The Danleers – One Summer Night By
The first time I re-entered “One Summer Night,” it was past midnight, the kind of late when an apartment’s pipes…
Oldies Songs
The Searchers – Don’t Throw Your Love Away
I first hear it the way many people did in 1964—at least, that’s how it plays in my mind’s ear.…
Bad Finger – Come And Get It
I first met “Come and Get It” the way many people did: cresting out of a car speaker on an…
The Beach Boys – God Only Knows
I remember the first time the French horn entered—soft as a door opening into a brighter room—and the world around…
Jim Reeves – I Love You Because
I can still hear the faint bloom of strings before the voice arrives—the kind of soft, curtain-opening swell that tells…
Fats Domino – My Girl Josephine
There’s a moment, barely a measure in, when “My Girl Josephine” stops being just a record and becomes a room.…
The Toys – A Lover’s Concerto
The first time I heard “A Lover’s Concerto” on a late-night broadcast, the radio felt like it was breathing. There…
The Byrds – I’ll Feel A Whole Lot Better
I first remember “I’ll Feel a Whole Lot Better” arriving like a window being cracked open in a stale room.…
The Shangri-Las – Give Him a Great Big Kiss — sass, swing, and streetlight romance
I first hear the whisper before the snare hits. A breath, a grin you can practically see, then the famous…
The Crests – Sixteen Candles
It starts the way many lifelong loves begin: late-night radio, a single voice reaching across snow and static. “Sixteen Candles”…