Song: "Sister Christian"
Writer: Kelly Keagy
Original Release: October 1983
Band: Night Ranger
Album: Midnight Madness
Our daughter is pretty good at navigating the frequently divergent tastes of her parents. There are interests she shares with Mom but not me: costume dramas, stinky cheese, mushrooms. There are interests she shares with me but not Mom: Star Wars, superheroes, power ballads. She was especially shocked when she found out her mother doesn't care for the song "Sister Christian."
"It's okay," I reassured her. "Not everyone likes awesome things." And so, a family running gag was born.
"Sister Christian" was by far the biggest hit for Night Ranger, a hard rock band based in San Francisco. Lead singer and drummer Keagy wrote the song about his younger, teenaged sister, distressed about how quickly she was growing up. The song title is the result of a mondegreen. Keagy's sister was actually named Christy but guitarist Jack Blades heard it as "Christian" which stuck.
The song plays during an absolutely bizarre scene in Boogie Nights. I love the fact that the tape stops in the middle of the song - a completely obsolete technological concept now. Apologies for the adult material in the clip, definitely a leap beyond my blog's usual PG-13 standards but well worth it.
The band does a fantastic acoustic version:
I know I like the song, but I'm really not remembering how it goes, right now. And I can't listen to it at the moment.
ReplyDeleteOf course, now it's bugging me.
I trust you will soon and all will be well.
DeleteThis is a pretty good power ballad. It's not my preferred genre of music, but this song is somehow memorable. It sticks with you.
ReplyDelete