Foreigner 4 spends 1st of 10 weeks at #1

First posted 6/27/2012; last updated 11/24/2020.

Foreigner 4 Foreigner

Released: July 2, 1981 Peak: 110 US, 5 UK, 2 CN, 3 AU Sales (in millions): 7.0 US, 0.1 UK, 11.6 world (includes US and UK) Genre: classic rock

Tracks: Song Title (Writers) [time] (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to singles charts. Night Life (8/1/81, 14 AR) Juke Box Hero (7/25/81, 26 US, 3 AR, 48 UK, 39 CN, 53 AU) Break It Up (5/15/82, 26 US, 30 CL) Waiting for a Girl Like You (10/10/81, 2 US, 1 AR, 5 AC, 8 UK, 2 CN, 3 AU, sales: ½ million) Luanne (7/31/82, 75 US, 44 CL) Urgent (7/4/81, 4 US, 1 AR, 45 UK, 1 CN, 24 AU) I’m Gonna Win Woman in Black Girl on the Moon Don’t Let Go Total Running Time: 42:10 The Players: Lou Gramm (vocals, percussion) Mick Jones (guitar, keyboards, vocals) Dennis Elliott (drums) Rick Wills (bass)

Rating: 4.004 out of 5.00 (average of 12 ratings) Awards:

About the Album: “Over the course of their first three late-‘70s albums, Foreigner had firmly established themselves (along with Journey and Styx) as one of the top AOR bands of the era. But the band was still looking for that grand slam of a record which would push them to the very top of the heap. 1981’s 4 would be that album.” AMG To this day, it “remains Foreigner’s career peak.” AMG “Guitarist and all-around mastermind Mick Jones found both the catalyst to achieve this and his perfect musical soul mate” AMG “in producer Robert John ‘Mutt’ Lange — fresh off his massive success with AC/DC’s Back in Black.” AMG “Lange’s legendary, obsessive attention to detail and Jones’ highly disciplined guitar heroics (which he never allowed to get in the way of a great song) resulted in a collaboration of unprecedented, sparkling efficiency where not a single note is wasted.” AMG “Vocalist Lou Gramm does his part, delivering a dazzling performance which confirmed his status as one of the finest voices of his generation.” AMG “With the departures of second guitarist Ian McDonald and keyboardist Al Greenwood, Foreigner became a quartet for the first time” CDU and all the album’s songs were written by Jones and/or Gramm. WK Session musicians were also brought in, among them Thomas Dolby, WK who went on to have a top 5 hit with “She Blinded Me with Science,” and Junior Walker. He played the “signature saxophone solo” AMG on “the surprisingly funky Urgent [which] proved to be one of the band's most memorable and uncharacteristic smash hits.” AMG Nightlife, Woman in Black, Don’t Let Go, and “the 50’s-tinged Luanne” AMG are all “energetic, nearly flawless melodic rockers.” AMG “With Juke Box Hero, the band somehow managed to create both a mainstream hit single and a highly unique-sounding track, alternating heavy metal guitar riffing, chorused vocals, and one of the ultimate ‘wanna be a rock star’ lyrics.” AMG “As for the mandatory power ballad, the band also reached unparalleled heights with Waiting for a Girl Like You. One of the decade’s most successful cross-genre tear-jerkers, it has since become a staple of soft rock radio and completely eclipsed the album’s other very lovely ballad, Girl on the Moon, in the process.” AMG Also of note – the original album title and cover. The originally titled Silent Partners was to sport a cover from “renowned art studio Hipgnosis.” WK The band rejected “a black & white image of a young man in bed with a pair of binoculars looming overhead,” WK deeming it “too homosexual.” WK Bob Defrin designed the new cover, “modeled after an old fashioned film leader.” WK Notes: A 2002 reissue added two “nearly unplugged” versions of “Juke Box Hero” and “Waiting for a Girl Like You” recorded in 1999.

Resources and Related Links: Foreigner’s DMDB Encyclopedia entry album producer Mutt Lange’s DMDB Encyclopedia entry AMG All Music Guide review by Ed Rivadavia CDU CDUniverse.com review WK Wikipedia

The Rolling Stones charted with “Start Me Up”

Start Me Up The Rolling Stones

Writer(s): Mick Jagger, Keith Richards (see lyrics here) Released: August 14, 1981 First Charted: August 21, 1981 Peak: 2 US, 4 CB, 5 HR, 9 RR, 113 AR, 7 UK, 2 CN, 11 AU, 1 DF (Click for codes to singles charts.) Sales (in millions): -- US, 0.6 UK Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 124.2 video, 450.34 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: A band that’s been around nearly 20 years isn’t supposed to still be such a presence on the pop charts, but no one told the Rolling Stones. 1981’s Tattoo You was the band’s eight consecutive #1 album in the United States. Its nine weeks atop the chart was more than any other Stones’ album. It also sold eight million copies worldwide; 1978’s Some Girls was their only studio album which did better. The lead single, “Start Me Up,” had a lot to do with the album’s success. One could practically hear lead singer Mick Jagger strutting his way through the stadium-rocking anthem which the band has frequently used since to open their shows. A video in which he did, in fact, do plenty of strutting, proved that the Rolling Stones could keep up with any of the newer acts when it came to getting played on the fledging MTV. Jagger consciously wanted to emulate the style of videos being showcased on the music network, saying it was “the future.” WK “Start Me Up” also found a home at album rock radio, and spent 13 weeks atop the album rock chart which Billboard launched that year. The song held the record for most weeks at #1 until 1994 when Stone Temple Pilots spent 15 weeks on top with “Interstate Love Song.” WK All Music Guide’s Stewart Mason called it “the last great Rolling Stones song.” AMG The song originated in 1978 during the sessions for Some Girls. It was originally a reggae-rock song called “Never Stop,” but they put it aside when it wasn’t coming together. When the group was prepping for a tour in 1981, they dug through the vaults for some “new” songs. The band’s engineer, Chris Kimsey, found a more rock version of the song in the midst of dozens of reggae versions of the song and the band added overdubs. WK The result was the song we now know as “a tough little rock & roll song powered by one of Keith Richards’ trademark riffs and a solid Charlie Watts backbeat.” AMG Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for The Rolling Stones AMG All Music Guide SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 2/7/2021; last updated 10/27/2022.

 

Journey charted with “Don’t Stop Believin’”

Don’t Stop Believin’ Journey

Writer(s): Steve Perry, Jonathan Cain, Neal Schon (see lyrics here) Released: October 31, 1981 First Charted: August 15, 1981 Peak: 9 US, 8 CB, 8 GR, 9 HR, 9 RR, 1 CL, 8 AR, 6 UK, 9 CN, 100 AU, 1 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 9.0 US, 1.4 UK, 10.4 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 1.0 radio, 613.67 video, 1642.84 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Journey was at their peak with 1981’s Escape, their sole #1 album. The lead-off single, “Who’s Crying Now,” went to #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and the power ballad “Open Arms” was a #2 hit. It was “Don’t Stop Believin’,” however, which became the biggest hit of Journey’s career. Chartwise, it only peaked at #9, but it demonstrated a longevity no one could have imagined. In 2003, the song was used – and even discussed – in a scene from the movie Monster, for which Charlize Theron won an Oscar. That sparked requests for the song in other movies and TV shows. In 2007, the song was used in the memorable final scene of the last episode of The Sopranos. It showed up again in the musical Rock of Ages, which ran on Broadway from 2009-2015. Perhaps most significant, however, was the song’s use in the TV show Glee in 2009. The Glee Cast landed an overwhelming 200+ chart hits on the Billboard Hot 100, but “Don’t Stop Believin’” was the first and the most successful, reaching #4 and selling a million copies. Journey’s version was propelled to millions more in sales, making it the best-selling digital track of the 20th century. WK The song is marked by Steve “Perry’s stern yet romantic vocals” AMG and “cutting guitar work from Neil Schon.” AMG It was “more than just an escalating guitar rock song;” AMG it became “an anthem for the young who wanted to feel free and unrestricted.” AMG One of the song’s unique features is that it doesn’t have a repeated chorus. The title isn’t sung until almost three and a half minutes into the song after verses. SF The inspiration for the title came from keyboardist Jonathan Cain’s father. When Cain was struggling to make it, he asked his father if he should give up on his dream. Dad told him, “Don’t stop believin’.” SF Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Journey AMG All Music Guide SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 1/25/2021; last updated 9/5/2023.