"Owner of a Lonely Heart" by Yes

#1 Alert!

Rated 10 Alert!

Song#:  1681
Date:  11/05/1983
Debut:  62
Peak:  1 (2 weeks)
Weeks:  23
Genre:  Prog Rock



Pop Bits:  This English prog rock band had a long and complicated history that began with a non-charting self-titled album in 1969. Two years later, their third album, titled The Yes Album, broke them in the UK hitting #4. It set them up for a bigger breakthrough with their classic 1971 LP Fragile. It contained their only US Top 40 hit to-date with an edited version of the song "Roundabout." After that, their adventurous rock albums consistently hit the Top 10 and were certified gold. However, by 1980 the band was having internal issues and their album Drama stalled at #18 in the US and failed to go gold. The turmoil finally took its toll and the band called it quits early in 1981. A couple of members went on to form Asia, while the rest sought out other projects. But circumstances unexpectedly lured some former members back together and soon the LP 90125 was issued. Their new commercial leaning rock sound was apparent on this first single that found its way to the top of the Pop chart (#1 Rock). It helped the album reach #5 and over time it became their best selling album going triple platinum.

ReduxReview:  I thought this song was just cool as shizzle. The song was great to begin with, but all the studio techniques and effects made it stand out even more. The video was cool too and was constantly played on MTV. This is one of those songs that many, many folks could recognize just based on the first few seconds. That intro made a statement and the song lived up to it. Definitely one of the best rock songs of the decade.

ReduxRating:  10/10

Trivia:  In '82, two former Yes members got together with another guitarist and formed a band called Cinema. They began sessions for an album and as they progressed, changes in the lineup occurred. By the time the dust cleared, Cinema consisted of four former Yes member (three of them originals) and one new person. The label wanted them to change their name to Yes since four of the five were from that band and it was already an established name. After some initial objections, they made the switch and issued 90125. Although the actual band name of Cinema was gone, the new Yes recorded an instrumental track for the album called "Cinema." That song ended up winning a Grammy award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance. The band also got a nomination in the Best Rock Vocal Performance, Duo or Group category for the album.

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