Bruno Mars is not a candy bar! I found that out by watching the Super Bowl.

Yes, I did watch the Super Bowl, but not for the football game, which was boring, but for the commercials. That is when I found out about Bruno Mars.  I couldn’t understand the lyrics he was supposed to be singing, but I was impressed by the  fact he wore a white shirt and tie. All the men in his group had on white shirts and ties.

But then I thought that a group of fans had jumped on the stage and were interrupting the show when they announced it was one of those groups that has a vegetable name, Chili Peppers and they must have been hot because they didn’t have any shirts or neckties on.

I thought it looked like they had casts on their legs and their friends had written all over them. I guess that was their stage attire.  What do I know?

I can remember thinking the same things about the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show. But again, what did I know? I was much younger then.

They were named for bugs but they did have white shirts and ties on. And I could understand the words.  They wrote  some beautiful songs and if you have been watching TV in the last week at the 50 Year Celebration of the Beatles  you would recognize some of the words in the songs and can sing along with them.

I remember seeing the Beatles at their first American broadcast. I laugh when some people say they weren’t born when the Beatles came to America. It doesn’t seem like 50 years ago.

I believe the Beatles and Elvis changed American music. Many performers who changed the American music scene are still remembered. Many have fallen by the wayside and never heard from again.

I like all kinds of music but it has to have some kind of meaning or connection for me and I need to understand its purpose.

Will I ever understand Bruno Mars or the Chili Peppers? Probably not! But I did enjoy the commercials.

 

Jo-Ann Boepple works at the Edwardsburg Area History Museum.