Funny story, folks: When I was a freshman in college, I needed to take an elective my freshman year. It was second semester and I was suffering under the delusion – despite a staggering volume of evidence to the contrary – that my singing voice hadn’t been lost or destroyed by puberty. It had merely been buried somewhere deep down inside. So, I signed up for “Beginning Voice.”
For our final, everyone in the class picked a song. I chose Chicago’s “Follow Me” initially, as my speaking voice had deepened just enough that I knew I had no business attempting a Peter Cetera song – and if I was going to tackle a Bill Champlin song, I wanted one with a bit more pep and energy.
The music teacher who accompanied myself and each of my classmates on piano was unfamiliar with “Follow Me,” but admitted he’d played 1984’s Chicago 17 to death in his youth and was very familiar with “Remember the Feeling.”
Despite my reservations, he talked me into it. I did the best I could with it and admittedly, one good thing did come out of it: The experience completely disabused me of the delusion that I still had even a passable singing voice. That is the “feeling” that I “remember.”
But I’ve digress. Much like that music teacher, I too played Chicago 17 (and 16 and 18) almost incessantly after I made the mental switch where my allowance went from paying for GI Joe figures and toys to paying for cassettes and later CDs.
I absolutely loved “Remember the Feeling,” Cetera’s vocal delivery was spot-on and it showed that he and Champlin didn’t just have exceptional vocal chemistry. They also had a strong songwriting chemistry, as Champlin contributed to this track.
The biggest mystery for me, and the thing that still leaves me scratching my head about this song, is why “Remember the Feeling” was never released to radio. I’d argue that it was a stronger song than “You’re the Inspiration,” which went on to become this album’s third single. If anything I thought Cetera delivered a stronger vocal on “Remember the Feeling.”
Perhaps it was just a matter of songwriting royalties. After all, Foster had a hand in “You’re the Inspiration” but not on “Remember the Feeling.” Despite being a stronger song, it might not have padded Foster’s bank account nearly as much as “You’re the Inspiration.”
On the other hand, by not releasing “Remember the Feeling” as a single, those who bought Chicago 17 for the singles were in for quite a pleasant surprise at the end of side 1 of their LP or cassette.
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