1970s One Hit Wonder - Beach Baby

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This song was playing when I rode a carnival ride at the New Hanover County Fair during my sophomore year of high school in the fall of 1976. The ride was called the Himalaya. The Himalaya is a series of carts that go around in a circle up and down "hills." It moves very fast at its highest speed. The reason I remember the ride so well is the girl who sat next to me in the cart. She was my age and incredibly pretty. I had no idea who she was. We'd never met prior to entering the car. Why, then, did we wind up riding together? I was with an odd-numbered group of friends. She was, too. Each of us wound up the odd person out when we boarded the ride and got put together. I sat on the outside. The centrifugal force as the ride went around pushed her up against me. I wound up with my arm around her. At the end of the ride, we smiled awkwardly at each other and went our separate ways. I never learned her name or where she was from, and I never saw her again. But I still think of her and our one ride together whenever I hear this song. The song was released in 1974 and was performed by a British Band known as The First Class. It was covered in 1997 by David Hasselhof.