This romantic, nostalgic song finds a couple reminiscing about their past, recalling favorite songs and memories. It seems to have worked out very well for them, as they are now older but still go dancing in the dark, walking through the park and reminiscing.
There are references in the lyrics to a Glenn Miller concert and to the Cole Porter song "
Night And Day":
Glenn Miller's Band was better than before
We yelled and screamed for more
And the Porter tunes (Night and Day)
Made us dance across the roomThis places the timeframe in the 1940s, indicating that this romance blossomed about 30 years earlier. The kids are probably all grown up with families of their own.
This was written by Little River Band guitarist Graeham Goble, who along with lead singer Glenn Shorrock and the group's other guitarist, Beeb Birtles, was a primary songwriter in the band. Goble was a very focused writer and rather meticulous, which didn't always sit well with Shorrock but resulted in some of their biggest hits; Goble also wrote "Lady" and "The Night Owls."
"Reminiscing" was part of the band's fourth album; they released one every year from their founding in 1975 until 1979, with each one more successful than the last. The hectic pace and personality clashes took a toll though, and Shorrock was ejected in 1981, replaced with John Farnham. The hits dried up a few years later, and in 1985 the band broke up. They returned in 1988 with Shorrock, but never got back to form. By the late '90s, all original members left the group, giving up their rights to the Little River Band name in the process. Guitarist Stephen Housden, who joined in 1981, took control of the name, leading to legal squabbles in the '00s that worked out in his favor. Shorrock, Birtles and Goble started recording as BSG in 2002.
Along with AC/DC and the Bee Gees, the Little River Band was one of the first Australian groups to hit it big in the US, selling over 25 million records and scoring 13 American Top 40 hits. "Reminiscing" was their biggest, reaching #3.
The "hurry, don't be late" section is a great example of the harmonies that were a hallmark of the group, sung by Shorrock, Goble and Birtles. "Graeham was the harmony master," Shorrock said in his Songfacts interview. "He was the Brian Wilson of the band."
This song garnered lots of airplay in America, where for decades it played on lite-rock radio, the kind heard in elevators and dentists' offices.
The song wasn't nearly as popular in their native Australia, where it stalled at #35. The group was surprised when their American label, Capitol, decided to issue it as a single. "We thought that was a bit of a radical song, but it turns out that's the most-played Australian song on American radio," lead singer Glenn Shorrock told Songfacts. "I wish I'd written it."
Unabashedly commercial, the Little River Band took some stick in their native Australia, where some critics dismissed them as "Little River Bland." This didn't bother the band, which considered the criticism a byproduct of their success.
The horn that comes in near the end of the track is a flugelhorn played by the Australian musician Bob Venier.
If the opening bars of this song sound eerily familiar to you, and you grew up in Southern California in the late-1970s/early-1980s, rest assured - you're not going crazy! As confirmed by the folks
over at IMDB, an instrumental version of "Reminiscing" was used as the theme to (channel 5) KTLA's
Family Film Festival, hosted by Tom Hatten. However, it was used without permission, so they eventually replaced it with their own jazzed-up theme and intro. Tom Hatten also hosted
The Popeye Show on the same station, drawing cartoons between episodes. This might be why you flashed on a mental image of Olive Oyl or Swee' Pea as soon as you heard the hook!
This song was covered by fellow Australian rockers Madison Avenue in 2001. Their version when to #9 in Australia.
