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In 1973, 19-year-old, Canadian Dan Hill wrote a song he hoped would convince his girlfriend to become "exclusive." She was dating several other men at the time.
He poured his heart and soul in to the song, and was quite proud of his composition, but when he sang it to her, she listened politely, told Dan he was too intense, and then moved to North Carolina with an American football player who had just been cut by the Toronto Argonauts in the Canadian Football League.
Ouch, Ouch, and Ouch!
By 1976, Dan had recorded a few albums that had garnered some moderate success in Canada, but had yet to cross the border for a hit in the US.
In a meeting with Sam Trust, the head honcho at ATV Music Publishing, Dan was told his songs weren't quite catchy enough, and suggested he collaborate with American pop music composer, Barry Mann.
(Note: Barry had written a number of "Great Songs," including "I Just Can't Help Believing," "Rock & Roll Lullaby," and "On Broadway.")
Dan gave Barry the lyrics to the song he had written in '73, and told him it was a poem--because he was embarrassed by his "inferior" music.
Less than a day later, Barry delivered a new tune for the lyrics, and after a few word changes--and some trepidation by Dan--"Sometimes When We Touch" was born.
The song was released in late 1977 as a single (from the album "Longer Fuse"), and by early 1978, "Sometimes When We Touch" was the #1 song in Canada and South Africa, and #2 in the USA and Australia.
In January of 1985, Mark Gray and Tammy Wynette released a country cover version that reached #6 on Billboard's Country Chart.
Dan's version is still being played on Adult Contemporary radio stations everywhere... and while some people think its a bit too schmaltzy, Dolly Parton has gone on record as saying it's a song she wishes she had written!
"Sometimes When We Touch" by Dan Hill: a "Great Song of the '70s--thanks in part to a girl who dumped him, and some musical help from Barry Mann.
Mark & Tammy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcnEey8l-dM
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