R.I.P. Sidney and Ronni Jacobs

Andrew Jacobs here,

Last Wednesday, my father passed away due to a myriad of health issues.  On July 8th of 2007, my mother passed away after an 8+ year battle with leukemia.  What does this have to do with Decibel Geek, hard rock and/or heavy metal?  EVERYTHING.  Had it not been for my parents’ love of music (particularly rock music, natch), I would not have developed my lifelong passion with music back in the mid 1980s.  And, of course, I certainly would not be a writer/contributor to the Decibel Geek website.

Here’s a very brief list off the top of my head of some of the bands/artists that I first discovered via my parents’ massive record collection:

The Beatles (my favorite band of all time)
Paul McCartney
John Lennon
George Harrison
The Who
The Rolling Stones
The Doors
Bob Dylan
The Beach Boys
Janis Joplin
Leonard Cohen
The Eagles
The Band
Steely Dan
Elton John
Billy Joel
Hall & Oates
the Woodstock movie soundtrack

Here are some random childhood music and music-related memories of mine courtesy of my parents:

• My father originally wanted to name my brother Elvis instead of Evan (the name that my parents ultimately wound up giving him).
• The very first concert that I can remember seeing on television was The Rolling Stones on the Tattoo You tour on pay-per-view in the early 1980s.  My parents ordered it and had a bunch of their friends over to watch it.  When the concert was over, my brother, our friend Sammy and I performed “Start Me Up” for them.
• Although not really music related, my parents took my brother and me to see comedian Bill Cosby (my favorite comedian of all time) at Irvine Meadows Amphitheater in 1985.
• Also in 1985, my mother saw Madonna in concert on the Like A Virgin tour.  The Beastie Boys (my favorite rap/hip hop band of all time – noticing a pattern here?) opened for Madonna at that concert and when I started listening to them two years later, my mother told me that they got booed off the stage when she saw them open for Madonna.
• Some of the concerts that my parents took me to in the late 1980s and early 1990s include The Rolling Stones (with Guns N’ Roses opening), The Who, Bob Dylan, Steely Dan and Billy Joel.

Rest in peace, Mom and Dad.  And thank you both so very much for all the great music and all the great music memories.