This First Person article is the experience of Heather Morrison, a theatre artist, CBC producer and mom in Saskatoon. For more information about CBC’s First Person stories, please see the FAQ.

This month the world learned the sad news that Canadian musician Les Emmerson, composer of anti-establishment anthem Signs, had died.

My mom, Linda Holmes, doesn’t remember how she met Les. She says it was probably after one of his concerts, back when he was still performing with The Staccatos. 

This was the mid-1960s and my then-16-year-old mom wouldn’t often hear rock music on local Ottawa stations. Instead, she would lie awake