"This Diamond Ring" by Gary Lewis & the Playboys

Yet another song that I can't believe I haven't posted before!  This song is now associated with two epic events in my life:

This is actually the first record album I ever bought with my own money.  Prior to this, my parents or grandparents had always paid for it when I wanted a record album.  I can still visualize the record rack there in Wangsgards on 2nd Street and Washington Blvd. in Ogden, Utah.

And then earlier this year, when I received an reply to my first "coming out" email, which I had sent to one of my dearest friends Stefanie.  I read her reply and it was so loving and accepting.

I put this record on and when the first notes played I just broke down crying.  It was a delightful, wonderful, happy cry.  I was so overcome with emotion.

I don't think it had any relation to the song itself, it was just hearing those notes that I've loved for 50 years, coupled with the love and acceptance I felt.

I was pretty scared at that point, not knowing how people would react.  I picked Stefanie because she has always been such an amazing and loving woman.  I had no doubt that she would be accepting of my change.  I think it was just seeing it there in black and white that filled me with emotion.

And now I'm crying again just telling the story  :)

I decided to get the total experience again, so I dug out the record and I'm listening to it now.  At first I thought something was wrong with my mixer because there wasn't anything coming out of the right speaker.  After fooling around with it, I realized this was one of those records from the early days of Stereo where, they hard panned instruments and/or voices left or right.  I hate those early Beatles records where the instruments are all in one channel and the vocals are all in the other.  Yuck!

I notice the audio in the "Topic" video, from the Liberty/Capitol Complete Collection is in mono.

Note: the one 45 in the video is one of the cheap (?) ones where they didn't affix a color paper label, but instead printed the label right on the plastic disc.

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhfrvqLwWpY
YouTube (45 RPM): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_S9f8YuR3jU
YouTube (45 RPM): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvNPNIuFl1g
YouTube (vinyl LP): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzp8g4Is9NU 
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKTOizdhan8
YouTube (lyrics): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLI5O3R1Ap8
YouTube (Live TV): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZeuYdkxS7DA
YouTube (live TV sync): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfoqTnsXJ20
YouTube (live 2014): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4wixoqiH1w