along for the ride with my characters during the great days of the 1960s.
© Copyright 2018 Mathew Tekulsky
