Iguana was a rehearsal studio next to the original Stud across the street from Hamburger Mary's. This was during the Plague, though I was insensitive. (More precisely, I was afraid.) I only thought of south of Market as my personal berlin of art and excess.
Debbie and I agreed to jam with Kathy at Iguana and she arrived with her Hofner and a sheaf of songs.
Momentary pause: Look up "sheaf"...
Yes, it's sheaf: "Bundle of things laid loosely together..." - The Concise OED
We played "Rules and Regulations" and maybe "Secretary Sacrific" and we gave "Conventioneer" a stab, but that one never floated. ("I wish I was a conventioneer, I'd wear a nametag, and drink a beer." - words & music by KP)
I may have proffered - excuse me one moment...yes, that's the word - "You Touched Me", which had a working title of "Love At the Mab" - hmm, maybe that should be revived - because I had begun to go to shows at the Mabuhay Gardens after work. The club was on Broadway and I worked at KPIX in its new location at Battery and B'way. (MUCH MORE IMPORTANT: Phyllis Diller worked at the original KPIX, I guess in the late 50's. She is one of my pantheon, near the top, a HA!)
Where was I?
At the Mab.
The song I wrote called You Touched Me takes off from the She Touched Me changed to He Touched Me and recorded by another of my goddesses. Barbra J. Streisand. Now here this, I don't sit at home crankin' Color Me Barbra on the stereo, but I got into her big, when I was twelve or so, big because her television specials were works of art A - R - T. Upshot of that enthusiasm was all the aunts and uncles gave me Barbra Streisand records on that one Christmas. I was disappointed at the excess and monotheme, but my family liked a joke, especially around giving nieces and nephews presents that would torment their parents. I had received a bongo set the Christmas or two before and my mother responded by giving my seven year cousin a functioning carpentry set.
As this blog thing definitely stimulates blabb, I'll finish this confidential by saying after all these years, "I hope I didn't parody more than eight measures."
The melody is the same, count, count, count, beat, beat, beat, ohthankgod, it's only five measures.
The story of the song came to me as I was sitting at one of those little cocktail tables at the Mab, looking at the punkers and punkettes drifting into and around each other, and the fantasy of a girl singing:
You touched me
You put your hand in mine
You touched me
I felt a certain tingle when
You touched me
Oh why did I come here in the first place
Sometimes, I put myself in disgrace
Some respect is what's coming to me
Oh never mind
It was all a dream
When you touched me
In a warm warm place
You touched me
The blood rushed to my face
When you touched me
Why did you leave just when I got hot
I can't believe you could have forgot
Certainly the one who fell was me
If I was smart
I'd get up and leave
But you touched me
- most of the words and most of the music by Mary Kelley copyright 1979
We made a 45 and this was the B side.
Here's a link, but think first, "Do I really need to know about Ira Levin and Milton Shafer's musicals? And how Elliot did one of their shows and Barbra recorded the song on My Name is Barbra, Two?"
http://zvbxrpl.blogspot.com/2004/05/obscure-musical-of-week-drat-cat.html
He Touched Me (words & music by I.Levin & M.Shafer)
He touched me,
He put his hand near mine
And then he touched me
I felt a sudden tingle when he touched me
A sparkle, a glow
He knew it...
It wasn't accidental, no,
He knew it
He smiled and seem to tell me so all through it
He knew it, I know...
He's real, and the world is alive and shining
I feel such a wonderful drive toward valentining
He touched me, I simply have to face the fact
He touched me...
Control myself and try to act
As if I remember my name
But he touched me...
He touched me...
And suddenly nothing is the same!
'Cause he touched me...
He touched me...
And suddenly... nothing, nothing, nothing is the same!