Johnny Thunders - "You Can't Put Your Arms Around A Memory"

I'm a Replacements fanatic. I've got every album, bootleg, and cover. I even own the oral biography, (though I haven't yet watched the new documentary). And the more you listen to and learn about Paul Westerberg and the rest of the 'Mats, the more you appreciate the band's two major influences: Alex Chilton and Johnny Thunders. Thunders—born John Genzale and later renamed after the DC comic book hero when he joined the New York Dolls—was one of those talents that burned bright, but for a tragically short period of time. Recently, I've become particularly enamored with Thunders' 1978 solo outing So Alone, which features an all-star cast of supporting musicians like The Pretenders' Chrissie Hynde and Thin Lizzy's Phil Lynott. The album also boasts what is perhaps Thunders' signature track: "You Can't Put Your Arms Around A Memory," a classic anthem that lifts its title from a line on the 1950s sitcom The Honeymooners. The song, which has aged beautifully with time, also happens to feature slashing lead guitar work by Peter Perrett of The Only Ones, who's track "Another Girl, Another Planet" was a live favorite of The Replacements.

Johnny Thunders - "You Can't Put Your Arms Around A Memory" (from So Alone)