I was recently invited on a social media platform called “Facebook” (why not just call it “Cover”–– that’s what the face of a book is!) to participate in a game of selecting ten albums that are important to you.

This seemed an innocuous enough task, and I suppose it is if you just make your ten picks, sit down and shut up.

I didn’t. I obsessed and went down rabbit holes of research and traveled down memory lanes I hadn’t visited in ages. It starts innocently enough, but then–– you’ll see.

It ended up being a time-consuming but enrichening process. They will be shared in ten separate posts.

They are not in an order of preference, that would be silly and way too difficult. Enjoy and feel free to give your two cents.

Here’s day one. Beatlemania was in full swing, the boys rocked Ed Sullivan and owned the airwaves. Then, in 1964, they made a movie about living in the madness of pop stardom. In a beautiful black and white film, we followed the lads as they smoked cigarettes, were chased by mobs of girls, and played rock songs with more hooks than a Bass Pro Shop to adoring fans. What boy didn’t want to be a Beatle? I was all in on the devil’s music. Where are the old man’s smokes?