The name Rupert Holmes is forever linked to the infamous story of infidelity told in his #1 smash from 1980, "Escape (The Pina Colada Song)." Most people forget he had another top ten hit with his hymn, "Him," which hit #6 that same year. Rupert Holmes began his career in the early 70s and a jingle writer and songwriter, and debuted his first album, "Widescreen," in 1974. It spawned zero hits, but got the attention of Barbara Streisand, who recorded some of the tunes for her smash movie, A Star is Born. It allowed him to keep making albums that eventually led to his breakthrough record, "Partners In Crime," which delivered his two top ten singles. Holmes is best known for his story-driven adult contemporary songs, but his catalogue is quite quirky and diverse. He did a homage to The Beatles with "I Don't Want To Hold Your Hand," tributes to his father's classical musician career ("Second Saxophone"), songs that showed his sense of humor ("Everything Gets Better When You're Drunk"), and a lullaby to his daughter called "Touch and Go." He even has some rockers like "Aw Shucks (It Was Nothing)," from his 1976 record called "Singles." There's a lot more to this guy than Pina Coladas.
The pop rock band, The Hollies, formed by Graham Nash and Allan Clarke, had a string of hits through the late 60s and early 70s. Their big breakthrough came with the classic "Bus Stop," which stopped at #5 in 1966, quickly followed with another "stop" song: "Stop Stop Stop," which hit #7. The band scored several more top 10 hits, but never landed at #1. The closest they got was "Long Cool Woman (In A Black Dress)," which hit #2 for 2 weeks in 1972. The magic of the Hollies had run its course by 1975, when "Another Night" topped out at #71. The band would reunite to score one more chart hit in 1983 with a cover of the Eddie Holland-written song "Stop In The Name Of Love," which they took to #29. "Hey Willy" is a jamming tune that reminds me of Bread when they were rocking out. Released in 1971, it failed to break into the top 100.
Hailing from Detroit, Motown artist Eddie Holland first scored a hit with "Jamie" in 1962 - that tune went to #30 and would remain his best chart performance. He wrote plenty of other songs for other Motown artists, but should have had more hits on his own. "Candy To Me" is surely one of them, but it stalled at #58 in 1964.
Actress and rock star Courtney Love scored three chart appearances with her band, Hole, in the 90s. Love's life has been peppered with tragedies, including the deaths of her husband Kurt Cobain (Nirvana) and Hole's bassist, Kristen Pfaff, both in 1994 when Hole's breakthrough album arrived. "Doll Parts" hit #58 that year, but the band's follow-up record in 1998 was even more radio-friendly, earning "Celebrity Skin" and "Malibu" spots at #56 and #81, respectively. Both of those singles were co-written with Billy Corgan of Smashing Pumpkins. Hole's 1998 record had plenty of other good tunes, including "Boys On The Radio." It's another acoustic-based rocker like "Malibu," and could have had charting potential.
Once in a while you hear a song that just grabs you by the heartstrings and pulls so tight that you are forced to stop everything, sit down, and listen. That kind of moment doesn’t happen often, but when it does you remember it. This is what happened to me when I first heard Greg Holden’s song, “Boys In The Street”. The video, which uses mannequins to portray the story in the song, is equally moving. Holden is a British singer/songwriter who moved to New York and made his biggest mark yet co-writing the monster hit, “Home”, sung by Phillip Phillips on American Idol in 2012. Holden also wrote “The Lost Boy”, a song inspired by the Dave Eggers’s novel, “What Is The What”, which also appeared on the hit show, “Sons of Anarchy”. “Chase The Sun” is packed with terrific songs, including the lead off single from earlier this year called, “Hold On Tight”. Also noteworthy is the soaring “A Wonderful World” the Bob Dylan styled tune, “I Won’t Forget”.
Will Hoge is a singer/songwriter from Tennessee who is a modern day folk rock artist drawing comparisons to Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen. The prolific and ever busy Hoge has been cranking out albums since his debut, "Carousel," in 2001. His major label debut arrived next with "Blackbird On A Lonely Wire" in 2003. It failed to chart, but Hoge has released 7 more records, finally cracking the Top 200 in 2013 with "Never Give In" (seems an appropriate title to match this feat). In a logical music world, Hoge would be a household name. His songs are packed with raw emotion and an inspiring urgency, and his lyrical gifts make them worthy of repeated spins. Guitarist Dan Baird (Georgia Satellites) is a member of Hoge's band. This new song encapsulates everything I love about the clever songwriting skills in Hoge. In full Bob Dylan mode, "Thoughts & Prayers," expresses what millions of Americans are trying to say in these baffling times.
One of the most beloved voices behind the hit-making 80s phenomenon known as The Bangles, Susanna Hoffs seemed poised to have a successful solo career when the band broke up. But the 90s were not particularly kind to sunny pop. Susanna released her first solo record in 1991 and scored a minor hit with the first single, "My Side of The Bed," which hit #30. She would see one other chart entry in 1996 when "All I Want" went to #77. "Only Love" was also released from her debut solo effort, but it surprisingly did not light up the charts with its bright and catchy chorus. Never too late to discover this underrated gem. And for those who don't know, Hoffs later teamed up with Matthew Sweet to make a series of cover albums called "Under The Covers."
From the 2012 album, "Dream Good," "Keep The Blue Skies" is one of the best songs of that year. Cliff Hillis is the indie singer/songwriter behind this great little tune of optimism, and he has much more where that came from. Before his solo career, Hillis was a member of the underground power pop favorites, Starbelly. He then played with John Faye in the John Faye Power Trip before starting his solo career in 2001 with the album "Be Seeing You."
When most people hear the name Dan Hill they, well they probably don't remember anything unless they're from his native land of Canada. He had plenty of hits there, but limited success in the US. Most people will recall his two biggest hits, the ballads "Sometimes When We Touch," which hit #3 in 1977 and "Can't We Try," which hit #6 in 1987. The latter came from his self-titled 1987 record (his debut 1975 record was also self-titled) and was a duet with Vonda Shepard. Her stunning vocal no doubt played a major role in getting Hill back on the charts after a ten year absence, but they didn't even spell her name right on the album (Sheppard). Nevertheless, Shepard made out just fine and soon went on to be a regular on the show Ally McBeal. But Hill did more than just ballads. A pretty groovy cut from his 1987 album that actually jams a bit is "Every Boys Fantasy." If you're looking for a laugh that encapsulates everything that was wrong about the 80s, check out "Pleasure Centre."
This little-known band from New Jersey carries a torch for Bruce Springsteen but sounds more like The Eagles. They used to go by the name Samhill and Mr. Reality, the latter having made one of my favorite records of all-time. Stay tuned until we get to the M's for more on that album. Highway 9 released "What In Samhill?" in 2002, and it sounds like a proper follow-up, albeit somewhat inferior, to their work done as Mr. Reality. But tracks like "Tug Of War" below and "Between Your Eyes And Mine" and "Say You're Mine" are pure acoustic rock bliss. The band's trademark harmonies are terrific and I wish we would have heard much more from them.
You've got to be kidding me! John Hiatt has never had a single song chart on the hot 100? Criminal! This legendary, Grammy-winning singer/songwriter has been writing hits for years, but they only land on the charts when other artists cover them. One of the most prolific artists of our time, he currently has 22 studio albums under his belt. Hiatt's first taste of success goes back to 1974, when his song "Sure As I'm Sittin' Here" was made into a #16 hit for Three Dog Night. Some of his other famous tunes include Jeff Healey's "Angel Eyes," which peaked at #5 in 1989 and Bonnie Raitt's version of "Thing Called Love." Hiatt's 1987 album (his eighth) was his first to chart and yielded several of his classics, including the gorgeous "Have A Little Faith In Me." The song has been covered by many, from Bon Jovi to Jewel to Joe Cocker. It's never cracked the top 100.
Nick Heyward was a member of the one-hit wonder band from the 80s called Haircut One Hundred. That band scored a #37 hit in 1982 with "Love Plus One." Fast forward a little more than ten years later and Nick Heyward appeared to be gaining some traction as a solo artist. His 1994 song "Kite" acquired some decent airplay but not enough to chart. The song came from his excellent album, "From Monday to Sunday," which is filled with power pop gems. "Into Your Life" is one of the highlights for me.
Todd Herfindal is an indie singer/songwriter you may know from a band called The Meadows. He's released a few standout solo records as well, this track coming from his 2008 effort called "Collective." I liken his sound to Tom Petty or The Jayhawks. He definitely deserves mainstream success - give a listen to one of my favorite tracks by this promising artist, "Air I'm Breathing."
Formed in Manchester in 1963, Herman's Hermits had a stellar career as part of the British Invasion that decade. Right place, right time, but also the right songs. A long string of hits has made this band the 165th most successful of all-time, and the 26th most successful artist of the 60s. In addition to 9 other top 10 hits, they scored two #1 songs: "Mrs. Brown You've Got A Lovely Daughter" and "I'm Henry VIII, I Am," both in 1965. While Herman's Hermits quickly rose to fame, they also quickly faded away. By the end of the decade, they struggled to stay on the charts, a streak that ended in 1968 when "Sleepy Joe" topped out at #61. "Sunshine Girl" was released and 1968 but failed to chart. It's a terrific pop song but I guess the world had had enough of Herman's Hermits by then. Vocalist Peter Noone would move on with a solo career, but he didn't score any charting singles.
