"If I'd Been the One" by 38 Special

Song#:  1693
Date:  11/12/1983
Debut:  62
Peak:  19
Weeks:  16
Genre:  Rock



Pop Bits:  With their third album, Special Forces, 38 Special got their first Top 10 hit with the #10 "Caught Up in You" (#1 Rock). The album would also hit #10 and become their second platinum disc. To announce their follow-up album titled Tour de Force, the band issued this first single. It was another smash at Rock radio hitting #1. Although the track wouldn't get into the Top 10 at pop, it still did well enough to make the Top 20 and help to make the album their third platinum selling in a row.

ReduxReview:  The band created a little niche for themselves by managing to integrate their Southern rock sound with arena-ready pop/rock. It worked out very well for them and the results were certainly solid. This song is nearly as good as "Caught Up in You" and probably should have gotten closer to the Top 10, but it had a solid Top 20 finished enhanced by being a #1 Rock track.

ReduxRating:  7/10

Trivia:  Band member Donnie Van Zant was the middle of the three musical Van Zant brothers. His brother Ronnie was the lead singer of Lynyrd Skynyrd until his death in a plane crash in 1977. Younger brother Johnny played in several band and in 1987 would become the lead singer in a reformed version of Lynyrd Skynyrd. Donnie and Johnny would also form their own band simply called Van Zant. A debut album in 1985 yielded a couple of songs that were minor hits at Rock. They discontinued the partnership after the album, but re-teamed for a couple of albums in 1998 and 2001. But their best success came in 2005 when they did the album Get Right with the Man for Columbia Nashville. The country-leaning LP got to #2 on the Country chart thanks to the #8 Country single "Help Somebody." The album would go gold. A follow-up album, My Kind of Country, would also reach the Country Top 10. Unfortunately, due to health issues Donnie would choose to retired from music in 2013.

_________________________________________________________________________________