Best Pop Rock Poems
Born in ‘42, he started singing in the 60’s when we learned his name.
“Raindrops keep Falling on My Head” is the song that brought him fame.
Smooth pop, rock, and Christian singer, B.J. died in 2021 in May.
His long-time wife, dear Gloria, was with him to the final day.
Jan. 12, 2022
for Michelle Faulkner's A Celebrity Epitaph Poetry Contest
I sip compliance from a cardboard cup. Tight fine steel lines, hoist five lifelike life sized paper mache white swans. The birds seem to wing from sunlit atrium up and over an oak railing to the mezzanine. Dazzling beneath skylights, they depict ascent, flap, glide, brake and then descent towards wrought iron tables. They mimic our trek from mall entry up the escalator to feast at the food court. I sit alone at the railing, gliding swan overhead, and pretend to eye my phone. Today I secretly study humans. Food court stuffed with youthful staff, bargain hunters, transit transfers, mobility scooters, mothers, babies, bags, phones, the braggadocio of men meeting, gaunt faces of the needy. Bodies milling, streaming, yearning. The bubbling cocktail of pop rock, chit chat galore, languages, slanguages, giggles, and that one guy yelling. The carnal essence of commercial cookery. Unspoken competition for tables, at times nearly a blood sport. Each of us tiptoeing through our daily hopscotch. Only children wonder at the swans. Do mall swans search for lost wetlands, or do they strain to join us? Mythology has it that swans shift between human and avian form. The enchantment of Tchaikovsky’s swan, princess by night pirouettes into swan by day. In the wild, sudden bright white, raucous landing, huge bold birds calling, splashing power and grace. I wish we each burst into swan. But flight feathers do not anchor to my bones, nor contour feathers pierce my skin. I vow to visit the wild ones, and leave.
published in "Unbroken" 2025
The 1970s were the grooviest years for all of the teenage lovebirds-turned-married adults.
Young love has still been among all of the then-teen couples since the day disco music was
born. It seems that when two young people (a teen boy-turned-man and a teen
girl-turned-grown woman) first met while attending at summer camp, they were meant to have
been together. And when they met back in either middle school or high school, it was love
at first sight for them. Back in the 1970s, including the year 1975, all teen lovebirds
had gone to the movies at various movie theaters, listened to a lot of music (pop, rock
and roll, rhythm and blues, and disco) gone out to eat, that kinda stuff. Their outfits
were very awesome back in the day, especially when the young boys-turned-men and the young
girls-turned-women had afros and had been wearing bell-bottoms and stuff. What was so
great about young love back in the 1970s was when these two young lovers had always been
serious with each other, especially when they had made a promise not to have ever cheated
on each other with other people, even if this guy was as attractive as he was and this
girl was also as attractive as she was. It looks like love has never taken its tolls on
everyone, not even their mothers and their fathers. This is starting to look like an
episode of "Happy Days," which was a great TV show with Henry Winkler. That was very
interesting. And even when all of the then-teenage lovebirds were still together, all teen
idols were in the Hollywood, California, scene, that included Erin Murphy, Donny Osmond,
and Melissa Sue
Anderson. Young love back in the 1970s was also when "The Brady Bunch" was on the air. And
if this type of young love keeps growing and growing, even before the 22nd century,
there's no telling what beautiful thing might happen next.
It was a summery San Francisco evening.
Dressed in tight jeans, I was the modern mother
taking my daughter to the first and last concert of our youthful days together.
Though we sat back in the general admission seats of a huge amphitheater,
the excitement all around us was palpable.
The audience, mostly women, screamed with delight
each time we heard the first few notes of our heartthrob’s songs
exploding, immediately recognizable, from the speakers
strategically placed around us.
The sky began to darken as lights played upon the stage,
enhancing our idol’s chiseled features on the wide screen above us..
No longer able to contain ourselves, most of us were on our feet.
As the beat from the band pulsated through us, body and soul,
we became a mass of swaying flesh, uniting ourselves
with this enthralling performer in the only way we knew how.
Unable to stop, I let the music guide my hips inside those skinny jeans
as I stood there grooving to hit after hit after hit!
That night I was sexy, free, and forever young,
and I was one with them all
in pop rock paradise.
My Pop/Rock Experience
It gives me chills,
Energises and excites;
Pumps my heart,
Faster than a 180 dart.
Pop/rock makes rock civil,
Something within reason,
Whilst keeping that same power,
Found in rock hour.
One Direction pull me through,
Long days and gloomy times,
And the rudeness of Pink,
Lets what’s bad in me mime.
JLS let me bounce in song,
With their harmonisations strong;
5 Secs of Summer jump to meet,
My thirst for life, it’s me they greet.
With poetic lyrics and denim jeans,
It is about reality that most of them scream;
For good or happy days, either they'll do,
When you can think that they've sung for you!
Mom bought records of the classic Disney films; each song
was played again and then again; we all sang along.
Mad Hatter singing he was late, Snow White singing too,
and seven whistling dwarves kept us from feeling blue.
Yes, those were our “Wonder Years” with my family.
Also we watched musicals as re-runs on TV.
Fiddler on the Roof ; The Sound of Music - pure delight!
West Side Story thrilled me with “Maria” and “Tonight.”
I began collecting records; my first idol’s name
was Herman. With his Hermits, he enjoyed brief fame.
Older kids were listening to whatever gave a shock:
Dylan, Hendrix, Joplin, Stones, or psychedelic rock.
I preferred the “bubblegum” - Grass Roots, Tommy Roe,
and all the Top Forty Hits on my radio.
Also there were songs of novelty, a different sort,
“A Boy Named Sue” and that “Tie Me Kangaroo Down Sport!”
Some songs linger with nostalgia: gems like “Close to You”
or “Johnny Angel.” Those recall special boys I knew.
In the 1970’s, it was clear I was
A fan of pop rock music, simply just because!
I love songs with beat that make me want to sing or dance,
but sometimes I’m inclined to hear soft songs of romance!
Though I'm busy now with many other things, I strive
to hear what’s new on TV music shows or when I drive.
But what’s the music of my soul? In all honesty,
I must say my early years most affected me!
It's my body, and I'll cry if I want to!
Lie if I want to!
Die if I want to!
You might die too if I come near you.
No vaccine pricks my skin.
Absolute is my right
to randomly infect another,
yes, randomly kill if necessary to preserve
my freedom! My entitlement!
Like your neighborly sprinkler system
I shower you each time you come near.
Few people know the truth.
Bill Gates hired space aliens
now infiltrating scientists
and creating these vaccines
to poison us.
It’s my body and I’ll cry if I want to!
Deny if I want to!
Die if I want to!
You might die too if I come near you!
These shots made by Bill Gates and Democrats,
The list of deep state conspirators so long.
I know how to connect all the dots.
The vaccines pump you with magnetic goo.
And you will quickly become autistic too.
The vaccines are full of biotoxins
And millions will find their coffins.
It’s my body, and I’ll cry if I want to!
Defy if I want to!
Die if I want to!
You might die too if I come near you!
COVID is cured like the flu.
Cow de-wormer will do.
Or simply reach
For the Clorox bleach
And drink a cup or two.
Nobody knows where my family has gone.
They left along with my friends.
No hospital beds for hundreds of miles.
While the stiffs pile up in air-cooled trucks.
It’s my body and I’ll cry if I want to!
Standby if I want to!
Justify if I want to!
You might die too if I come near you!
In global pandemic,
It’s everybody.
You can cry if you want to.
No boundaries parse flesh and blood.
Together, it’s the whole human broth.
Inspired by 1963 pop-rock hit: It’s My Party performed by Leslie Gore and produced by Quincy Jones.
I used to love Elvis's songs and watched all of his fine concerts;
then the long-haired Beatles came from England
and he was almost swept away in his own land!
Suddenly, new artists names appeared on the Billboard Charts,
I couldn't stick to a specific artist:
I guess they all sang to the heart!
Because of my age, people think I am a square,
I listen to Maroons 5, Lady Gaga and Katy Perry;
I can name more vocalists whom I enjoy on my Galaxy phone,
but what really matters is Pop Rock influence on me lately.
Does it mean that Pavarotti is out of the picture?
No, a great performance is still a delight to hear...
even Bocelli sings pop with a conservative style:
I embrace them all, did I forget fashionable Cher?
Funkin AT THE CHICKEN SHACK – Tony Adamo - 1990
Jimmy Smith was laying down an incredible riff on a wall of kinetic sound that was oozing out of my car radio. I was on my way back from a singing gig at an Indian Restaurant. Saturday night is jazz night in the City by the Bay. On my approach to the Bay Bridge, I could see the fog was cold and watery wet, as it lay low and crept along like solders on night patrol in Vietnam.
I steered my Chevy Nova like it was a priceless Lamborghini the musical transition of thought. No traffic on the B Bridge…2:00AM on the steel span and all was right with me. Jimmy smith with friends Kenny Burrell, Stanley Turrenting, and drummer, Donald “Duck” Bailey were my musical guides for the ride.
I dug deep as I had to slow down. The fog was horror movie thick. Now I had time to think to the 100th power. Sho’ ‘ nuff and came up with Don Patterson, Richard Groove Holmes,Charles Earland, George Fame, Wild Bill Davis, Shirley Scott, Big John Patton, Baby Face Willette, Larry Young, Brother Jack McDuff, Jimmy Magriff. That’s where it’s at baby. The royal bloodline of B-3 players who brought us into R&B, Pop, Rock & Roll and Soul Jazz. Into the swingin’ feature goes Joey “D”. No boundries, no limits.
Bridge:
Back at the Chicken Shack people dancin’ to a kookin’ groove.
Breakin’ out into a funk sweat
Boogie sounds brewin’ from the B-3
Your twisted sister never danced like that
Reuben Wilson and his killer sounds was a stackin’ the beat shakin’ the Chicken Shack down to its feet
(Solo)
(Bridge)
What a beautiful and dynamic management of mind, body and intellect goes into coaxing Soul Jazz out of a fat Hammond B-3 organ. Was it the foggy, misty, jazzy night? Or…was it that I actually got paid to sing Jazz? No! It was Jimmy Smith’s playin’ that was vibbin’ me along the steel rail. The joyous atmosphere that hung in dense textures of musical thought was punctuating my life like bayonets turning to thumb prints on the consciousness of my creative mind. It was in thick reference to the wet fog rippling across the bridge, like fingers on a Hammond B3, Jimmy and me……free to be.
From Tony Adamo's Miles of Blu Cd/ Hipspoken Word
The 27 Club is but a myth.
A lot of pop rock stars die also young
and in their 20’s; by coincidence,
four biggies of the Woodstock Era died
just years within each other, and their age
just happened to be 27, so
because of tragic deaths, these are the ones:
Joplin, singer of “White blues” was lonely.
Guitarist Jimi Hendrix was too reckless -
like wild, brilliant Doors’ Jim Morrison
and Brian Jones, a singer with the Stones.
All four did drugs and did them foolishly!
Years later, Curt Cobain in ‘94
used drugs and shot himself. He happened to
be 27; thus the term was coined!
A final truly tragic figure joined
the 27 Club by overdose:
Singer Amy Winehouse, who like Joplin -
imprisoned by her image - was so lonely.
Though many famous actors and musicians
are listed in this legendary “club,”
the focus goes to six iconic figure.
The club should be renamed “The Tragic Six.”
*Note: I was reading the history of this club and some have suggested
that in reality, this club is mainly about the "tragic Six"
Sept. 17, 2022
For Anthony Biaanco's The 27 Club Poetry Contest
My heart leapt with all joy, still does, with doe eyes.
Back in that day, before I knew Elton’s face, the sighs
of my sister and I, as we lie in our parents bed,
hours of tuning in to the sounds we were fed.
My heart leapt with all joy, as this Middlesex man
belted out this timebomb tune. Pop rock began.
Begins with innocence, new releases rocks repress,
with the leer of a crocodile on “Suzie’s tight dress.”
A young mind doesn’t fixate on innuendoes; doe eyes
recklessly leap and dance; with time, lyrics synthesize.
The moment I hear this tune, I’m back in time, inside
my Haviland skin, “hopping and bopping” amplified.
I love listening to songs,
From Taylor Swift's pop,
To Olivia Rodrigo's rock,
I listen to them prolong.
It feels so amazing to listen to it all day,
With earphones on,
Singing and dancing, and I could go on.
And all I can say
Is that I can go listening to music till I am old and gray.
2/7/22
just a dime per tune when
jiving in the sixties
jitterbug before that
jamming still to the hits
jazz, pop, rock, soul~~lyrics
jaunty and sad burst forth
jump up~~punch in your fave
music talks
and music walks
its the key
to heavenly
gospel pop rock or hiphop
the story don't stop
its in every block
music makes the calls
MUAIC SAY IT ALL
The sound of music in her voice
Fills the heavens with rejoice
The bird sing in delight
which puts out darkness and fright
Pop, rock, or even hip-hop
Which ever you choose
Share your music
To make some tunes