I just finished a rewrite of my upcoming book. It is the second in the Team Walker Series, with one of the title characters an aging spy, Thadius Walker, who is called out of retirement.
I’ve been close to Thadius for years, spending months in between my published books exploring his life in a series that remains unpublished. The series is out of the norm, and someday I hope to find the perfect literary agent who will know exactly where to place the books. Each time I open one of those draft books, I am taken back to the 1970’s where many of his adventures begin. To get in the mood, I queue up several of my favorite musical artists of that era. I thought I’d list the five I’m listening to now as I begin work on the third book of the series.
Creedence Clearwater Revival
This group broke up in 1972, but before they did, they introduced me to southern rock. Songs like Proud Mary and Bad Moon Rising took me back to the South, and a slower way of life. Their song Fortunate Son transports me to basic training in an anti-war era.
The Animals
This British, and later American group revealed a “white blues” genre that I never knew existed. We Gotta’ Get Out Of This Place paints a mood of frustration, and The House Of The Rising Sun, is perfect if my character is weary of trying in life.
Jefferson Airplane
No band can rekindle the awe and anger my characters felt during the counterculture movement of the 70’s. Grace Slick’s voice in White Rabbit brings back visions of the free love movement and raucous protests that tore at a nation more divided than today.
Linda Ronstadt
From her early career as the lead singer of The Stone Poneys to her solo albums including Heart Like a Wheel, Linda’s voice has an album that fits almost any scenario I’m writing about. Her later albums, including her Latin albums help me cross the southern border, sometimes into sweet family settings, but more often into rowdy or lonesome Mexican bars.
The Moody Blues
This British band was the first to layer classical music and rock, with albums that portray difficult but sophisticated situations. They are a perfect place to find a struggling hero’s emotional state as that character tries to use their intellect to overcome deep emotional trouble. For many Vietnam War vets, their anthem Nights in White Satin, was a tribute to American GIs coming home in body bags, although Justin Haywood, lead singer and writer swears it is an anthem to lost love.
The Moody Blues is my favorite band of the era, capable of leading me to the moods necessary to give my characters depth and also of lifting me out of whatever trouble I create for them.