\"Thunder Island\" was written by Jay Ferguson and is the lead single off of his 1978 release that goes by the same name...Thunder Island. The song reached No. 9 on the Billboard 100 in 1978. Despite the song's fairly high position on the music charts, the song receives little rotation on most modern classic rock radio stations, although it is Ferguson's most well known song. \"Thunder Island\" features Joe Walsh on guitar and was Ferguson's only major hit as a solo artist, tagging him as a one-hit wonder.
\"Thunder Island\" tells the tale of the so typical (and temporary) teenage Summer love story. Told in reflection, the lyrics clearly relay the structure of a guy who met a girl during some sort of Summer vacation. In the end, they go their separate ways but he still thinks about her often. I think the line \"Can you hear me now calling your name from across the bay\" speaks about him calling her NOW...not then. He is still calling her name even after years have passed. The line \"She was the color of the Indian summer,And we shared the hours without number\" is about the beauty of an Indian Summer. It's warm, not too warm and makes you happy. It's also that last warmth before winter so it may mean something much more negative. She seemed warm and inviting but don't believe it as, like an Indian Summer, she will be gone soon. Simply put, \"Thunder Island\" is about the fragility and missed promise of a teenage love. That message is carried out in the song's last lines...\"Now every mile away and every day cuts a little deeper, I'll remember the nights in the cool grass, Making love out on Thunder Island\". The only actual Thunder Island that I know of exists at Cascade Locks, Oregon just east of Portland on the Hood River. Knowing that Ferguson's musical intent was that of a parallel to Jimmy Buffet's island music, the Thunder Island in the cold Northwest is most likely not the location he was referring to in the song. With that in mind, Thunder Island was probably an imaginary place that he made up for the purpose of the song. As of 2015, Ferguson is a soundtrack composer for movies and television most recognizable for his contributions to NBC's The Office, The Terminator, A Nightmare on Elm Street 5, and NCIS: Los Angeles.
