Songoftheday 5/18/17 - There's a girl in the corner with a jacked up dress, she's got legs for miles but her face looks a mess...
from the album Busted (1990)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #12 (one week)
Weeks in the Top-40: 7
Today's song of the day comes from the power-pop rock band Cheap Trick, who took a turn for the mainstream in the late 1980's and scored three hits with "Ghost Town", a cover of Elvis Presley's "Don't Be Cruel", and the #1 power-ballad "The Flame", all from their Lap Of Luxury album from 1988. Two years later, they brought back producer Richie Vito for the recording of their next album, Busted. The first single, "Can't Stop Fallin' Into Love", was written by lead singer Robin Zander, guitarist Rick Nielsen, and bass player Tom Petersson, but it did continue the middle of the road rock from their last successful set...
"Can't Stop Fallin' Into Love" became the band's eighth and so far final top-40 pop hit in America in September of 1990. The single fared better on rock radio, reaching #4 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock chart. Internationally, the record got as high as #6 in Canada, and peaked at #26 in Australia.
Their follow-up single, "Wherever Would I Be", was written by song doctor supreme Diane Warren, but only managed to climb to the halfway mark on the pop Hot 100 (#50). A third track from the set, "Back N' Blue", got rock radio airplay, reaching #32 on that list.
In 1994, Cheap Trick came back harder-edged with Woke Up With A Monster, and the heavy-metal-esque title track made it to #16 on the Mainstream Rock chart. Three years later, they slipped on to that list at #39 with "Say Goodbye" from their second eponymous record from 1997. They closed the decade by covering Big Star's "In The Street" for the TV hit That 70's Show. They released a few more albums since, and in 2016 they were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. That same year, they released their first record without long-time drummer Bun E Carlos (with Rick's son Daxx on drums now), and returned to the rock radio chart at #24 with "When I Wake Up Tomorrow".
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Here's the band performing in Germany in 1989...
...and again from their 2001 Silver live album...
Up tomorrow: Drummer boy gets stuck ascending.
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