Julie, I feel Moonie's pain. I. still feel the awful pain of just losing my mommy. I could not picture my life without her.

My Mom loved Nat King Cole...but don't remember her favorite song. Hugs, Moonie.

My heart goes out to those of you who’ve lost your mother. XO

My mom was always open to new music, but during her last days she enjoyed reminiscing about her own dear grandmother playing the harmonica for her, when she was a little girl. She loved this:

Mom generally did not care for "songs", or vocals, by and large, but she loved piano music. Chopin, and Scott Joplin. Those come to mind right now.

She HATED "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds", especially after it was pointed out to her that the initials might mean LSD. (Her name was Lucy.) She could deal with some Billy Joel as we grew up and brought it home.

My parents never had a stereo or any music in the house other than the Yule Log thing on Channel 13 (PBS) at Christmas when we were kids. The radio was for news. It wasn't that they found music "morally objectionable", they just didn't really care and no stations played a constant level of Chopin/Scott Joplin -- or, for Dad, Wagner -- to make either of them happy.

(Edit: It was me who introduced her to Scott Joplin when I bought an album in college. She loved that. However, when I made her a mixed cassette tape for their car, she really only listened to it if I were on board, but she did come into my room at home when I played it there, and was appreciative. I think music was something if she liked it, she'd appreciate it around, but she had never ever gotten into the habit of needing to HAVE it, so it was something of an afterthought...)

My Mother’s favorites were Clair de Lune and Scheherazade piano solos. I used to play them for her now and then as they both were my recital pieces at one time when I was in middle or high school. She passed away in 1995.

I have to note, since I was severely introverted at a very young age, Mother made sure I got acculturated, and took me to both HAIR and Jesus Christ Superstar, on Broadway, when I was in my teens. I ended up enjoying both, especially the latter (and found out about 15 years later someone who then became a friend of mine, that she'd performed in the former).

NOTE: Mom (and I) both loved Scheherazade piano performances, too! Again, she'd never listen on her own per se.

The song I heard my mother sing more than any other was Go Down, Moses.

My mother was born in small town Arkansas in 1927. She lost her little sister to diptheria and after that her father felt guilty for not having gotten his girls vaccinated. They got her vaccinated right away and both parents began plying her with all sorts of health wafers, elixers, and oils in hopes of fortifying her health.

She felt sorry for the poor kids around her who had nothing to eat after school but sweet potatoes, but in adulthood told me she thinks they were actually eating healthier than she was, who came home to a snack of buttered toast and jam.

Mom was very curious about a woman who lived in the woods by herself and was a lone lumberjack. The woman was disdained by the townspeople, but Mom admired her, and admired her all the more when, during the Depression, the woman organized a labor union of sorts for lumberjacks. In her late seventies, Mom wanted to research the union (I can't remember the name) but did not do so.

Mom got a scholarship to study journalism in Missouri where she met a Catholic man studying petroleum engineering and married him which shocked and angered her family, both parents and extended. Her father's mother came to really love my Dad, though. Sweet.

Mom raised six children, gardened much the same way I do --ornamentals, fruit, and vegetables. She was the only one I knew who gardened organically, using much compost and mulch.

She worked on newspapers, in advertising, in a TB hospital, and as a secretary for insurance offices and factories. She once wrote a letter for a job that was advertised basically and non-Evangelicals need not apply. It was not really an application, but because of the letter's human connection and humor, the job advertiser called to offer her the job anyway. (She declined.) That was in the days before anything like EEOC.

Mom organized a mile long Fourth of July parade every year when I was a child. She painted a little, doodled a lot, especially while on the phone. She was not a good cook until her later years when she quit overcooking every thing to limpness or dryness. She answered questions about spelling for me as she hung laundry on the clothes line.

Mom had a deep singing voice. Sounded good with Go Down, Moses.

Matthias, your sweet potato comment reminded of a time my mother was trying to give me a lesson in compassion and gratitude.

When I was about 8 we were in a very poor area in central America. The housing and living conditions were atrocious. As she is explaining how poor and hungry these people are and how fortunate I am, i pointed to some women and asked my mom that if they were hungry, why were they so fat. With shock and outrage on her face she hissed, "because all they eat is rice!". She was so disappointed in me but i thought it was a fair question.

Sweet memories -- are you capturing them for your family? Do your children or heirs know your own favorite songs?

( With my weird taste in music, I've sometimes thought I'd better make a list of artists I like. I don't want to be in the old folks home stuck listening to nothing but "Greatest Hits of the 70s, 80s and 90's"! )

My mother passed in 1997. Her favorite song was Peace in the Valley by Red Foley.

My mother was no singer by any stretch, but if she was in a good mood I'd hear her singing "Fly Me to the Moon" now and then. I don't even think she was a Sinatra fan but she liked that tune.

Let's Call the Whole Thing Off (it was my parents' song, and they did eventually get divorced....) She died in 2006.

My mom has not been gone that long, I miss her terribly. Mom loved to dance! If it was a good song to dance to she liked it. She loved zydeco and blues and country and a little rock and roll. She was a great dancer. I inherited her love of dance, I mostly chair dance these days. LOL

I don't know Mom's favorite song. I'll have to ask her. I know my mother and father's song was Autumn Leaves. Too bad they ended up getting divorced! Recently she was singing a song I 'd never heard before that she remembered from church when she was a kid called Count Your Blessings, Name Them One By One. I found it for her on youtube and that song was an earworm for me for days!

I don't know if she had a favorite, but I do remember her singing around the house -- "I'm in Love with a Wonderful Guy" from South Pacific, and "Que Sera, Sera". There were others but I can't remember them at the moment. She loved Shirley Temple, but I don't really remember her singing any of those tunes.

I remember Andy Williams, Dean Martin. No specific songs.

Frank Sinatra singing, "More than the greatest love the world has known...."

Mom never said. She passed last year. She could play monster mash on the guitar, and i remember her listening to Mr. Sandman an awful lot. She liked the oldies station but i never remember her stopping and saying she loved any one particular song.

My Mom was a singer and had her own radio show. Singing was and is a large part of my life. All of us sing but none as good as she. My Dad also had a beautiful voice and they would sing together. We got song sheets each week and learned all the new songs, we played instruments as all her siblings did so we carried on and my fondest memories is singing with her while washing and drying dishes. Her favorite song was Let me call you Sweetheart. I have tapes of them singing it to each other. When we get together as a family we sing and laugh and act like silly fools and it's the best time of life. FYI my Dad's favorite was Old Scotch Mother Mine which he sang with his Scottish voice and I always shed a tear at that as he left Scotland at age 19 and never got back to see them again. The sacrifices he made for his seven children used up any excess money. We were blessed to have to happy, healthy and faithful parents who adored each other. They're gone but my sibs and I are the very best of friends, we spend lots of time together.

yayagal What a wonderful story. I'm glad you and your siblings are close and continue to make memories.

I don’t know how to respond to all the stories. There is no comment space when I’m reading along until I come to the end. I just wanted to add my thanks for your stories and give you something to think about. I have friends who are homeless and PTSD from the Vietnam war. I like to get together with them on holidays. The hardest holiday for them is Mother's Day. They miss their mom’s who they never got to see much after the war. Sad worth doing something with this information if you can.

My Mom loved Dobie Grey, drift away. She loved music, but like in all other aspects of her life, she was opinionated. She was determined not to like Country. I secretly wonder if that was because my Dad liked it. They divorced abut 25 years ago. When she was visiting last year I played Johnny Reid. She asked, oh is that a new one by Rod Stewart? , who is one of her ultimate favourites. When I told her it was Country, she wouldn’t listen to it again.

Chisue, great description of your family upbringing. My mother in law was off the boat Irish. There were 7 children in her family. When her parents both died (of tb) the children were all separated, some to Australia. Mil was able to stay with a slightly older sister. She had to work at 12 instead of school. Then she met fil, they married and moved at first to New York and then Canada. She never, to the day she died, recovered from being so poor. They would have house parties for someother expats. Always a lot of home made music. Singing and dancing. Fil would play guitar and she would sing the old Irish songs. Fil would sing the raunchy songs for a laugh. They sure didn’t have a lot but. managed to make the most of what they had.

Have no idea, but I GUARANTEE it's sung (and written by) Neil Diamond.

I love "Deep Purple" -- also operettas and the sentimental schmaltz of Franz Lehar, like "The Merry Widow". (Now humming, "Delia, oh Delia, witch of the wood...") I loved the popular bits from Verdi operas before I knew who he was or that it was opera.

Kathyg_in_ mil

i know it’s late to thank you for telling us your mom’s favorite song sung by Frank Sinatra. I am trying to start it. “More than the greatest love I’ve ever known.” Without cheating I tried to put the emphasis where it belongs and she would laugh if she heard me. I know the song. It’s a good one. I just need to start it with someone. I’m narrowing in on it.

Annie Deignaugh, when you said, "Deep Purple", my first thought was of the rock band and I thought, "Wow! Her mom was very modern!" I must admit I got rather a surprise when I went through my late mother's record collection and found a Jimmy Hendrix record I'm pretty sure I never heard played.

The song I associate with my mother is "Pennies from Heaven".

My mom is a piano player and has a decent choir voice. I would be surprised if she as ONE favorite song. At 84 she still plays and sings along. Those of you who were close to your mom, who felt confidence in her love and support of you are very blessed. We don't all have that.

I have no idea what my Mom's favorite song might have been. But after reading through this thread last night, I went to bed with "Let Me Call You Sweetheart" firmly entrenched in my head! Or, as some of you call it, an 'ear worm'. That term always makes me think of the ear worms in cobs of corn. They are disgusting!

Rusty

My Mom's singing was a part of every day she was alive, I think. There were verses from many, many tunes interspersed with verses from poetry or children's games each day. My sister and I were just yesterday reminiscing about some of our childhood memories of Mom's little ditties. She didn't seem to do much of what would be the songs of the 'day' so to speak. She did sing a lot of Hymns, and Dad often joined in. My favorite to hear, and I believe hers to sing, was Whispering Hope. As my sister and brother and I grew up, we often joined in. Mom was alto, Dad bass, brother tenor I was/am soprano as is sister.

I never heard my mother sing, though she had a piano and could play it.

However, I do recall my father singing many songs of his generation . The ones I remember are what he made up as he rocked whoever was the baby at the time. As I grew older I realized he was singing to my mother, whose name was Mary Shields.

He liked to sing "Mary is a Grand Old Name." Some he made up such as "We'll go bobbin' around to Shieldsville." There were others which I have forgotten, but it made me happy to realize that there was still romance in their busy, depression era lives.

Didn't know her favorite, but I remember my mother saying "Oh, I love that song!" when we heard Me and Mrs. Jones in the car. I was shocked because it was about a couple having an 'affair'. Don't think she really paid attention to the lyrics. She died a few years later in 1977.

My mother passed away in 1989 at age 89, and we had her favorite song, "Rock of Ages" played at her service.

Too many. Artists? Yes. Patsy Cline, Peggy Lee, Pearl Bailey, Mahalia Jackson, Dean Martin

My mother's favorite song was "Goodnight, Irene". Her name was Irene. When Dad was on the radio, and later, when his band worked "gigs", he would always play/sing that song for her. When she passed in 2009, we played it at her Celebration of Life.

Wanda_va. Oh my your story is the sweetest, tearjerker. I bet everyone needed a hug.

My mother died in 1978 at the age of 47. Growing up there was always a record playing on the "hi-fi" console. Harry Belafonte, Copeland's Rodeo, Mel Torme and she was always singing Allegheny Moon but if I had to pick one of her favorites, it would have to be "Yellow Bird" by either The Mills Brothers or Harry Belafonte.

My daughter not only knows my favorite songs, she has sung and recorded them for me. She's has a beautiful voice.

Jodi_SoCal your mom liked songs I like. Making recordings of your daughter singing your songs is such a thrill. I think mom's and kids should sit down and make copies of their favorite songs. Some day it will be important.. I wish I had that.

Annie, I've always really liked "Deep Purple", but my association is with the up-tempo 70(s)? version. I'm trying to make myself get out for a walk so I'm not going to look it up now.

Sadly, I don't believe I ever asked my mom what her favorite song was. I know she liked music, especially the music of her time and that of Barbra Streisand, but I don't remember her humming around the house.

I was the same way. I didn't know other than the family watched singers on television.

Mom passed away in 1990 at the age of 92, and a couple of her favorite songs were The Old Rugged Cross and In the Garden. She played them whenever she had access to a piano and loved just singing them to my younger developmentally disabled sister.

I love The Old Rugged Cross. I remember when Elvis Presley sang old fashioned religious songs with his band AFTER a concert. There are many others who sing that well but he brought them to my attention. I bet your mom taught herself to play the piano.

My mother loved snappy tunes like “King of the Road” or “Alley Cat” and slower ones like “Moon River”. She had audio hallucinations late in life and those tunes really annoyed her because she couldn’t control them or even recognize some of them.

FlamingO in AR I never heard of such a hallucination. I'm sorry she couldn't enjoy the music after a while. Though it seems I like the music of all the moms here.

Sam Cook--You Send Me

My Mom loved the song Tangerine and more currently when it came out Lady in Red. https://youtu.be/q-JDUnZv1N0

Cherryfizz I love big band music too. What a sophisticated song against Lady in Red a song I should record. Thank you for sharing.

Annegriet. Watching Aretha Franklin funeral and all that Motown music. Definitely my era. Are you watching it? I love your mom’s choice