Robbed hit of the week 4/13/15 - Lone Justice's "Shelter"...

"Shelter" - Lone Justice
from the album Shelter (1986)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #47

This week's "robbed hit" comes from Lone Justice, who originally formed in the early 80s as an alt-country rockabilly band under firebrand lead singer Maria McKee and guitarist Ryan Hedgecock. After earning raves from the bar circuit, they were signed and released their self-titled debut album in 1985. Lone Justice, produced with the help of producer Jimmy Iovine and members of Tom Petty's Heartbreakers, who played on the album, was simply the best country music release of that year, but despite critical lauds, and even MTV support, the record didn't reach the top-50 and their two excellent singles, "Ways To Be Wicked" and  "Sweet Sweet Baby (I'm Falling)" topped out in the 70s on the pop chart. But the record remains one of my moved cherished efforts of the entire decade (and certainly one Miranda Lambert must have studied closely).

After the album didn't quite bring Lone Justice to the big time, the rest of the band save for McKee left, to be replaced for the act's sophomore release Shelter. The title track, slickly produced by the band with "Little" Steven van Zandt, the sound eschewed the roots-rock of the debut and more predicted the sonics of Springsteen's Tunnel Of Love album later that year...

While "Shelter" became the band's highest charting hit, it stopped short of the pop top-40 in March of 1987. On Billboard's Mainstream Rock chart, the single did a little better than "Ways...", peaking at #26. After this album McKee disbanded Lone Justice and went on to a solo career. In 1989, she reached the US Modern Rock chart with "I've Forgotten What Is Was In You". A year later, her song "Show Me Heaven" from the Tom Cruise movie Days Of Heaven went to #1 in Britain, where she's had a string of minor hits.

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And here's the band live performing the song...

..and as a coda this intimate interview with McKee is worth eight minutes of your time...