“Jawan Janeman, Haseen Dilruba, Mile to dil jawan, Nisar Ho gaya”…no you haven’t stumbled upon the Parveen Babi Fan site (though I am a big fan). And  no, we are not about to talk about the ’82 hit movie Namakhalal  It’s just that I have never managed to listen to this Bollywood hit without remembering Amii Stewart’s huge disco hit ‘Knock On Wood’ that was the ‘inspiration’ for the hindi song.

Amii was also one of the shooting stars of the late disco era that left us with their one hit that is still ringing in our ears. Stewart was a cast member in a number of musicals before she recorded Knock On Wood. There is no real reason why Knock On Wood should have been a hit. It is a full-on generic disco beat almost impossible to distinguish from hundreds of other songs on the radio. Amii has a nice but not magnificent voice. In this case, I think, it was the lyrics – actually the chorus – that got to all of us. “It’s like thunder, lightening, The way you love me is frightening, Think I better knock, knock, knock on wood”. The music stops for a heartbeat as Amii belts the words out. You freeze for a second while dancing in that gap. And then start again with ferocious energy. It’s just a fantastic song to dance to and I clearly remember playing the LP at our parties – it certainly has a groove that doesn’t easily get out of your head

This really does belong in the “Man, I haven’t heard that in decades category”! Don’t know what made me think of it today.