Rock critic

I'm watching the Grammy awards as I write this. Paul McCartney's performance just ended and it reminded me of seeing him for the first time with the Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show. I just Googled the date of that performance: February 9, 1964.

One morning in the weeks after that, but before the birth of my younger daughter in early March, my firstborn daughter sat on my very pregnant stomach, facing me as I lay back in bed and held her hands. She was 23 months old at the time and this was a ritual for us. Each time, I would tell her I loved her, then I would ask, "Who do you love?" Her answer, always, was, "I yuv Mommy." Except for that one time. That time I said, "Who do you love?" and she answered, without hesitation, "I yuv de Beatows...dey sing good."

But that isn't the end of the story. The irony is that her music appreciation skills eventually paid off. The tiny "Beatows" fan grew up and moved to New York City, where she made her living for more than a decade as a writer for a major music magazine and authored a book about a hugely popular band.

Listen to your babies; they know what they like.