Music from "Feels Like the First Time"

     On December 5th 2006,  I sat down to write the first chapters of what would eventually become Feels Like the First Time. Before I wrote the first word,  I made a playlist for my iPod. I put the songs on it that reminded me of that innocent time in my life. For the next five years, I never sat down to write without having those songs playing.
     I started every chapter with a quote from one of the songs of the era. So many of my memories of those times were indelibly linked to the music of the day. Some people have a photographic memory. I seem to have a "phonographic" memory. To me, the music of the 1970s seemed like another character in the book.
     Eventually, I learned that those chapter lead-ins were in violation of Copyright law, and so I had to replace them. Although lyrics are protected by Copyright, song titles are not. So, I replaced the quoted lyrics with the titles of songs I was listening to during each phase of the story. I didn't make any mention of it in the book, because I didn't want to distract from the story, but I wonder if everyone realized that every chapter title is also a song title.  
     Just in case you missed any of them, I thought I would list the chapter titles, along with the artist that performed the song.

Chapter One - Where True Love Goes by Yusuf Islam, otherwise known as Cat Stevens. I named this first chapter after this song because it's what I was listening to when I pulled up to Bill & Bea's and saw Dawn for the first time in 27 years.


Chapter Two - A Long Time Ago by Jim Croce. I originally used this song for a lyric from it: "I am young, but I am so alone." Once I abandoned the lyrics, I kept this title because I love Jim Croce and because this is the chapter that re-set the story back to the 70s.


Chapter Three - Great Expectations by KISS. Another song where I originally had used a lyric instead of the title: "Do you want to play the role?" was such an appropriate line, because, yes, I did.


Chapter Four - Younger Girl by The Lovin' Spoonful. Dawn and I loved The Spoonful and listened to them a lot. This song perfectly captured what I was feeling when John Sebastian sang "Should I hang around, actin' like her brother? In a few more years, they'd call us right for each other."


Chapter Five - Just a Song Before I Go by Crosby Stills & Nash. Another lyrics place-holder. I wanted to use the line "And when we opened up the door, I had to be alone." Since I spent much of this chapter unconscious, it felt appropriate.


Chapter Six - Feels Like the First Time by Foreigner. Our first date, first kiss, perfect song.


Chapter Seven - Dazed and Confused by Led Zeppelin. I love Zep, but mostly I was looking for a song title that represented what I felt watching my Mom go through her most difficult times.


Chapter Eight - Magnet and Steel by Walter Egan. I feel this so strongly, then and now, and I love Walter Egan, who is mostly forgotten today.


Chapter Nine - Always and Forever by Heatwave. This was an easy one. This is what Dawn and I always thought of as "our song."


Chapter Ten - Lose Your Heart by Bob Welch. The truth is, I had to find a Bob Welch song to include, and the title of this one fit this chapter so perfectly. I knew I had lost my heart, but had she?


Chapter Eleven - Hot Summer Nights by Walter Egan. Losing this lyric hurt the most of all of them. Walter's words "We shared our hopes, our dreams and our goals/and the fundamental roll." I love it so much, I'm looking for an excuse to call another book or story "Fundamental Roll."


Chapter Twelve - Love is Like Oxygen by Sweet. Sweet is another 70's favorite. I love their combo of pop sweetness and muscular rock n roll. I wish anyone was making music like this today.  If they are, feel free to drop me a line and let me know!


Chapter Thirteen - Slip Sliding Away by Paul Simon. Until this chapter, everything in my life had been getting better and better. This is where it started to slip away.


Chapter Fourteen - Breakdown by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. And, this is where it really fell apart.


And... that's enough for one blog post. I'll do the last half of the chapter titles another day.