Music Friday: Brad Paisley Forgets the Ring in 'You Have That Effect On Me'

Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you romantic songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. Today, a giddy and love-struck Brad Paisley is about to propose to his girlfriend, but accidentally leaves the engagement ring at home in 2001’s “You Have That Effect On Me.”

In this song, Paisley takes on the role of a young man who is so head-over-heels in love that he can hardly think straight. He tells his girlfriend how anxious he’s been during the past few weeks — that he’s been haunted by the vision of getting down on one knee and forgetting what to say. Each morning, while brushing his teeth, he’s rehearsed the lines, but still can’t get them straight.

He successfully acquires the ring of her dreams, but when it's finally time to pop the question, the awkward boyfriend comes up short.

Paisley sings, “You’ve had your eyes on a 2-carat ring / I finally went out and I bought it / Right now it’s at home sittin’ on my TV / Would you believe I forgot it.”

Our protagonist tries to explain away his absentmindedness: “You can’t blame me ’cause it’s plain to see that you have that effect on me.”

The character Paisley portrays in the song may be a close reflection of himself.

The singer famously recounted how, as a 19-year-old, he became spellbound by actress Kimberly Williams, who starred in 1991’s Father of the Bride. Paisley developed an instant crush when he saw her on the big screen and his feelings only grew stronger when he saw her in Father of the Bride II in 1995. It wasn't until 2001 that he gathered the courage to contact the actress and ask her out on a date.

In Paisley's world, good things come to those who wait. Williams accepted his marriage proposal in August of 2002 and the couple tied the knot in March of 2003.

“You Have That Effect On Me” was the 11th track of Part II, his second studio album — a release that rose to #3 on the US Billboard Top Country Albums chart and #31 on the US Billboard 200 chart.

Born in Glen Dale, WV, in 1972, Bradley Douglas “Brad” Paisley was introduced to country music by his grandfather, Warren Jarvis, who gave the eight-year-old his first guitar, a Sears Danelectro Silvertone. Jarvis taught his grandson to play, and by the age of 10, Paisley was already performing at his church.

While in junior high, Paisley was doing a show at a local Rotary Club, when he was discovered by a program director for a Wheeling, WV, radio station. He was invited to be a guest on the popular radio show “Wheeling Jamboree” and the rest is history.

Paisley has sold more than 11 million albums, won three Grammy Awards, 14 Academy of Country Music Awards, 14 Country Music Association Awards and two American Music Awards. In 2001, at the age of 28, he became the youngest artist ever to be inducted into the Grand Ole Opry.

He is currently on a European tour with performances scheduled in Glasgow, London and Belfast.

Please check out the audio track of Paisley performing “You Have That Effect on Me.” The lyrics are below if you’d like to sing along…

“You Have That Effect On Me”
Written by Brad Paisley and Frank Rogers. Performed by Brad Paisley.

Every morning the last couple of weeks
In between shaving and brushing my teeth
I’d lean on the sink and practice my lines
By now you would think they’d be memorized

But leave it to me to come all this way
Get down on one knee and forget what to say
I’m at a loss, should have known this is how it would be
‘Cause you have that effect on me

I must admit I still don’t understand
Why I lose my head holding your hand
There’s no explanation, no simple excuse
For this intoxication I feel around you

Now truth be known since I’ve met you girl
I’ve been walkin’ around in my own little world
One look in my eyes, oh and darlin’ any fool could see
That you have that effect on me

You’ve had your eyes on a 2-carat ring
I finally went out and I bought it
Right now it’s at home sittin’ on my TV
Would you believe I forgot it

But you can’t blame me ’cause it’s plain to see
That you have that effect on me
Yeah, you have that effect on me
Girl, you have that effect on me

Credit: Photo by minds-eye, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Rare 14-Karat Lego 'Bionicle Hau' Mask Found at Goodwill Sells for $18,000

Launched by the Lego Group in the summer of 2001, Bionicle was a line of articulated plastic action figures that deviated from the Danish toy company's core business of interlocking building blocks.

Lego pulled the plug on Bionicles nearly 14 years ago, but the legend lives on — thanks to a 14-karat, super-rare, special-edition Bionicle Hau mask that surfaced at a Goodwill store in western Pennsylvania and recently sold at auction for $18,000.

During the era of Bionicles, the now-$10-billion-a-year toy company ran competitions with the top prize being a "playable" golden Hau mask. It is estimated that only 30 of the special collectibles were ever created, with approximately 25 presented to competition winners and the rest handed out to Lego employees.

Each piece measured one inch tall and weighed 26.14 grams (0.922 ounces). At today's gold price of $2,126 per ounce, the value of the precious metal content alone is approximately $1,146.

When the golden Bionicle Hau was found in a box of donated jewelry at the Goodwill store in DuBois, PA, employees didn't think much of it. But when the item was listed on Goodwill's online store, offers began flooding in and supervisors began to take notice.

“We didn’t know it was worth anything until people started asking if they could buy it for $1,000,” Chad Smith, the vice president of e-commerce and technology at the Dubois store, told USA Today.

Offers for the 14-karat Bionicle Hau topped out at $33,000 during an early February Goodwill auction, but that buyer couldn't come up with the funds. Goodwill re-listed the item with the bidding starting at $3,000. After 48 bids, the piece sold it to an anonymous collector for $18,101.

Goodwill spokesperson Jessica Illuzzi told USA Today that all of the money earned from the sale of the Lego collectible will support Goodwill's mission of helping people with life challenges and providing training opportunities.

Credit: Image courtesy of ShopGoodwill.com.

Here's Why a 1950s Brazilian Beauty Is Forever Linked With March's Birthstone

In the lead-up to the the 1954 Miss Universe pageant, the runaway favorite to win the title was Maria Martha Hacker Rocha, a statuesque 21-year-old Brazilian beauty with captivating blue eyes. She had captured the title of Miss Bahia in her home state and went on to become the first-ever Miss Brazil.

The pageant took place at the Municipal Auditorium in Long Beach, CA, and although Rocha eventually would become the runner-up to American Miriam Stevenson, the Brazilian won the hearts of fans all over the world. They were smitten by her grace and elegance.

Around the same time as Rocha was competing on the world stage, an incredible 74.5-pound aquamarine crystal was unearthed on a farm near Teofilo Otoni, Brazil. Its color was so rich, so intense that the Brazilian gem dealers needed to come up with a special name to distinguish it from the rest.

The rare, intense blue aquamarines from the Santa Maria de Itabira mine in Brazil were called “Santa Maria.” Similar-color aquamarines from Mozambique and other countries in Africa were named “Santa Maria Africana.” Lighter hues were named after the Brazilian state where they were mined, specifically “Espirito Santo.”

The new classification would be called “Martha Rocha,” representing a tone and intensity of the finest-color aquamarines. Even today, gem experts use this rating as a lasting tribute to the Brazilian beauty queen with captivating clear blue eyes.

Rocha, who passed away in 2020 at the age of 87, continues to be a symbol of beauty in Brazil. She has streets named after her in Bahia, Santa Catarina and São Paulo. The Brazilians even named a delicious and decadent dessert after her. Ask for a "Martha Rocha" at a Brazilian fine dining establishment and you will receive a treat made from white and chocolate cake with cream, peaches, creamy egg custard and walnuts.

Aquamarine, the official birthstone for the month of March, is the sea-blue variety of the mineral beryl, whose family members include emerald (intense green) and morganite (pink to orange-pink). Aquamarines can range in color from light blue to pure blue to shades of greenish-blue. The variations in blue color are dependent on trace amounts of iron in the gemstone’s chemical composition. Interestingly, pure beryl is absolutely colorless.

Aquamarines are mined in many countries, including Nigeria, Madagascar, Zambia, Pakistan, Mozambique and the US, but most of the finest-quality gemstones still come from Brazil.

Credit: Martha Rocha image by Gráficos Bloch S.A., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. Aquamarine image by Greg Polley / Smithsonian.