Friday, November 21, 1980

REO Speedwagon’s Hi Infidelity was released: November 21, 1980

Originally posted November 21, 2011.



“If you need proof why arena rock was giant, this is it.” STE REO Speedwagon could arguably be credited with bringing arena rock to its pinnacle. They “had been slogging it out in the arenas of the U.S.” STE for nearly a decade, “building up a sizeable audience because they could deliver live.” STE This was much the same story for the band’s peers like Styx, Journey, and Foreigner. The difference is that all those bands had landed a couple top ten albums. The highest REO ever previously reached was #29.

Then, in 1981, all four bands topped the album charts. However, REO got their first “with this incredibly mainstream collection of power ballads and economic hard rock.” RO They did it with a fifteen-week chart-topper which sold more than 9 million copies in the U.S. This was “a record that not just summarized their strengths, but captured everything that was good about arena rock. This is the sound of the stadiums in that netherworld between giants like Zeppelin and MTV’s slick, video-ready anthems.” STE

“The band’s strongest attribute is its inconspicuous nature. You never see it coming. Kevin Cronin has a serviceable voice and Gary Richrath is a solid if unspectacular lead player” RO “but there’s a real urgency to the songs and the performances.” STE Keep on Loving You set “the pattern for the power ballads that would take many a hard rock band to the top of the charts throughout the ‘80s.” RO That song “and the surging Take It on the Run…define their era.” STE There’s also “the Bo Diddley-inspired opener, Don’t Let Him GoSTE and other radio-friendly songs like “the sun-kissed ‘60s homage In Your Letter, and Tough Guys.” STE

“What’s really great about these songs is not just the sheen of professionalism that makes them addictive to listen to, but there’s a real strain of pathos that runs through these songs – the album’s title isn't just a clever pun, but a description of the tortured romantic relationships that populate this record’s songs. This is really arena rock’s Blood on the Tracks, albeit by a group of guys instead of a singular vision, but that makes it more affecting, as well as a killer slice of ear candy.” STE




Awards: Resources and Related Links:

Saturday, November 15, 1980

Kenny Rogers topped the pop charts with “Lady”

Lady

Kenny Rogers

Writer(s): Lionel Richie (see lyrics here)


Released: September 29, 1980


First Charted: September 26, 1980


Peak: 16 US, 14 CB, 15 HR, 15 RR, 14 AC, 11 CW, 12 UK, 2 CN, 16 AU, 1 DF (Click for codes to singles charts.)


Sales (in millions): 1.0 US, -- UK, 16.0 world (includes US + UK)


Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 2.0 radio, 93.1 video, 63.33 streaming

Awards:

Click on award for more details.

About the Song:

In 1980, Kenny Rogers was the biggest draw in country music. To capitalize on his status – and a year which had already seen three top five hits on the country charts – his record label wanted a Greatest Hits package to ring in the Christmas season. Rogers had just ended his five-year relationship with producer Larry Butler and was seeking new blood to spark his creativity.

He turned to Lionel Richie, who wasn’t yet the solo superstar he was to become within a few years. At the time, he still fronted the Motown group The Commodores. Like Rogers, Richie had experienced major crossover success. The 1978 hit “Three Times a Lady” had topped the pop, R&B, adult contemporary, and UK charts. The country-tinged “Easy” (1977) was a hit on all four formats as well.

The pair of songs caught Rogers’ attention. Rogers contacted Motown founder Berry Gordy about working with the Commodores. Because of a motorcycle accident to drummer Walter Orange, the group had delayed a concert tour and Richie and Co. had time on their hands. Lionel flew to Las Vegas to meet with Rogers. Richie played demos of “Lady” and “Goin’ Back to Alabama”, songs he’d written two years earlier. FB Rogers cut both in an 8 ½ hour session; the former included some lyrical tweaking to reference Rogers’ relationship with his wife. TR As Rogers said, “The idea was that Lionel would come from R&B and I’d come from country, and we’d meet somewhere in the middle.” FB

The song became Rogers’ fourth million-selling single and his first #1 on the pop charts. BB It was also the biggest pop song of 1980 WHC and the first song of the decade to hit all four of the major Billboard charts (pop, country, adult contemporary, R&B). FB It hit #1 on the first three of those.


Resources:

  • BB Billboard (9/08). “All-Time Hot 100
  • FB Fred Bronson (2003). The Billboard Book of Number One Hits (5th edition). Billboard Books: New York, NY. Page 533.
  • TR Tom Roland (1991). The Billboard Book of Number One Country Hits. Billboard Books: New York, NY. Page 272.
  • WHC Joel Whitburn (1999). A Century of Pop Music. Menomonee Falls, WI; Record Research, Inc. Page 109.


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First posted 11/15/2011; last updated 10/29/2022.

Tuesday, November 11, 1980

Aerosmith released their first greatest hits package

First posted 4/11/2008; updated 9/7/2020.

Greatest Hits

Aerosmith


Buy Here:


Recorded: 1972-1979


Released: November 11, 1980


Peak: 53 US, -- UK, -- CN, -- AU


Sales (in millions): 10.0 US, -- UK, 14.0 world (includes US and UK)


Genre: classic rock


Tracks: (Click for codes to singles charts.)

  1. Dream On (10/20/73, #6 US)
  2. Same Old Song and Dance
  3. Sweet Emotion (6/14/75, #36 US, #24 UK, #36 AR)
  4. Walk This Way (11/20/76, #10 US)
  5. Last Child (6/12/76, #21 US)
  6. Back in the Saddle (4/9/77, #38 US)
  7. Draw the Line (10/22/77, #42 US)
  8. Kings and Queens (3/11/78, #70 US)
  9. Come Together (8/5/78, #23 US)
  10. Remember Walking in the Sand (1/12/80, #67 US)


Total Running Time: 37:15


The Players:

  • Steven Tyler (vocals, keyboards, harmonica, percussion)
  • Joe Perry (guitar)
  • Brad Whitford (rhythm guitar)
  • Tom Hamilton (bass)
  • Joey Kramer (drums, percussion)

Rating:

4.214 out of 5.00 (average of 12 ratings)


Awards:

About the Album:

“Aerosmith’s Greatest Hits remains one of the most popular and enduring best-of collections by any rock band…but when it was issued in 1980, the band had just about reached its nadir. With original guitarist Joe Perry gone (and Brad Whitford soon to follow), Aerosmith had turned into a directionless, time-consuming ghost of its former self.” GP

“Since there would be a three-year gap between 1979’s Night in the Ruts and 1982’s Rock in a Hard Place, Greatest Hits was assembled, more or less, to fill the void and buy the band some time. Of the ten songs here, nine “are bona fide classics.” GP

The band’s first album is represented with Dream On, a song which initially peaked at #59 on the Billboard Hot 100 when released in 1973. However, the song became a top-ten hit when it was rereleased after the band’s success with Toys in the Attic in 1975.

Same Old Song and Dance is the only song from Get Your Wings. Instead of the album version, the single version is used. It was edited by nearly a minute and has an alternate lyric with the line “You shady lookin’ loser, you played with my gun” substituted for the original “Gotcha with the cocaine, found with your gun.” WK

Toys in the Attic featured two classics from Aerosmith – Sweet Emotion and Walk This Way. The former was the band’s first top 40 hit while the latter would land the band in the top ten – twice. When originally released as the second single from Toys, “Walk This Way” didn’t chart. However, like “Dream On,” it resurfaced and became a top ten hit after the Rocks album was released in 1976. The song hit the top ten again in 1986 when rap group Run-D.M.C. remade the song with guest stars Steven Tyler and Joe Perry from Aerosmith.

The Rocks album is represented by Last Child and Back in the Saddle. Both were top 40 hits. A third single, “Home Tonight,” hit the Hot 100, but isn’t included on this compilation.

Draw the Line and Kings and Queens were both originally on the Draw the Line album. Both songs hit the Hot 100, but failed to go top 40.

Next up is the band’s “venomous cover of the Beatles’ Come Together, previously only available as a single and on the soundtrack to the 1978 movie Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.” GP

“The only poor selection is the forgettable Remember Walking in the Sand,” GP a cover of the Shangri-La’s top five hit from 1964.

“For the casual fan, Greatest Hits will do the job.” GP However, with the album clocking in at only 37 and a half minutes, many Aerosmith classics are not included, such as…their cover of ‘Train Kept a Rollin’” GP or “Big Ten Inch Record.”


Notes: A 1997 reissue added “Mama Kin,” “Seasons of Wither,” “Big Ten Inch Record,” “Lightning Strikes,” “Chip Away the Stone,” “One Way Street,” and a remix of “Sweet Emotion.”

Resources and Related Links:

Saturday, November 8, 1980

Willie Nelson “On the Road Again” hit #1 on the country chart

On the Road Again

Willie Nelson

Writer(s): Willie Nelson (see lyrics here)


First Charted: August 30, 1980


Peak: 20 US, 22 CB, 11 GR, 16 HR, 16 RR, 7 AC, 11 CW, 64 AU, 3 DF (Click for codes to charts.)


Sales (in millions): --


Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 35.31 video, 123.67 streaming

Awards:

Click on award for more details.

About the Song:

Willie Nelson was born in Texas in 1933. He started his career as a songwriter, writing such classics as Faron Young’s “Hello Walls” and Patsy Cline’s “Crazy.” He charted on his own for the first time in 1962 on the country charts, but it wouldn’t be until 1975 that he landed his first of 25 country chart toppers, “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain.” The song was also his first entry on the pop charts, hitting #21. It would be another five years before he’d land another top 40 hit – this time with 1980’s “On the Road Again” (#20).

Fellow outlaw country artist Waylon Jennings said Nelson “will go down as one of the greatest, if not the greatest songwriter ever in country music…He can write the most complex song…that will shoot over most people’s heads, and then he will turn around and write a little song like ‘On the Road Again’ that everyone can appreciate.” TR

Nelson wrote the song for the movie Honeysuckle Rose. He was tapped to star as “an aging musician who fails to achieve national fame.” WK Nelson was asked to write a song for the movie about touring. TR Bob Dylan called it “a song of a traveling bandit” BD which captured the life of a touring musician. He said, “this song feels like the movement of the road. The way it feels on a bus…when you’re on the road, you’re living the life you love. Making music with your friends, and earning a living…The thing about being on the road is that you’re not bogged down by anything. Not even bad news. You give pleasure to other people and you keep your grief to yourself.” BD

“On the Road Again” won a Grammy for Best Country Song and was nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Song. It also won the American Music Award for country song of the year.


Resources:

  • BD Bob Dylan (2022). The Philosophy of Modern Song. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster. Pages 91-92.
  • TR Tom Roland (1991). The Billboard Book of Number One Country Hits. Billboard Books: New York, NY. Pages 270-1.
  • SF Songfacts
  • WK Wikipedia


Related Links:


First posted 11/2/2022; last updated 2/3/2023.

Friday, November 7, 1980

Eagles released first live album

First posted 3/26/2008; updated 9/20/2020.

Eagles Live

Eagles


Released: November 7, 1980


Recorded: live October 1976 and July 1980


Peak: 6 US, 24 UK, 25 CN, 3 AU


Sales (in millions): 7.0 US, -- UK, 10.6 world (includes US and UK)


Genre: classic rock


Tracks: Click for codes to singles charts.

  1. Hotel California
  2. Heartache Tonight
  3. I Can’t Tell You Why
  4. The Long Run
  5. New Kid in Town
  6. Life’s Been Good (Joe Walsh solo song) (6/10/78, 12 US)
  7. Seven Bridges Road (12/20/80, 21 US, 17 AC, 55 CW)
  8. Wasted Time
  9. Take It to the Limit
  10. Doolin’-Dalton (Reprise II)
  11. Desperado
  12. Saturday Night
  13. All Night Long (Joe Walsh solo song) (5/17/80, 19 US)
  14. Life in the Fast Lane
  15. Take It Easy

Chart figures are only for songs not previously featured on any Eagles’ albums.


Total Running Time: 77:10


The Players:

  • Glenn Frey (vocals, guitar, keyboards)
  • Don Henley (vocals, drums)
  • Don Felder (guitar, vocals)
  • Randy Meisner (bass, vocals: 1976)
  • Timothy B. Schmit (bass, vocals: 1980)
  • Joe Walsh (guitar, keyboards, vocals)

Rating:

3.368 out of 5.00 (average of 16 ratings)


Quotable: “The most heavily overdubbed [live album] in history” - Rolling Stone Record Guide (1983)


Awards:

About the Album:

Eagles Live is the first live album by the…Eagles, a two-LP set released in 1980. The Eagles broke up on July 31, 1980 after their concert at Long Beach. However, the band still owed Warners a live record from the tour. Eagles Live (released that November) was mixed by Glenn Frey and Don Henley on opposite coasts – the two decided they couldn’t bear to be in the same state, let alone the same studio, and as Bill Szymczyk put it, the record’s perfect three-part harmonies were fixed ‘courtesy of Federal Express.’ The 1983 Rolling Stone Record Guide said it is ‘perhaps the most heavily overdubbed [live album] in history.’ After the credits that list no fewer than five attorneys, the album's liner notes simply say, ‘Thank you and goodnight.’” WK

Eagles Live includes…tracks recorded in the fall of 1976 (thus allowing for the inclusion of departed singer Randy Meisner on Take It to the Limit).” AMG Also from 1976, are New Kid in Town, Wasted Time, Doolin-Dalton (Reprise II), and Desperado. WK

However, “the bulk of the album comes from the end of the Eagles’ 1980 tour, just before they broke up, and it reflects their late concert repertoire, largely drawn from Hotel California and The Long Run.” AMG

“The occasional early song such as ‘Desperado’ and Take It Easy turn up, but many of the major hits from the middle of the band's career – ‘The Best of My Love,’ ‘One of These Nights,’ ‘Lyin’ Eyes’ – are missing, replaced by such curiosities as two extended selections from Joe Walsh’s solo career, Life’s Been Good and All Night Long.” AMG

“At least Walsh introduces some live variations to his material; the rest of the Eagles seem determined to recreate the studio versions of their songs in concert, which may work for them live but almost makes a live recording superfluous. The previously unrecorded rendition of Steve Young’s Seven Bridges Road is welcome, and the album would have benefited from more surprises as well as a livelier approach to a live recording.” AMG

Resources and Related Links:

Monday, November 3, 1980

Adam & the Ants release Kings of the Wild Frontier

First posted 4/1/2008; updated 9/8/2020.

Kings of the Wild Frontier

Adam & the Ants


Buy Here:


Released: November 3, 1980


Peak: 44 US, 112 UK, -- CN, 2 AU


Sales (in millions): 0.5 US, 0.3 UK, 0.8 world (includes US and UK)


Genre: new wave


Tracks: (Click for codes to singles charts.)

  1. Dog Eat Dog (10/11/80, 4 UK, 15 AR)
  2. Antmusic (12/6/80, 2 UK, 14 AR)
  3. Los Rancheros
  4. Feed Me to the Lions
  5. Press Darlings
  6. Ants Invasion
  7. Killer in the Home
  8. Kings of the Wild Frontier (8/2/80, 2 UK)
  9. The Magnificent 5
  10. Don’t Be Square (Be There)
  11. Jolly Roger
  12. You’re So Physical (4/25/81, 19 AR)
  13. The Human Beings

Rating:

4.084 out of 5.00 (average of 10 ratings)


Quotable: “One of the great defining albums of its time” – Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide


Awards:

About the Album:

“Hooking up with Malcolm McLaren was a pivotal moment for Adam Ant, since the manager not only introduced Ant to the thundering, infectious Burundi drum beat that became his signature, he stole his band, too. Adam and the rest of the Ants had just worked up how to exploit the Burundi style when McLaren pirated the boys off to support Annabella Lwin in Bow Wow Wow – using the very same sound they had developed with Adam Ant. It was now a race to get that sound into the stores first.” STE

“Adam lucked out when he joined forces with guitarist Marco Pirroni, who quickly proved to be invaluable. Adam and Marco knocked out a bunch of songs that retained some of the dark artiness of Dirk Wears White Sox, largely anchored by those enormous Burundi beats and given great, irresistible pop hooks – plus a flash sense of style, as the new Ants dressed up in something that looked like American Indians with a velveteen touch of a dandy fop. It was a brilliant, gonzo move – something that quickly overshadowed Bow Wow Wow.” STE

“The resulting record, Kings of the Wild Frontier, is one of the great defining albums of its time. There’s simply nothing else like it, nothing else that has the same bravado, the same swagger, the same gleeful self-aggrandizement and sense of camp. This walked a brilliant line between campiness and art-house chutzpah, and it arrived at precisely the right time – at the forefront of new wave, so Adam & the Ants exploded into the British popular consciousness.” STE

“If image was all that they had, they would’ve remained a fad, but Kings of the Wild Frontier remains a terrific album because it not only has some tremendous songs – the title track and Antmusic are classic hits, while Killer in the Home and Physical (You're So) are every bit their equal – but because it fearlessly, imperceptibly switches gears between giddy and ominous, providing nothing short of a thrill ride in its 13 songs. That’s why it still sounds like nothing else years after its release.” STE

Resources and Related Links: