Sunset Grill (song)

Last updated
"Sunset Grill"
Don-Henley-Sunset-Grill.jpg
Single by Don Henley
from the album Building the Perfect Beast
B-side "Man with a Mission"
ReleasedAugust 1985
Recorded1983–1984
Genre Rock
Length6:29 (album version)
4:26 (radio edit)
Label Geffen
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Don Henley singles chronology
"Not Enough Love in the World"
(1985)
"Sunset Grill"
(1985)
"The End of the Innocence"
(1989)

"Sunset Grill" is a song by American rock musician Don Henley from his second solo studio album Building the Perfect Beast (1984). The song peaked at number 7 on the Billboard Top Rock Tracks chart in January 1985. [1] Released as the fourth single from the album in August 1985, it peaked at number 22 on the Billboard Hot 100 in October 1985. [2]

Contents

History

Patty Smyth sings harmony vocals on this song, while Pino Palladino plays fretless bass. Randy Newman arranged the synthesizer programming for the song. [3]

The title and lyrics of the song reference the Sunset Grill, a hamburger restaurant on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles, California. [4]

Critical reception

Billboard said that the "deliberate rock beat and dense synths build an effective mood of aimless discontent." [5] Cashbox said that "this melancholy and dynamic track is orchestrated beautifully and Henley's vocals are right on." [6]

Personnel

Chart performance

Chart (1985)Peak
position
Australian (Kent Music Report)98 [7]
Canada RPM Top Singles52
Canada RPM Adult Contemporary3
U.S. Billboard Hot 10022
U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary 18
U.S. Billboard Top Rock Tracks7
U.S. Cash Box Top 100 [8] 20

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References

  1. Whitburn, Joel. Rock Tracks (2002): 69
  2. Whitburn, Joel. Top Pop Singles 1955–1996 (1997): 274
  3. Fremer, Michael (May 1, 2009). "Don Henley Finds His Thrill at The Sunset Grill".
  4. Willman, Chris "The Sunset Grill is a Place to Sing About" Los Angeles Times January 2, 1986
  5. "Reviews". Billboard. August 31, 1985. p. 82. Retrieved 2022-08-01.
  6. "Single Releases" (PDF). Cashbox. August 31, 1985. p. 9. Retrieved 2022-08-01.
  7. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 137. ISBN   0-646-11917-6.
  8. Cash Box Top 100 Singles, October 26, 1985