Rockin' 70s Songs: "Do You Know What I Mean?" Lee Michaels (1971)

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It is funny how an obscure hit from youth performed by a forgotten singer sticks in memory. “Do You Know What I Mean?” by Lee Michaels is one those songs playing on the transistor during lazy poolside days. Michaels was an LA musician playing guitar, piano and primary instrument Hammond organ. He toiled in obscurity until the album “5th” yielded the unexpected hit in”Do You Know What I Mean?” written by Michaels. The song charted at Billboard #6. “Been forty days since I don’t know when I saw just saw her with my best friend Do you know what I mean?” Michaels is lamenting the loss of a girlfriend to his friend named Bobby in the song. He was almost a one hit wonder. A followup cover of “Can I Get a Witness” reached #39. You would think Michaels could have milked this for a modest career but that was it. He never had another charted single and subsequent albums failed. By the end of the 70s, Michaels was embroiled in lawsuits and out of the business.