Songoftheday 7/5/18 - I'll be damned if I'm living without you and as long as I live you will know, I just want to build my world around you don't want you to go...
from the album World Falling Down (1992)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #35 (one week)
Weeks in the Top-40: 4
Today's song of the day comes from soft-rock singer Peter Cetera, who since leaving the band Chicago in the mid-1980's had landed four massive pop hits including the top-5 "One Good Woman" in fall of 1988, as well as hit top ten duet with Cher, "After All", in the spring of 1989. In 1992, Cetera released his fourth solo album World Falling Down. Recorded when he was divorcing his second wife Diane Nini (who co-wrote Cetera's #1 hit "Glory Of Love"), that situation was clearly given a nod with the title of the first single of the set, "Restless Heart". Written by Peter with his producer Andy Hill, the breezy adult-pop nugget was a hit with those mainstream stations in the early-90s still holding on to easy-listening artists like Cetera and Michael Bolton...
"Restless Heart" became the fifth top-40 hit (and so far most recent as a lead artist) in September of 1992. The song was his fourth to go to #1 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary (or "easy listening") radio chart. Internationally, the single was a big in Canada, spending two weeks at #6 on that country's singles chart, and was a minor hit in Germany at #53. The second release from World Falling Down was "Feels Like Heaven", a beautiful power-ballad duet with soul/disco legend Chaka Khan. While it only went to #71 on the pop chart, the single scaled to #5 on the Adult Contemporary list. That was followed by the midtempo "Even A Fool Can See", which again stopped at #68 pop but spent a week at #2 on the AC format tally.
Leaving Warner Brothers Records (where he had been since his ending days with Chicago), Cetera returned in 1995 with One Clear Voice on the independent River North label. Leading off with another duet ballad, "(I Wanna Take) Forever Tonight" was actress Crystal Bernard, which slipped on to the pop chart at #86, but was a moderate success at adult contemporary radio at #22. Two years later, he appeared on a remake of his old band's "Hard To Say I'm Sorry" from soul vocal group Az Yet, and as a featured artist made it back into the pop top 10 at #8. They both tried again with a go at "You're The Inspiration" with Cetera lead artist, but that cover only got to #77 (so far his most recent Hot 100 appearance). However, another track from his You're The Inspiration: A Collection album, "Do You Love Me That Much", got him to #6 on the Adult Contemporary list. His latest chart appearance came in 2005 when three tracks from a holiday album made that chart, with "Silent Night" doing the best at #24. He's continued to tour with his solo material as well as Chicago hits, and with the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2016, but he refused to even show up at the event, let alone perform with his old bandmates. Let it go, Peter!
(Click below to see the rest of the post)
Here's Peter appearing live on the Tonight Show to promote the single in 1992...
and again, live for a TV concert in Nashville in 1995...
And finally, at a show in Chile in 2017...
Well, this guy needs to take a needed week break from my song of the day for vacation. I'll return on the 16th, and tomorrow I'll still post my top 100 tunes from this week. Be well, and thanks to all who read my daily scribes...
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