William Tell Overture (aka: The theme song from The Lone Ranger)
A 30-day Series of Music Memories
I can’t say I hear William Tell Overture with any frequency anymore, but it was playing in the background of something recently, and the song immediately took me back in time.
Growing up in the desert-surrounded suburbs of Las Vegas, I lived in a neighborhood with a pretty tight-knit group of kids. I was closest with TJ. He was a couple of years younger than me and lived right over the back wall.
On Tuesday nights, TJ’s parents would take a station wagon full of us neighborhood kids to the roller skating rink. A couple of songs take me back to the actual skating rink, but just like with life, the journey getting there is just as, if not more, important.
The back seat of their station wagon was folded down so that it was just a big flat surface with the rear cargo area. Anyone coming along needed to be at their house by a certain time.
We’d all pile into the station wagon, and as soon as we’d take off, TJ’s dad would put this cassette mix tape on, queued up and ready to theme our night out.
As soon as the first note played, our little bodies filled with excitement and energy. We called it “The Lone Ranger Song,” and it was TJ’s favorite song then. We’d…
