Thank you all SO much for sending in your goosebumps memories. Judging by the response we've received, this seems to have been a very popular feature with our readers ... and we may revisit it from time to time (or permanently post the remarks on the other Forgotten Hits website along with all of your "First 45" memories.) By all accounts, a rousing success ... so thanks again.
I suppose this list could easily be expanded to include "magic moments" ... let's face it, we all have THOSE, too ... a song that brings you back to a particular time or event ... some special, life-changing moment that will always be associated with that particular song ... a memory so vivid it's like it's happening again today.
Doesn't really matter WHAT it is ... the first time you did you know what with you know who ... or just cruisin' the boulevard the first time you heard such and such. A special dance ... a major personal moment ... again, it really doesn't matter WHAT it was ... this particular piece of music reached out to YOU and just grabbed your soul ... it SPOKE to you ... it took hold and never let go.
I suppose this list could easily be expanded to include "magic moments" ... let's face it, we all have THOSE, too ... a song that brings you back to a particular time or event ... some special, life-changing moment that will always be associated with that particular song ... a memory so vivid it's like it's happening again today.
Doesn't really matter WHAT it is ... the first time you did you know what with you know who ... or just cruisin' the boulevard the first time you heard such and such. A special dance ... a major personal moment ... again, it really doesn't matter WHAT it was ... this particular piece of music reached out to YOU and just grabbed your soul ... it SPOKE to you ... it took hold and never let go.
I'd like to share one of mine always comes to mind. Again, we have to go back to high school ... senior year ... and a classmate and I (Mike Krejci this time) were doing The Hike For Hunger, a fund-raising walk (31 miles!) where people pledged so much per mile and the money collected was donated to an organization helping to feed the poor and the homeless.
I had done the walk the year before ... but for some crazy reason Mike and I decided to RUN the 31 miles our senior year. Although we had both been on the track team, we weren't especially close ... but this was back in the day when they sat you alphabetically in class so Kotal and Krejci were most often next to or near each other.
They would have mile stops to rest, use the bathroom, get a drink of water, etc. (Funny in hindsight ... this was 1971 and before the days of "bottled water"!!! lol) We stopped at the last mile marker and I won't lie, I was beat. It was hot out that day but we both "hosed down" and got a drink. Just as we were about to take off again for the final mile, "Love Or Let Me Be Lonely" by The Friends Of Distinction came on the radio there. It was incredible ... inspirational ... an ANTHEM if you will to finish the race. (And it wasn't even a race ... we were the only two idiots who decided to run it instead of walk it!!!)
But aptly inspired, we decided to SPRINT the final mile! And all fatigue disappeared ... this song pushed us through ... and to this day whenever I hear it (which, let's face it, isn't all that often anymore!), I am taken back to that very special moment and that very special place. No romance ... no life-changing event ... just the right song at the right time that spurred us on to finish up in a flurry.
Honestly, I'm not even sure we were the first two to finish the walk ... and, with most pledges at about $0.10 per mile, I certainly didn't break any monetary records that day in the way of donations ... but I felt good, knowing first of all that I had help participate in a good cause ... and that we stuck to our guns to run the 31 miles. (kk)
There is something special about this music that grabbed us back then ... held on and never let go. MOST of the rest of the world moved on ... they may have had a special moment back in the day (whatever year it may have been for them) but then they got involved with other things (life has a way of doing that sometimes ... always getting in the way of the things you really love!!!) and while a certain song may still hold a special memory (and even make them smile ... or perhaps bring a tear to their eye), it probably doesn't hold the PASSION that our special group of readers have come to associate with this music. We are a select group of people, bound together by this passion for this music and its very special memories ... and THAT's what makes this whole thing work.
One thing I've learned over all the years of doing Forgotten Hits is that virtually EVERYTHING I thought that I did alone ... or was in some way unique in doing or experiencing ... other kids all over the country were doing the exact same thing at the exact same time. All of us, unrelated in every other way ... unconnected and, in most cases, never destined to meet ... we all fell in love with this music and it still has that hold on us today. Sneaking the radio under your pillow at night to listen to another hour of music while your parents thought you were sleeping ... able to recite verbatim the lyrics to every song you heard back in 1964 - 1969, even if you haven't heard it SINCE that time. THIS is the make-up of our Forgotten Hits list. Special ... unique ... maybe just a little bit crazy (yeah, I've always wondered why it is that I've retained SO much useless information over the years ... that still means the world to me!!!) ... but this is who we are.
Thanks for sharing your goosebumps moments with us. Maybe we'll revisit this topic from time to time (or continue to post new arrivals to the other Forgotten Hits website) ... but like we said from the beginning, YOU guys know what they are ... and you guys know what they meant. So thanks again so much for sharing.
kk
Kent Kotal
Forgotten Hits
