Songoftheday 8/17/13 - I don't want you to misunderstand me I just wanna say what's on my mind no need to hit me with an attitude because I haven't got the time...

Chicago - "Stay The Night"
from the album Chicago 17 (1984)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #16 (two weeks)
Weeks in the Top-40: 10

Today's Song of the Day is by the jazz-rock-turned-soft-rock veteran hitmakers Chicago, who after suffering a dry spell on the charts and being dropped by their label, made a big comeback in 1982 with their 16th studio album. With new keyboardist and singer Bill Champlin to balance out the higher-range vocals of Peter Cetera in the lineup, the biggest effect on the group was handing the production reins to David Foster, who switched them into a more "adult" act pronto. The results were their second #1 hit and first in six years, "Hard To Say I'm Sorry". They followed that up with another top-40 ballad, "Love Me Tomorrow", and the album was a top-10 hit as well, and their A-list band status was reinstated.

In 1984, Foster again took the helm for their next set, Chicago 17, and to try to establish an "edgier" image to fit with the decidedly more younger audience dominating what's on the charts than from 1982, the band released the "rock-pop" confection of "Stay The Night". Written by Cetera and Foster, the single was promoted like any big-name act on MTV with a flashy video complete with car chases and a hot girl in the mix, and the two tell-tale signs, the non-cold opening and the "sequel setup" scene at the end. Though you gotta hand it to the director for including the whole band in the antics...

"Stay The Night" reached the top-20 on the American pop chart in June of 1984, while establishing their cred by missing the easy-listening chart and placing at #7 on the rock radio chart.

I have to say that when this came out I was all over this record - the layered harmonies and schlageresque chord changes were right in my wheelhouse. Looking back, the clunky midtempo single is a bit dated compared to its follow-up, "Hard Habit To Break", but I still have a place in my heart for their big attempt at a rock revival.

Up tomorrow: Today's dangerous hairdresser.