I took an interest in music at a young age and it was something my parents encouraged. I played saxophone for a while and I had a guitar that I used to made a bunch of noise but never really learned how to play.
I became more of a music appreciator and loved going to live shows. That was something that started with my parents and continued with my father, in particular. We saw Billy Joel when I was 10 or 11 and kept going from there: Green Day, Counting Crows, Springsteen, U2, Eagles, Simon and Garfunkel, Paul McCartney, Bob Dylan.
After I had finished college and moved to another state for work, we even traveled to New Orleans together to see Jazz Fest in 2005, just a few months before Hurricane Katrina.
Later in 2005, The Rolling Stones released A Bigger Bang and plotted a stadium tour behind it. He'd said if the Stones went on tour that we should go, so he bought two tickets and was going to fly to me. About a month before, he got really sick and was in the hospital, so it didn't look like we were going to be able to go. But about a week before, he said he felt well enough to try to make it, so off we went.
The Stones were impressive. One of the best shows I've ever seen and one of the biggest spectacles, too. Fifty-foot tall stage with fans inside the stage presentation. A rolling section of the stage that wheeled down to the other end of the stadium for a few songs. Fireworks. A video screen that made Mick's lips four stories tall. It was unforgettable.
One of the songs they played that night was Midnight Rambler, a hot, bluesy song from the group's first decade about the Boston Strangler. It's one he and I had always liked, but never really paid much attention.
In years after the show, whenever it would come up in conversation, we would both talk about how good it was and mention Midnight Rambler as a favorite, so I kind of came to associate this gruesome song with this really nice time with my father. Ha.
In 2010, my father died. The last time we talked on the phone, I was leaving a Van Morrison concert and he wanted to know all about it, showing that musical bond between us.
But now, I hear Midnight Rambler and I'll smile, thinking about seeing that Stones show with him and what a special time that was.
tl;dr: The Rolling Stones' Midnight Rambler reminds me of my dad, but not because of what the song's about