"Romancing the Stone" by Eddy Grant

Song#:  1904
Date:  05/19/1984
Debut:  93
Peak:  26
Weeks:  17
Genre:  Pop, Dance, Soundtrack



Pop Bits:  Grant broke through to a worldwide audience with his hit "Electric Avenue" (#2 Pop). It was taken from his seventh studio LP Killer on the Rampage. The hit afforded him new opportunities and one was to write a song specifically for an upcoming adventure film titled Romancing the Stone that was to star Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner. Grant came up with this tune, which seemed like a great fit. Unfortunately, prior to the film's release there was some kind of dispute between Grant and the film's producers that led to the song being completely cut from the movie and left off of the soundtrack. Still, Grant included the song on his next album, Going for Broke, and it served as the lead single. Despite being cut from the film, the initial video for the tune still featured scenes from the movie, which became a box office hit. The song did well enough to get into the Pop Top 30 (#12 Dance, #39 Rock, #68 R&B), but it would end up being his last charting entry.

ReduxReview:  Grant pretty much drops his reggae roots and aims for a more sleek mainstream synthpop sound. The end result is fine, but it doesn't come close to matching the unique feel and production of "Electric Avenue." In fact, it is quite bland in comparison. It charted fine thanks in part to the movie doing well (despite being kicked out of it), but really, when was the last time you heard this? Probably not since '84 like me. It's okay for what it was (a commercial tie-in to a movie), but it certainly wasn't "Footloose."

ReduxRating:  5/10

Trivia:  Grant would have one more major hit in his career. In 1988, he wrote and recorded the anti-apartheid anthem "Gimme Hope Jo'anna" (the Jo'anna of the song mainly refers to the South African city of Johannesburg). Of course, the politically charged tune would be banned in South Africa, but it became a worldwide hit reaching the Top 10 in many countries including the UK (#7). However, it didn't catch on in the US and it failed to chart. After that hit, Grant's charting days pretty much came to an end. He would continue to record albums over the years, but other business ventures (such as his Blue Wave recording studio) started to become his main focus.

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