There are songs whose impact is so strong upon first listening that you remember the first time you heard them on the radio. You remember exactly where you were. You remember exactly what you were doing. You remember that "wow" moment.
It's a specific life moment captured by a song. And it's all yours.
In the autumn of 1978 when I first heard the Kenny Loggins Stevie Nicks duet "Whenever I Call You Friend," I experienced that moment. It was pure pop heaven.
Whenever I call you "friend"
I begin to think I understand
Anything we are
You and I have always been ever and ever
I see myself within your eyes
and that's all I need to show me why
Everything I do always takes me home to you ever and ever
When I later learned Loggins co-wrote the song with Melissa Manchester, I wondered why they never recorded it together. As the story goes, record company executives were to blame. I'm not surprised.
Manchester recorded her own version of the song, a more soulful version with singer Arnold McCuller. It's quite different from the Loggins version yet quite beautiful.
Sweet love showing us a beautiful light
I've never seen such a beautiful sight
Sweet love flowing almost every night
I know forever we'll be doing it right
Now I know my life has given me more than memories
Day by day we can see
In every moment there's a reason to carry on
I always wondered what a Manchester Loggins duet would sound like. As the 80s tuned into the 90s into the 00s, I began to lose hope.
Nearly forty-five years later the musical Gods finally got them together and the result is pure musical bliss. The addition of saxophonist Dave Koz uplifts the song even further. It's fun, rollicking, everything I thought it would be, and more.
Here it is in all its glory:
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