Sonny James Of "Young Love" 1950s Fame Passes At 87

By Seth Garth 

There was a time, a junior high school, middle school time, a time when every young boy and girl fussing with puberty, trying to figure out why that girl that last year’s “stick” girl all of a sudden was “interesting” and that guy who had been constantly taunting that girl all of a sudden had dreamy eyes Sonny James filled the airwaves with his classic song of blossoming, Young Love. Who knows what else he sang, or what happened to him later in life. What was important was that when you were at the school dance your mother forced you to go to learn some social skills (maybe “forced” is too strong once those girls became interesting and those guys had dreamy eyes) you waited, waited until perdition if you knew what the word meant but at least until that last dance, last chance time to go up in all your blushed innocence and ask for that last dance, or waited to be asked. And guess whose song you prayed to the high heavens would be played so you could hold on tight. Sonny, RIP.  And all those youthful dreams too.