Robbed hit of the week 1/23/23 - Trick Pony's "On A Night Like This"...

 

 

"On A Night Like This" - Trick Pony

from the album Trick Pony (2001)

Billboard Hot 100 peak: #47 

 

This week's "robbed hit" comes from the country trio Trick Pony who came together in the mid-1990s. Even though they were friendly acquainted, their appeared to be pre-fab, with the requisite blond female lead Heidi Newfield, a classically handsome sideman Keith Burns, and a "hipster country" third Ira Dean. After gigging for a while, the group was signed to Warner Brothers Nashville Records, where they released their self-titled debut album in 2001. The lead single, "Pour Me", was a fun rollicking swing number that worked off the pun in the title. Co-written by the band, it's by far their best song, and broke them on the radio, climbing to #12 on Billboard magazine's Country Songs chart and popping on to the composite Hot 100 at #71.

 

For their second effort, the group brought in an outside tune, "On A Night Like This", written by Doug Kahan and Karen Staley. The record starts off with a Rolling Stones-like guitar chord crunch, before Heidi comes in speaking the verse lyrics just like Sheryl Crow did on "All I Wanna Do" before breaking into song on the bridge and chorus which is by the book 90s country. It's a cute record, and all three ham it up on the video nicely, and the trio found themselves with their biggest country and pop success...

 

 While "On A Night Like This" made it to #4 on Billboard's Country Songs chart, the song stalled right under the Hot 100 top-40 at #47 in November of 2001. The Trick Pony album, released in March of that year, got to #91 on the Billboard 200 sales tally, and #12 on the Country Albums list, spending two years on the latter, and going on to sell over a half-million copies. 

The third offering to radio from the debut, "Just What I Do", was written by Burns and Dean, and had the former singing lead vocals for the first time as a single for them. The result went to #13 on the Country Songs chart, while "bubbling under" the Hot 100 at #103. "Just What I Do" was nominated for the Best Duo/Group Country Performance at the Grammy Awards in 2003, losing out to the Dixie Chicks for their "Long Time Gone". 

The trio returned at the end of 2002 with their sophomore effort On A Mission, which climbed to #61 on the Billboard 200 and #13 on the Country Albums list. The title track "On A Mission" was put out as the first single, and the Ira Dean co-wrote got to #19 on the Country Songs chart, while "bubbling under" the Hot 100 at #110. After this set, Warner let go the group.

A third album, R.I.D.E., arrived on their new label Asylum/Curb in 2005, preceded by "The Bride" (which had John Schneider and Gene Simmons in the music video), which went to #27 on the Country Songs chart. That was followed by a cover of Bonnie Tyler's 70's pop hit "It's A Heartache", which did a little better, peaking at #22 on the list. A third single, "Ain't Wasting Good Whiskey On You", just missed the country radio top-40 at #42, and it so far was their final charting single together. The R.I.D.E. album did make the Country Albums top 10 at #4, and the Billboard 200 top-40 at #20. 

Newfield left Trick Pony for a solo career after this album, and released her own What Am I Waiting For in 2008, which crested at #10 on the Billboard 200 and #2 on the Country Albums list. The lead single from the set, "Johnny & June", came a notch from the top ten on the Country Songs chart at #11, while placing at #58 on the Hot 100. She scored a second top-40 country radio hit with the follow-up, "Cry, Cry (Til The Sun Shines)" at #29. She scored a couple more minor country hits, with "Stay Up Late" stopping at #51 in 2011. 

 

Meanwhile, Burns and Dean attempted to keep Trick Pony running with a new lead singer, but that failed. Burns released an album with Michelle Poe in 2011, while Dean concentrated on writing hits for others (he co-wrote the top-5 hit "One In Every Crowd" for Montgomery Gentry). They reunited with Newfield in the 2010, but Dean left as they were recording new material, which arrived as the Pony Up EP (extended play single) in 2016. 

(6/10)

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Here's the group doing at acoustic version for a TV appearance...

And in concert in 2006...