On Thursday, August 5, 1999 at 3:00:00 a.m. UTC-4, Bill Pires wrote:
> I'M STILL DESPERATELY SEARCHING!!
> Does anyone recognize the lyrics to this song, know who the artist might be
> or what the song title might be? I can only remember some of the lyrics as
> follows:
> "You're my light in the night in the darkest hours,
> you're my rainbow after the rain.
> You're as beautiful to me as a desert flower,
> you take away the pain.
> You came into my life,
> you became a special part of me,
> now you've got the very heart of me,
> and I wanted you to know,
> you came into my life."
> I heard it only twice over 13 years ago, and never heard it since! It was
> so long ago since I last heard it, but I do believe it was a male vocalist.
> It was a ballad-like song (circa late '70's or early '80's is my guess). I
> probably heard it on an "easy listening" radio station. It's a song that
> touched both my wife and I deeply - I've tried searching sporadically over
> the years, but to no avail. Our wedding anniversary is approaching and I
> would love to present her with a copy of this song.
> I know it's not "Dreams" by Fleetwood Mac, "Three Times A Lady" by The
> Commodores, or "How Deep Is Your Love" by The Bee Gees as has been
> previously suggested...
> ANY help would be very much appreciated!

My goodness, you can't believe how relieved I am to find this post, some 21 YEARS later. I have been looking for this song for most of my life, and until now, no one else has ever heard of it. I still haven't found it, but it's comforting to know that at the very least, I didn't imagine this tune out of thin air (as I've been accused of doing on some occasions). If you've ever found the solution please do let me know. This is the last, greatest, white whale of my childhood.

For the record, your recollection of the lyrics maps almost perfectly to my own. In my memory, there is also a second verse that runs something like:

You came into my world,
when I really wanted you,
When I really needed you,
and I realize... (this particular line I can't recall).

Otherwise, it's all here. And the singer is a male singer. Time frame would have been mid to late 1970s. It's a country crossover song--originally country and western, but crossed over into pop at the same time songs like Wildfire by Michael Martin Murphy were popular. The singer's voice in my head sounds more like Kenny Rogers, but it isn't him.

Again, thanks for asking this question! I hope you've found the answer!

On Tuesday, 17 May 2022 at 15:52:51 UTC-4, Martin wrote:
> On Thursday, August 5, 1999 at 3:00:00 a.m. UTC-4, Bill Pires wrote:
> > I'M STILL DESPERATELY SEARCHING!!
> > Does anyone recognize the lyrics to this song, know who the artist might be
> > or what the song title might be? I can only remember some of the lyrics as
> > follows:
> > "You're my light in the night in the darkest hours,
> > you're my rainbow after the rain.
> > You're as beautiful to me as a desert flower,
> > you take away the pain.
> > You came into my life,
> > you became a special part of me,
> > now you've got the very heart of me,
> > and I wanted you to know,
> > you came into my life."
> > I heard it only twice over 13 years ago, and never heard it since! It was
> > so long ago since I last heard it, but I do believe it was a male vocalist.
> > It was a ballad-like song (circa late '70's or early '80's is my guess).. I
> > probably heard it on an "easy listening" radio station. It's a song that
> > touched both my wife and I deeply - I've tried searching sporadically over
> > the years, but to no avail. Our wedding anniversary is approaching and I
> > would love to present her with a copy of this song.
> > I know it's not "Dreams" by Fleetwood Mac, "Three Times A Lady" by The
> > Commodores, or "How Deep Is Your Love" by The Bee Gees as has been
> > previously suggested...
> > ANY help would be very much appreciated!
> My goodness, you can't believe how relieved I am to find this post, some 21 YEARS later. I have been looking for this song for most of my life, and until now, no one else has ever heard of it. I still haven't found it, but it's comforting to know that at the very least, I didn't imagine this tune out of thin air (as I've been accused of doing on some occasions). If you've ever found the solution please do let me know. This is the last, greatest, white whale of my childhood.
>
> For the record, your recollection of the lyrics maps almost perfectly to my own. In my memory, there is also a second verse that runs something like:
>
> You came into my world,
> when I really wanted you,
> When I really needed you,
> and I realize... (this particular line I can't recall).
>
> Otherwise, it's all here. And the singer is a male singer. Time frame would have been mid to late 1970s. It's a country crossover song--originally country and western, but crossed over into pop at the same time songs like Wildfire by Michael Martin Murphy were popular. The singer's voice in my head sounds more like Kenny Rogers, but it isn't him.
>
> Again, thanks for asking this question! I hope you've found the answer!

OH! MY! GOODNESS!!! Wow!!

Martin & Todd, I cannot believe I have finally found it!! You have no idea how joyful I am right now!

As you know, I have been trying to figure out the name of this song and artist for over 36 years now. I kid you not. My wife (girlfriend at the time) and I heard the song TWICE on AM radio in Ontario in the early '80s, and it resonated so deeply with us that we wanted to have it as our first dance at our wedding reception. We remembered the bulk of the lyrics almost verbatim. We've never heard it again since. Over the decades, I have been searching sporadically in record stores, lyric databases, and scrolling through umpteen online resources… all in vain. Trust me, NOTHING existed online that I could find. Yesterday on a whim, I searched yet again…

Appropriately enough, it's called, "You Came Into My Life" (surprise, surprise!). As it turns out, it's by a Canadian artist/producer by the name of Ron Mahonin!!!

I found the following on Spotify: "In 2020, Ron turned over his entire library of copyrights to RPM Creations and is currently producing Meg Evans, Kindred Joy, Allan Markin, himself, and others."

That probably explains why the song can be found so readily now, and not before. I didn't know the name of the song, and certainly didn't know the name of the artist. I was only able to search based on partial lyrics. Even now when searching "You Came Into My Life", or even the bulk of the lyrics, it doesn't come up. But when searching "You Came Into My Life" + "Ron Mahonin" ... BAM!! You can now find it on YouTube, Apple, SoundCloud, etc.

Also, you're able to download an mp3 file of the song, as well as other songs by Ron, here:

The Calgary Cassette Preservation Society (CCPS)
http://www.calgarycassettes.org/2021/06/ron-mahonin-close-to-your-love-one-step.html

I can't believe it after all these years! Thank you Ron, CCPS and others who have commented. Happy day! :-)

On Tuesday, December 27, 2022 at 10:27:05 a.m. UTC-5, Bill Pires wrote:
> On Tuesday, 17 May 2022 at 15:52:51 UTC-4, Martin wrote:
> > On Thursday, August 5, 1999 at 3:00:00 a.m. UTC-4, Bill Pires wrote:
> > > I'M STILL DESPERATELY SEARCHING!!
> > > Does anyone recognize the lyrics to this song, know who the artist might be
> > > or what the song title might be? I can only remember some of the lyrics as
> > > follows:
> > > "You're my light in the night in the darkest hours,
> > > you're my rainbow after the rain.
> > > You're as beautiful to me as a desert flower,
> > > you take away the pain.
> > > You came into my life,
> > > you became a special part of me,
> > > now you've got the very heart of me,
> > > and I wanted you to know,
> > > you came into my life."
> > > I heard it only twice over 13 years ago, and never heard it since! It was
> > > so long ago since I last heard it, but I do believe it was a male vocalist.
> > > It was a ballad-like song (circa late '70's or early '80's is my guess). I
> > > probably heard it on an "easy listening" radio station. It's a song that
> > > touched both my wife and I deeply - I've tried searching sporadically over
> > > the years, but to no avail. Our wedding anniversary is approaching and I
> > > would love to present her with a copy of this song.
> > > I know it's not "Dreams" by Fleetwood Mac, "Three Times A Lady" by The
> > > Commodores, or "How Deep Is Your Love" by The Bee Gees as has been
> > > previously suggested...
> > > ANY help would be very much appreciated!
> > My goodness, you can't believe how relieved I am to find this post, some 21 YEARS later. I have been looking for this song for most of my life, and until now, no one else has ever heard of it. I still haven't found it, but it's comforting to know that at the very least, I didn't imagine this tune out of thin air (as I've been accused of doing on some occasions). If you've ever found the solution please do let me know. This is the last, greatest, white whale of my childhood.
> >
> > For the record, your recollection of the lyrics maps almost perfectly to my own. In my memory, there is also a second verse that runs something like:
> >
> > You came into my world,
> > when I really wanted you,
> > When I really needed you,
> > and I realize... (this particular line I can't recall).
> >
> > Otherwise, it's all here. And the singer is a male singer. Time frame would have been mid to late 1970s. It's a country crossover song--originally country and western, but crossed over into pop at the same time songs like Wildfire by Michael Martin Murphy were popular. The singer's voice in my head sounds more like Kenny Rogers, but it isn't him.
> >
> > Again, thanks for asking this question! I hope you've found the answer!
> OH! MY! GOODNESS!!! Wow!!
>
> Martin & Todd, I cannot believe I have finally found it!! You have no idea how joyful I am right now!
>
> As you know, I have been trying to figure out the name of this song and artist for over 36 years now. I kid you not. My wife (girlfriend at the time) and I heard the song TWICE on AM radio in Ontario in the early '80s, and it resonated so deeply with us that we wanted to have it as our first dance at our wedding reception. We remembered the bulk of the lyrics almost verbatim. We've never heard it again since. Over the decades, I have been searching sporadically in record stores, lyric databases, and scrolling through umpteen online resources… all in vain. Trust me, NOTHING existed online that I could find. Yesterday on a whim, I searched yet again…
>
> Appropriately enough, it's called, "You Came Into My Life" (surprise, surprise!). As it turns out, it's by a Canadian artist/producer by the name of Ron Mahonin!!!
>
> I found the following on Spotify: "In 2020, Ron turned over his entire library of copyrights to RPM Creations and is currently producing Meg Evans, Kindred Joy, Allan Markin, himself, and others."
>
> That probably explains why the song can be found so readily now, and not before. I didn't know the name of the song, and certainly didn't know the name of the artist. I was only able to search based on partial lyrics. Even now when searching "You Came Into My Life", or even the bulk of the lyrics, it doesn't come up. But when searching "You Came Into My Life" + "Ron Mahonin" ... BAM!! You can now find it on YouTube, Apple, SoundCloud, etc.
>
> Also, you're able to download an mp3 file of the song, as well as other songs by Ron, here:
>
> The Calgary Cassette Preservation Society (CCPS)
> http://www.calgarycassettes.org/2021/06/ron-mahonin-close-to-your-love-one-step.html
>
> I can't believe it after all these years! Thank you Ron, CCPS and others who have commented. Happy day! :-)

BILL!!!!!

My friend, my awesome detective friend! I want to buy you a drink so much. Thank you, thank you, thank you! You've brought a *decades long* quest to a super satisfying end. When I heard that, I was just transported. I am spending the next few days proving to everyone who has ever known me that I'm not crazy. :)

Again, thank you!

Martin