Hooters and Eric Bazilian: Top 50 Songs

The Hooters/ Eric Bazilian Top 50 Songs

The Hooters were a rock group formed in Philadelphia in 1980. The two consistent members through the years have been Eric Bazilian (vocals/guitar) and Rob Hyman (vocals/keyboards). The group released five studio albums from 1983 to 1993 and a sixth in 2007. The two also collaborated on the 1998 Largo project which featured various artists including Taj Mahal, Levon Helm, Cyndi Lauper, and Joan Osborne. Bazilian and Hyman were arrangers and performers on Cyndi Lauper’s 1983 She’s So Unusual album, which included the #1 song “Time After Time,” written by Hyman. The pair also performed on Joan Osborne’s 1995 Relish album, which included the top 5 hit “One of Us” written by Bazilian. Bazilian also co-wrote “Kiss the Rain” (#15, 1997) for Billie Myers and wrote or co-wrote songs for Bon Jovi, Journey, Cyndi Lauper, Amanda Marshall, Ricky Martin, the Scorpions, Patty Smyth, Ronnie Spector, Robbie Williams, and others. Bazilian has released three solo albums – The Optimist (2000), A Very Dull Boy (2002), and Bazilian (2021). In 2012, he released an album with Mats Wester called What Shall Become of the Baby? Click here to see other best-of lists from performers and here to see other best-of lists from songwriters and/or producers. Spotify Podcast: Check out Dave’s Music Database podcast: The Best of Eric Bazilian and the Hooters based on this list. It debuts October 19, 2021 at 7pm CST. Tune in every Tuesday at 7pm for a new episode based on the lists at Dave’s Music Database.

Awards:

Top 50 Songs Dave’s Music Database lists are determined by song’s appearances on best-of lists as well as chart success, sales, radio airplay, streaming, and awards. (Click for codes to singles charts.) DMDB Top 1%: 1. Time After Time (Cyndi Lauper, 1983) DMDB Top 2%: 2. One of Us (Joan Osborne, 1995) DMDB Top 20%: 3. And We Danced (1985) 4. Day by Day (1985) 5. All You Zombies (1983) 6. Where Do the Children Go (Hooters with Patty Smyth, 1985) 7. Kiss the Rain (Billie Myers, 1997) 8. Johnny B (1987) 9. Satellite (1987) 10. Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds (live, 1986) Beyond the DMDB Top 20%: 11. 500 Miles (1989) 12. Karla with a “K” (1987) 13. Blowin’ in the Wind (live, 1994) 14. Brother Don’t You Walk Away (1989) 15. Morning Buzz (2007) 16. Private Emotion (Ricky Martin, cover of Hooters’ song, 1999) 17. White Jeans (2007) 18. Hanging on a Heartbeat (1983) 19. I’m Alive (2007) 20. The Boys of Summer (2007) 21. Nervous Night (1985) 22. Twenty-Five Hours a Day (1993) 23. Give the Music Back (1989) 24. Bitter Sweet Symphony (Bazilian with Greg Gould & Tania Doko, 2020) 25. Graveyard Waltz (1987) 26. Private Emotion (1993) 27. Good Thing (Bazilian & Wester, 2012) 28. Help! (Bazilian, 2020) 29. Time Stand Still (2007) 30. Ella Fitzgerald (Bazilian, 2002) 31. U.G.L.Y. (Bazilian, 2000) 32. One Light in a Dark Valley (live, 1987) 33. A Very Dull Boy (Bazilian, 2002) 34. Bigger Than the Bossa Nova (Bazilian & Wester, 2011) 35. One Way Home (1987) 36. Freedom Ride (Largo, 1998) 37. Gimme a Stone (Largo, 1998) 38. Washington’s Day (1987) 39. Fightin’ on the Same Side (1981) 40. Until You Dare (Bazilian, 2000) 41. What Shall Become of the Baby? (Bazilian & Wester, 2011) 42. All I Really Want to Do (live, 1994) 43. One Light (Bazilian, 2011) 44. Back in the 80s (Bazilian, 2021) 45. South Ferry Road (1985) 46. Man in the Street (1980) 47. Blood from a Stone (1983) 48. Don’t Knock It ‘Til You Try It (1989) 49. Boys Will Be Boys (1993) 50. These Three Chords (Bazilian & Wester, 2011) Resources and Related Links: DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Hooters DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Eric Bazilian DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Rob Hyman DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Largo Dave’s Music Database: “Best-of Lists for Performers” Dave’s Music Database: “Best-of Lists for Songwriters and/or Producers First posted 6/16/2021; last updated 10/19/2021.

Hooters released Five by Five EP

Five by Five Hooters

Released: July 9, 2010 Peak: -- Sales (in millions): -- Genre: rock

Tracks: Song Title [time] Pissing in the Rhine [2:37] Silver Lining [3:54] One of Us [4:52] Time After Time [3:46] Really Fine Wine [3:12] The Players: Eric Bazilian (vocals, guitar, mandolin, harmonica, saxophone) Rob Hyman (vocals, keyboards, accordion, melodica) John Lilley (guitar, mandolin, dobro, keyboards, backing vocals) Fran Smith Jr. (bass, backing vocals) David Uosikkinen (drums, percussion)

Rating: 3.767 out of 5.00 (average of 3 ratings)

About the Album: While this is only a five-song EP, it is a pretty important addition to the Hooters’ discography. The band achieved popularity in the 1980s after Eric Bazilian and Rob Hyman both served as players and arrangers on Cyndi Lauper’s 1983 blockbuster She’s So Unusual. The album produced the #1 hit Time After Time, which was written by Hyman and Lauper. While the band have often performed the song and even included a live version on their Hooterization greatest-hits compilation, this is their first studio recording of the song. After gaining attention because of Lauper, the Hooters had three top-40 hits of their own from their 1985 Nervous Night album. Four of the five players from that album are featured in this, the 2010 lineup. The fifth player, Fran Smith, Jr., came on board in 1987. That lineup made three more studio albums with One Way Home (1987), Zig Zag (1989), and Out of Body (1993) before going on hiatus. Unlike so many reunions, however, when the band returned in 2007 for the Time Stand Still album, it was a genuine return of the same guys who’d made those aforementioned albums. That same quintet came back in 2010 to record this EP. In the interim, Bazilian released a pair of solo albums and wrote or co-wrote songs for a slew of artists. The most notable song from that era was One of Us, a song recorded by Joan Osborne for her 1995 album Relish. The clever lyrics mused about “what if God was one of us.” The song reached the top 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 and garnered three Grammy nominations. Like “Time After Time,” the Hooters have often performed the song live. Bazilian recorded it as an unlisted bonus track on his 2000 album The Optimist. It makes its first appearance as a studio recording by the Hooters on Five by Five. While EP’s are typically placeholders to keep fans happy while prepping a full-fledged studio album, that wasn’t the case here. The Hooters did come back in 2012 to record the song If I Should Fall Behind, but as of this writing, they had yet to return to the studio to record a full-fledged album. However, the inclusion of “Time After Time” and “One of Us” on this set makes this an essential part of a Hooters library.

Resources and Related Links: WK Wikipedia First posted 6/16/2021.

Eric Bazilian released first solo album, The Optimist

 

The Optimist Eric Bazilian

Released: June 10, 2000 Peak: -- Sales (in millions): -- Genre: rock

Tracks: Song Title [time] Driving in England [4:19] Until You Dare [4:17] Gemini Yo Yo [4:32] Bye Bye Baby [5:24] U.G.L.Y. [3:45] When I Was the Man [3:54] Kid from Outer Space [5:03] Be My Woman [4:46] Fiddlesticks [4:03] Hopelessly, Relentlessly [5:11] Mind Going Down [3:27] The Optimist/ One of Us (unlisted bonus track) [9:30]

Rating: 3.262 out of 5.00 (average of 12 ratings) Quotable: “A gift to the pop canon” – Karl J. Valentine, customer review on Amazon.com Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album: “For many the name Eric Bazilian will bring about blank stares. But once you start naming some of the songs he has written or co-written (‘One of Us,’ ‘Kiss the Rain’ to name two) usually a spark of recognition begins. His work as a hit song writer came a few years after success as a member of the Hooters began to dwindle.” JB “Now eight years after the last Hooters studio album we have The Optimist…It comes with a sigh of relief that some artists do care about music and lyric content.” JB “He’s constantly evolving, consistently honing his craft (both as a musician and songwriter), and digging as deep as he can to keep the spirit alive.” KV “The songs…pick up where the Hooters Out of Body left off and go in an entirely new direction. Eric plays the majority of the instruments with the familiar mandolin and saxophone making appearances here and there.” JB “At the core, Eric is deeply methodical, and cut very much out of the Lennon/McCartney cloth, but his lyrics tend to venture more into the sardonic...Eric may be unknown to most in the pop world…, but he's very accessible for all his eccentricities.” KV “Because he’s gifted at his craft…and can spin a pop lyric with the best of them, Eric has created a work that is highly personal, while comfortably familiar.” KV “Don’t be fooled by the fact that this album is a hybrid of basement demo tapes, because these songs smoke most contemporary studio albums.” KV Bazilian “seems to clearly remember what it's like to be an alienated pre-adult. The pleasing assortment of songs on his self-produced solo debut, The Optimist, attest to this.” AMG “The songs grab at you and don’t let go until the final note ends.” JB “Tracks such as the sullen Kid from Outer Space, the lightly comical Driving in England, and the very pretty Until You Dare are a few such gems, reminiscent of radio-friendly pop/rock from the late '80s and early '90s.” AMG The latter would later be recorded by the Hooters on their Time Stand Still album and Bazilian would revisit it yet again on his 2012 album What Shall Become of the Baby? with Mats Wester. There’s also “the humorous lyrics of Be My Woman about the relationship between two individuals that have an age difference, or the pessimism of The Optimist.” JB Both show “that Eric loves his profession. It’s a shame that his profession has become one of writing hit songs for other artists.” JB “If you want to hear Eric open up and reveal himself [down to the core], simply go straight to track # 10. The song, Hopelessly, Relentlessly includes a guitar solo [that] gives…chills, and when his voice cracks, [it is clear] he’s spilling out his heart with abandon, and has the skill to cut us to the quick. For that reason alone, this album will enjoy a long shelf life.” KV “The rest of this album falls along similar, non-threatening lines, never veering from the middle-of-the road path Bazilian paved for other artists from Billie Myers to Amanda Marshall and the Hooters. It stands to reason – if the formula worked for them, why not for the craftsman himself? With a graceful and uncomplicated approach, eschewing major labels and going the self-released route is apparently the biggest risk Eric Bazilian takes with this easy to like recording.” AMG “The album is really a gift to the pop canon.” KV

Resources and Related Links: AMG All Music Guide review by Roxanne Blanford JB Amazon.com customer review by Jody Batik KV Amazon.com customer review by Karl J. Valentine WK Wikipedia Other Related DMDB Pages: Last updated 8/9/2021.

Joan Osborne “One of Us” released

One of Us Joan Osborne

Writer(s): Eric Bazilian (see lyrics here) Released: February 21, 1995 First Charted: September 30, 1995 Peak: 4 US, 3 CB, 3 RR, 19 AC, 16 A40, 16 AA, 26 AR, 7 MR, 6 UK, 11 CN, 15 AU, 3 DF (Click for codes to singles charts.) Sales (in millions): 0.5 US Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 50.9 video, 137.32 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Rick Chertoff, Eric Bazilian, and Rob Hyman became friends while attending the University of Pennsylvania. Chertoff would go on to produce the Kinks, the Alan Parsons Project, and Air Supply for Arista Records before moving to Columbia. There he signed Cyndi Lauper and brought in Bazilian and Hyman as backing musicians for her debut album, 1983’s She’s So Unusual. The exposure helped them launch their band, the Hooters. Their 1985 major-label debut, Nervous Night, was a double-platinum seller fueled by three top-40 hits. It proved to be the band’s commercial peak and by 1993 it looked like they’d released their final album (although they would make a comeback in 2010). Meanwhile, Rick Chertoff started his Blue Gorilla label at Polygram in 1992. The label released Relish, the 1995 major-label debut for singer/songwriter Joan Osborne. He brought in Bazilian for some songwriting duties, including “One of Us.” Bazilian said, “I wrote that song one night – the quickest song I ever wrote – to impress a girl. Which worked, because we’re married and have two kids.” WK He wrote it in January 1994 when his future wife asked him to record something. He said, “You can’t just sing, you have to write the song, you have to discuss the concept, you have to re-write then decide you were better in the first place.” SF Despite her protests, he obliged and, as he said, “the verses came out in the first pass, the chorus came out in the second pass.” SF He played it for Rick and Joan the next day and they recorded a demo of her singing it. He said, “When I got into my car and popped the cassette in, I started practicing the Grammy speech that I should've gotten to give.” WK It didn’t win, but was nominated for Song of the Year, Record of the year, and Best Female Pop Vocal. The song is “a simple, direct statement of faith, honest and unadorned, one framed in a near-perfect chorus and delectable Neil Young-ish guitar riff.” AMG Bazilian said it wasn’t about advocating any specific religious belief. SF It “was more about what happens to you when you look at something that has completely changed your world view, which could be meeting God, it could be meeting an alien, it could be a near-death experience.” SF Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Joan Osborne DMDB encyclopedia entry for Eric Bazilian AMG All Music Guide album review of Relish by Roch Parisien SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia First posted 9/6/2022.