Magical Mystery...Tune

For the past five or six years, I have been torturing myself trying to unravel the mystery of an unknown '60s rock song. This has surely happened to you. You hear a song on the radio, love it, and the DJ fails to identify the artist or song title. As a naturally curious, obsessive-compulsive prone Scorpio, my mystery song haunted me. I was unable to recall anything about the song that would enable me to Google it and determine its identity. The only lyric I could recall from my beloved song was I love you, which, in pop music identification, is absolutely and utterly useless; you'd have better luck finding a mystery song with the word 'the.' The only real elements of the song that would help me narrow it down were male vocals, an organ, and a soulful, dance-y beat.

I downloaded one unknown song after another from the time period. I plowed through mix CDs. I tuned into oldies radio online. I hummed the tune to countless friends, who generally responded sympathetically; good-natured mocking often ensued. No one recognized the song (most likely because my singing voice leaves something to be desired).

A few weeks ago, as I was drifting off to sleep, a '60s rock compilation infomercial (hosted by a Brady Bunch alum, natch) played on the television. After hearing a few familiar notes. I opened one eye and turned towards the screen. The caption scrolled by and my jaw dropped. The...song...was...identified!!! Like any logical person, I threw off my blanket, jumped out of bed, fumbled for my glasses, skidded on my socks over to my laptop, and immediately downloaded the tune.

I no longer feel impotent. However, I do feel a bit silly because I've had quite a few (other) Grass Roots tracks in my iTunes for years, and I never connected the mystery song with the band's sound. In any event, now you, too, if you are so inclined, can listen to the mystery song: THE GRASS ROOTS: MIDNIGHT CONFESSIONS. Is it the best song in the world? Not necessarily. Does it hold a special place in my heart? You bet.

P.S. Strangely enough, just days after solving the case, I read about new software that will identify your mystery song: All you need is a microphone, an Internet connection, and a willingness to serenade your computer. Make it happen.