Can you remember where you were when you first heard a particular song?
In 1986, I was standing in an electronics store in Tottenham Court Road, during my lunch-break. The store was relaying a particular radio station over its Tannoy system. As I was contemplating the stack systems all around me, the commercial break on the station came to an end, and a song started up, one I hadn’t heard before.
I was mesmerised by it. It was brilliant. As it progressed, I thought to myself, “Hmmm…….sounds like Paul Simon singing.”
I had been a fan of Simon and Garfunkel since my mid-teens - in fact, their Greatest Hits was the second LP I’d ever bought, in 1978. I’d also seen them live at Wembley Stadium in 1982, a week prior to the Stones. However, Paul Simon solo hadn’t been doing very well in recent years. None of his albums had done well, and neither had his singles. He was ‘yesterday’s man’, as far as most people were concerned.
I stayed in the shop until the song had finished, curious to find out what it was. “That’s the new one from Paul Simon - YOU CAN CALL ME AL,” announced the DJ. My suspicions were confirmed.
“What an amazing song!” I thought. “Too bad people won’t be buying it because it’s Paul Simon.”
Little did I know what a huge smash it was going to be, turning his whole career around in the process.
(Incidentally, I’ve just checked the song on Wikipedia, and discovered the following two facts about it:
Simon allegedly wrote “You Can Call Me Al” after he went to a party with his then-wife Carrie Fisher. A man at the party kept calling Paul “Al”, and Carrie “Betty”, inspiring Simon to write the song.
The song features an unusual bass solo from Bakithi Kumalo, in which the second half is a reversed recording of the first half.
Did anyone else know the latter?)
There are several other songs that, when I hear them now, immediately take me back to the moment of initial discovery - SHINE A LITTLE LOVE by ELO and STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN by Zepp are just two others - whereas I couldn’t tell you when I first heard the vast majority of the songs in my head. They just always seem to have been there.
Any similar situations out there?
22/02/2008 at 02:45 pm
Being just a young good looking teenager at the time (with hair !) and not really knowing what paul Simon looked like, I actually thought that in the video, Paul was the one singing, and kept woundering who the other guy was !
I can think of plenty of times a particular song takes me back to a certain time and place. Be it a particular holiday or specific occasion. Useful for doing the “name the year” on the pop master quiz
I can remember hearing 2 4 6 8 Motorway (Tom Robinson band ?) whist I had a day off school with ear ache, and wanting to turn the sound up but couldn’t. My ear seems to give a throb evertime it’s played (not often enough)
Another time, Sade had Smooth Operator in the charts at the time I was in the Air Cadet learning to to fly a glider. I can remember singing it at the top of my voice when I was doing my solo flight, in an effort to keep my nerves under control ! I can still picture myself sitting in the cockpit whenever it’s played.
Funny, the more you think, the more tunes and times come to you.
27/02/2008 at 08:36 pm
There are so many songs that remind me of places and/or certain people.
Going back to c.1970 (can’t be too sure of year and yes, I am old) I remember going to Ally Pally roller skating on Saturday mornings with my sister and hearing Liquidator and Elizabethan Reggae playing each week.
The freezing cold was partially eased by the mass of people queueing and the crush to get in the door in the first place was diabolical. I remember my sister having to hang on to me for dear life in case I got trampled underfoot.
Getting through the doors early was essential to get the best skates, otherwise you were left with wonky wheels and snapped laces.
Now whenever I hear them it brings back many fond memories…happy days!