| Eddie Rabbitt | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Edward Thomas Rabbitt |
| Born | November 27 1941 |
| Died | May 7 1998 (aged 56) Nashville, Tennessee |
| Genre(s) | Country music/Pop music |
| Occupation(s) | singer/songwriter |
| Years active | 1974-1998 |
| Label(s) | Elektra Records, RCA Records, Capitol Records, Warner Bros. Records, 20th Century Records, Columbia Records |
| Associated acts |
Kenny Rogers, Crystal Gayle, Lynn Anderson, Ronnie Milsap |
Edward Thomas Rabbitt (born November 27, 1941 - May 7, 1998) was a country music singer. He enjoyed much pop success in his career, helping develop the crossover-influenced sound in country music during the 1970s and 80s. During his career, he scored 26 number-ones.
Contents |
Rise to success
Rabbitt was born to Irish immigrants in Brooklyn, New York, and raised in East Orange, New Jersey.[1] In the 1960s, Eddie recorded for 20th Century Records and Columbia Records. In 1968, he moved out to Nashville, where he got his first start as a songwriter. In the beginning, Roy Drusky and George Morgan cut songs he wrote. His biggest success as a songwriter came in 1970, when Elvis Presley recorded his song "Kentucky Rain". The song became one of Presley's biggest hits and marked Rabbit as one of Nashville's leading young songwriters.
The height of his career
Rabbitt signed with Elektra Records in 1974. His first single, "You Get To Me" made the Top 40 that year, and two songs in 1975, "Forgive And Forget" and "I Should Have Married You" nearly made the Top 10, but in 1976, Rabbitt got his first #1 Country hit with the song "Drinkin' My Baby (Off My Mind)". He achieved more recognition with the songs "You Don't Love Me Anymore" and "Every Which Way But Loose" (the title track from the Clint Eastwood movie of the same name). However, his biggest hits have to be "I Love a Rainy Night", "Drivin' My Life Away" and Step By Step, which were hits for him in 1981. These hits are also probably his best-known and signature tunes. In the 1980s, Rabbitt enjoyed further success in music. In 1982, he teamed up with another Country/Pop crossover star, Crystal Gayle, to record the duet "You and I". The duet eventually became a big crossover smash. His other #1s include "The Best Year of My Life," "The Wanderer" (a cover of the classic Dion hit), "I Wanna Dance With You," "On Second Thought," and "Both to Each Other (Friends and Lovers)" (a duet with Juice Newton). However, in the late 1980s, his success was starting to fade. His singles didn't crack the Pop Top 40 during this time. In 1977, he was named Top New Male Vocalist by the Academy of Country Music Awards. In 1981, he also won an American Music Award for Best Pop Male Vocalist in 1981.
Decline and death
As the 1980s came to an end, Rabbitt moved more and more away from crossover-styled music. His career declined as contemporary artists such as Garth Brooks and Clint Black rose on the country music charts. However he did continue to record and tour. In the 1990s, he recorded very little, in part because of the illness and subsequent death of his young son. After his son died, Rabbitt became active in raising money for organizations that aid sick children.
During his career, Rabbitt scored 26 #1 hits on the country charts and eight Top 40 pop hits. On May 7, 1998, Rabbitt died of lung cancer at the age of 56, and is interred in the Calvary Cemetery in Nashville, Tennessee.
Discography
Singles
| Year | Title | US Country | US Hot 100 | US AC | Album |
| 1974 | "You Get To Me" | 34 | - | - | Eddie Rabbitt |
| 1975 | "Forgive and Forget" | 12 | - | - | Eddie Rabbitt |
| 1975 | "I Should Have Married You" | 11 | - | - | Eddie Rabbitt |
| 1976 | "Do You Right Tonight" | 5 | - | - | Rocky Mountain Music |
| 1976 | "Drinkin' My Baby (Off My Mind)" | 1 | - | - | Rocky Mountain Music |
| 1976 | "Rocky Mountain Music"/"Do You Right Tonight" | 5 | 76 | 48 | Rocky Mountain Music |
| 1977 | "Two Dollars in the Jukebox" | 3 | - | - | Rocky Mountain Music |
| 1977 | "I Can't Help Myself" | 2 | 71 | - | Rabbitt |
| 1977 | "We Can't Go on Living Like This" | 6 | - | - | Rabbitt |
| 1978 | "Hearts on Fire" | 2 | - | - | Variations |
| 1978 | "You Don't Love Me Anymore" | 1 | 53 | 18 | Variations |
| 1978 | "I Just Want to Love You" | 1 | - | 47 | Variations |
| 1979 | "Every Which Way But Loose" | 1 | 30 | 26 | The Best of Eddie Rabbitt |
| 1979 | "Suspicions" | 1 | 13 | 9 | Loveline |
| 1979 | "Pour Me Another Tequila" | 5 | - | - | Loveline |
| 1980 | "Gone Too Far" | 1 | 82 | 35 | Loveline |
| 1980 | "Drivin' My Life Away" | 1 | 5 | 3 | Horizon |
| 1981 | "I Love a Rainy Night" | 1 | 1 | 1 | Horizon |
| 1981 | "Step By Step" | 1 | 5 | 3 | Step By Step |
| 1981 | "Someone Could Lose a Heart Tonight" | 1 | 15 | 10 | Step By Step |
| 1982 | "I Don't Know Where to Start" | 2 | 35 | 9 | Step By Step |
| 1982 | "You and I" (with Crystal Gayle) | 1 | 7 | 2 | Radio Romance |
| 1983 | "You Can't Run From Love" | 1 | 55 | 2 | Radio Romance |
| 1983 | "You Put the Beat in My Heart" | 10 | 81 | 15 | Greatest Hits Vol. 2 |
| 1984 | "Nothing Like Falling in Love" | 10 | - | 38 | Greatest Hits Vol. 2 |
| 1984 | "B-B-B Burnin' Up With Love" | 3 | - | 36 | The Best Year of My Life |
| 1985 | "The Best Year of My Life" | 1 | - | - | The Best Year of My Life |
| 1985 | "Warning Sign" | 4 | - | - | The Best Year of My Life |
| 1985 | "She's Comin' Back to Say Goodbye" | 6 | - | - | The Best Year of My Life |
| 1985 | "A World Without Love" | 10 | - | 35 | Rabbitt Trax |
| 1986 | "Repetitive Regret" | 4 | - | - | Rabbitt Trax |
| 1986 | "Both to Each Other (Friends and Lovers)" (with Juice Newton) | 1 | - | - | Rabbitt Trax |
| 1987 | "Gotta Have You" | 9 | - | - | Rabbitt Trax |
| 1988 | "I Wanna Dance With You" | 1 | - | - | I Wanna Dance With You |
| 1988 | "The Wanderer" | 1 | - | - | I Wanna Dance With You |
| 1988 | "We Must Be Doin' Somethin' Right" | 7 | - | - | I Wanna Dance With You |
| 1990 | "On Second Thought" | 1 | - | - | Jersey Boy |
| 1990 | "Runnin' With the Wind" | 8 | - | - | Jersey Boy |
| 1990 | "It's Lonely Out Tonite" | 32 | - | - | Jersey Boy |
| 1990 | "American Boy" | 11 | - | - | Jersey Boy |
| 1991 | "Tennessee Born and Bred" | 58 | - | - | Jersey Boy |
| 1991 | "Hang Up the Phone" | 50 | - | - | Ten Rounds |
Albums
| Year | Album | US Country | US | Label |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | Eddie Rabbitt | 41 | Elektra | |
| 1976 | Rocky Mountain Music | 14 | Elektra | |
| 1977 | Rabbitt | 5 | Elektra | |
| 1978 | Variations | 9 | 143 | Elektra |
| 1979 | Loveline | 5 | 91 | Elektra |
| 1979 | The Best of Eddie Rabbitt (Compilation Album plus 1 new song) | 12 | 151 | Elektra |
| 1980 | Horizon | 1 | 19 | Elektra |
| 1981 | Step By Step | 1 | 23 | Elektra |
| 1982 | Radio Romance | 31 | Elektra | |
| 1983 | Greatest Hits 2 (Compilation Album plus 1 new song) | 4 | 131 | Warner Bros. Records |
| 1984 | The Best Year of My Life | 22 | Warner Bros. Records | |
| 1985 | Number Ones (Compilation Album) | 34 | Warner Bros. Records | |
| 1985 | Rabbitt Trax | 6 | RCA | |
| 1987 | I Wanna Dance With You | 34 | RCA | |
| 1989 | The Great Hits of Eddie Rabbitt (Compilation Album) | RCA | ||
| 1990 | Jersey Boy | 34 | Capitol | |
| 1991 | Ten Years of Greatest Hits (Compilation Album) | Capitol | ||
| 1991 | Classic Collection (Compilation Album) | Capitol | ||
| 1991 | Ten Rounds | Capitol | ||
| 1991 | All-Time Greatest Hits (Compilation Album) | Warner Bros. Records | ||
| 1991 | Greatest Country Hits (Compilation Album) | Curb | ||
| 1995 | Greatest Hits (Compilation Album) | Cema | ||
| 1997 | Beatin' the Odds | Intersound | ||
| 1997 | Songs From Rabbittland | Cema | ||
| 2003 | Original Artist Hit-List (Re-recordings) | Intersound | ||
| 2003 | All American Country (Compilation Album) | BMG | ||
| 2003 | Essentials (Compilation Album) | Warner Bros. Records |
Trivia
- I Love A Rainy Night appeared on the Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas soundtrack, playing on fictional country music station K-ROSE.
References
- ^ " Eddie Rabbitt, 56, Whose Songs Zigzagged From Pop to Country", The New York Times, May 9, 1998. Accessed November 3, 2007. "The son of Irish immigrants, he was born in Brooklyn and raised in East Orange, N.J."
External links
Sources
- Goldsmith, Tommy. (1998). "Eddie Rabbitt". In The Encyclopedia of Country Music. Paul Kinsgbury, Ed. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 427-8.
- LP at Discography.com
- Wolff, Kurt. Country Music: The Rough Guide.
