ClayManiacs

 :heart Happy Valentine's Day!!! :heart

I KNOW Clay is our #1 Valentine.   heartburst  And aren't we all lucky that we have a date with him on Valentine's Day?????   smoochies  What could be better than that?????   :bouncy

Although I know it is hard to remember life WITHOUT Clay..... I thought it would be fun to share who was in our heart before Clay, and why Clay bumped  :bump  him/her out of there.

I will start.

First, I MUST say, that I have NEVER been this involved or taken with a celebrity in my life.  I was caught up in the Beatles craze as a child, and loved Paul.   :fangirl  But nothing like this!!!

I will say that I was a Barry Manilow fan for many years.  Not that he has a "great" voice, but I LOVED his romantic songs, and his personality and his stage presence.  He never thought he had a great voice, but the thing is, he knows how to deliver a  song from his heart.  So I must say...he was a long time favorite.  My favorite song of his is Weekend in New England.  When this song was popular and being played on the radio, hubby was stationed in Iceland and we were to get married when he got home.  I couldn't get enough of this song.  *sigh*.....Young love.....  Many other of his songs touched my life in one way or another.  Another one that was a big part of my life is Even Now.  It reminded me of a boyfriend I had before hubby.  Even though it would have never worked out, I cared very much for him, and this song reminded me of him for a LONG, long time.  Maybe even til today.   :blush  So I would say, Barry was in my heart.   :heart

But the other VOICE that I have loved over the years, and do until this day, is Art Garfunkel.   :thud  I know....many people thing he is a little different.....Maybe he is.  But the VOX!!!!!  It is to die for.   :clap Besides the many successful years with Paul Simon, Art had some success on his own.  And those songs were marvelous.  His voice is SO beautiful.....and somewhat haunting.  I challenge you all to listen to BOTW by Art, and then Clay.  They are BOTH beautiful in their own way.  I would DEFINITELY say that Art was in my heart.   :heart

But I NEVER listened to them day and night, night and day, like I do Clay.  I can never explain the difference, but it is there.  As I and many others have said before, Clay can soothe the soul.  No matter what, when I hear his voice, I FEEL better.  He is in my iPod, my portable CD player, my CD player, and my car.  I won't let him get too far away from me.   :lol  But he has stolen my heart with his voice, his personality, his humanitarianism, and his doggone good looks!!!!!   :thud  So thank you, Jimmy Kimmel, for allowing us all to have a date with OUR favorite Valentine on Valentine's Day!!!  (_{sorry, hubbies...)}

Can't wait to hear what YOU all have to say!!!
Woodstock :bouncy

Debbie, great topic, and I love your post - so heartfelt and I always knew you were a big romantic! 

heartburst

I have a feeling there will be quite a diverse group of answers for this one, and I can't wait to see them.  I'll share mine later...I might have to go find a photo or two.  :giggle

Great Valentine Topic!

Neil Diamond was the only other singer that really became a part of my life! (You guys know what I mean) ~  I belonged to his fan club FOND - Friends of Neil Diamond -  :blush  The only information that was available was a monthly newsletter.  The yearly fan club fee was $6.00.  My kids heard Neil's music playing in our house through their "formative" years.  Fortunately, two of my very good friends and also my two sisters were fans (but maybe to a lesser degree) so it didn't seem "weird" to drive 6 or 8 hours round trip to Chicago for a concert.  I always saw him through binoculars  . . . never close up seats  . . . . but a couple of times the sound of the music was deafening - in a good way!  I probably saw Neil in concert about 15 times over the years.  I sat in a thunder and lightening storm and also drove on ice to get to a concert.  The last time I saw him in concert was in 2001 in Milwaukee.

Neil's concerts were exciting.  His fans were wild.  He would never have an opening act or an intermission.  It was always 2+ hours of Neil Diamond.  He took every opportunity to tell his fans how important they were to him.  And they responded with their loyalty.

Loved the Beatles, Simon & Garfunkel, John Denver, Bruce Springsteen. . .  so many over the years!

In the summer of 2005, Neil Diamond had a concert near Milwaukee.  That same night, I was in Clio, Michigan, at a sold-out concert of Clay Aiken!  :smile

I have (and still do) enjoy other singers.  In the past few years, I have seen Elton John, Josh Groban, and Michael Bolton in concert.  I buy CD's of other artists, also.  I would go to see James Blunt in concert if given a chance.  Taylor Hicks will be in Green Bay (30 miles away) in March    . . .I'm not interested .  .

No surprises here, I guess . . . there is something about Clay Aiken that separates him from the rest  . . . and I definitely will be sticking around for the journey!  heartburst

Barbara

I always loved Elton John.   :blush  I remember that when I graduated, I had to name my favorite song for the yearbook.  Mine was, "Your Song".  I think it helped that my boyfriend at the time used to sing it to me. :lol

I, also, liked the Beattles, Barry Manilow, and Neil Diamond. :wink  I had all of Simon and Garfunkel's records, too. :wink

I liked some groups besides; such as The Who, Bread, Chicago, and The Eagles. :shrug

Great topic, Debbie!!  :clap :clap

The only other fan club I belonged to was the Captain and Tennille fan club back in the late 70's early 80's. I still have the newsletter packed away somewhere. I remember listening to "Shop Around" on the jukebox while my parents played cards with my grandparents at their friend's bar in Ohio. I think I still have their album packed away somewhere as well.

And Neil Diamond! I loved him! When I was little my mom had to put "Song Sung Blue" on a cassette to repeat or I wouldn't go to sleep at night. I've since taken her to one of his concerts.  He's still one of my faves.

I remember listening to a Donny & Marie Osmond 8-track in the car on road trips from Florida to Ohio and I loved their variety show.

Other than that I don't think there was anyone I spent a great deal of time on like I do with Clay. But of course there wasn't the internet back then like there is now.  :bigsmile

WOW!!!  I LOVE your responses!!!!!   :clap :clap :clap

And guess what???  I LOVE all the artists that you loved!!!!!

WiscBarb - "I am I said......"     :thud

Deanna - Your song..... :thud

Michelle - I always thought Toni Tennille had one of the most underrated voices in the business.  I LOVE all of it....but my favorite is Come In  From the Rain.  (is that the right title???)

Can't wait to hear more!!!!!
Woodstock :bouncy

Oh! Yeah! I liked that one too, just didn't appreciate it til I was older  :wink

I also loved the Carpenters. What can I say. It was the 70's  :lol

Michelle - I LOVED the Carpenters, too.!!!  I saw them in concert at college before Karen died.  What a sad thing......

OMG.....all these memories.....
Woodstock :bouncy

I have always have loved all forms of music - and, being from Memphis, I grew up around a lot of rock and roll history. But loving music and buying it are not the same as being really invloved with someone and their career. I haven't been involved as a fan since the Beatles and the Rolling Stones (was a fan club president for them when I was in high school!  :lol ). During the Independent Tour, I would lurk here during cell certs and just feel awful because I was "too old" to go to concerts - boy has my opinion changed!  :lmao His Clayness has changed me forever - for the better, I think! He has brought back all of the fun I had at 16.

Debbie...thanks for starting this thread...I never really thought about the singer alone..I always went by the words of a song..I had lots of songs I love so I guess the artist where important to me too...I was trying to remember what the heck I listened to before Clay...when I was a youngster( many years ago)..I loved Cat Stevens...many of his songs now remind me of being a teen....being young and in love....and even some troubled times...like "wild world"( I think that was the name of the song) and John Denver...he wasn't to cute butII loved  "country rodes" sunshine on my shoulders" and other but those are the ones that come to mind...Neil Diamond was another singer I loved too...

I went back and looked at something I posted on an old thread...I think the name of it was something Like   before Clay...and I wanted to repost it here..it kinda tells my story...


I laughed when I read this today.....but I still feel the same way....