Summary

In Chapter 8, Bruce writes about the influential music of his childhood. His mother's love of music and Top 40 influenced his childhood in that the radio was always playing. Bruce writes about his love of musicians like Roy Orbison and Sam Cooke. From an early age, he connects with music that is "simultaneously happy and sad" (45). Through his mother's influence, "the musical sounds of the late fifties and early sixties drew down into [his] bones" (45).

In 1964, The Beatles make their way across the Atlantic to America. Bruce describes this era in music by writing that "from over the sea, the gods returned" (48). Bruce loves Beatles music and quickly realizes that he wants "to BE the Beatles" (51). At the same time, racial tensions are heightening in both Bruce's community and the country at large. Bruce has black friends but there...