"Thin Line Between Love and Hate" by The Pretenders

Song#:  1958
Date:  06/30/1984
Debut:  88
Peak:  83
Weeks:  5
Genre:  Rock



Pop Bits:  This band's Learning to Crawl LP spawned three Top 30 Pop hits including the #5 "Back on the Chain Gang." They decided to try for one more and released this fourth single. It didn't pick up a lot of support and ended up bobbing around the bottom of the Pop chart for a few weeks. The results weren't too surprising since several of the album's tracks had been floating around Rock radio for over a year. Regardless, the album remains the band's best charting release getting to #5.

ReduxReview:  This is a terrific cover tune with a great performance by Chrissie Hynde. It's a bit of a dour song that ends with a philandering guy put in the hospital after his girlfriend has had enough and her tempered inner rage finally snaps. Not necessarily the happiest fodder for Pop radio, however it's a classic tune and Hynde gives an excellent reading. Releasing it as a single was totally unnecessary, but it is certainly a treat to hear.

ReduxRating:  7/10

Trivia:  This is a remake of a 1971 hit song by the R&B vocal group The Persuaders. The song was their debut single and it would be a gold record hit reaching #1 at R&B and #15 Pop. The song would be remade again later in 1996 by the R&B group H-Town. Featuring vocals by Shirley Murdock, the single would get to #6 R&B and #37 Pop. It served as the theme song to the Martin Lawrence rom-com-ish movie of the same name.

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