Phil Collins, Elton John, and Gloria Estefan dominated Adult Contemporary radio back in the 1980s and '90s, yet have disappeared from modern radio. Seemingly, the only time you ever hear them is at the grocery store or your local CVS. This blog remembers the music, the stories and the quirky characters from my days working in Adult Contemporary radio.
Monday, December 7, 2015
Swing Out Sister - "Am I The Same Girl?"
I've noticed with my grandmother that there are only two time frames in her life: before my grandpa died and after my grandpa died. Every story somehow references whether or not my grandpa was alive or not. In my case, my parents divorce happened in 1992 and ever since life seemed to fit in two compartments: before and after their divorce. After the divorce, my mother started dating which was awkward for both my brother and me. My brother kept his emotions bottled up for months before finally exploding sometime around Easter Sunday 1993. As for me, (for better or for worse) I also tucked my emotions beneath layers and layers of feigned indifference. It took me years (let's be real: decades) to see just how much their failed marriage affected my views on commitment and marriage. (Side note: I don't blame them for this--I simply point to it as why I am hard-wired the way that I am.) What does all of this have to do with Swing Out Sister? Well, post-divorce when my mom started dating the guy who wasn't my dad, we learned that he played in the Bugle Choir in high school. Whenever "Am I The Same Girl" played on the radio, my mom used to laugh thinking of her new beau playing this song. Welcome to the craziness that happens in my brain...