For wanting things that can only be found...

Certain songs take me to far-away places. For example, "It’s Not Unusual," which takes me back to warm early evenings in a small kitchen in Shavertown, Pa.

And so much more.

I once saw Tom Jones in Las Vegas, circa 1990. And although he sang "It's Not Unusual," I can remember nothing about it. The rest of the evening was predictable: Supper Club theatre, lots of older couples dressed to the nines. Even the proverbial scene of ladies throwing their underwear on stage; he would dab some sweat with them and then toss them back.

One other thing that stands out is that he had a chancre sore on his lip that night. "No kisses," he said.

But to this day, the other night actually, when the song comes on (which is becoming more and more rare), I am instantly back at our kitchen table in 1965, with my brother's transistor radio accompanying our supper.

This ritual happened every night, and I still wonder why my parents allowed it. The music hindered conversation, and they claimed to dislike rock and roll.

Or did they?

Maybe they were just waiting again to hear "It's Not Unusual," which is seared into my brain like no other as the song from our kitchen.

I looked up the song's history and had no idea it featured a piano player named Reg Dwight, who is better known as Elton John.

Also, "It's Not Unusual" reached number one in May of '65, but it must have been in heavy rotation into June and July because its horn-driven, good-time vibe brings back summer -- screens in the window, eating dinner on the back porch, the smell of freshly-mowed grass, talking nonstop about the Top 40 with neighbor Cathy Balavage, youth, my parents.

Family.

Strictly 100: Number 28 - Tom Jones, "It's Not Unusual"