'Not too slow, not too fast ...'

Let me give you some background on myself.
My dad was a hi-fi nut and I was in the second grade before I realized that none of my friends’ houses had state-of-the-art stereo equipment covering a whole wall of their living room.
My earliest musical memory is as a 4-year-old standing in front of a stereo speaker taller than myself with my ear pressed to the grill cloth listening to Marty Robbins sing “Out in the West Texas town of El Paso …”
I was fortunate enough to be exposed to a wide variety of music early on. I grew up listening to Bob Wills, Hank Williams, Ernest Tubb, Red Foley, Sons of the Pioneers, Tennessee Ernie Ford: the bedrock of country and western music. Of course in between Bob and Hank were Mantovani (of the cascading strings), Louis Armstrong, Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops, Duke Ellington, Rosemary Clooney, Mitch Miller and the Sing-Along Gang, and of course the inescapable Lawrence Welk and his Orchestra. And “Tubby the Tuba” by Danny Kaye.
I still have the first record I ever owned, a small yellow disc of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans singing “The Bible Tells Me So.” The first 45 I bought was “Love Is Blue” by Paul Mauriat and the first LP I bought was “Wheels of Fire” by Cream, a double album including the live almost 16 minute drum-driven frenzy of “Toad.” My first concert, ticket price $6.75, was Grand Funk Railroad in the Travel and Transportation Building at the OKC fairgrounds with Bloodrock as the opener. And a rockin’ time was had by all.
I have loved music for as long as I can remember. And although I respect all kinds of music and appreciate the varieties of musical expression, I do not love all kinds of music. So this blog will deal mostly with music I like. A recommendation or two. The long-forgotten musical gem and the overlooked new release. Maybe some books. The occasional rant or rave.
I end with words that have served me well all my life. Louis Armstrong introduced one of his recordings with this admonition to the band; “Not too slow, not too fast. Just kind of half-fast.” I will try to meet the high standards of Mr. Armstrong.