Love Songs

Songs are powerful and timeless.

A moment, seemingly forgotten, can be relived with the simple opening chords of a song.

“That’s what music does,” says Peter Morena, the operations manager of 91.7 GiantFM in Welland. “A song will always evoke emotion. That’s the great thing about music.”

A good song will instantly transport a person back to the very minute they first heard it.
This is especially true with love songs.

Morena’s first slow dance was to Hey Jude, by the Beatles, when he was in grade eight.
He says when he hears the song now it takes him “back to that moment. The whole thing about being in grade eight and being thirteen.” He says the song was “long and slow” and just what a teenager wants.

Brian Salmon, 91.7’s music director and morning show host, has a similar experience, but with a different song.

“My first slow dance was Slow Dancing and Swaying to the Music by Johnny Rivers when I was in elementary school. It makes me think of the girl I had a crush on. Songs are very powerful. They can evoke a lot of emotions,” he says.

Especially with Valentine’s Day peeking around the corner.

Salmon says the radio station receives more requests for love songs now than at any other time of year. And many of the songs requested are classics from generations ago.

“Angel from Aerosmith gets requested a lot. And Rod Stewart’s Have I Told You Lately That I Love You gets requested quite a bit too,” he says.

What makes a song survive year after year? Morena and Salmon agree that it comes down to lyrics.

“The lyrics are the foundation. Everything else has to be there as well, but the lyrics are the foundation of a good song,” says Morena.

Darren Coverdale, lead guitarist for Welland band, Sukkapunch, says lyrics and melody must be strong for a classic love song.

“I think it is a combination of both,” he says. “You have to have a melody that fits the lyrics and accentuates it. You can have really great lyrics, but if you don’t have the great
music behind it, then it’s not part of the package.”

Coverdale, 29, writes some of Sukkapunch’s songs and says he starts “with a melody first.” But it is emotions and experiences that “dictate how we play and what we write.”
He says it doesn’t matter when a song was written as long as it is “very soulful and very genuine.” He can also remember his first slow dance.

“It was November Rain by Guns and Roses. Every time I hear it now I can still picture where I was and how everything looked.”

One song that will remain on the play list of school dances for eternity is Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin, says Salmon.

“No matter how old you get when you hear that song you think ‘oh yeah!’ It’s got everything in it. It’s slow and it’s got that great rock bit through the middle of it.”

Morena agrees that Stairway to Heaven “is a great song” with “powerful, powerful lyrics.”

And when it comes to the Canadian artist who writes the most powerful ballads, everyone agrees with Salmon’s opinion.

“Without a doubt it is Bryan Adams. His song (Everything I Do) I Do it for You was the number one song for a long time.”

Coverdale says, “That was a hugely successful song from a Canadian artist. Even throughout all his albums he’s very love and relationship oriented.”

Amanda Ettinger, a music lover in Welland, agrees that “Bryan Adams is a gem among Canadians,” and believes that Celine Dion is also a very powerful Canadian artist with a talent for ballads.

“Celine Dion takes the cake. She is a huge international star and has shown the world what talent Canada has,” she says.

Songs provide a personal soundtrack to our lives. First dances and first kisses remain frozen in time because of the magic of a love song. Comfort is sought in the lyrics of a song that seems written just for you as you cope with your first heartbreak.

Choose a love song for your relationship wisely this Valentine’s Day. Fifty years from now you will be instantly brought back to this very moment as soon as you hear the first notes of your song. Make sure the memory is a good one.

You can check out Sukkapunch at www.myspace.com/sukkapunchrocks

Article Originally Published in Welland Tribune - 2008

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