Blondes (Have More Fun)

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"Blondes (Have More Fun)"
Blondes (Have More Fun) label.jpg
Single by Rod Stewart
from the album Blondes Have More Fun
B-side "Best Days of My Life"
Released20 April 1979 [1]
Genre Rock and roll
Length3:46
Label Warner Bros.
Songwriter(s) Jim Cregan, Rod Stewart
Producer(s) Tom Dowd
Rod Stewart singles chronology
"Ain't Love a Bitch"
(1979)		"Blondes (Have More Fun)"
(1979)		"(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want to Be Right"
(1980)
Music video
"Blondes (Have More Fun)" on YouTube

"Blondes (Have More Fun)" is a song written by Rod Stewart and Jim Cregan that was originally released as the title track of Stewart's 1978 album Blondes Have More Fun . In some countries it was released as the third single off the album, following "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?" and "Ain't Love a Bitch". It only reached the Top 70 in the UK, topping out at #63 but reached #23 in Ireland. [2] [3] [4] [5] The song was covered by Vince Neil on the Japanese version of his album Exposed . [6]

Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic described the song as being a "winning track" in the same mold as "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?" and "Ain't Love a Bitch". [7] Circus writer David Fricke suggested that the "stocky, swaggering sound" that Stewart's band achieves on the song "proves Stewart has not forgotten how to rock." [8] Henry McNulty of the Hartford Courant considered it to be "the most worthwhile song" on the album, describing it as a "straightforward rocker" on which Stewart seems to be having fun. [9] McNulty particularly praise the way the "rich, warm horns" set off the screeching lead guitar and tinkling piano. [9] The Beaver County Times described the song as "a rollicking Chuck Berry-style rocker, complete with honky-tonk piano." [10] CD Review described the song as a "barrelhouse rocker." [11] The Albany Herald wrote that the "hardrocking" song is one of the highlights among the songs of "up and down love affairs" on the Blondes Have More Fun album. [12] Rolling Stone critic Janet Maslin described it as one of the three "tolerable" songs on the album. [13] The Ottawa Journal similarly called it the best song on the album. [14] Author Sharon Davis described the song as Stewart's last hit before 1983's "Baby Jane." [15] Critic Dave Tianen rated the song as Stewart's 4th worst (two notches better than 2nd place "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy,") saying that it "would almost be beneath RuPaul." [16] But critic Mark Brown considered it to be "wonderful." [17] Classic Rock History critic Tony Scavieli ranked it as Stewart's 8th greatest song of the 1970s, stating that it "certified that Rod Stewart’s foray into disco [on "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy"] was just a small moment in time and that the album was not all disco." [18] Jason Anderson called it a "decent blues boogie", praising the "greasy guitar licks, barrelhouse piano and Phil Kenzie's raunchy sax." [19]

"Blondes (Have More Fun)" was included on Rod Stewart's live video Live at the L.A. Forum. [20] A live version was also included on the 2014 album Live 1976-1998: Tonight's the Night . [21] Graham Hicks of the Edmonton Journal felt the live version was preferable to the studio version, calling the live version a "rhythm and blues number" and stating that this proved that the "production" was responsible for the blandness of the studio version. [22]

The music video for the song was on MTV's first day.[ citation needed ]

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References

  1. ↑ "Music Week" (PDF). p. 48.
  2. ↑ Davis, S. (2012). Every Chart Topper Tells a Story: The Seventies. Random House. ISBN   9781780574103.
  3. ↑ "The Official Charts - Rod Stewart". The Official Charts. Archived from the original on 15 June 2011. Retrieved 22 August 2011.
  4. ↑ "The Irish Charts - All There Is To Know". irishcharts.ie. Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 15 April 2014.
  5. ↑ "The Irish Charts - All There Is To Know". irishcharts.ie. Archived from the original on 5 October 2015. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
  6. ↑ Erlewine, S.T. "Exposed: Japan Bonus Tracks". Allmusic . Retrieved 23 August 2011.
  7. ↑ Erlewine, S.T. "Blondes Have More Fun". Allmusic . Retrieved 23 August 2011.
  8. ↑ Fricke, David (23 January 1979). "This Blond Has More Fun". Circus . pp. 22–25.
  9. 1 2 McNulty, Henry (21 January 1979). "Rod Lusts, Money Moans". Hartford Courant. p. 5G. Retrieved 12 July 2019– via newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ "Culture Corner". Beaver County Times . 8 April 1979. Retrieved 15 April 2014.
  11. ↑ . Vol. 8, no. 1–6. CD Review. 1991. p. xliii.{{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  12. ↑ United Press International (31 January 1979). "Rockers Modify Attitude Towards Disco". The Albany Herald . p. 11.
  13. ↑ Maslin, J. (8 February 1979). "Blondes Have More Fun". Rolling Stone . Retrieved 10 March 2017.
  14. ↑ "Stagnant Talent". Ottawa Journal . 15 September 1978. p. 25. Retrieved 31 March 2017– via Newspapers.com.
  15. ↑ Davis, Sharon (2012). 80s Chart-Toppers: Every Chart-Topper Tells a Story. Random House. ISBN   9781780574110.
  16. ↑ Tianen, D. (27 March 1996). "Stewart's Gems still Shine, But Legacy Is Unfilled Promise". Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel . p. 6E. Retrieved 15 April 2014.
  17. ↑ Brown, M. (1 October 1993). "Rod Stewart Still Wears It Well at 48". Spartanburg Herald-Journal . p. 23. Retrieved 15 April 2014.
  18. ↑ Scavieli, Tony (27 July 2018). "Top 10 Rod Stewart Songs From The 1970's". Classic Rock History. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  19. ↑ Anderson, Jason (2024). "The Ultimate Music Guide: Rod Stewart & the Faces". Uncut. Kelsey Media. p. 87.
  20. ↑ "Live at the L.A. Forum". Allmusic . Retrieved 23 August 2011.
  21. ↑ Erlewine, S.T. "Live 1976-1998: Tonight's the Night". Allmusic . Retrieved 15 April 2014.
  22. ↑ Hicks, Graham (14 April 1979). "Stewart Born to Rock". Edmonton Journal. p. B6. Retrieved 12 July 2019– via newspapers.com.
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