Post by erik on Jun 11, 2022 18:03:33 GMT -5
A film starring Clint Eastwood and an orangutan gives Eddie Rabbitt his first country/pop crossover hit, which is featured in this, the 700th edition of the Pop Music Hits Spotlight series.
EVERY WHICH WAY BUT LOOSE (Eddie Rabbitt; Elektra; 1978)—Born in Brooklyn in 1941, and raised in East Orange, New Jersey, amongst the same scenes that gave birth to Bruce Springsteen, Eddie Rabbitt nevertheless became one of the more prominent country/pop crossover stars of the late 1970’s and 1980’s. He first came to prominence when, in collaboration with Dick Heard, he wrote what would become one of Elvis Presley’s biggest later-day hits, “Kentucky Rain”. Recorded during the King’s early 1969 Memphis sessions under the aegis of Chips Moman, “Kentucky Rain” peaked at #16 on the Hot 100 in late March 1970 (Elvis also recorded two other Rabbitt songs, “Inherit The Wind” and “Patch It Up”). He got his first #1 C&W hit as a songwriter, when “Pure Love” topped the country chart for Ronnie Milsap. His own recording career started taking shape in 1976, with three major C&W hits, “Rocky Mountain Music”, “Drinkin’ My Baby (Off Of My Mind)”, and “Two Dollars In The Jukebox”. But it was in 1978 that his records began crossing over; and that started with the title song, written by Steve Dorff, Milton Brown, and Snuff Garrett, for the Clint Eastwood comic vehicle Every Which Way But Loose. The film, which featured Eastwood as a part-time truck driver and part-time bare-knuckles fighter who tangles with a lot of comic foils plus an all-too-willing orangutan named Clyde, was released in December 1978; and while it was heavily panned by critics, it still became one more major box office hit for the actor formerly known as “Dirty Harry” or “The Man With No Name”. Into the breach stepped Rabbitt with the title track; and not only did “Every Which Way But Loose” become a #1 hit on the Billboard Country chart, it also crossed over onto the overall Hot 100, peaking at #30 in February 1979, and #26 on the Adult Contemporary chart. More crossover hits were to come between then and 1983, including “Suspicions” (an R&B-style ballad) in 1979, “Drivin’ My Life Away” in 1980, and “I Love A Rainy Night” , which topped both the country and pop charts during the late winter of 1981.
EVERY WHICH WAY BUT LOOSE (Eddie Rabbitt; Elektra; 1978)—Born in Brooklyn in 1941, and raised in East Orange, New Jersey, amongst the same scenes that gave birth to Bruce Springsteen, Eddie Rabbitt nevertheless became one of the more prominent country/pop crossover stars of the late 1970’s and 1980’s. He first came to prominence when, in collaboration with Dick Heard, he wrote what would become one of Elvis Presley’s biggest later-day hits, “Kentucky Rain”. Recorded during the King’s early 1969 Memphis sessions under the aegis of Chips Moman, “Kentucky Rain” peaked at #16 on the Hot 100 in late March 1970 (Elvis also recorded two other Rabbitt songs, “Inherit The Wind” and “Patch It Up”). He got his first #1 C&W hit as a songwriter, when “Pure Love” topped the country chart for Ronnie Milsap. His own recording career started taking shape in 1976, with three major C&W hits, “Rocky Mountain Music”, “Drinkin’ My Baby (Off Of My Mind)”, and “Two Dollars In The Jukebox”. But it was in 1978 that his records began crossing over; and that started with the title song, written by Steve Dorff, Milton Brown, and Snuff Garrett, for the Clint Eastwood comic vehicle Every Which Way But Loose. The film, which featured Eastwood as a part-time truck driver and part-time bare-knuckles fighter who tangles with a lot of comic foils plus an all-too-willing orangutan named Clyde, was released in December 1978; and while it was heavily panned by critics, it still became one more major box office hit for the actor formerly known as “Dirty Harry” or “The Man With No Name”. Into the breach stepped Rabbitt with the title track; and not only did “Every Which Way But Loose” become a #1 hit on the Billboard Country chart, it also crossed over onto the overall Hot 100, peaking at #30 in February 1979, and #26 on the Adult Contemporary chart. More crossover hits were to come between then and 1983, including “Suspicions” (an R&B-style ballad) in 1979, “Drivin’ My Life Away” in 1980, and “I Love A Rainy Night” , which topped both the country and pop charts during the late winter of 1981.