These (Truly) Are the Worst of Times

Well played, M-H.

At some point we were joking about the "Pina Colada" song in my shop, and Holmes being a one-hit wonder, and a guy who came of age in the late 1970s said, "He had more than one hit. Don't forget 'Him.'"

That one makes the Pina Colada/Escape song sound like Stairway to Heaven.

 

Back to REO Speedwagon, who were supposed to play a show tonight in my neck of the woods, but canceled because someone in their entourage has COVID.

Anyway, it's interesting to me that they scored a hit with "Time for Me to Fly," from their "You Can Tune a Piano ..." album, then took over the airwaves a couple years later when "Hi Infidelity" came out. But between those two albums they put out "Nine Lives," a rockin' LP dominated by Gary Richrath's guitar playing and best known for Bruce Hall's rocker, "Back on the Road Again."

"Nine Lives" holds up really well IMHO.

 

I shall look it up, thank you.

 

Dude be writing books as well:

Rupert Holmes (Author of Swing)

 

So, fans.

Great song, tho:

At a charity event in western Connecticut earlier this year, I was approached by a forty-something guy, who introduced himself as a long-time REO fan. He owns a successful Ferrari dealership, and noticed that the house at 157 Riverside Ave was for sale. Apparently the place had seen better days, but he bought the property anyway, had the original building razed, and built a beautiful new home on the site. So now there is a loyal member of the REO Fan Family living at 157 Riverside Avenue…as it should be!

On the bus ride over to the venue, Neal told us the original address of that infamous house in Connecticut was actually 157 Riverside Drive. That didn’t fit the phrasing original REO singer Terry Luttrell had in mind, so he used his poetic license and changed the address to 157 Riverside Avenue. Years later, when REO hit it big, the city would change the street name to Riverside Avenue, reportedly in honor of our song!

REO Mojo Going on Yesterday in Bridgeport - REO Speedwagon

 

And a TV show that ran for four seasons.

Remember WENN - Wikipedia

 

The Wikipedia says it was his favorite writing experience.

I need to plow through it and see what ‘evil’ he buried in this seemingly warm and fuzzy ode to times gone by.

 

There is a local AM station with an FM repeater that specializes in circa-1980 yacht rock. Rupert Holmes is a big player along with Elton John's "Little Jeannie" and the most upbeat James Taylor song out there, "Your Smiling Face."

 

The key and measure changes in this song are ... remarkable. Puts John Lennon to shame.

 

I actually remember "Him" coming out a little while after "Escape" becoming a big hit, and that got some play on the radio also. "Him" was about a guy realizing his girl was cheating on him.
Back to Machine Head's point about the "Escape" relationship, I always looked at "Him" as a sequel song about the same couple and the unavoidable result of the happenings in "Escape." No way that one or both of them didn't eventually stray.

 

The guy won Tonys for Drood. One of those freaks that probably just forayed into pop music because he was bored.

 

crazy story, but even crazier that there apparently was a time when not indenting paragraphs was “in.”