"Not Just Another Girl" by Ivan Neville

Song#:  3671

Date:  10/08/1988

Debut:  81

Peak:  26

Weeks:  19

Genre:  Rock

Pop Bits:  This singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist inherited talent from his dad, singer Aaron Neville. Ivan got the music bug early on and was still a teen when he started his first band. As he gained experience Ivan started to play keyboard with The Neville Brothers and that led to work with other artists in shows and in the studio. For a couple of years in '85, he joined Bonnie Raitt's band. Along the way Ivan began writing songs and set his eye on a solo career. He got signed to Polydor Records and began working on a debut album with producer Danny Kortchmar (Don Henley). By the fall of '88 If My Ancestors Could See Me Now was ready and this first single was pushed out. It became a hit at Rock reaching #6. The song then crossed over to Pop where it eventually peaked inside the Top 30. The album would get to #107 on the chart.

ReduxReview:  Here's one that I haven't heard or thought about in years. I'm not sure why I didn't buy the single or album back in the day. I remember really liking the song. It was well-written, catchy, and had a nice, polished late 80s production by Kortchmar, who made it sound kind of like a Don Henley track. I also like how in the last chorus things get more urgent. It's a gem of a song that needs to be unearthed.

ReduxRating:  8/10

Trivia:  This song served two purposes. First as Neville's debut single to promote his album. Second, it was picked up for use in the film and for the soundtrack to the sci-fi comedy My Stepmother Is an Alien. The movie, which starred Kim Basinger, Dan Ackroyd, and Jon Lovitz, was originally written as a drama that had a bit of hidden message about child abuse. However, the studio though (oddly) that the story would work better as a comedy and changes were made. The daughter in the film was played by Alyson Hannigan who went on to be in the hit TV shows Buffy the Vampire Slayer and How I Met Your Mother. Upon release the film was a critical and box office failure. The associated soundtrack that featured Neville's song failed to chart.

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