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Saturday, May 7, 2022

"Close My Eyes Forever" by Lita Ford (Duet with Ozzy Osbourne)

Top 10 Alert!
Gold Record Alert!
Song#:  3825
Date:  03/04/1989
Debut:  81
Peak:  8
Weeks:  25
Genre:  Hard Rock, Glam Rock


Pop Bits:  After a pair of albums for Mercury that did not sell well, Ford moved over to MCA for her third album Lita. The change paid off when the LP's first single, "Kiss Me Deadly," became a #12 Pop/#40 Rock hit. A second single, "Back to the Cave," got to #22 Rock, but it failed to make the Pop chart. However, Ford was not done. For a third single, a remixed version of this duet with Ozzy Osbourne was pushed out. The power ballad began to catch on and eventually it would find its way into the Pop Top 10 while reaching #25 Rock. It would also sell well enough to go gold. The hit would help the album rebound and get to a new peak of #29. By June, it would be certified platinum. A fourth single, "Falling in and Out of Love," would only get to #37 Rock and fail to make the Pop chart.

ReduxReview:  Ford wrote this song with Osbourne. The two had a connection because Ozzy's wife Sharon had become Ford's manager. I'm guessing Ford was trying to keep her rock cred intact and therefore released "Back to the Cave" as the second single. This power ballad really should have been the follow up to "Kiss Me Deadly." At a time when glam rock was at its peak, the song was an obvious hit and having Ozzy as a duet partner only added to its strength.

ReduxRating:  7/10

Trivia:  Ford's third album, Stiletto, would not do nearly as well. It featured only one charting single, the #14 Rock/#98 Pop track "Hungry." With that result the album stalled at #52. Her third and final album for MCA, '91's Dangerous Curves, would halt at a minor #132. However, the lead single,"Shot of Poison," would earn Ford her second Grammy nod for Best Rock Vocal Performance, Female. The song would reach #21 Rock/#45 Pop. Both the single and the album would be her last ones to chart. After an album in '96, Ford would take an extended break from music to raise a family. She would return to recording and touring in 2009.

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