Another week tapping into Amy's suggestions for Thursday Thirteens:
13 Performers I Wish I Had Seen When They Were In Their Prime
1. 
Jim Croce - I'm too young to remember where I was when I heard that JFK died, but I remember the day Jim Croce died when I was just 11. The singer/songwriter gave us Leroy Brown and Time in a Bottle...songs that made us laugh and songs that made us cry. Of course, Time in a Bottle was inextricably linked to the TV movie-of-the-week She Lives in which a beautiful young Season Hubley is all brave and tragic as she is dying of cancer...supported by her boyfriend...Desi Arnaz, Jr.???? I remember her...I'm shocked that it was him. The movie aired 8 days before Croce died suddenly in a plane crash. Anyway...I'm a sucker for Jim Croce's music and it speaks to that pre-adolescent stage of my life.
2. 
Carole King - Everyone had the album...everyone. Tapestry was a phenomenon of its time. I was too young (9) when it was released to really "get" Carole King. I didn't know until I was an adult that she was a prolific songwriter long before Tapestry caught the attention of every teen in the early 70's. Believe it or not, she's in her 60's now, but she will always be barefoot in jeans sitting on a window seat in most of our minds. How cool would it have been to have seen her at her piano singing through the Tapestry songs as well as her earlier compositions.
3. 
Grateful Dead - I'm not a huge Grateful Dead fan, but come on...people gave years of their lives following them...there has to be something to it.
4. 
Bruce Springsteen - I've seen Bruce Springsteen three times, the first time being the Born in the USA tour at the Orange Bowl in Miami. But I regret to this day that I didn't know enough to go see him at the Utica Memorial Auditorium when I was in high school and he came through on the Born to Run tour.
5.
Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody performed live with Freddy Mercury in full Freddy Mercury mode. Wow!
6. 
Barry Manilow - I know, I'm going to get a lot of grief about this. But he's a legendary performer...it would have been great to see him perform Copacabana and I would have cried when he sang Mandy.
7. 
John Lennon - My husband suggested the Beatles, but really it's Lennon that I would have loved to have seen. I think he was an amazing poet and promoter of peace. I think he had a brilliant vision for the world and was willing to stand up for his convictions and try to make the world better.
8. 
Patsy Cline - 44 years after her death in a plane crash at the age of 30, Patsy Cline's voice can still bring tears to your eyes. I can only imagine the power of her amazing presence combined with that voice singing "Walking After Midnight" at the Grand Ole Opry.
9. 
Crosby, Stills & Nash - Four words...Suite: Judy Blue Eyes.
10. 
Elton John - I think I was about 12 when I came downstairs on Christmas morning to find a five foot poster of Elton John hanging on the wall that my sister had gotten for me. There's a picture of me that captures my elation and ecstasy...and my utter devotion to Elton John. Oh, to have seen him with the glasses and the costumes singing "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting", "Levon" and "Tiny Dancer". His success has spanned four decades...and his music is still timeless. Would have loved to have been there!
11. 
Fleetwood Mac - Rumours is still one of the greatest albums ever and seeing them at their youthful best must have been amazing. However, I am certain that even seeing a performance by Fleetwood Mac in 1977 wouldn't top the VH-1 Behind the Music about Fleetwood Mac which is a perfect blend of melody, melodrama and musical egotism!
12. 
Frank Sinatra - I would have loved to have seen Frank Sinatra when he was the skinny kid from Hoboken who became "the Voice"...not so interested in the boozier, chunkier days on the road with Sammy and Liza.
13. 
Pat Benatar - She epitomizes everything about the eighties for me...edgy hair, dramatic contrasts and aching intensity. I think that was kind of like me in the '80's...I've got pictures!
So, who would you have liked to have seen in their prime???
Di
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