"One Sunny Day/Duelling Bikes from Quicksilver" by Ray Parker, Jr. and Helen Terry

Song#:  2621
Date:  02/15/1986
Debut:  96
Peak:  96
Weeks:  3
Genre:  Dance-Pop, Soundtrack



Pop Bits:  Parker's third album Sex and the Single Man was a bit of a bust with only one minor charting single, the #21 R&B/#34 Pop "Girls Are More Fun." Afterward, he would end up leaving his home label of Arista for Geffen. Prior to the switch, Parker was asked to sing on a track that was written for the 1986 Kevin Bacon messenger bike flick Quicksilver. He was paired with British singer Helen Terry (famous for her background vocals for Culture Club) and together they recorded "One Sunny Day." It was issued out as a single, but it failed to make an impression and quickly disappeared - much like the movie, which was a box office dud that was panned by critics. Although this song was composed by Bill Wolfer and Dean Pitchford (of Footloose fame), the score for the film was done by Tony Banks from Genesis.

ReduxReview:  Well, they were certainly going for something akin to the tunes from Beverly Hills Cop. Actually, it sounds like a rejected Pointers Sisters track. While the song wasn't all that bad, it wasn't very good either. The straight-ahead pop track was not a good fit for Parker and Terry's talents are totally wasted here. Parker is not a strong vocalist, so Terry probably had to tame her pipes in order to not blow him out of the water. It's a mediocre tune that sounds like something from a dorky 80s movie, so I guess it fit the bill.

ReduxRating:  4/10

Trivia:  Like many films of the 80s, this movie had a soundtrack filled with new songs by popular artists like Roger Daltrey, Peter Frampton, John Parr, and Marilyn Martin. There was also one song by an unknown artist named Larry John McNally. McNally was mainly a songwriter and over the years he would have tunes recorded by Bonnie Raitt, Aaron Neville, Chaka Khan, the Eagles, and many others. The track he recorded for Quicksilver was one titled "The Motown Song." Since the film and soundtrack were duds, it seemed like that might have been it for McNally's contribution. However, later in 1990 Rod Stewart picked up the tune and recorded it with a little help from The Temptations. It was released as the third single from Stewart's Vagabond Heart and it would turn into a #10 Pop/#3 AC hit.

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