1st time I heard this song...I was like...

[GOS]

I remember playing my parents vinyl of Jimi's "Smash Hits" in my bedroom and thinking it sounded otherworldly. I was about 5 or 6, maybe 1980. Thankfully I grew up in a house that played a lot of music and most of it good. Jimi still managed to stand head and shoulders above the rest. He still does, if I'm being honest. lol

OMG. 5 or 6 in 1980? Damn, now I really do feel old. Fugggg
In 1980, I was driving through ditches and plowing into mailboxes. Well, so I've been told. lol

 

[marpow]

Sinead O’Connor-Nothing compares to u.
I was broken up, living in a studio, had MTV on while I was cooking my breakfast and I just sat down on couch stunned to the core.

 

[GOS]

Sinead O’Connor-Nothing compares to u.
I was broken up, living in a studio, had MTV on while I was cooking my breakfast and I just sat down on couch stunned to the core.

Oh yeah. Her version on that tune is massive.

 

[stoopid]

Standing in a convenience store in 1986 and I hear the opening chords of a song that are a direct throwback to Chuck Berry but louder and fuller. Singer comes in and he is energetic, powerful and ready to add some roll to the rock. He keeps going and I notice a definite twang to the voice, which, to me, adds credibility.

Next thing I know, the drums, bass and lead guitar all come thundering in and this song is taking off right now! Big drum sound, metronome of a rhythm guitar track and some wailing lead guitar. I’m thinking, holy shit, who are these guys and what else have they done?

I stood in front of the beer cooler until the song ended, but this was an FM station, so no song ID followed. I grabbed my Schlitz Malt Liquor tallboys, went to the counter and asked the clerk what station was on.

Got home, cracked a tallboy, called the station and the DJ told me it was a great new record by the Georgia Satellites and the song is called “Keep Your Hands to Yourself.”

Next day, I head out to The Shoppe in Berea and grab the album. To this day, one of my all-time favorites. All killer with one song of filler.

For anyone who thinks the hit was a flukey hillbilly one- hit, take time to hear the album and you will find some timeless gut-bucket rock and roll. It includes a great cover of “Every Picture Tells a Story” by Rod Stewart. FYI, their second album is average (the classic case of having five years to write the first album and nine months to make the follow-up) and their third and final album, “ In the Land of Salvation and Sin” is mature, clever and rocking as hell.

A memory I will never forget, at least until dementia kicks in…

If you haven't, check out Paw's "Dragline" on youtube. Jesse was the only hit song on it, but they were basically the Georgia Satellites grunge. Very similar thing, sneaky good too.

 

[Fourplay]

On the Run by Pink Floyd changed my world for the better.

 

[Clement]

I was a junior in high school, driving with my friends and smoking bowls. We headed to a Burger King to sate our munchies. "Look At You Look At Me" by Dave Mason came on WXRT. None of us had heard the song before, so we didn't know it was nearly 8 minutes long. We hit the parking lot of the BK just as the closing guitar solo started. Although we were all starving, we couldn't leave the car for almost three minutes until the last majestic note faded into the night and the dj told us what we had just heard. All of us picked up the album the next day!

 

[dr. simple]

I’m not just patronizing @GOS here, but “Crazy Train” and “More Than A Feeling” would definitely also make my list. I have to add “The Spirit Of Radio”. 1980, freshman year of high school, ALL music was still new to me, but THIS - Rush - was something completely different.

 

[paligap]

The first time I heard this song I must have been 9 or 10 years old in our station wagon in a parking lot. I didn't know what the hell it was, but I knew it was on a whole other level than the music that usually came out of the radio.

 

[Willie Wilson]

If you haven't, check out Paw's "Dragline" on youtube. Jesse was the only hit song on it, but they were basically the Georgia Satellites grunge. Very similar thing, sneaky good too.

I went on Tidal and took a spin through the album. I really liked it. The singer is different and his vocals sound great. You are right about sneaky good. I can see diggin this more as I listen more. You have to love a band that writes a song about a dog that is a life lesson as well. Thank you for the recommendation!

 

[Willie Wilson]

OK, no laughing here. The first time I heard Bridge Over Troubled Water was at a local funeral of my dad's friend. My dad was a very good singer and in big demand in our local community. He sang that song at the funeral, and I remember just thinking. Fuck. I was probably around 10 years old. It made a lasting impression....

That’s heavy shit at 10 years old to see your dad stand up and deliver at a funeral. As you said, that kind of thing sets a tone.

 

[jamoke]

1969 - Whole Lotta Love just blew me away. Had heard nothing like it before.

 

[Mr. Afternoon]

My earliest memories involve being shocked at Divertimento in D Major, K. 136...yeah I think I was doomed to a life of audio enthusiasm from the start!

 

[key_wiz]

I was 10 years old. This was the first 45 single I ever bought. (Well, my mom paid for it, but it was the first one that was MINE) I was blown away that the song was a ballad in the verses and an upbeat dance tune in the chorus. I had never heard anything like that before.

 

[boxhead]

1969 - Whole Lotta Love just blew me away. Had heard nothing like it before.

Neither had anyone else!

 

[Stephen W Tayler]

Blown away!!

2 important singles that caught my attention, not just the songs but particularly the arrangements and sounds

Itchycoo Park by The Small Faces
and
See Emily Play by Pink Floyd.

Set me off on my journey in sound!!

 

[mandrix]

The Cascades - Rhythm of the Rain (1962) ....yeah I'm older than dirt.
Not remotely heavy, but I had a crush on a classmate at the time.

also,
The BeeGee's - I've gotta get a message to you

 

[gvl_guy]

Sinead O’Connor-Nothing compares to u.
I was broken up, living in a studio, had MTV on while I was cooking my breakfast and I just sat down on couch stunned to the core.

Agreed. I still get choked up every time I hear it. And I'll cry if I watch the video -- especially knowing the pain that poor woman went through.

The first time I heard The Sound of Silence by Disturbed I was like . Took that Simon and Garfunkel tune to an entirely different level.

 

[ar surround]

1969 - Whole Lotta Love just blew me away. Had heard nothing like it before.

Yes, yes. That was the first Led Zeppelin song I ever heard. It was a WTF is this moment. It is still a wild ride (lol) for me. I’ve always rated it higher than Stairway to Heaven… believe it or not.

 

[stereoptic]

Israelites by Desmond Dekker. I was 12 years old and not familiar with Reggae, it sounded so exotic. I got the 45 for my birthday that summer.
The first time I heard Good Vibrations by the Beach Boys I was riding my bike with the transistor radio looped on the handlebars. When the part where it slows down and the organ starts playing I thought that the radio had shifted over to another station!

 

[JerseyEd]

"It Can't Happen Here" from the Freak Out album. I had a friend who would always bring over albums I had never heard. One day he brought over Freak Out and I thought "what is this gonna be"? When ICHH came on I couldn't stop laughing. That was the start of my love of Zappa.