Flashback Friday – “Two Princes” by Spin Doctors


Spin Doctors Two Princes single

Spin Doctors Two Princes single

There are few pop guitar riffs from the early 1990’s that are more recognizable than “Two Princes” by Spin Doctors.With a rhythmic drum beat, groovin’ guitars and lots of “Yeahhhhhhs” in the song, how could you not sing and dance along?

I remember the first time I heard the song on Z100 in 1992, and it was so fun and catchy! I HAD to walk to Fred Meyer to buy the cassette single. Spin Doctors formed in the late 80’s but hit it big with their album release of “Pocket Full of Kryptonite.” Their first official single was “Little Miss Can’t Be Wrong,” but it never got as big as “Two Princes.”

“Two Princes” hit number 7 on the US charts, number 2 in Canada, and number 3 in the UK. The song was in the movie “So I Married An Axe Murderer.” Spin Doctors did a cover version of the song for an episode of Sesame Street. Bill Nye the Science Guy did a parody of the song “Two Eyes by the Eye Doctors.” The scat singing used to be featured in KMart Australia commercials.  In more recent years, the song was on the soundtrack for Love and Other Drugs and Pooh’s Heffalump Movie. It was included in the Lego Rock Band game, which is where my daughter became a fan of it.

When I was 12, I was in a church stake production of “Hello Dolly”. And in the cast was the most amazing boy I’d met to date. Although I had experienced many crushes in my young life, Randy was the first one I considered myself in love with. He was 17 (older man!!!) and in high school, and I was just a 7th grader. But he flirted with me, was my dancing partner in the polka scene, and when the show ended we decided to be pen pals. We would share our favorite music, and one time he wrote out the lyrics for me:

If you want to call me baby, just go ahead now

And if you’d like to tell me maybe,  just go ahead now

And if you wanna buy me flowers, just go ahead now

And if you’d like to talk for hours, just go ahead now

Reading through his letter, I was certain it was a subtle hint that he liked me back. But alas, he was just quoting the lyrics to an awesome song. But that didn’t stop my crush from continuing until I went to college and he returned from his mission. We haven’t spoken in years, but the song reminds me of him, and the carefree years of teenagerdom (before I got into grunge and alternative).

I ain’t got not future or family tree, but I know what a prince and lover ought to be….

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