I’m sure many of you have never heard of the pop group the Kiki Dee Band. But they hit it big back in the early 70s and the hit song “I’ve Got the Music in Me” was their one-hit wonder, though Kiki Dee herself, the professional alias of Pauline Mathews, went on to have a great career, including hit duets with Elton John.

But I’ve always loved that song and it speaks to who I am for I’ve always had the music in me, in my soul, and I’ve filled my life with it as I’ve shared here with y’all before.

And though it’s been quite some time since I’ve been able to do so, I have over the years been able to see so many of my favorites perform in person.

My earliest memories of that come from my teen years.

In those early years of my existence I was fortunate to see some of rocks soon-to-be greatest at the beginning of their journey to stardom.

I may be mistaken, but I believe that these tours were sponsored by the television show Where the Action Is, a spin-off created by Dick Clark of his hit American Bandstand.

And as hard as it may be to believe, here are some of the acts and songs I got to see and hear, live, up close and in person: Neil Diamond – “Solitary Man”; Sonny and Cher – “I Got You Babe”; Dionne Warwick – “Walk On By; B. J. Thomas – “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry”; Billy Joe Royal – “Down in the Boondocks”; Gary Lewis & the Playboys – “This Diamond Ring”; Sam the Sham & the Pharaohs – “Lil’ Red Riding Hood”; James Brown – “Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag”; The Swingin’ Medallions – “Double Shot (Of My Baby’s Love)”; and, of course, the house band of Where the Action Is, Paul Revere and the Raiders – “Just Like Me”.

Those are just a few of the acts I got to see, so many appearing in just one show, at the cost of only $5.00! That wouldn’t even get you a concert parking place now.

But, that was the 60s. And they were hosted at the old Asheville City Auditorium by the best DJ Asheville ever had, the late “Little Joe” Brown of Big Wise Radio 1310. And that original auditorium still exists inside the civic center.

As for “Little Joe”, there’ll never be another like him. One of my greatest memories of him is that if he fell in love with a song, we’d definitely hear it every morning while eating our breakfast, preparing for school.

The two I remember most are “Working in the Coal Mine”, by Lee Dorsey, and “Angel of the Morning”, by Merrilee Rush.

Over the following years, I’ve got to see so many others in person, at an obviously much higher cost.

Unfortunately, without digging into old records and calendars and journals, I can’t specify the exact dates of these occurrences off the top of my head.

But I have the memory of ’em, and they are as follows: Santana; War; Bob Dylan; Loretta Lynn and Conway Twitty; Elvis; Jerry Lee Lewis; Ray Charles; Johnny Rivers; Johnny Lang; Iris Dement and John Prine; Gordon Lightfoot; Richie Havens; Emmylou Harris; CPR – Crosby, Pevar and Raymond; Traffic, with Steve Winwood; and Crosby and Nash, two times.

Other than my favorite hobby, books, music has filled my life, and I have just as many records as I do books.

I even still have all my cassette tapes and 8-Track tapes to go along with my antiquated 45 RPM singles.

Yepper, I definitely have got the music in me!