Foreigner “Urgent” released

Urgent Foreigner

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Squeeze charted with “Tempted”

Tempted Squeeze

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Air Supply’s The One That You Love hit the U.S. charts

First posted 1/18/2009; updated 9/20/2020.

The One That You Love Air Supply

Charted: June 13, 1981 Peak: 10 US, -- UK, 21 CN, 10 AU Sales (in millions): 1.0 US, -- UK, 1.0 world (includes US and UK) Genre: adult contemporary

Tracks: Song Title (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to singles charts. Don’t Turn Me Away Here I Am (Just When I Thought I Was Over You) (9/19/81, 5 US, 1 AC, 43 AU, airplay: 1 million) Keeping the Love Alive The One That You Love (5/16/81, 1 US, 2 AC, 10 AU, sales: 1 million, airplay: 1 million) This Heart Belongs to Me Sweet Dreams (12/12/81, 5 US, 4 AC, airplay: 1 million) I Want to Give It All I’ll Never Get Enough of You Tonite I’ve Got Your Love Total Running Time: 39:59 The Players: Russell Hitchcock (vocals) Graham Russell (vocals, rhythm guitar) Rex Goh, David Moyse (guitars) Dave Green (bass) Frank Esler-Smith (keyboards) Ralph Cooper (drums)

Rating: 3.573 out of 5.00 (average of 4 ratings) Awards:

About the Album: “The One That You Love was Air Supply’s second international release and perhaps their finest all-around studio outing.” AMG Like its predecessor, Lost in Love, the album was produced by future-Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Clive Davis. Both albums also spawned three top-five Billboard Hot 100 hits. the lead single, “the heart-wrenching title track,” AMG became Air Supply’s first and only chart-topper. “The sheer drama of Here I Am and the swooping orchestration of Sweet Dreams complete this smash-hit trilogy.” AMG The former was “closely related to the style of Barry Manilow, one of the band’s influences” WK while the latter came closer than anything the group had done to a foray into rock. The song also lent itself to a more bombastic, orchestral treatment, as demonstrated in the video below. “As suggested by their name, a sense of air and space pervades other pop-tastic ballads such as This Heart Belongs to Me and Keeping the Love Alive.” AMG I’ll Never Get Enough of You was the main theme of a Japanese TV novel, leading it to become the group’s first entry on any Asian chart. WK Notes: --

Resources and Related Links: Air Supply’s DMDB Encyclopedia entry AMG Ed Rivadavia, All Music Guide WK Wikipedia

Bruce Springsteen's song “The River” charted

The River Bruce Springsteen

Writer(s): Bruce Springsteen (see lyrics here) Released: May 1981 First Charted: June 13, 1981 Peak: 19 CL, 35 UK, 1 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 0.5 US, 0.2 UK Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 109.28 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Bruce Springsteen recorded “The River” for an album called The Ties That Bind. When he decided to expand the album to a double, he re-titled it The River. The title cut and six other cuts from Ties emerged on the new album. Springsteen said he considered “The River,” “Point Blank,” “Independence Day,” and “Stolen Car,” to be “the heart and soul” of the album. WK Lyrically, the song was inspired by Springsteen’s sister Ginny and her husband Mickey. They got married when she was still a teenager and he faced challenges when he lost his construction job, but still worked hard to support his wife and child without complaining. SF Writer Robert Hilburn described the song as “a classic outline of someone who has to re-adjust his dreams quickly.” WK The song drew inspiration from Hank Williams. It depicts economic difficulties interlaced with local culture with some inspiration in “Long Gone Lonesome Blues” WK and also was influenced by “My Bucket’s Got a Hole in It.” SF The song foreshadowed the more stripped-down style of his next album, 1982’s Nebraska, with its “haunting harmonica part” WK and “a sense of hopelessness.” WK “The River” was released as a single in Europe, reaching #35 in the UK and was a top 10 hit in Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and Portugal. It got to #1 in Israel. The song was not released as a single in the United States, but did garner airplay on album-rock radio stations and became one of the best-known songs in Springsteen’s repertoire. During his tour for Born in the U.S.A., Springsteen would often tell a story about his conflict with his father while growing up before playing the song. It was included on the box set Live/1975-85. Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Bruce Springsteen SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 10/26/2022; last updated 2/19/2023.

 

The Moody Blues “The Voice” charted

The Voice The Moody Blues

Writer(s): Justin Hayward (see lyrics here) Released: July 23, 1981 First Charted: June 6, 1981 Peak: 15 BB, 15 CB, 7 GR, 16 HR, 6 RR, 16 AC, 14 AR, 9 CN, 91 AU, 3 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 4.21 video, -- streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: The Moody Blues formed in Birmingham, England, in 1964. They leapt out of the gates with “Go Now,” a UK chart-topper and top-ten hit in the United States. After the departure of guitarist/singer Denny Laine and bassist/singer Clint Warwick, the group brought in singer/guitarist Justin Hayward and bassist/singer John Lodge. Their dramatic change of sound was apparent with their next album, 1967’s Days of Future Passed and its hit single “Nights in White Satin.” That was the first of eight albums the band released from 1967 to 1978 which established them as one of the premiere progressive rock and psychedelic rock bands. All eight albums reached gold or platinum status, three topped the UK album chart, and one topped the U.S. album chart. They also generated classic rock staples such as “Tuesday Afternoon,” “Ride My See-Saw,” “Question,” “The Story in Your Eyes,” “Isn’t Life Strange,” “I’m Just a Singer in a Rock and Roll Band,” and “Driftwood.” When they released Long Distance Voyager in 1981, it had been three years since their last studio release. While a dropoff in commercial appeal would have been understandable, the Moody Blues instead maintained the same level of success they’d experienced for more than 15 years with a #1 album in the U.S. which reached platinum status. The album was buoyed by two top-20 singles – “Gemini Dream” and “The Voice.” The latter marked a first for the band – their first chart-topping hit on the Billboard album rock tracks chart just established that year. AllMusic.com’s Dave Connolly called the song “a sweeping and majestic call to adventure.” AMG Billboard described it as “a texturally lush piece of pop in the best tradition of [the Moody Blues’] earlier work.” WK Songfacts.com echoed a similar statement, saying “the lyrics have the same philosophical tone of their songs in the late 1960s.” SF Classic Rock’s Malcolm Dome said the song “offers hope for the future as long as people take control of their lives and events.” WK Nick De Riso of Ultimate Classic Rock commended the song for “so deftly marry[ing] the mystical elements of Hayward’s classic songcraft with [a more] modern approach.” WK Justin Hayward wasn’t sure what to call the song as it lacked an obvious title based on the lyrics. When Greg Jackman, the group’s engineer, asked Hayward what to call it, Justin said, “I’ll think of that after.” Jackman misunderstood him and wrote “Fat Arthur” on the tape. That was the name of the song through the mastering process when Hayward finally came up with the title of “The Voice.” SF Resources: AMG All Music Guide albu review by Dave Connolly SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 9/17/2023.