4 + 20

After blogging about my friend Rachael's 16th birthday I tried to remember my 16-year-old self. Something major happened to me that year, I remember that. However, I don't remember anything about my 16th birthday and very few details about the year as a whole. I may have an old diary from that time packed away with the other things I haven't seen for ages. It would be strange to read it.

Songs about age sixteen seem to outnumber songs about any other age. They include: Sixteen Candles by The Crests, You're Sixteen by Ringo Starr, Butterfly Kisses by Bob Carlisle, Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen by Neil Sedaka, Sweet Little Sixteen by Shakin Stevens, and Sweet Sixteen by Hillary Duff.

One of my favorite songs about age, but not number-specific, is September Song. Funny how it means more with each year that passes...

But as far as number-specific songs go, 4 + 20 is my all-time favorite. It is one of my few heart songs, the kind that, maybe even for no particular reason, is a song that wrings me from my core and rings so familiar as to seem to be the first song I knew. Know what I mean?

This is a captivating time-warp video of the amazing Stephen Stills performing 4 + 20 at the 1969 Big Sur Festival. I'm running this in tribute to the wildlife, land, and people who have been devastated by the recent and ongoing fires in California. The Associated Press reported on July 18, 2008, that:

Flames swept through 1,413 square miles in the state after a lightning storm on June 20 sparked multiple fires, leading to what officials called the largest fire event in California history...Around Big Sur, the fires swept over 200 square miles of heavily forested land, destroying 27 houses and 34 other structures. That fire is 65 percent contained, and most residents have been allowed to return home.

(I must blog about the Wings Over America concert back in the 1970's where I stood next to Stephen Stills backstage - later!)