Post by erik on Dec 10, 2022 19:41:36 GMT -5
Eddie Rabbitt, one of the foremost country-to-pop crossover stars of the late 1970's and 1980's, is in this week's Pop Music Hits Spotlight with one of the biggest such crossover hits of his career.
DRIVIN’ MY LIFE AWAY (Eddie Rabbitt; Elektra; 1980)—While he more or less comes from the same part of America as Bruce Springsteen, Eddie Rabbitt followed quite a more circuitous path to superstardom than The Boss, as his was via Nashville. Although he had had minor hits on his own as a performer as early as 1964 and songwriting credits beginning in 1967, Rabbitt’s name really came to people’s attention when his song “Kentucky Rain” (written with Dick Heard) was recorded by Elvis Presley for The King’s 1969 sessions with Chips Moman. The song became a sizeable hit for Elvis, hitting #16 on the Hot 100 in March 1970; and Elvis also cut Rabbitt’s “Inherit The Wind” for his late 1969 album From Memphis To Vegas/From Vegas To Memphis”, and “Patch It Up” (written with Rory Bourke) for 1970’s This Is Elvis. Ronnie Milsap also got a #1 hit out of another Rabbitt composition, “Pure Love”, in 1973. As a performer, Rabbitt scored several big country hits beginning in 1976 with “Drinkin’ My Baby (Off Of My Mind”); “Rocky Mountain Music”; and “Two Dollars In The Jukebox”; and in late 1978, with the title song of the Clint Eastwood comedy film Every Which Way But Loose, he also cracked the Top 40 on the pop charts. A noticeable R&B flavor was to insert its way into some of his material via the 1979 hit “Suspicions”. And then in 1980, Rabbitt had a major league breakthrough with a modern truck-driving anthem called “Drivin’ My Life Away”, which was featured on the soundtrack of the film Roadie. While the film itself was a critical and commercial disaster, and while “Drivin’ My Life Away” wasn’t quite “straight” country per se (this being the era of pop/country crossover appeal), it nevertheless found its way to #1 on the C&W singles chart in August 1980, and peaked two months later at #5 on the Hot 100. Rabbitt would have a #1 pop/C&W crossover hit early in 1981 with “I Love A Rainy Night”, and several more such crossover hits through 1983; thereafter, his records stayed on the country charts. His career and life ended on May 7, 1998, when he passed away at the age of 56 from lung cancer.
DRIVIN’ MY LIFE AWAY (Eddie Rabbitt; Elektra; 1980)—While he more or less comes from the same part of America as Bruce Springsteen, Eddie Rabbitt followed quite a more circuitous path to superstardom than The Boss, as his was via Nashville. Although he had had minor hits on his own as a performer as early as 1964 and songwriting credits beginning in 1967, Rabbitt’s name really came to people’s attention when his song “Kentucky Rain” (written with Dick Heard) was recorded by Elvis Presley for The King’s 1969 sessions with Chips Moman. The song became a sizeable hit for Elvis, hitting #16 on the Hot 100 in March 1970; and Elvis also cut Rabbitt’s “Inherit The Wind” for his late 1969 album From Memphis To Vegas/From Vegas To Memphis”, and “Patch It Up” (written with Rory Bourke) for 1970’s This Is Elvis. Ronnie Milsap also got a #1 hit out of another Rabbitt composition, “Pure Love”, in 1973. As a performer, Rabbitt scored several big country hits beginning in 1976 with “Drinkin’ My Baby (Off Of My Mind”); “Rocky Mountain Music”; and “Two Dollars In The Jukebox”; and in late 1978, with the title song of the Clint Eastwood comedy film Every Which Way But Loose, he also cracked the Top 40 on the pop charts. A noticeable R&B flavor was to insert its way into some of his material via the 1979 hit “Suspicions”. And then in 1980, Rabbitt had a major league breakthrough with a modern truck-driving anthem called “Drivin’ My Life Away”, which was featured on the soundtrack of the film Roadie. While the film itself was a critical and commercial disaster, and while “Drivin’ My Life Away” wasn’t quite “straight” country per se (this being the era of pop/country crossover appeal), it nevertheless found its way to #1 on the C&W singles chart in August 1980, and peaked two months later at #5 on the Hot 100. Rabbitt would have a #1 pop/C&W crossover hit early in 1981 with “I Love A Rainy Night”, and several more such crossover hits through 1983; thereafter, his records stayed on the country charts. His career and life ended on May 7, 1998, when he passed away at the age of 56 from lung cancer.