Rock 'n Roll (I Gave You the Best Years of My Life) ( #BOTB )

        This has been an extremely busy November for me with trips to East Tennessee and Phoenix AZ as well as visiting family members for Thanksgiving.  So much fun!  I'm tired and it's still a few weeks until Christmas.  Life is good!

       But I'm back on the blog and it's time for another...

Battle of the Bands

        Battle of the Bands is the blogging event started by Far Away Series and now hosted by StMcC Presents Battle of the Bands.   This event happens each month on the 15th and on some there is also a Battle on the 1st of the month.  My blog is one of those with a second Battle excepting over these summer months.   The premise is simple:  Listen to the songs presented below and then in the comments vote for your favorite and tell us why you liked it.  Then visit the links listed near the bottom of this post for more Battle action.

Rock 'n Roll (I Gave You All the Best Years of My Life

        Lately I've been doing a lot of reflecting on my life.  Housecleaning (and organizing) does that to me sometimes.  Looking at all of the stuff I own makes me wonder what I should continue to keep and what I need to get rid of.   The biggest part of my accumulation of stuff is my collection of music on vinyl, tape, and CD.  I've spent a fortune on those things over the years and now when I look at my music library I often think how I'd like to have back all the money I spent on this collection.

         However, all that music sure provided me with countless hours of listening pleasure.  There is a wide variety of musical styles in my audio library, but the preponderance of this collection is in the genre of rock and roll.  Rock music has provided me with so much listening pleasure since the sixties up until the present time.  The money spent would be nice to have now, but there could be no replacing those musical memories.

          The song for this Battle installment popped into my head the other day for some reason I can't recall.  I'd say most of you might not be familiar with "Rock 'n Roll (I Gave You the Best Years of My Life)" but it's likely that many of you might identify with some of the sentiments of the song which was written by Australian singer/songwriter Kevin Johnson.  The song is rarely played on radio or elsewhere even though it's been recorded by several artists over the years.

          Here are two versions for you to compare and decide which you like best...

Mac Davis     Rock 'n Roll (I Gave You the Best Years of My Life)  (1974)

         Mac Davis was a big star in the seventies and into the eighties.  He had several hit songs (including the ones he wrote for Elvis Presley).  For a while he often appeared in TV shows, movies, and onstage and continued working in show business until his death at 78 in 2020. 

           Mac's version of this song was the highest charting version in the United States reaching #15 on the Billboard charts in 1974.   Listen and then move on to the next version....

 Doug Kershaw      Rock 'n Roll (I Gave You the Best Years of My Life)  (1973)

          Doug Kershaw has had a long respectable career as a singer and fiddle player.  He never has reached superstar status, but he has secured a solid place in country music history.  His version of "Best Years of My Life" is the only one I ever knew until recently.  When I first heard it back in 1973 I went right out and bought the album which I discussed in my 'K' entry for this year's A to Z Challenge.  

          Kershaw's version picks up the tempo a bit from most other versions I've listened to.  Now you take a listen and tell us what you think about it...

Time to Vote!

           You don't have to give the best years of your life to play in this game.  It only takes a few minutes!  Just listen and appreciate.  Which song do you prefer?   Hopefully you have an opinion of some kind.  You don't have to know about music to have an opinion since it all comes down to your own personal taste.

        Please vote on your favorite by letting us know your choice in the comment section and tell us why you prefer the version you chose. Then after you've finished here, please visit the other blogs listed below who may or may not be participating this time around. And if you've put up your own BOTB contest let us know that as well so we can vote on yours.


Here are some other places where you might find BOTB posts:

 StMcC Presents Battle of the Bands

  'MIKE'S RAMBLINGS'

'Curious as a Cathy'

Sound of One Hand Typing

Jingle, Jangle, Jungle 

Streampebbles (Diedre Knight)

Battle Results Wednesday December 7th

       You will find the results of this Battle on Wednesday December 7th.   I'm going to continue taking a bit of a blog break through the holidays.  I'll make a couple of Insecure Writer's Support Group posts, but other than that I'm going to do whatever it is I'll be doing.  I hope it's mostly fun and productive.  Be sure to stop back by for the results!