# What song hit you like a thunderbolt when you first heard it **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [July 2, 2020, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-hit-you-like-a-thunderbolt-when-you-first-heard-it/914065 "2020-07-02T14:19:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Turki-lurki](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/turki-lurki/32/7168_2.png) [@Turki-lurki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turki-lurki)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2020, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-hit-you-like-a-thunderbolt-when-you-first-heard-it/914065/141 "2020-07-17T04:39:32Z")
Witness by Sarah McLachlan. Still not sure what it means, but it speaks to me. ---
**Author:** ![WolfpackJeep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpackjeep/32/2921_2.png) [@WolfpackJeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WolfpackJeep)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2020, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-hit-you-like-a-thunderbolt-when-you-first-heard-it/914065/142 "2020-07-20T14:50:34Z")
I was listening to a now-defunct podcast at work…typically, they would close the show with a random dance song or show tune – nothing too distracting. One day, they ended with a largely a cappella version of “Let It Be” that made me stop in the middle of whatever I was working on; I listed to it several more times, then listened to it several more times on the way home. It was apparently the studio recording of [the same song](https://youtu.be/ZL2joSePem4) from _Across the Universe_. Not quite like a thunderbolt, but I still vividly remember the first music video I ever watched - “The World I Know” by Collective Soul. We didn’t have decent cable at home until I was in junior high school, so I had never really seen MTV even though I had heard of it. Having grown up in a conservative area and attended a religious elementary school, I had thought that I wasn’t missing anything (music television was just a cesspit of violence and sex, dontcha know), and I was very surprised to see a video that had some substance. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2020, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-hit-you-like-a-thunderbolt-when-you-first-heard-it/914065/143 "2020-07-20T21:09:28Z")
In 1985, **kaylasmom** and I were shopping in the Tower Records store in Honolulu, when I spied the album “Vocalese” by The Manhattan Transfer. I knew about the style from Lambert, Hendricks and Ross and Eddie Jefferson, and I knew the Manhattan Transfer had some experience with it (Four Brothers, Birdland), so we picked it up and brought it home. When we put it on the turntable, we were blown away by one song after another. But the one that REALLY knocked our socks off was [_Sing Joy Spring_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vwoa1mp-iu4), Jon Hendricks’s tribute to Clifford Brown’s _Joy Spring_. I, for one, didn’t even fully listen to _Move_ enough to appreciate it until a week later. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2020, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-hit-you-like-a-thunderbolt-when-you-first-heard-it/914065/144 "2020-07-20T21:46:44Z")
I have a history with Gerry Rafferty’s “Baker Street” that doesn’t involve thunderbolts, though there was plenty of other weird weather when it was playing on the air and I had to trudge out to the radio towers in the wee hours to take readings. At a previous (and not as shitty) radio job, a fellow DJ and I schemed to sneak the song into the rotation past the likely objections of our stick-up-the-ass station manager/owner. To accomplish this, I performed surgery to excise the screaming guitar instrumental break, an act for which I still feel mild shame. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2020, 10:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-hit-you-like-a-thunderbolt-when-you-first-heard-it/914065/145 "2020-07-21T10:09:23Z")
[“Living La Vida Loca”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p47fEXGabaY) by Ricky Martin [“Mambo Number 5”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EK_LN3XEcnw) by Lou Bega I guess I’m just not very edgy. ---
**Author:** ![Ashtura](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ashtura/32/2963_2.png) [@Ashtura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashtura)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2020, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-hit-you-like-a-thunderbolt-when-you-first-heard-it/914065/146 "2020-07-23T15:21:32Z")
Poker Face by Lady Gaga. I wasn’t even sure if I liked it, but I was instantly intrigued. What is this Lady Gaga?? ---
**Author:** ![GreenWyvern](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greenwyvern/32/2834_2.png) [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2020, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-hit-you-like-a-thunderbolt-when-you-first-heard-it/914065/147 "2020-07-23T17:34:26Z")
> [@Eclipse\_Chaser](#): > > Allegri’s Miserere Yes, definitely. When I first heard Bach’s _Jesus bleibet meine Freude_ as a teen, I thought it was the most perfect piece of music I’d ever heard: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/T5Df7f_BLU8/maxresdefault.jpg "VOCES8: Jesus bleibet meine Freude - JS Bach") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5Df7f_BLU8) But it wasn’t until this year that I got into Bach’s massive _St Matthew Passion_ (double choir, double orchestra, six solo vocalists, nearly 3 hours long). Many people have called it the greatest work of classical music ever written. I would say it is. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2020, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-hit-you-like-a-thunderbolt-when-you-first-heard-it/914065/148 "2020-07-23T18:32:02Z")
Last night I listened to the full Morrison Hotel album for the first time. Morrison was a dark articulate narcissistic artist. Capable of writing beautiful romantic yet disturbing lyrics. The Spy and Queen of the Highway articulated these two emotions. A lyric from Queen of the Highway is so honest: > [@](#): > > He was a monster > Black dressed in leather > She was a princess > Queen of the Highway https://www.youtube.com/embed/eyjZUR5-tdY?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque&list=PLkLimRXN6NKzvOIS996EEp-YktUOJ9Td6 https://www.youtube.com/embed/BVAXpCJGW50?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque&list=PLkLimRXN6NKzvOIS996EEp-YktUOJ9Td6 ---
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2020, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-hit-you-like-a-thunderbolt-when-you-first-heard-it/914065/149 "2020-07-24T16:14:54Z")
MILD shame?! 🙂 I remember being struck by this song also. For me, it was the searing, yearning saxophone more than the guitar, although that solo too was killer. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2020, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-hit-you-like-a-thunderbolt-when-you-first-heard-it/914065/150 "2020-07-31T14:46:10Z")
For hitting like a thunderbolt, it’s hard to beat “Thunderstruck”. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/v2AC41dglnM/maxresdefault.jpg "AC/DC - Thunderstruck (Official Video)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2AC41dglnM) ---
**Author:** ![Grey4791](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grey4791/32/4042_2.png) [@Grey4791](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grey4791)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2020, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-hit-you-like-a-thunderbolt-when-you-first-heard-it/914065/151 "2020-08-03T22:54:50Z")
Late to the discussion but I’m going to say: “Walking on Broken Glass” by Annie Lennox and “Take Me To Church” by Hozier. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b77776/32.png) [@Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_was_in_Saudi)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2020, 8:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-hit-you-like-a-thunderbolt-when-you-first-heard-it/914065/152 "2020-08-04T08:17:36Z")
On the day I bought my first real stereo, I also bought the Rolling Stones’ _Tattoo You._ The first track is _Start Me Up._ It still takes me back. ---
**Author:** ![BigDfromLA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@BigDfromLA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigDfromLA)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2020, 8:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-hit-you-like-a-thunderbolt-when-you-first-heard-it/914065/153 "2020-08-04T08:56:12Z")
Phil Collins- I Don’t Care Anymore. Just drums, bass pedals and guitar. Unique sound. INXS- Never Tear Us Apart. Amazing start to the song and the greatness flows from there. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2020, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-hit-you-like-a-thunderbolt-when-you-first-heard-it/914065/154 "2020-08-04T18:22:35Z")
This recording of Well, You Needn’t by Thelonious Monk: [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/IQaM-SqDqSY/hqdefault.jpg "Thelonious Monk - Well, You Needn't") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQaM-SqDqSY) I thought I didn’t like modern jazz until I heard it. It changed my mind instantly. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2020, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-hit-you-like-a-thunderbolt-when-you-first-heard-it/914065/155 "2020-08-11T06:38:36Z")
Phil Ochs’ _Crucifixion_, performed by Jim and Jean. ---
**Author:** ![Pheonix1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pheonix1/32/4236_2.png) [@Pheonix1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pheonix1)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2020, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-hit-you-like-a-thunderbolt-when-you-first-heard-it/914065/156 "2020-08-12T00:10:12Z")
Nine Inch Nails “Head like a Hole”. It seemed to express anger and outrage in a shiny new way. 😀 ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2020, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-hit-you-like-a-thunderbolt-when-you-first-heard-it/914065/157 "2020-08-12T00:18:06Z")
Five minutes ago I listened to [Come Out](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVXc9Veo_B8) by **Steve Reich** for the first time. Wow. 🤔 ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2020, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-hit-you-like-a-thunderbolt-when-you-first-heard-it/914065/158 "2020-08-12T00:25:26Z")
Those are good ones, this one hit me: [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/AZQxH_8raCI/hqdefault.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEmCOADEOgC8quKqQMa8AEB-AH-BIAC4AOKAgwIABABGDQgVCh_MA8=&rs=AOn4CLAu8NiQFhRkUzkH9yMSfb7rPHx5bw "Spirit In The Sky Norman Greenbaum") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZQxH_8raCI) Then because i am a Angeleno:[Randy Newman - I Love L.A. (Official Video) - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcADqxnQA_4&list=RDMM&index=3) Then finally: https://www.youtube.com/embed/T9rK3KbzmOI?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque&list=RDMM ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2020, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-hit-you-like-a-thunderbolt-when-you-first-heard-it/914065/159 "2020-08-12T00:26:33Z")
For years I thought the title was _teenage wasteland._ ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2020, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-hit-you-like-a-thunderbolt-when-you-first-heard-it/914065/160 "2020-08-12T00:40:03Z")
Several songs in middle school: Iron Man by Black Sabbath Crazy Train by Black Sabbath Master of Puppets by Metallica Wasted Years by Iron Maiden from that point on I listened to a lot of metal. I’ll second Thunderstruck by AC/DC, but at that point I kind of feel like I had been already listening to a lot of AC/DC. Still a great song. I found Been Caught Steeling by Jane’s Addiction, Angry Chair by Alice in Chains, and But Anyway by Blues Traveler intriguing the summer between high school and college. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-hit-you-like-a-thunderbolt-when-you-first-heard-it/914065.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-hit-you-like-a-thunderbolt-when-you-first-heard-it/914065.md?page=9)