Memories to Music

By Shawn Hernandez

Memories to Music was an accident. I have been an accountant for thirty years and live in South Louisiana with my wife, two sons, and a lazy, goofy golden retriever. My experience with writing includes recaps on Facebook of my occasional travels, letters written to recent high school graduates who probably thought I was a little creepy, annual Christmas card notes to my mom, and a tiny advice book for my kids. Winning the Daughters of American Revolution writing contest, 5th grade competition, is my sole recognition of my story telling abilities.

But the stars aligned. I had extra time, people in my life who had the same passion for music as I did, and my mom's constant encouragement to write. She's 86, so I figured if I were to ever take on this project, now would be the time.
For as long as I can I remember, music has always been part of my daily life. I have several passions, but nothing comes close to my love of songs. When I am watching a movie or television, or if I'm in a bar, restaurant, grocery store, dentist's office, or anywhere else, I always pay attention to the music. Tunefind is one of my favorite websites.

Music is always in my head whether I'm in a meeting, watching a sporting event, or carrying on a conversation. You can always tell when I am thinking of music by my fingers or feet tapping. I can be having a perfectly coherent, intelligent conversation with someone, but in the back of my mind I am singing "Doin' It" by LL Cool J.

Instead of hiring a therapist, I decided to write about my obsession. Before I knew it, I had written a book. My core audience is my kids. I want them to feel about music as I do.

There had to be some entertainment to keep them interested, so I added stories of my life that surrounded the music. My hope is to, at a minimum, introduce the music that has impacted my life, but also give them some insight into those moments that molded me into the guy I am today. It may even bring happy memories of youthful times for those of us getting older.

A Note from the Author

Since an early age, I have had a passion for music. Although I attempted to learn various musical instruments, I realized I was only interested in the thought of playing, so gave up learning fairly quickly. Singing is also a talent I do not possess as my wife often bluntly informs me "You are terrible singer." It doesn't stop me. My passion for music is for the songs and is as important to my day as coffee, eating and brushing my teeth.

I am shocked when people say they do not listen to The Beatles, Prince, Willie Nelson, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Miles Davis, Curtis Mayfield and Kendrick Lamar. It saddens me when folks have never heard a song by Greg Brown, Martin Sexton, The Vulgar Boatmen or David Baerwald. So, I wrote Memories to Music in hopes of introducing not only my kids, but anyone who fits this description, my world of incredible music.

My kids have the attention span of a goldfish, so I could not simply write about songs, albums or favorite artists. The best gift I ever received was the 1991 version of the Rolling Stone Album Guide as I have read it cover to cover and refer to it weekly, but my kids would rather clean their room than read the guide. I needed an eye-catcher, so included stories of my life and how music played an important role in these stories. Growing up in a small town, college life, leaving home and the struggles of being on my own, finding my soulmate, raising kids, passing of loved ones, traveling and many more unique experiences are all included and surrounded by fantastic music.

I will know if I succeed when I walk into my home and see my kids drinking a longneck listening to Waylon Jennings, dancing to The Bar-Kays, chilling to The Grateful Dead, playing air guitar to Tab Benoit or listening to Barry White with their bedroom door closed and their special someone visiting.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0578341840
• ISBN13: 9780578341842
• Release Date: February 2022
• Publisher: Lisburn Press
• Length: 466 Pages
• Weight: 1.36 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.0" x 9.0"