When I was 4, 5 at the latest, I burst out crying upon hearing The Carpenter’s Rainy Days and Mondays for the first time. I was in the playground of what had to be pre-school during recess when, I assume, one of the teachers put on the local top-40 channel when this was on.
It was the loveliest thing I have ever heard in my life… until then, of course. It was a sunny day, warm, and when I heard the song, it literally stopped me in my tracks. I just stood there dumbfounded, finally bursting into tears, unable to explain it to the instructors, just shaking my head furiously, the way 5 year-olds do when overwhelmed.
48 years later, I don’t remember it as if it were yesterday, once more, but it’s still there, pretty indelible in my minds eye and a perfect candidate for this discussion.