Ouch!! I’ve Memed Myself....

Following Nice Mike, JanetLee & Jason’s example….I thought on five songs that take me back in time. There are many that stir particular feelings within me, but only a few that allow me to recall vividly a particular period of time.

Le Freak – Chic. In the late 70’s, my Dad ran a mobile Disco. When he had a gig on the weekend’s he’s bring me along to help. I didn't care much when he played for highschool dances, but loved Summer evenings on the old Folly pier where Under the Boardwalk was and is still popular in this area. Dad always had to listen to the weekly top 40 countdown and would get 45’s of songs in the top 20 to give away each night. In 1978 Le Freak was in the top 10 for the year and I do recall it being played often with blue and yellow strobe lights bouncing off a mirrored Disco Ball.

Roller Derby Queen – Jim Croce. My husband and met at the Mills House Hotel where we both worked. Carroll Brown played in Papa Bears Bar – The Best Friend lounge quite regularly and we got to know him quite well. When we would go out on our days off, it was often to some other place where Carroll Brown played. The Summer of ’92 we often went to Joe’s Seafood Emporium. It was great fun….and at least once the entertainment and friends wound up in Shem Creek! Rumor has it that the band’s coffee had been spiked with Schnapps – that and maybe the Summer heat had a little to do with it. One evening, my not yet hubby wanted to hear Roller Derby Queen. Sooooo, I went up to Carroll and whispered the request in his ear…I didn’t want to have to yell over all the ruckus….and then gave him a peck on the cheek. After that EVERY time Carroll Brown saw me walk into a room, he’d break into Roller Derby Queen.

Wicked Game – Chris Isaac. This one is a little sad and difficult, but it is a part of who I am.. When I turned 21, I broke off a five year relationship with a gentleman I was engaged to marry. Joe was becoming an alcoholic and it was too emotionally taxing to compete with a drink. A few months later he tried to convince me that he could change and one morning I went out to my car where he had placed a single rose in my seat and when I started the car this song was playing by his arrangement. Five or Six years later he killed himself. He left a note telling me to shut the door. This is what he heard when I use to tell him Je t’adore.

Mambo Italiano – Rosemary Clooney. My daughter loves this song. I will never be able to hear it without thinking of her. Since she was six, she will play this song ten times in a row and get the whole family to sing it at the top of our lungs with animation while we dance wildly about the room....sometime she even let's us listen to the rest of the songs from the "Big Night" soundtrack.

Let’s Stay Together – AL Green. Papa Bear’s eyes go soft when this plays. It makes me think of all the wonderful times we have shared together – From our first date watching the sun rise at Folly with a bottle of Champagne (this is not outrageous considering at the time he was a night bartender and I was a night auditor – we generally slept during the day back then) to holding our children that very first time. Just thinking about the song and Papa Bear makes my eyes go soft too.