Thursday, March 31, 2022

"Tell Her" by Kenny Loggins

Song#:  3793
Date:  02/04/1989
Debut:  85
Peak:  76
Weeks:  8
Genre:  Pop, Rock


Pop Bits:  Loggins' sixth solo studio album Back to Avalon was not performing all that well. Although it got a boost by containing two previously released movie hits, "Meet Me Halfway" (#11 Pop) and "Nobody's Fool" (#8 Pop), the LP's first true single, "I'm Gonna Miss You," ended up being a miss stopping at a low #82. To try and right the ship, this next single was issued out. Unfortunately, it would only do marginally better peaking just a few notches higher. Back to Avalon would halt at #69 and be Loggins' first solo effort to not at least reach the gold level sales mark. This single would be the last one issued out from the album and Loggins' last to reach the Pop chart in the 80s.

ReduxReview:  So just a random guess here, but it seems like Loggins might have thought - hey, why don't I take an oldie hit and give it the ol' "Footloose" treatment! That's what this sounds like to me. It could have also been something the label asked for because there wasn't a surefire hit among the other new cuts on the album. While it wasn't that bad of an idea, the results were not all that great. It just sounded overdone and a bit strange. I'm sure Loggins knew the song and liked it, but I highly doubt it was one of his all-time favorite songs that he'd been dying to cover. Maybe I'm wrong, but I doubt it. The track is kind of odd and it didn't do Loggins any favors.

ReduxRating:  4/10

Trivia:  Double Shot!  1) This is a remake of a song written by Bert Berns and first recorded by Johnny Thunder in 1962. Neither his version nor one by singer Ed Townsend that same year were able to chart. However, in 1963 a version by the female-led vocal group The Exciters (and recorded as "Tell Him") reached #4 Pop/#5 R&B. Several other artists have recorded the song, but besides The Exciters and Loggins, the only other artist to reach the Pop chart with a version was one by singer Dean Parrish in 1966 (#97).  2) Loggins would have a bit of a rebound with his next album, 1991's Leap of Faith. Despite the track "Conviction of the Heart" only getting to #65 at Pop (and becoming Loggins' last single to reach that chart), the song along with two others from the LP would crack the AC Top 10. That generated enough interest in the LP for it to reach #71 and go gold. For his next album, Loggins chose to do one that was geared towards adults and children. 1994's Return to Pooh Corner featured a set of thematic cover tunes along with a couple updated versions of songs Loggins had written. Although it featured no significant charting single (the title track got to #25 AC), the album caught on and made it to #65 Pop. It was soon certified gold, but a few years later it was bumped up to platinum. It was also nominiated for a Grammy in the Children's category. In 1996, Loggins would score his first #1 AC song with yet another movie theme, "For the First Time," which was from the Michelle Pfeiffer/George Clooney rom-com One Fine Day. Loggins' chart fortunes waned after that, but he continue to record albums and tour. He would earn another Grammy nomination in 2010 in the Best New Age album category for his LP In a Dream.

_________________________________________________________________________________

No comments:

Post a Comment