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Friday, March 31, 2017

"She Loves My Car" by Ronnie Milsap

Song#:  1997
Date:  08/04/1984
Debut:  94
Peak:  84
Weeks:  4
Genre:  Pop



Pop Bits:  Milsap's 1983 album Keyed Up would be his final one to feature a Pop Top 40 hit. The rock-leaning "Stranger in My House" would reached #23 at Pop while getting to #5 Country and #8 AC. Although his hit making days at Pop would be over, he continued his streak of hits at Country with his next album One More Try for Love. The LP's first single, "Still Losing You," would become his 25th Country #1. The song was also able to chart at AC getting to #29, but it missed Pop completely. His next single would feature this song, which would end up being Milsap's final Pop chart entry. It was only able to hang on for a month. The song would not be able to get on any other chart, however the single's flip side would (see below). Milsap would remain a big hit maker at Country for the balance of the decade securing ten more #1's.

ReduxReview:  The video is pretty hilarious and worth watching. So 80s and so weird. The song is not too bad. It's the typical 80s bid for crossover action from a country star, however by this time folks were becoming less interested in country artists as pop acts and the split between the two genres was widening. Therefore, crossover acts like Mislap, Kenny Rogers, Juice Newton, Dolly Parton, etc., were losing their pop audience quickly. The heydays of country crossover were pretty much done by this point. These artists would safely return to their core country audiences and finally give up the pop hits. But before that, Milsap gave it one more try with this song. It didn't pay off. Again, it's not a bad little lite-rock tune, but it can't compare to his truly great hits of the period.

ReduxRating:  6/10

Trivia:  Double Shot!  1) The single for this song was basically a double-sided hit. The first side featured this song, which was marketed to a Pop audience. The second side contained the song "Prisoner of the Highway," which was marketed to Country. "Car" ended up a blip on the Pop chart, but "Prisoner" was able to reach #6 at Country. No matter which song you preferred, you could get both on one single. Now that's crossover marketing!  2) The video for this song is loaded with 80s references and fads from day-glo colors to moonwalking. It also featured an 80s TV star, a future TV star, and a famous punk band leader. HervĂ© Villechaize, who played Tattoo on Fantasy Island, made a cameo in the video as did John Doe, founding member of the L.A. punk band X. The main female role was handled by future Law & Order: SVU star Mariska Hargitay. It was her first acting gig. The following year she made her film debut in a small part in the horror flick Ghoulies. After that she worked on several TV shows until she secured her role on SVU in 1999. For anyone who doesn't know by now, Hargitay is the daughter of the famous entertainer/sex symbol Jane Mansfield. Mansfield famously died in a car crash in 1967. She and two other adults died in the crash. Three of Mansfield's kids (including Hargitay) were asleep in the backseat when the crash happened. They all survived.

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