"Tonight Tonight" by Bill Champlin

Song#:  0861
Date:  12/26/1981
Debut:  85
Peak:  55
Weeks:  8
Genre:  Pop, Adult Contemporary



Pop Bits:  Champlin's name will be familiar to any latter-day Chicago fan. He joined the group in 1981 and remained with them through 2008. Along the way he would co-write many songs for the group and provide vocals for some of their major hits. But before his Chicago days, Champlin originally recorded with Sons of Champlin, a renamed version of his band from high school. They had five albums that didn't make any impact and later in the 70s the group split. Champlin went on to became a very successful and in-demand session vocalist in L.A. His success led him to working with several major artists and big-time producer David Foster. He was able to secure a recording contract and with Foster producing he got two solo albums out the door. They didn't do very well but his second one, "Runaway," contained this single that just missed the top half of the chart. He would have one more minor single before the call from Chicago came in. Champlin would issue a few more albums in the 90s, but none would see any chart action.

ReduxReview:  This song and Champlin's album definitely has that David Foster touch and actually certain songs sound very Chicago-y. However, even though Champlin would go on to win songwriting Grammys, the material here is not great. It doesn't sound too different from the original (see below) so there is not much improvement. It's just a very bland ballad that for me that sounds a lot like some of Chicago's future AC efforts.

ReduxRating:  4/10

Trivia:  This song was co-written by Champlin, but for the most part it is a remake of another artist's song. Ray Kennedy's self-titled 1980 album featured the song "My Everlasting Love" that he co-wrote with Foster (and which Foster produced). With Champlin, Foster updated the song and changed the title to "Tonight Tonight." Kennedy's "My Everlasting Love" was not issued as a single, but he did reach #80 with "Just for the Moment" from the same album.

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