Song#: 1972
Date: 07/07/1984
Debut: 85
Peak: 19
Weeks: 16
Genre: Pop, Adult Contemporary
Pop Bits: Latin superstar Iglesias broke through to the English US market with "To All the Girls I've Loved Before," his #5 Pop/#3 AC/#1 Country duet with Willie Nelson. It was the first single from his sleek, Richard Perry-produced album 1100 Bel Air Place. For the follow-up single, another duet was chosen. This time around, Iglesias teamed up with the legendary Diana Ross for this AC-leaning ballad. It was a hit at AC getting to #2, but at Pop it didn't do quite as well and could only manage a brief Top 20 showing. Still, it helped sell the album, which over time would be certified quad-platinum. The song would also be included on Ross' album Swept Away, which would be released later in the year.
ReduxReview: I found "To All the Girls" abysmal and grating. I didn't like the song and really hated the pairing of Iglesias and Nelson. This duet is far better. Ross is a perfect duet partner and the song, with music co-written by Iglesias and Tony Renis and lyrics by Cynthia Weil, is steps ahead of "To All the Girls." The sophisticated song is more in line with what I expected from Iglesias and the cinematic production by Perry fit it well. It was a bit too AC-leaning to really click at Pop, but the Top 20 showing was pretty good. I bought the single and it remains the only thing I own from Iglesias.
ReduxRating: 7/10
Trivia: Iglesias' album featured one more duet of sorts. The Beach Boys would provide the background vocals on "The Air That I Breathe," a remake of the 1974 #6 hit by The Hollies. The song was originally recorded in 1972 by Albert Hammond, who co-wrote it with Mike Hazelwood. It appeared on Hammond's album It Never Rains in Southern California, which featured the #5 Pop title-track. Hammond's version of "Air" was not released as a single. The Hollies picked it up and made a hit out of it two years later. The UK band Simply Red covered the song in 1998 and took it to #6 on the AC chart (it did not chart at Pop). The song was the subject of news stories in 1992 when Hammond and Hazelwood noticed that the breakthrough song, "Creep" (#34 Pop/#2 US Alternative), from the UK band Radiohead sounded familiar. They realized that the chord structure of the song was very similar to that found in "Air." Hammond and Hazelwood sued for plagiarism and won. The pair are now listed as co-writers of "Creep" along with Radiohead leader Thom Yorke.
_________________________________________________________________________________
No comments:
Post a Comment