Song #176: "Somewhere"--As Performed By Rachel Witham (2013)

When I first heard this song, I hated it. How's that for a starter?  :)

My first real exposure to it was when Barbra Streisand released it as a single around the end of 1985, and, when I finally got my first airshift on WUPE-FM on Sunday February 9th, 1986, which was from 2am to 8:30am, it was the song on the cart at the bottom of the heavy rotation slot.

That meant two things.

1) It was next to be played.

2) The DJ's on before me and the Saturday Night oldies show likely skipped it so they didn't have to play it.  :)

So, it was the first song I ever played on FM commercial radio, having NO idea how important the song would become to me, 27 years later.

Fast forward to 2013. Glen Allen High School's spring musical is going to be "West Side Story". Our director decides to create a scene with Tony and Maria where they dance together to the song "Somewhere", and he needs to cast a "Somewhere Girl" who would appear at the top of a scaffolding to sing as they romantically danced.

Rachel gets cast as "Somewhere Girl". We're all excited about it.

And, then, I go and have a heart attack. What an idiot!

Thanks to the grace of God, and the incredible work of both Henrico County Engine Company 15 and Memorial Regional Medical Center, just ten nights later, I am sitting at Glen Allen High School watching the dress rehearsal for "West Side Story", and out she comes.

And I fell in love with "Somewhere" in the middle of a puddle of tears.

There are a million reasons to be alive. Some are much greater than others. I learned a new one on April 18, 2013.

Note: Barbra gets the call out of the bullpen since I don't have a copy of Rachel's. It wasn't allowed due to copyright restrictions.  :(