Until I Found You (2021) – Stephen Sanchez

“I wrote this song in my bedroom for a girl I loved…That’s all it was and all I ever needed it to be, but now it’s the soundtrack for so many love stories“

– Stephen Sanchez in a Rolling Stones interview

You might be forgiven for thinking you’re hearing a late – ’50s love ballad in the style of The Everly Brothers, but this is in fact a 2021 track that leans fully into that romantic vintage era. Even in the video, Stephen Sanchez appears with a James Dean-style hairstyle, alongside a Marilyn Monroe lookalike. Now, if that all hasn’t already been done to death – I hear you say.

Well, for the album and video he’s playing fictional version of Sanchez named “The Troubadour Sanchez” rising to fame in 1958 after performing his song Until I Found You before he falls in love with a woman named Evangeline, who is the girlfriend of a mob boss named Hunter, and is killed.

Lo and behold, this fairly conventional tune – with its sweet echoes of ’50s and ’60s romantics – struck a chord with younger audiences. It became a major hit, reaching No. 8 in Australia, No. 14 in the UK, and No. 23 on the Billboard Hot 100. It’s a nice tune – a ‘pleasant’ and ‘decent’ kind of song – something that might seem out of step with today’s dominant sounds – yet its success suggests otherwise.

It’s remarkable that this was a breakout hit for Sanchez, who was just 19 at the time of its release. You might expect a hit like this to come from an already established artist – someone revisiting a bygone style after years in the industry. Instead, success came quickly for this newcomer. Still, it’s refreshing to see audiences responding to this mood, this sound, and perhaps a longing for something a little more timeless.

Sounding old, aren’t I?

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Wikipedia:

Until I Found You was released on Sanchez’s debut album – Angel Face.
Sanchez explained that the address “Georgia” refers to his girlfriend at the time ‘Georgia Brown’, with whom he was in a long-distance relationship. He explains that he felt so undeserving of her love that he “pushed her away“. The pair ended up reconnecting, but Sanchez says the song was written during the period when he had “lost her“. Georgia Brown even contributed vocals on the track.

[Verse 1: Stephen Sanchez]
Georgia, wrap me up in all your
I want ya in my arms
Oh, let me hold ya
I’ll never let you go again like I did
Oh, I used to say

[Chorus: Stephen Sanchez & Georgia Brown]
I would never fall in love again until I found her
I said I would never fall, unless it’s you I fall into
I was lost within the darkness, but then I found her
I found you

[Verse 2: Stephen Sanchez & Georgia Brown]
Georgia pulled me in
I asked to love her once again
You fell, I caught ya
I’ll never let you go again like I did
Oh, I used to say

[Chorus: Stephen Sanchez & Georgia Brown]
I would never fall in love again until I found her
I said I would never fall unless it’s you I fall into
I was lost within the darkness, but then I found her
I found you

[Chorus: Stephen Sanchez & Georgia Brown]
I would never fall in love again until I found her
I said I would never fall unless it’s you I fall into
I was lost within the darkness, but then I found her
I found you

References:
1. Until I Found You – Wikipedia