Step by Step Through the Best Eddie Rabbitt Songs of the "80s
Late country pop singer-songwriter Eddie Rabbitt possessed a lovely, lived-in tenor that worked very well with songs ranging in styles from pure country to rockabilly to soft rock. Even better, his songwriting produced memorable melodies and plenty of straight-ahead country rock quality that helped add favorably to the '80s music landscape. Despite the long-term existence of a huge network of professional songwriters in Nashville, Rabbitt managed to maintain not only a highly successful crossover solo career but also to retain plenty of creative control over the songs he performed. Here's a chronological look at the best songs Rabbitt recorded during the '80s, his most successful period of what was ultimately a long career in spite of a tragic early death at age 56.
Though released initially on Rabbitt's 1979 LP, Loveline, this mellow, guitar-centered track became the artist's sixth No. 1 country hit in early 1980. The song also made a solid impact on Billboard's adult contemporary charts, taking advantage of the welcoming soft rock climate of the time. It's a warm, pleasant tune, taking advantage of Rabbitt's romantic baritone and featuring some tasty lead guitar parts on top of some moments of catchy but inventive melodicism. There's certainly more pop music going on here than either country or rock, but a good song can hold up no matter how languidly it's delivered. Buy from Amazon »
Rabbitt retained his tremendous momentum deep into 1981 with this solid title track from his brisk-selling 1981 LP release. Once again, the artist dips heavily into non-threatening middle-of-the-road territory, but his material wouldn't have competed so well against powerhouse like-minded artists such as Kenny Rogers if the songwriting were not top-notch. In this area, Rabbitt held an advantage as a bona fide singer-songwriter, even if detractors hounded him for what they perceived as vanilla, excessively smooth tendencies. This certainly qualifies as feel-good, romantic material just right for the aging, suburban set of the era, but that doesn't mean it's not tremendously satisfying just the same.Buy from Amazon »
If for no other reason than because it was composed by an outside songwriter, huge 1982 hit "You and I" - a duet with similarly crossover country artist Crystal Gayle - finds itself squeezed from this list of top Rabbitt tunes from the '80s. In its place, please consider this deep album track from 1982's Radio Romance, a song that represents this artist's core sound far better than a piano ballad with a somewhat cynical aim to ride the wave of a contemporary smash like "Endless Love." Rabbitt's lyrics and arrangements tend to emphasize a level of romance and tenderness that is generally too good to be true, but at least the music has rootsy, genuinely country-rock appeal.Buy from Amazon »
Rabbitt continued to deliver hits in 1982 and 1983, but by the following year, the crossover window had all but closed for country pop. Like many of his contemporaries, Rabbitt was still releasing quality music; trouble was, far fewer music listeners were hearing it. 1985's The Best Year of My Life possesses an ironic title given the falling fortunes of pop music's former crossover mania, but it also contains a fine tune like this one. The mournful, acoustic guitar-dominated beauty of this song helped place it into the country Top 10, but it's a shame a recording like this didn't receive more general exposure. Still, Rabbitt fans knew the man still had it.Buy from Amazon »
Ever resourceful as a songwriter and performer, Rabbitt delved more than ever into mainstream rock instrumentation for this Top 5 country hit from 1986. The kind of keyboards used here would normally make an '80s song sound painfully dated, but somehow Rabbitt manages to pile on appropriate proportions of country rock and straight-ahead rock impulses to avoid alienating the country record-buying base. Even so, Rabbitt's eclecticism, as usual, never sounds particularly calculated for commercial purposes. Rabbitt and his collaborators simply knew how to craft solid, rootsy pop songs, and this is but another example from a long list. More »
During the second half of the '80s, Rabbitt - like many other country music veterans - began to return more obviously to his country roots. The rise of the New Traditionalist movement in country music probably played a robust role in that evolution. Still, this move didn't feel unnatural or forced, especially in the case of this track from 1988's I Wanna Dance with You. Boasting a simple but captivating chord progression and central melody, the song also honestly conveys the worn but determined optimism of two lovers trying to age their romance gracefully. As one of Rabbitt's final Top 10 country hits of an impressive career, this is not a bad one to select for a swan song. At least in terms of this artist's sparkling '80s career.More »
1. "Gone Too Far"
Though released initially on Rabbitt's 1979 LP, Loveline, this mellow, guitar-centered track became the artist's sixth No. 1 country hit in early 1980. The song also made a solid impact on Billboard's adult contemporary charts, taking advantage of the welcoming soft rock climate of the time. It's a warm, pleasant tune, taking advantage of Rabbitt's romantic baritone and featuring some tasty lead guitar parts on top of some moments of catchy but inventive melodicism. There's certainly more pop music going on here than either country or rock, but a good song can hold up no matter how languidly it's delivered. Buy from Amazon »
2. "Drivin' My Life Away"
With this cleverly rhythmic acoustic guitar country pop classic, Rabbitt truly became a major, superstar crossover threat. The rootsy, soulful track reached the Top 5 on practically every applicable North American music chart of consequence, turning Rabbitt into a top-tier act of 1980. As he often did, Rabbitt collaborated with frequent co-writers David Malloy and Even Stevens to explore elements of his own blue-collar past, which at one time included a stint as a truck driver. Even for folks who sneer at cross-genre pop of the period (and there are many who enjoy doing that), this song is an undeniable early '80s classic of American music.Buy from Amazon »
3. "I Love a Rainy Night"
With this 1980 follow-up - also pulled from Horizon, Rabbitt's hit album from the same year - the artist somehow outdid his previously stunning achievement of crossover brilliance. This track ruled the airwaves during the winter of 1980 and 1981, and it deserved that omnipresence. As a composer, Rabbitt quickly proved his mastery of the two-to-three-minute single, a skill that gave his work even more of a retro if still slick vibe. A song is not necessarily great simply because it launches a catch phrase that still evokes smiles 35 years later, but in this case, that's yet another level of Rabbitt's genius on such obvious display here.Buy from Amazon »
4. "Step by Step"
Rabbitt retained his tremendous momentum deep into 1981 with this solid title track from his brisk-selling 1981 LP release. Once again, the artist dips heavily into non-threatening middle-of-the-road territory, but his material wouldn't have competed so well against powerhouse like-minded artists such as Kenny Rogers if the songwriting were not top-notch. In this area, Rabbitt held an advantage as a bona fide singer-songwriter, even if detractors hounded him for what they perceived as vanilla, excessively smooth tendencies. This certainly qualifies as feel-good, romantic material just right for the aging, suburban set of the era, but that doesn't mean it's not tremendously satisfying just the same.Buy from Amazon »
5. "Bedroom Eyes"
If for no other reason than because it was composed by an outside songwriter, huge 1982 hit "You and I" - a duet with similarly crossover country artist Crystal Gayle - finds itself squeezed from this list of top Rabbitt tunes from the '80s. In its place, please consider this deep album track from 1982's Radio Romance, a song that represents this artist's core sound far better than a piano ballad with a somewhat cynical aim to ride the wave of a contemporary smash like "Endless Love." Rabbitt's lyrics and arrangements tend to emphasize a level of romance and tenderness that is generally too good to be true, but at least the music has rootsy, genuinely country-rock appeal.Buy from Amazon »
6. "She's Comin' Back to Say Goodbye"
Rabbitt continued to deliver hits in 1982 and 1983, but by the following year, the crossover window had all but closed for country pop. Like many of his contemporaries, Rabbitt was still releasing quality music; trouble was, far fewer music listeners were hearing it. 1985's The Best Year of My Life possesses an ironic title given the falling fortunes of pop music's former crossover mania, but it also contains a fine tune like this one. The mournful, acoustic guitar-dominated beauty of this song helped place it into the country Top 10, but it's a shame a recording like this didn't receive more general exposure. Still, Rabbitt fans knew the man still had it.Buy from Amazon »
7. "Repetitive Regret"
Ever resourceful as a songwriter and performer, Rabbitt delved more than ever into mainstream rock instrumentation for this Top 5 country hit from 1986. The kind of keyboards used here would normally make an '80s song sound painfully dated, but somehow Rabbitt manages to pile on appropriate proportions of country rock and straight-ahead rock impulses to avoid alienating the country record-buying base. Even so, Rabbitt's eclecticism, as usual, never sounds particularly calculated for commercial purposes. Rabbitt and his collaborators simply knew how to craft solid, rootsy pop songs, and this is but another example from a long list. More »
8. "We Must Be Doin' Something Right"
During the second half of the '80s, Rabbitt - like many other country music veterans - began to return more obviously to his country roots. The rise of the New Traditionalist movement in country music probably played a robust role in that evolution. Still, this move didn't feel unnatural or forced, especially in the case of this track from 1988's I Wanna Dance with You. Boasting a simple but captivating chord progression and central melody, the song also honestly conveys the worn but determined optimism of two lovers trying to age their romance gracefully. As one of Rabbitt's final Top 10 country hits of an impressive career, this is not a bad one to select for a swan song. At least in terms of this artist's sparkling '80s career.More »
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