Description

     I’ve always been an avid listener of classical music, but was also a huge fan of the Beatles, Led Zeppelin, The Guess Who, and the Doobie Brothers. Since then, there’s been an incredible gamut of talented musicians. Decades of new music to enjoy. I still, however, listen to and enjoy classical music. I was a devout listener of KFUO-FM “Classic 99 in St. Louis” until they went off the air in 2010. My Wife stayed up with me as I listened to Beethoven’s 9th Symphony just before the station went silent. Ironically, the 9th is my favorite piece of classical music. “Cruise On” was originally called Sight & Sound and had lyrics. It was an over-simplified/abbreviated account of Beethoven’s life. Historians believe he was basically deaf by age 44. That would have been around 1814. They believe he wrote the 9th between 1822 and 1824. To this day, I listen to it in amazement knowing the man was deaf when he wrote it. I tried to sing the lyrics, but couldn’t do the song justice. I was driving my convertible one day going over the melody in my head. It had a lofty flow to it, like driving the convertible. I looked down at the dash, the cruise control was on, and the dashboard displayed the message “CRUISE-ON”.