"I'll Still Be Loving You" by Restless Heart

Rated 10 Alert!

Song#:  3087
Date:  04/11/1987
Debut:  96
Peak:  33
Weeks:  18
Genre:  Crossover Country, Adult Contemporary



Pop Bits:  In 1984, songwriter Tim DuBois decided to assemble a band specifically for the purpose of recording demos of songs he wrote or co-wrote. These tunes would then be shopped to other artists. He got five guys together and began recording. The sessions were so successful that the made-up band decided that they should become a real band. DuBois signed them up with his management company and got them a deal with RCA. They released their self-titled debut album in 1985 and it ended up reaching #10 on the Country chart thanks to three Country Top 10 hits. Their next LP, Wheels, would prove to be their mainstream breakthrough. Its first single, "That Rock Won't Roll," would become their first #1 at Country, but it was this second single that gained them a larger audience. The ballad would garner them their second Country #1 while hitting #3 at AC. It also cracked the Pop Top 40, which was unusual at the time as country-oriented songs/artists, with a minor exception or two, had not been getting on the Pop chart for the past couple of years. The hit helped the album get to #1 at Country and #73 Pop. It would end up being a gold seller. It would also spawn a total of four Country #1 hits. Over the next five years, the band would score three more gold-selling studio albums.

ReduxReview:  This song is simply gorgeous. If this had been released a few years earlier during the heyday of country pop, I'm certain this would have been a #1 Pop hit. The fact that it made the Top 40 when it did showed the strength and appeal of the song. I'm not 100% sure, but I think this might have been the last country crossover hit until Billy Ray Cyrus' 1992 "Achy Breaky Heart" (#4 Pop). That's how much the musical landscaped changed in the late 80s. I loved this tune the first time I heard it. The chorus was beautifully written and the arrangement was timeless. Larry Stewart did a great job on vocals as well. Of course I bought the album, which had other gems as well including the brooding "New York (Hold Her Tight)." This is classic country-pop songwriting at its best impeccably recorded and performed.

ReduxRating:  10/10

Trivia:  While this song introduced the band to a Pop audience, their follow-up songs would not reach the chart. However, two tracks from the album would get on the AC chart. The band wouldn't get back on the Pop chart until 1992 when they scored their biggest crossover hit "When She Cries." That song would reach #11 Pop, #2 AC, and #9 Country. It was from their album Big Iron Horses. Prior to that LP, the band's lead singer, Larry Stewart, had left for a solo career. The band soldiered on as a quartet with three of them sharing lead vocal duties. "When She Cries" was sung by drummer John Dittrich. The song would be the band's last Top 10 at Country while the album would be their final gold-seller. They would breakup and reform a couple of times over the years with Larry Stewart rejoining them.

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