I like to make different playlists on YouTube. Sometimes I want my meditation playlist with mellow songs. Other times I like my post-colonoscopy list, which is all my favorite songs ever. I also have a Michael Jackson playlist and a summertime playlist.
I’ve been looking for a certain song for my whole adult life, really. Every time I’ve heard the song, I loved it. It’s been in movie soundtracks. But I didn’t know the name of it and I didn’t know who sang it.
“Just Google it,” my adult child said.
“But how would I?” I asked. “I don’t know any of the words.”
“There’s an app for that, Shazam.”
“But you have to catch it while the song is playing,” I said. “I never hear the song playing.”
I tried the Motown groups from the 60s. I listened to all kinds of groups for hours – the Platters, the Four Tops, the Drifters, the Cadillacs, etc. I couldn’t find the song anywhere. Then I bought 100 Motown Hits CDs to see if it was on there. Nope.
Today I was at a bunch of wine tastings in Suisun (Passport Sunday) on a second date (longest second date ever, but that’s another post).
We were eating our lunch in the back yard of the winery when the song came on over the loud speaker.
“OMG,” I said, jumping out of my chair. “This is the song!”
The three people I was with had no idea what I was talking about.
I headed over to the wine pourers and asked the closest one if it was a play list coming through the speakers.
“Yes,” he said.
“Do you know the name of this song?” I asked.
“Hold on,” he said.
The guy went inside the house and looked at the title on the computer playing the playlist.
He came back and announced, “It’s The Oogum Boogum Song by Brenton Wood.”
“Thanks!” I said. “This wine tasting was worth it just for that!”
I am so excited to add the Oogum Boogum Song to many of my playlists. It has shown up in my life at times that have given me good memories, no matter how fuzzy.
The bonus is that when I searched for the song on YouTube, I discovered that Brenton Wood also sang Gimme Little Sign, another great song that I remember. Again, good fuzzy memories are associated with that song. I danced to Debbie Harvey’s mom’s Elvis records in their basement when we were ten. Maybe some Brenton Wood 45s were mixed in with the Elvis ones.
I Googled movies with Oogum Boogum Song in them – Devil’s Due, Almost Famous, Love, Simon, Poms, Lethal Weapon, and Beverly Hills 90210.
It was an interesting day. Although I don’t drink, I had a pretty good time. The three people I was with were fun to talk with, and we did a lot of talking, hours and hours of talking.
Now I know that the elusive song in my memories is The Oogum Boogum Song.
P.S. When I visited Sis today in the care home, I asked her if she had owned either of the two songs and them played them for her. It turns out she had the 45 of Gimme Little Sign, and since it came out in 1966, that meant we three sisters were still sharing the long skinny half-story room with the stairwell up the middle. That’s why I remember it!
FIRST DATE, WORST DATE EVER! 