Eddie Rabbitt
Encyclopedia
Edward Thomas "Eddie" Rabbitt (November 27, 1941 – May 7, 1998) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. His career began as a songwriter in the late 1960s, springboarding to a recording career after composing hits such as "Kentucky Rain
" for Elvis Presley
in 1970 and "Pure Love
" for Ronnie Milsap
in 1974. Later in the 1970s, Rabbitt helped to develop the crossover
-influenced sound of country music prevalent in the 1980s with such hits as "Suspicions
" and "Every Which Way but Loose
." His duets "Friends and Lovers
" and "You and I
", with Juice Newton
and Crystal Gayle
respectively, later appeared on the soap operas Days of Our Lives
and All My Children
.
immigrants in Brooklyn
, New York
in 1941 and was raised in the nearby community of East Orange, New Jersey
. His father was an oil-refinery refrigeration worker and a skilled fiddle and accordion player who often entertained local New York City
dance halls. By age twelve Rabbitt was a proficient guitar
player, having been taught by his scoutmaster, Tom Scwickrath. During his childhood Rabbitt became a self-proclaimed "walking encyclopedia of country music". After his parents divorced he dropped out of school at age sixteen. His mother, Mae, explained this action by saying that Rabbitt "was never one for school [because] his head was too full of music." He later obtained a high school diploma after taking courses at night school.
. In 1964, he signed his first record deal with 20th Century Records
and released the singles, "Next to the Note" and "Six Nights and Seven Days". Four years later, with $1,000.00 to his name, Rabbitt moved to Nashville
where he began his career as a songwriter. During his first night in the town, Rabbitt wrote "Working My Way Up to the Bottom", which Roy Drusky
recorded in 1968. To support himself, Rabbitt worked as a truck driver
, soda jerk
and fruit picker while in Nashville. He was ultimately hired as a staff writer for the Hill & Range Publishing Company and received a salary of $37.50 per week. As a young songwriter, Rabbitt socialized with other aspiring writers at "Wally's Clubhouse" bar in Nashville; he said that he and the other patrons had "no place else to go."
Rabbitt became successful as a songwriter in 1969 when Elvis Presley
recorded his song "Kentucky Rain
". The song went gold and cast Rabbitt as one of Nashville's leading young songwriters. While eating Cap'n Crunch
, he penned "Pure Love
", which Ronnie Milsap
rode to #1 in 1974. This song led to a contract offer from Elektra Records
.
Rabbitt signed with Elektra Records in 1975. His first single under that label, "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. These three songs along with a recording of "Pure Love" were included on Rabbitt's self-named
debut album in 1975. In 1976 his critically acclaimed Rocky Mountain Music
album was released, which handed Rabbitt his first #1 Country hit with the track "Drinkin' My Baby (Off My Mind)
". In 1977 his third album, Rabbitt
was released, which made the Top 5 on country album charts. Also in 1977 the Academy of Country Music
named Rabbitt "Top New Male Vocalist of the Year". By that time he had a good reputation in Nashville, and was being compared by critics to singer-songwriter Kris Kristofferson
.
, and also opened for Dolly Parton
on a number of dates during her 1978 tour, but soon Rabbitt would himself break through on other charts. Following the 1978 release of Variations, which included two more #1 hits, Rabbitt released his first compilation album, The Best of Eddie Rabbitt. The album produced Rabbitt's first cross-over single of his career, "Every Which Way But Loose
", which topped country charts and reached the top 30 on both the Billboard 100 and Adult Contemporary, and was featured in a 1978 Clint Eastwood movie of the same name. The song also broke the record for highest chart debut, entering at #18. Rabbitt held this record until it was shared with Garth Brooks
at the debut of Brooks' 2005 single "Good Ride Cowboy
." The record was broken in 2006 upon the #17 chart entrance of Keith Urban
's "Once in a Lifetime
." Rabbitt's next single, the R&B flavored "Suspicions
" from his 1979 album Loveline
, was an even greater crossover success, again reaching number one on country charts and the Top 15 on the Billboard 100 and Adult Contemporary. He was given his own television special on NBC
, first airing on 10 July 1980, which included appearances by such performers as Emmylou Harris
and Jerry Lee Lewis
. By this point in his career Rabbitt had been compared to a "young Elvis Presley."
Rabbitt's next album Horizon
, which reached platinum status, contained the biggest cross-over hits of his career including "I Love a Rainy Night
" and "Drivin' My Life Away
." Rabbitt developed "Rainy Night" from a song fragment that he penned during a 1960s thunderstorm. "Driving" recalled Rabbitt's truck-driving days, and was inspired by Bob Dylan
's song "Subterranean Homesick Blues
" from Dylan's 1965 album Bringing It All Back Home
. His popularity was so strong at this point that he was offered his own variety television show, which he went on to respectfully decline stating "It's not worth the gamble."
The release of his 1981 Step By Step
album continued Rabbitt's cross-over success as all three singles reached the top 10 on both country and adult contemporary charts. The title track became Rabbitt's third straight single to reach the top 5 on country, adult contemporary and the Billboard 100 charts. The album ultimately reached gold status, Rabbitt's final album to do so. He teamed up with another Country/Pop crossover star, Crystal Gayle
, to record "You and I
", which was included in his 1982 album Radio Romance
. The duet eventually became a large pop smash peaking at #5 and #3 respectively on the Billboard 100 and Adult Contemporary charts. The song's popularity reached the point where it was used as a love theme for a couple on the soap opera
All My Children
. The song "You Put the Beat in My Heart" from Rabbitt's second Greatest Hits compilation in 1983 was his final crossover hit, reaching #15 on the Adult Contemporary chart.
produced one #1 country hit and three more top 10 country hits, but none of these met any crossover success. The illness and subsequent death of his son put his career on hold following the 1985 release of Rabbitt Trax
, which included the #1 "Both to Each Other (Friends and Lovers)
", a duet with country-pop star Juice Newton
. Like "You and I," the song was used as the theme for a soap opera, this time for Days of Our Lives
.
Rabbitt returned from his hiatus in 1988 with the release of I Wanna Dance With You
, which despite somewhat negative reviews produced two #1 songs: a cover of Dion's
"The Wanderer
" and the album's title track. 1990 saw the release of Rabbitt's positively reviewed album Jersey Boy
and its hit single "On Second Thought
", which held as Rabbitt's final #1 of his career. The album also included "American Boy
", a patriotic tune popular during the Gulf War
and later used in Bob Dole
's 1996 presidential campaign. Rabbitt released Ten Rounds
in 1991, which produced the final charting single of his career, "Hang Up the Phone." Following that release he left Capitol Records
to tour with his band "Hare Trigger."
In 1997 Rabbitt signed with Intersound Records but was soon after diagnosed with lung cancer
. Following a round of chemotherapy
, he released the album Beatin' the Odds
. The next year, he released his final studio album, Songs from Rabbittland
.
, as Rabbitt routinely sang his own background vocals. In a process called the "Eddie Rabbitt Chorale," the performer would compensate for what Billboard Magazine described as a "somewhat thin and reedy voice" by recording songs in three-part harmonies. His music had been compared to rockabilly
, particularly the album Horizon, which was noted as having an Elvis-like sound. Rabbitt remarked that he liked "a lot of the old Memphis sounds that came out of Sun Records
" during the 1950s, and that he "wanted to catch the magic of a live band." He credited such wide-ranging artists as Bob Dylan
, Elton John
, Steely Dan
, Elvis Presley
and Willie Nelson
with influencing his works. When putting together an album, Rabbitt tried to make sure he put in "ten potential singles...no fillers, no junk." He remembered listening to albums as a child and hearing "two hits and a bunch of garbage."
Rabbitt believed that country music was "Irish music" and that "the minor chords in [his] music g[a]ve it that mystical feel." Although he did not strive to produce pop music, his songs helped influence the direction of country music, leading to the Urban Cowboy era during the 1980s. Critic Harry Sumrall of the San Jose Mercury News
said that Rabbitt was "like a hot corn dog: nothing fancy, nothing frilly. You know what you're getting and you like it...never a country purist, Rabbitt nonetheless makes music that is plain and simple, with all of the virtues that make good country good. [His songs] might be brisk, but they are also warm and familiar, like the breeze that wafts in over the fried artichokes."
During the early 1990s, Rabbitt voiced criticism of hip hop music
, particularly rap
, which he said was sending a negative message to youths. He stated that the music was "inciting a generation" and that it had helped to contribute to the high rates of teenage pregnancy, high school dropouts and rapes during this period.
named Jojo. Prior to his Rocky Mountain Music tour, the monkey bit Rabbitt, leaving his right arm in bandages.
In 1976 Rabbitt married Janine Girardi, whom he described as "a little thing about 5-foot tall, with long, black beautiful hair, and [a] real pretty face." He had previously written the songs "Pure Love" and "Sweet Janine" for her. They had three children, Demelza, Timmy and Tommy. Timmy was diagnosed with biliary atresia
upon birth. The condition required a liver transplant for survival and the child was slated to undergo one in 1985 but the attempt failed and he died. Rabbitt temporarily put his career on hiatus, stating that "I didn’t want to be out of the music business, but where I was was more important." Tommy was born in 1986.
Rabbitt felt it was his responsibility as an entertainer "to be [a] good role model" and was an advocate for many charitable organizations including the Special Olympics
, Easter Seals
, and the American Council on Transplantation, of which he served as the honorary chairman. He also worked as a spokesman for the Muscular Dystrophy Association
and United Cerebral Palsy
. Rabbitt was a registered Republican
and "with pleasure" gave permission to Senator Bob Dole
to use his song "American Boy" during Dole's 1996 presidential campaign.
at the age of 56. He had been diagnosed with the disease in March 1997 and had received radiation treatment and surgery to remove part of one lung. His body was interred at Calvary Cemetery in Nashville, following a private burial on May 8. No media outlet reported the death until after the burial, at the family's request, and the news came as a surprise to many in Nashville, including the performer's agent who "had no idea Eddie was terminal" and had "talked to him" often, remarking that Rabbitt "was always upbeat and cheerful," in the final months of his life. Although he was widely believed to have been born in 1944 (this year can still be found in older publications and texts), it was revealed at the time of his death that he died aged 56
Kentucky Rain
"Kentucky Rain" was a 1970 hit song for Elvis Presley. Featuring then-unknown pianist Ronnie Milsap and written by Eddie Rabbitt and Dick Heard, the single peaked at number 16 on the pop charts....
" for Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
in 1970 and "Pure Love
Pure Love
"Pure Love" is a song made famous by country music singer Ronnie Milsap. Originally released in 1974, the song became Milsap's first No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart in the late spring of the year...
" for Ronnie Milsap
Ronnie Milsap
Ronnie Lee Milsap is an American country music singer and pianist. He was one of country’s most popular and influential performers of the 1970s and 1980s...
in 1974. Later in the 1970s, Rabbitt helped to develop the crossover
Crossover (music)
Crossover is a term applied to musical works or performers appearing on two or more of the record charts which track differing musical tastes, or genres...
-influenced sound of country music prevalent in the 1980s with such hits as "Suspicions
Suspicions (Eddie Rabbitt song)
"Suspicions" is a country music song. It was originally recorded and released as a single in 1979 by Eddie Rabbitt from his album Loveline; his version was a Number One hit on the Billboard country music charts and a Top 20 hit on the Billboard Hot 100...
" and "Every Which Way but Loose
Every Which Way but Loose (song)
"Every Which Way but Loose" is a song recorded by Eddie Rabbitt. The title song to the 1978 film of the same name, it spent three weeks atop the Billboard magazine Hot Country Singles chart in February 1979.-Highest debut:...
." His duets "Friends and Lovers
Friends and Lovers (song)
"Friends and Lovers" is the title of a popular song from 1986. The song was first recorded as a duet by Gloria Loring and Carl Anderson in 1985. That recording remained unreleased until the summer of 1986, when it was released shortly after a version by Juice Newton and Eddie Rabbitt hit country...
" and "You and I
You and I (Eddie Rabbitt & Crystal Gayle song)
"You and I" was a duet by Eddie Rabbitt and Crystal Gayle that became a big hit in 1982. In 1982, the two singers joined to record the song "You and I". When released to the public in 1982, "You and I" became a big country pop crossover hit for both singers, showing to the public they could be just...
", with Juice Newton
Juice Newton
Judith Kay "Juice" Newton is an American Pop music and Country singer, songwriter and guitarist...
and Crystal Gayle
Crystal Gayle
Crystal Gayle is an American country music singer best known for her 1977 country-pop hit, "Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue". An award-winning singer, she accumulated 18 number one country hits during the 1970s and 1980s...
respectively, later appeared on the soap operas Days of Our Lives
Days of our Lives
Days of our Lives is a long running daytime soap opera broadcast on the NBC television network. It is one of the longest-running scripted television programs in the world, airing nearly every weekday in the United States since November 8, 1965. It has since been syndicated to many countries around...
and All My Children
All My Children
All My Children is an American television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 5, 1970 to September 23, 2011. Created by Agnes Nixon, All My Children is set in Pine Valley, Pennsylvania, a fictitious suburb of Philadelphia. The show features Susan Lucci as Erica Kane, one of daytime's most...
.
Early life
Rabbitt was born to IrishIrish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
immigrants in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
in 1941 and was raised in the nearby community of East Orange, New Jersey
East Orange, New Jersey
East Orange is a city in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census the city's population 64,270, making it the state's 20th largest municipality, having dropped 5,554 residents from its population of 69,824 in the 2000 Census, when it was the state's 14th most...
. His father was an oil-refinery refrigeration worker and a skilled fiddle and accordion player who often entertained local New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
dance halls. By age twelve Rabbitt was a proficient guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
player, having been taught by his scoutmaster, Tom Scwickrath. During his childhood Rabbitt became a self-proclaimed "walking encyclopedia of country music". After his parents divorced he dropped out of school at age sixteen. His mother, Mae, explained this action by saying that Rabbitt "was never one for school [because] his head was too full of music." He later obtained a high school diploma after taking courses at night school.
Early career
Rabbitt was employed as a mental hospital attendant in the late 1950s but, like his father, he fulfilled his love of music by performing at the Six Steps Down club in his hometown. He later won a talent contest and was given an hour of Saturday night radio show time to broadcast a live performance from a bar in PatersonPaterson, New Jersey
Paterson is a city serving as the county seat of Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, its population was 146,199, rendering it New Jersey's third largest city and one of the largest cities in the New York City Metropolitan Area, despite a decrease of 3,023...
. In 1964, he signed his first record deal with 20th Century Records
20th Century Records
20th Century Fox Records, also known as 20th Fox Records and 20th Century Records, was a subsidiary of film studio 20th Century Fox.-History:It began in 1958 as 20th Fox Records. In 1963, 20th Fox Records became 20th Century-Fox Records...
and released the singles, "Next to the Note" and "Six Nights and Seven Days". Four years later, with $1,000.00 to his name, Rabbitt moved to Nashville
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
where he began his career as a songwriter. During his first night in the town, Rabbitt wrote "Working My Way Up to the Bottom", which Roy Drusky
Roy Drusky
Roy Frank Drusky Jr., was an American country music singer popular from the 1960s through the early 1970s. Known for his baritone voice, he was known for incorporating the Nashville sound. His highest-charting single was the No. 1 "Yes Mr. Peters", a duet with Priscilla Mitchell.-Early life and...
recorded in 1968. To support himself, Rabbitt worked as a truck driver
Truck driver
A truck driver , is a person who earns a living as the driver of a truck, usually a semi truck, box truck, or dump truck.Truck drivers provide an essential service to...
, soda jerk
Soda jerk
A soda jerk was a person — typically a youth — who operated the soda fountain in a drugstore, often for the purpose of preparing and serving ice cream soda. This was made by putting flavored syrup into a specially designed tall glass, adding carbonated water and, finally, one or two scoops of ice...
and fruit picker while in Nashville. He was ultimately hired as a staff writer for the Hill & Range Publishing Company and received a salary of $37.50 per week. As a young songwriter, Rabbitt socialized with other aspiring writers at "Wally's Clubhouse" bar in Nashville; he said that he and the other patrons had "no place else to go."
Rabbitt became successful as a songwriter in 1969 when Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
recorded his song "Kentucky Rain
Kentucky Rain
"Kentucky Rain" was a 1970 hit song for Elvis Presley. Featuring then-unknown pianist Ronnie Milsap and written by Eddie Rabbitt and Dick Heard, the single peaked at number 16 on the pop charts....
". The song went gold and cast Rabbitt as one of Nashville's leading young songwriters. While eating Cap'n Crunch
Cap'n Crunch
Cap'n Crunch is a product line of sweetened corn and oat breakfast cereals introduced in 1963 and manufactured by Quaker Oats Company. Quaker Oats has been a division of PepsiCo since 2001. The product line is heralded by a cartoon mascot named Cap'n Crunch, a sea captain .-Development:Pamela Low,...
, he penned "Pure Love
Pure Love
"Pure Love" is a song made famous by country music singer Ronnie Milsap. Originally released in 1974, the song became Milsap's first No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart in the late spring of the year...
", which Ronnie Milsap
Ronnie Milsap
Ronnie Lee Milsap is an American country music singer and pianist. He was one of country’s most popular and influential performers of the 1970s and 1980s...
rode to #1 in 1974. This song led to a contract offer from Elektra Records
Elektra Records
Elektra Records is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group. In 2004, it was consolidated into WMG's Atlantic Records Group. After five years of dormancy, the label was revived by Atlantic in 2009....
.
Rabbitt signed with Elektra Records in 1975. His first single under that label, "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. These three songs along with a recording of "Pure Love" were included on Rabbitt's self-named
Eddie Rabbitt (album)
Eddie Rabbitt was the debut album of Country music artist Eddie Rabbitt. It was released in 1975 under the Elektra Records label. The album produced three singles: "You Get to Me", "Forgive and Forget" and "I Should Have Married You." The latter two both reached the top 15 in country music charts....
debut album in 1975. In 1976 his critically acclaimed Rocky Mountain Music
Rocky Mountain Music
Rocky Mountain Music was the second studio album of Country music artist Eddie Rabbitt. It was released in 1976 under the Elektra Records label...
album was released, which handed Rabbitt his first #1 Country hit with the track "Drinkin' My Baby (Off My Mind)
Drinkin' My Baby (Off My Mind)
"Drinkin' My Baby " is a 1976 single by Eddie Rabbitt, who co-wrote the song with Even Stevens. "Drinkin' My Baby " would Eddie Rabbitt's fourth country hit and the first of fifteen solo number one country hits. The single stayed at number one a single week and spent a total twelve weeks on the...
". In 1977 his third album, Rabbitt
Rabbitt (album)
Rabbitt was the third studio album of Country music artist Eddie Rabbitt. It was released in 1977 under the Elektra Records label. The album produced the singles "We Can't Go on Living Like This" and "I Can't Help Myself" which peaked at 6 and 2 respectively on United States country charts.Rabbitt...
was released, which made the Top 5 on country album charts. Also in 1977 the Academy of Country Music
Academy of Country Music
The Academy of Country Music was founded in 1964 in Los Angeles, California as the Country & Western Music Academy. Whereas the Country Music Association, founded in 1958, was based in Nashville, the Academy sought to promote country music in the western states. Among those involved in the...
named Rabbitt "Top New Male Vocalist of the Year". By that time he had a good reputation in Nashville, and was being compared by critics to singer-songwriter Kris Kristofferson
Kris Kristofferson
Kristoffer "Kris" Kristofferson is an American musician, actor, and writer. He is known for hits such as "Me and Bobby McGee", "For the Good Times", "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down", and "Help Me Make It Through the Night"...
.
Crossover success
While he was still relatively unknoown, Rabbitt toured with and opened for crossover star Kenny RogersKenny Rogers
Kenneth Donald "Kenny" Rogers is an American singer-songwriter, photographer, record producer, actor, and entrepreneur...
, and also opened for Dolly Parton
Dolly Parton
Dolly Rebecca Parton is an American singer-songwriter, author, multi-instrumentalist, actress and philanthropist, best known for her work in country music. Dolly Parton has appeared in movies like 9 to 5, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Steel Magnolias and Straight Talk...
on a number of dates during her 1978 tour, but soon Rabbitt would himself break through on other charts. Following the 1978 release of Variations, which included two more #1 hits, Rabbitt released his first compilation album, The Best of Eddie Rabbitt. The album produced Rabbitt's first cross-over single of his career, "Every Which Way But Loose
Every Which Way but Loose (song)
"Every Which Way but Loose" is a song recorded by Eddie Rabbitt. The title song to the 1978 film of the same name, it spent three weeks atop the Billboard magazine Hot Country Singles chart in February 1979.-Highest debut:...
", which topped country charts and reached the top 30 on both the Billboard 100 and Adult Contemporary, and was featured in a 1978 Clint Eastwood movie of the same name. The song also broke the record for highest chart debut, entering at #18. Rabbitt held this record until it was shared with Garth Brooks
Garth Brooks
Troyal Garth Brooks , best known as Garth Brooks, is an American country music artist who helped make country music a worldwide phenomenon. His eponymous first album was released in 1989 and peaked at number 2 in the US country album chart while climbing to number 13 on the Billboard 200 album chart...
at the debut of Brooks' 2005 single "Good Ride Cowboy
Good Ride Cowboy
"Good Ride Cowboy" is a single, released in 2005, by American country music artist Garth Brooks. The song is a tribute to Chris LeDoux, another country musician and friend of Brooks'...
." The record was broken in 2006 upon the #17 chart entrance of Keith Urban
Keith Urban
Keith Lionel Urban is a New Zealand-born Australian, country music singer, songwriter and guitarist whose commercial success has been mainly in the United States and Australia. Urban was born in New Zealand and began his career in Australia at an early age...
's "Once in a Lifetime
Once in a Lifetime (Keith Urban song)
"Once in a Lifetime" is a 2006 song by Australian country music artist Keith Urban. It was the first single from his album Love, Pain & the Whole Crazy Thing....
." Rabbitt's next single, the R&B flavored "Suspicions
Suspicions (Eddie Rabbitt song)
"Suspicions" is a country music song. It was originally recorded and released as a single in 1979 by Eddie Rabbitt from his album Loveline; his version was a Number One hit on the Billboard country music charts and a Top 20 hit on the Billboard Hot 100...
" from his 1979 album Loveline
Loveline (album)
Loveline was the fifth studio album of Country music artist Eddie Rabbitt. It was released in 1979 under the Elektra Records label. The album produced three singles including "Suspicions", which reached number one on country charts, 13 on the Billboard 100 and 9 on the Adult Contemporary chart...
, was an even greater crossover success, again reaching number one on country charts and the Top 15 on the Billboard 100 and Adult Contemporary. He was given his own television special on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
, first airing on 10 July 1980, which included appearances by such performers as Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris is an American singer-songwriter and musician. In addition to her work as a solo artist and bandleader, both as an interpreter of other composers' works and as a singer-songwriter, she is a sought-after backing vocalist and duet partner, working with numerous other artists including...
and Jerry Lee Lewis
Jerry Lee Lewis
Jerry Lee Lewis is an American rock and roll and country music singer-songwriter and pianist. An early pioneer of rock and roll music, Lewis's career faltered after he married his young cousin, and he afterwards made a career extension to country and western music. He is known by the nickname 'The...
. By this point in his career Rabbitt had been compared to a "young Elvis Presley."
Rabbitt's next album Horizon
Horizon (Eddie Rabbitt album)
Horizon was the sixth studio album of Country music artist Eddie Rabbitt. It was released in 1980 under the Elektra Records label. The album produced two singles, both of which reached number one on country charts. The lead-off single "Drivin' My Life Away" reached number 5 on the Billboard 100 and...
, which reached platinum status, contained the biggest cross-over hits of his career including "I Love a Rainy Night
I Love a Rainy Night
"I Love a Rainy Night" is a rock song by Eddie Rabbitt. It reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100, Hot Country Singles, and Adult Contemporary Singles charts in 1981...
" and "Drivin' My Life Away
Drivin' My Life Away
"Drivin' My Life Away" is a country song by Eddie Rabbitt. It reached number one on the Hot Country Singles in 1980, and peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100....
." Rabbitt developed "Rainy Night" from a song fragment that he penned during a 1960s thunderstorm. "Driving" recalled Rabbitt's truck-driving days, and was inspired by Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
's song "Subterranean Homesick Blues
Subterranean Homesick Blues
"Subterranean Homesick Blues" is a song by Bob Dylan, originally released in 1965 as a single on Columbia Records, catalogue 43242. It appeared 19 days later as the lead track to the album Bringing It All Back Home. It was Dylan's first Top 40 hit, peaking at #39 on the Billboard Hot 100. It also...
" from Dylan's 1965 album Bringing It All Back Home
Bringing It All Back Home
Bringing It All Back Home is singer-songwriter Bob Dylan's fifth studio album, released in March 1965 by Columbia Records. The album is divided into an electric and an acoustic side. On side one of the original LP, Dylan is backed by an electric rock and roll band - a move that further alienated...
. His popularity was so strong at this point that he was offered his own variety television show, which he went on to respectfully decline stating "It's not worth the gamble."
The release of his 1981 Step By Step
Step by Step (Eddie Rabbitt album)
Step by Step was the seventh studio album of Country music artist Eddie Rabbitt. It was originally released in 1981 under the Elektra Records label but the rights to the album were later sold to Liberty Records. The album continued the crossover success established in the singer's two previous albums...
album continued Rabbitt's cross-over success as all three singles reached the top 10 on both country and adult contemporary charts. The title track became Rabbitt's third straight single to reach the top 5 on country, adult contemporary and the Billboard 100 charts. The album ultimately reached gold status, Rabbitt's final album to do so. He teamed up with another Country/Pop crossover star, Crystal Gayle
Crystal Gayle
Crystal Gayle is an American country music singer best known for her 1977 country-pop hit, "Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue". An award-winning singer, she accumulated 18 number one country hits during the 1970s and 1980s...
, to record "You and I
You and I (Eddie Rabbitt & Crystal Gayle song)
"You and I" was a duet by Eddie Rabbitt and Crystal Gayle that became a big hit in 1982. In 1982, the two singers joined to record the song "You and I". When released to the public in 1982, "You and I" became a big country pop crossover hit for both singers, showing to the public they could be just...
", which was included in his 1982 album Radio Romance
Radio Romance (album)
Radio Romance was the eighth studio album of Country music artist Eddie Rabbitt. It was released in 1982 under the Elektra Records label, but Liberty Records eventually took over the copyrights...
. The duet eventually became a large pop smash peaking at #5 and #3 respectively on the Billboard 100 and Adult Contemporary charts. The song's popularity reached the point where it was used as a love theme for a couple on the soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
All My Children
All My Children
All My Children is an American television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 5, 1970 to September 23, 2011. Created by Agnes Nixon, All My Children is set in Pine Valley, Pennsylvania, a fictitious suburb of Philadelphia. The show features Susan Lucci as Erica Kane, one of daytime's most...
. The song "You Put the Beat in My Heart" from Rabbitt's second Greatest Hits compilation in 1983 was his final crossover hit, reaching #15 on the Adult Contemporary chart.
Late career
During the 1980s, Rabbitt moved further from crossover-styled music. His 1984 album The Best Year of My LifeThe Best Year of My Life
The Best Year of My Life was the ninth studio album of Country music artist Eddie Rabbitt. It was released in 1984 under the Warner Bros. Records label, but the rights to the album have since been sold Liberty Records. The album marked the end of Rabbitt's crossover-success...
produced one #1 country hit and three more top 10 country hits, but none of these met any crossover success. The illness and subsequent death of his son put his career on hold following the 1985 release of Rabbitt Trax
Rabbitt Trax
Rabbitt Trax was the tenth studio album of Country music artist Eddie Rabbitt, released in 1986 under the RCA Records label. The album produced four singles including "A World Without Love", "Repetitive Regret", Both to Each Other a duet with country-pop star Juice Newton, and "Gotta Have You."...
, which included the #1 "Both to Each Other (Friends and Lovers)
Friends and Lovers (song)
"Friends and Lovers" is the title of a popular song from 1986. The song was first recorded as a duet by Gloria Loring and Carl Anderson in 1985. That recording remained unreleased until the summer of 1986, when it was released shortly after a version by Juice Newton and Eddie Rabbitt hit country...
", a duet with country-pop star Juice Newton
Juice Newton
Judith Kay "Juice" Newton is an American Pop music and Country singer, songwriter and guitarist...
. Like "You and I," the song was used as the theme for a soap opera, this time for Days of Our Lives
Days of our Lives
Days of our Lives is a long running daytime soap opera broadcast on the NBC television network. It is one of the longest-running scripted television programs in the world, airing nearly every weekday in the United States since November 8, 1965. It has since been syndicated to many countries around...
.
Rabbitt returned from his hiatus in 1988 with the release of I Wanna Dance With You
I Wanna Dance with You
I Wanna Dance With You was the eleventh studio album of Country music artist Eddie Rabbitt. It was released in 1988 under the RCA Records label...
, which despite somewhat negative reviews produced two #1 songs: a cover of Dion's
Dion DiMucci
Dion Francis DiMucci , better known as Dion, is an American singer-songwriter whose work has incorporated elements of doo-wop, pop oldies music, rock and R&B styles....
"The Wanderer
The Wanderer (Dion song)
"The Wanderer" is a song written by Ernie Maresca and originally recorded by Dion. The song, with a 12-bar blues-base verse and an eight-bar bridge, tells the story of a travelling man and his many loves...
" and the album's title track. 1990 saw the release of Rabbitt's positively reviewed album Jersey Boy
Jersey Boy
Jersey Boy was the twelfth studio album of Country music artist Eddie Rabbitt. It was released in 1990 under the Capitol Records label. The album produced five singles including "On Second Thought", the final number one country hit of Rabbitt's career, and "American Boy", which became a popular...
and its hit single "On Second Thought
On Second Thought (song)
"On Second Thought" was a song written and recorded by country music artist Eddie Rabbitt for his 1990 album Jersey Boy. It was released as a single in 1989 and topped both the United States and Canadian country charts for two weeks in 1990. It was the final No...
", which held as Rabbitt's final #1 of his career. The album also included "American Boy
American Boy (Eddie Rabbitt song)
"American Boy" was a song written and recorded by Country music artist Eddie Rabbitt. It was released in 1990 from his album Jersey Boy, it reached number 11 on country charts, and was his final song to reach the top 40 on the chart....
", a patriotic tune popular during the Gulf War
Gulf War
The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...
and later used in Bob Dole
Bob Dole
Robert Joseph "Bob" Dole is an American attorney and politician. Dole represented Kansas in the United States Senate from 1969 to 1996, was Gerald Ford's Vice Presidential running mate in the 1976 presidential election, and was Senate Majority Leader from 1985 to 1987 and in 1995 and 1996...
's 1996 presidential campaign. Rabbitt released Ten Rounds
Ten Rounds (Eddie Rabbitt album)
Ten Rounds was the thirteenth studio album of Country music artist Eddie Rabbitt. It was released in 1991 under the Liberty Records label. The album produced one single, "Hang Up the Phone", which was the last charting single of his career...
in 1991, which produced the final charting single of his career, "Hang Up the Phone." Following that release he left Capitol Records
Capitol Records
Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
to tour with his band "Hare Trigger."
In 1997 Rabbitt signed with Intersound Records but was soon after diagnosed with lung cancer
Lung cancer
Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...
. Following a round of chemotherapy
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is the treatment of cancer with an antineoplastic drug or with a combination of such drugs into a standardized treatment regimen....
, he released the album Beatin' the Odds
Beatin' the Odds (album)
Beatin' the Odds was the fourteenth studio album of Country music artist Eddie Rabbitt. It was released in 1997 under the Intersound Records label. The album was recorded by Rabbitt after undergoing chemotherapy and having had a part of his lung removed to combat cancer. It was released eight...
. The next year, he released his final studio album, Songs from Rabbittland
Songs from Rabbittland
Songs from Rabbittland was the fifteenth and final studio album of Country music artist Eddie Rabbitt. It was released in 1998 under the Cema Special Markets Record label...
.
Musical styles
Rabbitt used innovative techniques to tie country music themes with light rhythm and blues-influenced tempos. His songs often used echoReverberation
Reverberation is the persistence of sound in a particular space after the original sound is removed. A reverberation, or reverb, is created when a sound is produced in an enclosed space causing a large number of echoes to build up and then slowly decay as the sound is absorbed by the walls and air...
, as Rabbitt routinely sang his own background vocals. In a process called the "Eddie Rabbitt Chorale," the performer would compensate for what Billboard Magazine described as a "somewhat thin and reedy voice" by recording songs in three-part harmonies. His music had been compared to rockabilly
Rockabilly
Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music, dating to the early 1950s.The term rockabilly is a portmanteau of rock and hillbilly, the latter a reference to the country music that contributed strongly to the style's development...
, particularly the album Horizon, which was noted as having an Elvis-like sound. Rabbitt remarked that he liked "a lot of the old Memphis sounds that came out of Sun Records
Sun Records
Sun Records is a record label founded in Memphis, Tennessee, starting operations on March 27, 1952.Founded by Sam Phillips, Sun Records was known for giving notable musicians such as Elvis Presley , Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison, and Johnny Cash...
" during the 1950s, and that he "wanted to catch the magic of a live band." He credited such wide-ranging artists as Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
, Elton John
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
, Steely Dan
Steely Dan
Steely Dan is an American rock band; its core members are Donald Fagen and Walter Becker. The band's popularity peaked in the late 1970s, with the release of seven albums blending elements of jazz, rock, funk, R&B, and pop...
, Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
and Willie Nelson
Willie Nelson
Willie Hugh Nelson is an American country music singer-songwriter, as well as an author, poet, actor, and activist. The critical success of the album Shotgun Willie , combined with the critical and commercial success of Red Headed Stranger and Stardust , made Nelson one of the most recognized...
with influencing his works. When putting together an album, Rabbitt tried to make sure he put in "ten potential singles...no fillers, no junk." He remembered listening to albums as a child and hearing "two hits and a bunch of garbage."
Rabbitt believed that country music was "Irish music" and that "the minor chords in [his] music g[a]ve it that mystical feel." Although he did not strive to produce pop music, his songs helped influence the direction of country music, leading to the Urban Cowboy era during the 1980s. Critic Harry Sumrall of the San Jose Mercury News
San Jose Mercury News
The San Jose Mercury News is a daily newspaper in San Jose, California. On its web site, however, it calls itself Silicon Valley Mercury News. The paper is owned by MediaNews Group...
said that Rabbitt was "like a hot corn dog: nothing fancy, nothing frilly. You know what you're getting and you like it...never a country purist, Rabbitt nonetheless makes music that is plain and simple, with all of the virtues that make good country good. [His songs] might be brisk, but they are also warm and familiar, like the breeze that wafts in over the fried artichokes."
During the early 1990s, Rabbitt voiced criticism of hip hop music
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
, particularly rap
Rapping
Rapping refers to "spoken or chanted rhyming lyrics". The art form can be broken down into different components, as in the book How to Rap where it is separated into “content”, “flow” , and “delivery”...
, which he said was sending a negative message to youths. He stated that the music was "inciting a generation" and that it had helped to contribute to the high rates of teenage pregnancy, high school dropouts and rapes during this period.
Personal life
When Rabbitt arrived in Nashville during the late 1960s, a friend gave him a pet chicken. Rabbitt noted that he had "an affinity for animals" and kept the bird for a while before ultimately giving it to a farmer. During his Nashville days in the early 1970s, Rabbitt owned a pet monkeyMonkey
A monkey is a primate, either an Old World monkey or a New World monkey. There are about 260 known living species of monkey. Many are arboreal, although there are species that live primarily on the ground, such as baboons. Monkeys are generally considered to be intelligent. Unlike apes, monkeys...
named Jojo. Prior to his Rocky Mountain Music tour, the monkey bit Rabbitt, leaving his right arm in bandages.
In 1976 Rabbitt married Janine Girardi, whom he described as "a little thing about 5-foot tall, with long, black beautiful hair, and [a] real pretty face." He had previously written the songs "Pure Love" and "Sweet Janine" for her. They had three children, Demelza, Timmy and Tommy. Timmy was diagnosed with biliary atresia
Biliary atresia
Biliary atresia, also known as "extrahepatic ductopenia" and "progressive obliterative cholangiopathy" is a congenital or acquired disease of the liver and one of the principle forms of chronic rejection of a transplanted liver allograft. As a birth defect in newborn infants, it has an occurrence...
upon birth. The condition required a liver transplant for survival and the child was slated to undergo one in 1985 but the attempt failed and he died. Rabbitt temporarily put his career on hiatus, stating that "I didn’t want to be out of the music business, but where I was was more important." Tommy was born in 1986.
Rabbitt felt it was his responsibility as an entertainer "to be [a] good role model" and was an advocate for many charitable organizations including the Special Olympics
Special Olympics
Special Olympics is the world's largest sports organization for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, providing year-round training and competitions to more than 3.1 million athletes in 175 countries....
, Easter Seals
Easter Seals
Easter Seals is an international charitable organization devoted to providing opportunities for children with physical disabilities. See*Easter Seals *Easter Seals *Easter Seals...
, and the American Council on Transplantation, of which he served as the honorary chairman. He also worked as a spokesman for the Muscular Dystrophy Association
Muscular Dystrophy Association
The Muscular Dystrophy Association is an American organization which combats muscular dystrophy and diseases of the nervous system and muscular system in general by funding research, providing medical and community services, and educating health professionals and the general public...
and United Cerebral Palsy
United Cerebral Palsy
United Cerebral Palsy is an international nonprofit charitable organization consisting of a network of affiliates. UCP is a leading service provider and advocate for adults and children with disabilities, including cerebral palsy...
. Rabbitt was a registered Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
and "with pleasure" gave permission to Senator Bob Dole
Bob Dole
Robert Joseph "Bob" Dole is an American attorney and politician. Dole represented Kansas in the United States Senate from 1969 to 1996, was Gerald Ford's Vice Presidential running mate in the 1976 presidential election, and was Senate Majority Leader from 1985 to 1987 and in 1995 and 1996...
to use his song "American Boy" during Dole's 1996 presidential campaign.
Death
On 7 May 1998 in Nashville, Eddie Rabbitt died from lung cancerLung cancer
Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...
at the age of 56. He had been diagnosed with the disease in March 1997 and had received radiation treatment and surgery to remove part of one lung. His body was interred at Calvary Cemetery in Nashville, following a private burial on May 8. No media outlet reported the death until after the burial, at the family's request, and the news came as a surprise to many in Nashville, including the performer's agent who "had no idea Eddie was terminal" and had "talked to him" often, remarking that Rabbitt "was always upbeat and cheerful," in the final months of his life. Although he was widely believed to have been born in 1944 (this year can still be found in older publications and texts), it was revealed at the time of his death that he died aged 56
Awards
| Year | Awards | Award |
|---|---|---|
| 1977 | Academy of Country Music Awards | Top New Male Vocalist |
| 1979 | Music City News | Country Songwriter of the Year |
| 1979 | BMI Broadcast Music Incorporated Broadcast Music, Inc. is one of three United States performing rights organizations, along with ASCAP and SESAC. It collects license fees on behalf of songwriters, composers, and music publishers and distributes them as royalties to those members whose works have been performed... |
Robert J. Burton Award ("Suspicions") |
| 1980 | BMI | Song of the Year ("Suspicions") |
| 1981 | American Music Award | Best Pop Male Vocalist |
| 1996 | BMI | Three Million-Air award ("I Love a Rainy Night") |
| 1996 | BMI | Two Million-Air award ("Kentucky Rain") |
| 1998 | Nashville Songwriters Foundation Nashville Songwriters Foundation The Nashville Songwriters Foundation, Inc. is a non-profit organization foundation for the Nashville music community. Songwriters are inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame each year and the foundation's purpose is to "educate, archive, and celebrate the contributions of the members... |
Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame The Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame was established by the Nashville Songwriters Foundation, Inc. in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. A non-profit organization, its objective is to honor and preserve the songwriting legacy that is uniquely associated with music community in the city of... |