If Michael Pedicin, Jr. Only Knew

Sometimes I get very stubborn when I want something. It's just one of those silly things about me. Such is the case with my collection of jazz songs on my itunes.  It was about ten years ago when I embarked on this mission to transfer all my CD's into itunes. I reached about 6,000 songs when I decided that all the songs that I couldn't live without were already on
my itunes list with the exception of a few jazz and Filipino dance swing CD's.

One of the missing songs was You by tenor sax player Michael Pedicin, Jr. This song was released in late 1979 and radio deejay, Brother Wayne, played the hell out of this song. It is perhaps the sexiest song ever played on a sax. It got me through the courting phase with my first girlfriend, the "honeymoon" phase of daily letters and marathon phone calls to the very day she broke up with me - four months later and right before the end of my sophomore year in high school. You got me through the heartbreak. It's one of those songs that felt so good because it made the feelings hurt even more. Puppy love, perhaps, but it sure didn't feel like it back in 1980.

So I went searching for a digital copy of this song - in Manila, Paris, Hong Kong, New York, Milan, Chicago - I practically searched through all corners of the world to no avail. Then a miraculous thing happened about three or four years ago. Searching through the internet, I discovered a first generation fan site for Michael Pedicin, Jr. It wasn't much of a website but it included a contact email. I emailed the "contact" and inquired about purchasing a digital copy of the album. To my astonishment, Michael Pedicin, Jr. emailed me back and told me that he had a digital copy of the album! I sent my payment along with a short testimonial of how much I love the song. A week later, a brown padded envelope addressed to me from the artist himself arrived. He hand wrote everything including his apartment address in LA. I am not much for idolizing people, but this one was special.

I regret throwing away the envelope and for not asking Michael Pedicin, Jr. to autograph the CD cover, but at least, the CD was intact and is now forever stored in my collection. "Happiness is You... "