"Button Off My Shirt" by Paul Carrack

Song#:  3638

Date:  09/10/1988

Debut:  98

Peak:  91

Weeks:  3

Genre:  Pop, Blue-Eyed Soul

Pop Bits:  Carrack's remake of "When You Walk in a Room" served as the third single from his third album One Good Reason. It didn't perform well peaking at a very low #90 on the Pop chart. Still, Carrack's label thought there was more gas in the tank and decided to issue out this fourth single. It did nearly the same stopping one notch lower at #91. That result wrapped up things for the album. However, Carrack would keep busy as a member of Mike + the Mechanics with their hit Living Years album soon to be released in October of '88. Carrack would then head back into the studio to record his fourth solo effort.

ReduxReview:  I really like the chorus of this song. It's immediately catchy and I like the melody along with the chord changes. It was a good fit for Carrack as well. However, the rest of the song doesn't quite come up to the same level as the chorus. It sounds basic and is a bit bland. It is also very 80s-centric. Co-writer Graham Lyle had written hits for Tina Turner and touches of this tune are reminiscent of some of the tunes he did for her. It's a likable track, but overall not one that was going to get far up the Pop chart.

ReduxRating:  6/10

Trivia:  Double Shot!  1) This is a remake of a song originally recorded by country superstar Ronnie Milsap. Written by Bill Livsey and Graham Lyle, Milsap recorded the tune for his 1987 album Heart & Soul. It would later be released in the late summer of '88 as the fifth single from the LP. It would reach #4 on the Country chart a month after Carrack's version debuted on the Pop chart.  2) As Carrack was finishing up his One Good Reason album, he got the opportunity to contribute a song to a soundtrack. Songwriter Dean Pitchford, who wrote the screenplay and co-wrote the songs for the '84 hit flick Footloose, was busy in '87 working on his next film. His next screenplay would be for the high school drama Sing. Like Footloose, Pitchford would co-write songs that would be featured in the movie and secure some top talent to perform them including Michael Bolton, Patti LaBelle, REO Speedwagon's Kevin Cronin, and Starship's Mickey Thomas. Carrack was also approached to do some vocals for the film's love song "Romance." It would end up being  duet between Carrack and Berlin lead singer Terri Nunn. The song would be released as a single and get to #14 at AC. It failed to reach the Pop chart. The only other charting single from the soundtrack was "Birthday Suit" by Johnny Kemp, which would get to #21 R&B/#36 Pop/#36 Dance. The film was a critical and box office failure. The soundtrack was also a dud peaking at #196.

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