Pat Shazam

I miss the days when people used me as their own personal Shazam app.

My sisters in particular used to rely heavily on me when a song came on the radio and they couldn't recall who did it. I miss their desperate late night telephone calls. "Patrick - Who sang 'Expressway To Your Heart'? - I can't believe that DJ never announced it!" Or..."Patrick - Save my marriage, please - tell my dim husband the name of that Betty Everett tune is 'The Shoop-Shoop Song' not 'It's In His Kiss' ".

And then there were the friends who would call (no texting in those ancient times) to see if the Ides of March or Count Five or the Standells ever had more than the one hit they'd just heard. These were substantive questions that I took very seriously. It's been so long.

Why the self-centered ruminating? On my recent vacation - with no phone service, let alone Shazam or Google - a brief return to my glory days. When I asked folks about songs inextricably linked to movies in their minds, someone offered "Up Where We Belong" but couldn't remember the film. "Officer and A Gentleman", replied yours truly. Then, no one could recall the duo who sang it. Although I quickly saved the day there in no tech land, I challenge you to retrieve those two names without Google. If you do so, you can hang with Pat Shazam.