"Staying Together" by Debbie Gibson

Song#:  3608

Date:  08/06/1988

Debut:  84

Peak:  22

Weeks:  12

Genre:  Pop

Pop Bits:  This teenager's debut album, Out of the Blue, was basically an out-of-the-blue major success. By this point in time it had reach #7, gone double-platinum, and spawned four Pop Top 10 hits including the #1 "Foolish Beat." Since that chart topper was the fourth single released from the LP, it seemed logical to release a fifth single to capitalize on the momentum. This next track was selected, but it didn't catch on as well as her previous singles and stopped shy of the Pop Top 20. Still, it seemed to boost album sales a little and by December of '88 the LP would reach the triple-platinum mark.

ReduxReview:  I highly doubt that Gibson or her label planned on having to release a fifth single from the album. I'm sure they were even surprised by the three Top 10s and then shocked by the #1 peak of "Foolish Beat." The rest of the tracks on the album were pretty good pop tracks, but none really stood out as singles, so it was a crap shoot as to what to push out for a fifth single. This one wasn't a bad choice as its urgent beat and production was different from her previous hits. It actually did better on the chart than what I thought it would. It was a good tune, but it didn't make for a memorable single.

ReduxRating:  5/10

Trivia:  The cover of the album shows Gibson with a stuffed animal on a white background. Gibson is sitting on the floor with one leg down and the other bent toward her face. For the shoot with British-born photographer Adrian Buckmaster, Gibson wore a pair of faded jeans that were worn and torn at the knees. With her one leg bent up towards her face, Buckmaster thought that her exposed knee was competing for attention with her face. Gibson like the pose a lot, but it wasn't quite right for Buckmaster. As an experiment to keep her knee from drawing focus, the shoot's makeup artist drew a face on Gibson's knee. That bit of distraction seemed to work for both Gibson and Buckmaster and the final cover features the little knee face. Apparently, fans noticed the minor addition on the cover and it wasn't long before teen girls all over were doing imitations on their knees, especially when attending Gibson's concerts.

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