Oftentimes people think of music from their childhood as childlike.  On the contrary, I would say that the music I associate with my own childhood is that of bands such as Led Zeppelin and Santana.
My dad always made sure I grew up listening to rock — all kinds, but mostly classic. If we were on a road trip, we were jamming to artists like the Who, Jimi Hendrix, Heart, the Eagles, and Aerosmith.
And then I hit puberty. I was suddenly uninterested in having to hear what sounded like noise to me when I just wanted to car-dance to Britney Spears and P!nk.
Needless to say, my dad was unimpressed. There was a trip we took to Hawaii where I made him listen to Vanessa Carlton and Alicia Keys while we drove around the entire perimeter of the island. Within reason, he gave up on the hopes of turning me into a classic rock lover.
Eventually, though, I grew up, along with my music taste. Slowly, I began to revisit these bands on my own, and Led Zeppelin and Santana were the two that stuck with me.
There is something about Led Zeppelin’s music that speaks to parts of my soul I didn’t even realize existed. I could lie down in my bed, simply soaking in every cymbal, every guitar strum and every lyric sung by Robert Plant’s distinct, sultry voice for hours.
If there happens to be a Zeppelin song I haven’t heard yet, Jimmy Page’s instantly recognizable guitar combined with John Bonham’s drums and John Paul Jones’ bass will clue me in even before Plant starts singing.
They have a sound that is completely their own, and the quantity of their lyrics is obsolete in comparison to the quality. Led Zeppelin’s music proves that music does not have to be clustered to make you think.
Santana has always been the kind of feel-good, spicy Latin rock that makes me want to let my hair down, close my eyes and sing and dance to my heart’s content. One of my favorite albums will always be Supernatural, and I am always in the mood to listen to it. Their music has also taught me to sing in Spanish — something I found my Mexican grandmother and Puerto Rican grandfather to be proud of.
It wasn’t until a year ago that my dad even realized that my favorite musicians were the ones he unknowingly influenced me to listen to before I began to appreciate it. Now that I’m older, we bond over this music every time I go home to California during breaks from school. Before I left again after winter break, he gave me one of my favorite possessions: a special Rolling Stone all-inclusive edition called “Led Zeppelin: The Ultimate Guide to their Music and Legend.”
Sharing our love of one of the greatest things in existence, music, has made our relationship stronger and more meaningful than it has ever been. And I have Led Zeppelin and Santana to thank for that.