The Green Tape

When I was a little girl, my dad would pick Stacy and I up from school every day. Throughout our childhood, he played the music that he loved on the radio and a variety of mixtapes. The tape that saw the most rotation in his old Chevrolet Lumina, however, was the one my sister and I called "The Green Tape."

"Play the green tape, play the green tape!" we'd demand.

We called it that because, you guessed it: it was green. The kind of dingy green cassette you might find in a box in the back of your parents' garage. According to my dad, he got the tape at an old music store in 1990, where they had a giant, klunky machine filled with records that you could use to make your own mixes. The song selections cost about $1/song, and there was a hefty wait time while your creation compiled.

Doo-wop, pop, rock'n'roll, country, and spoken word... this playlist has a huge variety from the 50's and 60's, the decades that most influenced my father. And what came out of that machine became the soundtrack of my childhood.

The tape is now lost to the ages. It may still be in the glove compartment of that beat up Chevy, getting renewed love from a new owner. Back in 2004, Stacy dug around online to find each and every song on the playlist, presenting my dad with the old Green Tape mix, now in the form of the Green CD. Today, the songs reside within my 3rd generation iPod Nano. It evolved with the times while the songs themselves still throw back to the past.

Enough chit chat. Below, please enjoy my very favorite playlist, The Green Tape.

The Green Tape Mix

1. "Hushabye" by The Mystics
2. "Old Rivers" by Walter Brennan
3. "Just a Matter of Time" by Brooke Benton
4. "The Unicorn Song" by The Irish Rovers
5. "Where or When" by Dion and the Belmonts
6. "It's a Lovers Question" by Clyde McPhatter
7. "Where the Boys Are" by Connie Francis
8. "Tragedy" by The Fleetwoods
9. "Sh-Boom (Life Could Be a Dream)" by Crew-Cuts
10. "Only You" by The Platters
11. "My Special Angel" by Bobby Helms
12. "Come and Go With Me" by Dell Vikings
13. "It's All in the Game" by Tommy Edwards
14. "26 Miles" by The Four Preps
15. "Peggy Sue" by Buddy Holly

My family has a running joke that I can't listen to track #2, "Old Rivers," without crying. And they're right! I attribute my lifelong sappiness to the fact that this song played on repeat so frequently during my formative years.

I created a streaming list here to cycle through the entire 'mix tape,' or you can play it below. It is truly one of a kind, and the nostalgia factor is so off the charts, it simply must be shared.



{cassette art via Mollie Bryan} {playlist by Charles Johnstone}