Supertramp Breakfast in America hit #1

Breakfast in America Supertramp

Released: March 16, 1979 Peak: 16 US, 3 UK, 114 CN, 16 AU, 16 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): 4.0 US, 0.3 UK, 20.0 world (includes US and UK), 30.96 EAS Genre: classic rock

Tracks: Click on a song titled for more details. Gone Hollywood [5:19] The Logical Song [4:07] Goodbye Stranger [5:46] Breakfast in America [2:37] Oh Darling [3:43] Take the Long Way Home [5:08] Lord Is It Mine [4:08] Just Another Nervous Wreck [4:22] Casual Conversations [2:56] Child of Vision [7:24] Total Running Time: 45:30 The Players: Rick Davies (vocals, keyboards, clavinet) Roger Hodgson (vocals, keyboards, guitar) Dougie Thomson (bass) Bob Siebenberg (drums) John Helliwell (woodwinds, backing vocals)

Rating: 4.237 out of 5.00 (average of 22 ratings) Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

Supertramp’s Early Years “Contemporaries of the original English progressive-rock bands such as King Crimson and Yes, Supertramp formed in 1969, though, like Genesis, it always placed more emphasis on sound and songcraft than on flashy displays of technical prowess. The group did share the ambition of merging rock’s energy with the loftier ‘artistic’ aspirations of classical music.” JD “The band got its start when a young Dutch millionaire named Stanley August Miesegaes agreed to fund a band led by his friend, vocalist and keyboardist Rick Davies.” JD He “found his bandmates through an ad in the weekly Melody Maker, and the group enjoyed its benefactor’s largesse for two albums before Miesegaes withdrew his support.” JD “On its third album, the combo move toward a lighter, poppier sound largely defined by the alternating vocals and dueling keyboards of Davies and fellow songwriter Hodgson. Released in 1974, Crime of the Century began to build the group’s following, but its real masterpiece would come with its sixth album.” JD The Album Title and Inspiration “The sarcastic humor of Breakfast in America starts with the striking cover image, which is seen as if through an airplane window. A plump, maniacally grinning, and very American waitress stands in for the Statue of Liberty, her back turned to a New York skyline constructed of kitchen utensils, egg cartons, and condiment holders.” JD “As anyone who has ever traveled Route 66 can tell you, the soul of this country can be found at its roadside diners, so it's little wonder that Supertramp begins its overview of this country's landscape with a hearty breakfast (though as the musicians chow down in the back cover photograph, each of them is reading a British newspaper).” JD The Commercial Jackpot “After a shaky start followed by several critically acclaimed releases, the English group Supertramp hit the commercial jackpot in 1979 with Breakfast in America.” AZ “Although their previous records had some popular success, they never even hinted at the massive sales of Breakfast in America.” AM “Then again, Supertramp’s earlier records weren’t as pop-oriented as Breakfast.” AM “The album combined the band’s FM radio, AOR-rock style with an almost carnival-like nature.” AZ “The majority of the album consisted of tightly written, catchy, well-constructed pop songs, like the hits The Logical Song, Take the Long Way Home, and Goodbye Stranger.” AM Beyond the Radio Hits “But to focus unduly on the radio hits (which became almost annoyingly ubiquitous on FM rock radio through the '80s) is to slight a disc that works best as a wonderfully moody and very personal travelogue, cataloguing overheard ‘Casual Conversations,’ pausing for a moving prayer with ‘Lord Is It Mine,’ and ending with the beautiful ballad ‘Child of Vision,’ which poses a question that's as valid today as it was in 1979, and which could perhaps only be asked by a stranger visiting a strange land.” JD The Album’s Legacy “Supertramp still had a tendency to indulge themselves occasionally, but Breakfast in America had very few weak moments. It was clearly their high-water mark.” AM There’s a focus on “the conflict between the American ideal and the American reality” JD as well as “a healthy dose of cynicism running through the 10 tracks” AZ and thoughout the Musically, Breakfast in America can now be heard as a fine example of…orchestral rock…While a band like the Electric Light Orchestra turned to classical instruments as arena-rock shtick, Supertramp utilize woodwinds, brass, and strings skillfully and sparingly, adding just the right touch to the mood of the songs.” JD The Songs Here’s a breakdown of each of the individual songs.

Gone Hollywood Supertramp

Writer(s): Rick Davies Lead Vocals: Rick Davies, Roger Hodgson Released: June 1979 as B-side of “Breakfast in America,” Breakfast in America (1979), The Very Best of 2 (compilation, 1992), Retrospectacle (compilation, 2005) Peak: 48 CL, 32 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 15.10 streaming About the Song: “The disc opens with the spare and moody ‘Gone Hollywood,’ contrasting the image of America’s dream factory with the protagonist's actual surroundings "in this dumb motel/Near the Taco Bell/Without a hope in hell.’” JD

The Logical Song Supertramp

Writer(s): Roger Hodgson (see lyrics here) Lead Vocals: Roger Hodgson Released: March 1979 (single), Breakfast in America (1979), The Autobiography of Supertramp (compilation, 1986), Classics (compilation, 1987), The Very Best of (compilation, 1990), Retrospectacle (compilation, 2005) B-side: “Just Another Nervous Wreck” Peak: 6 BB, 4 CB, 1 1 GR, 6 HR, 11 RR, 1 CL, 7 UK, 12 CN, 16 AU, 1 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- US, 0.4 UK, 1.03 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 63.60 video, 503.43 streaming Covered by: Scooter (2002, #2 UK, 1 AU)

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Song: “The Logical Song” “examines the familiar art-rock theme of the Romantic artist struggling to find his place in the harsh modern world.” JD “While the musical settings are worlds apart, Supertramp’s basic message isn't really that different from that of bands like the Clash or the Sex Pistols (though the latter would strongly object to that). ‘When I was young, it seemed that life was so wonderful, a miracle, oh it was beautiful, magical,’ Hodgson croons in ‘The Logical Song,’ unfurling a string of well-chosen adjectives over a jaunty, rolling piano. ‘But then they showed me a world where I could be so dependable, clinical, intellectual, cynical.’” JD Roger Hodgson wrote the song about his experience being sent to a boarding school for a decade. It reflects on “how the innocence and wonder of childhood can quickly give way to worry and cynicism as children are taught to be responsible adults.” SF As he said, “What they teach us in schools is all very fine, but what about what they don’t teach us?...They don’t really prepare us for life in terms of teaching us who we are on the inside.” SF He also said, “‘Logical Song’ was really a light-hearted way of saying something pretty deep.” SF “The plinking piano and dramatic clarinet runs of ‘The Logical Song’ imparted a comic, yet bittersweet tone to the release as a whole. In another example of the band’s devotion to alternative ways to carry their melody lines.” AZ Hodgson often wrote songs by playing keyboard riffs and trying different words and phrases to get ideas for lyrics. He said, “I was doing that when the word ‘logical’ came into my head and I thought, ‘That’s an interesting word.’” SF He worked on the song during soundchecks, completing it long before bringing it to the band. PP As he said, “I had actually finished the words and the arrangement six months before I proposed it to the band for the album…I didn’t think anyone would like it.” PP Rolling Stone called the song “a small masterpiece.” WK Paul McCartney called it his favorite song of the year. WK All Music Guide’s Mike DeGagne said the song “revealed their ability to inject contemplative, insightful lyrics into scintillating rock & roll that sounded bright and dynamic while still sounding British.” AMG He also said, “Hodgson’s compatible vocal style is amplified amidst the song’s frolicking interplay of saxophone and keyboards.” AMG The band used an electronic football game to accentuate the “d-d-digital” line in the lyrics. PP

Goodbye Stranger Supertramp

Writer(s): Rick Davies Lead Vocals: Rick Davies Released: July 1979 (U.S. single), 10/12/1979 (UK single), Breakfast in America (1979), The Autobiography of Supertramp (compilation, 1986), Classics (compilation, 1987), The Very Best of (compilation, 1990), Retrospectacle (compilation, 2005) B-side: “Even in the Quietest Moments” Peak: 15 BB, 16 CB, 7 GR, 13 HR, 7 RR, 32 AC, 4 CL, 57 UK, 6 CN, 5 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- US, 0.2 UK Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 72.8 video, 205.52 streaming

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Song: “‘Goodbye Stranger’ rings with some of the purest whistling ever recorded.” AZ “Like many in the ‘70s, Davies and Hodgson long for a world where it’s OK to dream, but they don’t overly idealize the dreamers. The fairly despicable men who populate songs such as ‘Goodbye Stranger’ (‘I’m an early morning lover / And I must be moving on’)…cavalierly tramp on their lovers’ emotions as they search for their own elusive fulfillment.” JD

Breakfast in America Supertramp

Writer(s): Roger Hodgson Lead Vocals: Roger Hodgson Released: June 1979 (single), Breakfast in America (1979), The Autobiography of Supertramp (compilation, 1986), Classics (compilation, 1987), The Very Best of (compilation, 1990), Retrospectacle (compilation, 2005) B-side: “Gone Hollywood” Peak: 62 BB, 69 CB, 94 HR, 4 CL, 9 UK, 4 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- US, 0.4 UK Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 19.10 video, 443.37 streaming About the Song: Echoes of Saturday Night Fever’s “phenomenally successful soundtrack can be heard throughout ‘Breakfast in America,’ in some of the driving (and, yes, danceable) rhythms, but especially in the falsetto harmony vocals, which recall not only the Bee Gees in their disco years, but the far more interesting (if less familiar) art-rock group of the early '70s.” JD “One would be hard-pressed, for example, to find better use of a tuba anywhere in rock than on the song ‘Breakfast in America.’ And the occasional clarinet rocks, too.” JD

Oh Darling Supertramp

Writer(s): Rick Davies Lead Vocals: Rick Davies Released: Breakfast in America (1979), The Very Best of 2 (compilation, 1992), Retrospectacle (compilation, 2005) Peak: -- Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 19.86 streaming

Take the Long Way Home Supertramp

Writer(s): Roger Hodgson Lead Vocals: Roger Hodgson Released: October 1979 (single), Breakfast in America (1979), The Autobiography of Supertramp (compilation, 1986), Classics (compilation, 1987), The Very Best of (compilation, 1990), Retrospectacle (compilation, 2005) B-side: “From Now On” Peak: 10 BB, 15 CB, 7 GR, 10 HR, 6 RR, 28 AC, 4 CL, 4 CN, 1 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 51.3 video, 165.35 streaming

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Song: “Like many in the ‘70s, Davies and Hodgson long for a world where it’s OK to dream, but they don’t overly idealize the dreamers. The fairly despicable men who populate songs such as…‘Take the Long Way Home’ (‘So you think you’re a Romeo / Playing a part in a picture show’) cavalierly tramp on their lovers’ emotions as they search for their own elusive fulfillment.” JD

Lord Is It Mine Supertramp

Writer(s): Roger Hodgson Lead Vocals: Roger Hodgson Released: Breakfast in America (1979) Peak: 47 CL, 27 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 29.56 streaming

Just Another Nervous Wreck Supertramp

Writer(s): Rick Davies Lead Vocals: Rick Davies Released: March 1979 as B-side of “The Logical Song,” Breakfast in America (1979), The Very Best of 2 (compilation, 1992) Peak: -- Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 10.58 streaming

Casual Conversations Supertramp

Writer(s): Rick Davies Lead Vocals: Rick Davies Released: Breakfast in America (1979) Peak: -- Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 8.42 streaming

Child of Vision Supertramp

Writer(s): Roger Hodgson Lead Vocals: Roger Hodgson, Rick Davies Released: Breakfast in America (1979) Peak: 48 CL, 36 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 23.06 streaming

Resources/References: AM AllMusic.com review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine AMG All Music Guide review by Mike DeGagne of “The Logical Song” AZ Amazon.com review by Steve Gdula JD Jim DeRogatis (2006). “The Great Albums” PP PowerPop.blog SF Songfacts page for “The Logical Song” WK Wikipedia page for “The Logical Song” Related DMDB Pages: First posted 3/21/2011; last updated 9/9/2025.

Squeeze released “Up the Junction”

Up the Junction Squeeze

Writer(s): Chris Difford, Glenn Tilbrook (see lyrics here) Released: May 18, 1979 First Charted: June 2, 1979 Peak: 4 CL, 4 CO, 2 UK, 1 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 6.7 video, 28.5 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Squeeze emerged in the mid-‘70s as one of the UK’s most important new wave acts. They released their self-titled debut in 1978 and reached #19 on the UK charts with “Take Me I’m Yours.” The next album, Cool for Cats, was even more successful with two songs making it all the way to the runner-up position – the title cut and “Up the Junction.” The phrase is London slang for being screwed or in deep trouble, similar to the American phrase “up the creek without a paddle.” WK Chris Difford, one of the songwriters and founders of the band, said the phrase came a collection of short stories by Neil Dunn which were published in 1963. A 1965 TV play version was done of the work and then a movie in 1968. The Squeeze song was not about Dunn’s stories, but alluded to some of its themes and locations, including life in Battersea, the use of the word “Junction” as a reference to Clapham Junction,” and the subject of pregnancy. The song is “a 1960s kitchen sink drama set to music by London’s finest purveyors of inner city grit.” DT Difford said “It was written in one sitting, sometimes you just put the pen to paper and it’s done.” SF Difford wrote the lyrics while the band was on tour in New Orleans and then Glenn Tilbrook, the only other band member through all of Squeeze’s incarnations over a 40+ year career, wrote the music. In an uncharacteristic move for a mainstream hit, the song has no chorus or lyrical repetition. In addition, the title is only sung at the end, an idea Difford says he got from Roxy Music’s “Virginia Plain.” WK Tilbrook said the music was partly inspired by Bob Dylan’s “Positively 4th Street” and that “there’s no chorus because I thought a repeated section would spoil the flow of Chris’s story.” GU The song tells the story of a couple meeting, moving in together, and then having a child. However, he becomes an alcoholic and she leaves him for another man. At the end, he concludes that he’s “really up the junction,” both in the sense that he is living in Clapham Junction and he has wrecked his life. WK Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Squeeze GU The Guardian (5/5/2015). “Squeeze: How We Made ‘Up the Junction’” by Dave Simpson SF Songfacts DT Dave Thompson (2011). 1000 Songs That Rock Your World. Krause Publications: Iola, WI. Page 172. WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 7/14/2021; last updated 9/17/2023.

David Bowie Lodger released

Lodger David Bowie

Released: May 18, 1979 Peak: 20 US, 4 UK, 15 CN, 11 AU Sales (in millions): -- US, 0.1 UK, 2.0 world (includes US and UK) Genre: experimental rock

Tracks: Song Title (Writers) [time] (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to singles charts. Fantastic Voyage (Bowie/Eno) [2:54] African Night Flight (Bowie/Eno) [2:55] Move On [3:18] Yassassin (Turkish for: Long Live) [4:11] (6/69, 45 CL, 33 CO) Red Sails (Bowie/Eno) [3:44] D.J. [4:00] (6/29/79, 35 CL, 7 CO, 29 UK, 98 AU) Look Back in Anger [3:06] (8/20/79, 43 CL, 26 CO) Boys Keep Swinging (Bowie/Eno) [3:18] (4/27/79, 32 CL, 8 CO, 7 UK, 85 AU) Repetition [2:59] Red Money [6:59] Songs written by David Bowie unless indicated otherwise. The Players: David Bowie (vocals, multiple instruments) Brian Eno (synthesizers, keyboards, guitar treatments) Tony Visconti (producer, mandolin, guitar, bass, backing vocals) Carlos Alomar (guitar) Dennis Davis (percussion) George Murray (bass) Adrian Belew (guitar, mandolin) Sean Mayes (piano) Simon House (mandolin, violin, backing vocals) Roger Powell (synthesizers) Stan Harrison (saxophone on “Red Sails”) Total Running Time: 45:41

Rating: 3.638 out of 5.00 (average of 23 ratings)

About the Album: Lodger was the third album in what was known as the Berlin Trilogy. Most of the album was not, in fact, recorded in Berlin but Switzerland. However, the three albums are lumped together because David Bowie collaborated on them with Brian Eno and producer Tony Visconti. Much of the lineup was the same as with the two previous albums, although Adrian Belew – who’d been touring with Frank Zappa – was brought into the fold this time. Interestingly, he stepped into the role former King Crimson guitarist Robert Fripp had filled on the last album. Belew would go on to play guitar for King Crimson. Bowie and Eno tried different experiments such as playing old tunes backwards and having musicians trade instruments. Most of the songs were recorded with working titles and Bowie added lyrics later. Regarding the lyrics, the album focuses on two major themes – mostly on travel in the first half and primarily critiques of Western civilization in the second half. WK Author Frank Mastropolo saw Lodger as a concept album about a homeless traveler. WK “On the surface, Lodger is the most accessible of the three Berlin-era records David Bowie made with Brian Eno.” AMG It “lacks the electronic and ambient styles and the song/instrumental split that defined its two predecessors.” WK The album “has an edgier, more minimalistic bent than its two predecessors, which makes it more accessible for rock fans, as well as giving it a more immediate, emotional impact. It might not stretch the boundaries of rock like Low and Heroes, but it arguably utilizes those ideas in a more effective fashion.” AMG There are even “a handful of concise pop songs.” AMG The album is still full of “gnarled and twisted avant pop; what makes it different is how it incorporates such experimental tendencies into genuine songs, something that Low and Heroes purposely avoided. D.J., Look Back in Anger, and Boys Keep Swinging have strong melodic hooks that are subverted and strengthened by the layered, dissonant productions, while the remainder of the record is divided between similarly effective avant pop and ambient instrumentals.” AMG The song “D.J.” took a look at how the disc jockey is viewed simply for what he is on the outside. WK Writer Ian Mathers said it was “a horror story about a human being reduced to nothing more than work.” WK Bowie said, “This is somewhat cynical but it’s my natural response to disco.” WK He imitates Talking Heads’ David Byrne in his vocal delivery. Ultimate Classic Rock’s Bryan Wawzenek described it as a “danceable gem.” WK On “Look Back in Anger,” Bowie encounters an angel of death who has come to claim his soul. WK All Music Guide’s Ned Raggett described it as a “sharp-edged, thrillingly modern rock song.” WK Oasis named their 1996 song “Don’t Look Back in Anger” after Bowie’s song. WK “Boys Keep Swinging” was one of the songs where the players switched instruments. It contained gender-bending lyrics. Bowie said, “I do not feel there is anything remotely glorious about being either male or female. I was merely playing on the idea of the colonization of a gender.” WK Repetition is a chilling tale of a narrator conveying no emotion while beating his wife. WK The song was released as a B-side for third single “Yassassin” and again for fourth single “Look Back in Anger.” The opening cut, Fantastic Voyage, is “surprisingly delicate,” WK signalling what author Peter Doggett said implied a “less intense” record. WK Three different musicians play mandolin and then each part was tripled-tracked. WK Move On was one of the songs that grew out of Eno and Bowie’s experimentation with playing songs backwards – in this case, “All the Young Dudes,” which Bowie wrote for Mott the Hoople. Thematically, the song focuses on wanderlust. The funk-and-reggae infused Yassassin incorporated violin to create the sound of Middle Eastern folk and Turkish music. WK Red Sails was inspired by the German band Neu!, sharing the same drum beat. While previous album Low received fairly universal praise, the assessment of Lodger was more mixed. Melody Maker’s Jon Savage called it “a nice enough pop record, beautifully played, produced and crafted, and slightly faceless.” WK Red Starr of Smash Hits said it sounded like “a ragbag of rejects from previous styles.” WK It was, however, referred to as Bowie’s “most eloquent” record in years in The New York Times. WK Spin magazine’s Jon Dolan said it was “his last great album.” WK It has been cited as a forerunner to the sound of Talking Heads and Spandau Ballet and some of its songs have even been credited with influencing Britpop in the 1990s. Notes: The 1991 Rykodisc reissue included the previously unreleased 1979 song “I Pray Olé” and a new version of “Look Back in Anger” Recorded in 1988.

Resources and Related Links: DMDB encyclopedia entry for David Bowie AMG All Music Guide review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine WK Wikipedia First posted 2/20/2008; last updated 8/1/2021.