Sausalito Summernight

Last updated
"Sausalito Summer Night"
Sausolito Summernight.gif
picture sleeve from the original
1980 Netherlands release
Single by Diesel
from the album Watts in a Tank
B-side "Bite Back" (1981 Netherlands re-release b/w "My Kind of Woman")
Released1980, 1981 (Netherlands)
1981 (international)
Recorded1979
Studio DMC Studio (Baarn)
Genre Power pop
Length5:13 (album version)
3:52 (single version)
Label Polydor (Netherlands)
Regency (US/ Canada)
Songwriter(s) Mark Boon, Rob Vunderink
Producer(s) Pim Koopman
Diesel's Netherlandssingles chronology
"Alibi"
(1980)
"Sausalito Summer Night"
(1980)
"Leader of the Pacman"
(1982)
Diesel's US/ Canadasingles chronology
"Sausalito Summernight"
(1981)
"Goin' Back to China"
(1981)

"Sausalito Summernight" is the title of a 1981 U.S. Top 40 hit by Nederpop band Diesel. It was fourth of four singles issued from the band's 1980 debut album Watts in a Tank , the final three of which became chart hits. It was the greatest hit from the LP (U.S. #25).

Contents

The track became a #1 hit in Canada. [1] It was also their only charting single there.

Overview

The song was written in 1979 by Diesel members Mark Boon and Rob Vunderink at Boon's parental home in the Hague: (Rob Vunderink quote:) "I came up with the riff, [Boon] added some chords, and then I came up with the melody", the song's tune being completed in roughly an hour's time. The lyrics were written the following day by Boon who in 1962 at age 11 had moved to Los Angeles, California, and had lived in California until 1967, [2] [3] and had also sojourned in California prior to joining Diesel in 1978. [4] [5] Boon would later recall that he had spent time in Sausalito the summer before writing the song. [6]

Gene Triplett ( The Oklahoman ) on "Sausalito Summernight"
"A remarkably American-sounding pop-rocker [that's] hook- & harmony-laden fare...The guitar chops are loose & goosey, the melody is upbeat & instantly engaging, & the lyrics invoke the smell of salt sea air & the exhilaration of cruising on Friday night with the top down & inhibitions cast to the wind." [7]

An ironic car ode, the lyrics of "Sausalito Summernight" focus on a couple driving a "Rambler" north from Los Angeles to San Francisco who take a break in Sausalito, four miles from San Francisco (and in fact to its north).

In other countries, the track is known as "Sausolito Summernight", as a result of a misspelling on the Netherlands releases of the single and the album. This was corrected on the 1981 U.S. and Canadian releases. [8]

Although eventually afforded classic hit status in the Netherlands, "Sausalito Summernight" was only a modest chart success in its original 1980 local release, but in 1981 it became a Top 40 hit in the U.S. and also reached #1 in Canada. Further international releases ensued but, apart from nicking the charts in a Netherlands re-release, [9] with no further success.

"Sausalito Summernight" was oft-cited as a Steve Miller Band soundalike: [10] [11] [12] [13] for example: "'Sausalito Summernight' is a top-notch number with power, melody and snap that sounds like the seemingly defunct Steve Miller Band at more than its best". [14] In fact "Sausalito Summernight" reached the U.S. Top 40 a week prior to the 23 October 1981 release of Circle of Love , the first non-compilation Steve Miller Band album in four years, with the Top 40 tenure of that album's lead single: "Heart Like a Wheel", overlapping with that of "Sausalito Summernight" for four weeks in November 1981. [15]

It was reported in December 1981 that "Sausalito Summernight" had sold 600,000 units worldwide. [16]

Netherlands release and reception

"Sausolito Summernight" was introduced on Diesel's debut album Watts in a Tank, whose producer Pim Koopman would recall that the recording of "Sausolito Summernight" cost half the budget for the entire album. [17] Watts in a Tank had been recorded in 1979 subsequent to the band's first single "Goin' Back to China", reaching #34 on the [Netherlands] Single Top 50. Upon the album's March 1980 release, by which time the advance single "Down in the Silvermine" had charted at #16, Koopman and the band members all considered "Sausolito Summernight" the obvious choice for single release. However, Diesel's label Polydor chose another album cut: "Alibi", and only after "Alibi" proved a flop did Polydor give single release to "Sausolito Summernight", edited to 3:30, which afforded the group a modest chart comeback, peaking at #33. [18] The song was later performed on the Dutch TV show TopPop [19]

The track's U.S. Top 40 success in the autumn of 1981 - see Section 3 below - led to the song's re-release in the Netherlands, with a resultant one-week tenure in the Single Top 50 at #49. [20] Despite the lack of interest generated by "Sausolito Summernight" in its Netherlands releases, the track eventually earned the status of a classic hit in the Netherlands, as evidenced by its appearing in the Top 2000 almost every year since 1999 ranking as high as #984 (in 2000). [21]

U.S./ Canadian release and reception

Veteran record producer Kim Fowley discovered Diesel via his affiliation with Southern Music with whom Diesel had a pact, and Fowley's advocacy led to the US rights for Diesel's recordings being acquired by the independent Regency label in 1981. [22] [23] Ensuant to the U.S. release of its parent album: Watts in a Tank, the last week of May 1981, the track "Sausalito Summernight" quickly garnered airplay on FM radio. WWCK-FM in Flint (Michigan) is credited with inaugurating the track's U.S. airplay. [23] [24] While Regency's U.S. distributor MCA Records did release a promo single of "Sausalito Summernight" (edited to 3:06). The track did not have a widespread commercial single release until August 1981 when Regency switched distribution from MCA to Atlantic Records who issued "Sausalito Summernight" as a single within a week of contracting with Regency. [25]

The single of "Sausalito Summernight" debuted on the Hot 100 in Billboard dated 12 September 1981 at #86. Diesel's producer Pim Koopman would later allege that his perusal of Billboard showed "Sausalito Summernight" strongly supported throughout the United States with the "curious" exception of Sausalito's home state of California: [17] the track, which did in fact rank in the Top 20 on hit parades for the California cities of San Bernardino, Santa Barbara and San Jose, was supported in U.S. secondary markets over a wide geographic range, including Top Ten rankings in hit parades in New England, the South including Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri and Texas, and in the states of Arizona and Nevada. [26] However after reaching the Top 40 in October 1981, "Sausalito Summernight" began to lose traction, the final quarter of the year evidently unfavorable to this summer-themed song. The single was afforded an "eleventh hour" top-tier market breakout when playlisted in mid-October by Chicago Top 40 station WLS (AM): with a peak of #18, [27] the WLS hit parade tenure of "Sausalito Summernight" failed to significantly augment the track's Top 40 fortunes, the track peaking at #25 on the Hot 100 dated 21 November 1981. [5] [28] This was the last song played by 62 KMNS in Sioux City, Iowa before they flipped their Top 40 format to Country in 1982.

In its Canadian release, distributed for Regency by RCA Records, "Sausalito Summernight" received airplay on the nation's flagship Top 40 station CHUM (AM) in Toronto as early as July 1981, debuting at #27 on the CHUM Chart dated 1 August 1981. The track was promptly playlisted throughout the CHUM Limited broadcasting chain which included CFRW in Winnipeg and CFUN in Vancouver, with airplay spreading to additional stations. [27] In the RPM magazine issued 29 August 1981, immediately after the Canadian release of "Sausalito Summernight" as a commercial single, the track (which that week ranked #1 on the hit parade for CFRW and ranked at #2 by CHUM-AM) debuted on the National 50s Single Survey at #5, moving up to #1 on the chart dated 5 September 1981. [1] Ultimately ranked at #13 on the listing of the biggest hits of the year, [29] "Sausalito Summernight" in December 1981 had its Canadian sales reported as 100,000 units. [16]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crazy Little Thing Called Love</span> 1979 single by Queen

"Crazy Little Thing Called Love" is a song by the British rock band Queen. Written by Freddie Mercury in 1979, the track is included on their 1980 album The Game, and also appears on the band's compilation album Greatest Hits in 1981. The song peaked at number two in the UK Singles Chart in 1979, becoming the group's first number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US in 1980, remaining there for four consecutive weeks. It topped the Australian ARIA Charts for seven weeks. It was the band's final single release of the 1970s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Teach-In (band)</span> 1970s Dutch band

Teach-In was a Dutch band active from 1967 until 1980. After scoring several top 20 hits in their home country by the early 1970s, the band came to international attention by winning the 1975 Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Ding-a-dong”. Throughout the band's career, there were several changes in line-up.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kayak (band)</span> Dutch rock band

Kayak is a Dutch rock band formed by Ton Scherpenzeel and Pim Koopman in Hilversum in 1972. In 1973, their debut album See See the Sun was released, including three hit singles. Their popularity was mainly in the Netherlands, with their top hit "Ruthless Queen" reaching No. 6 on the Dutch charts in March 1979. They disbanded in 1982 after releasing nine albums.

Diesel is a Dutch pop/rock group that became one of the relatively few Dutch acts to chart in the U.S. when their song "Sausalito Summernight" entered the U.S. Top 40 in 1981.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Super Freak</span> Song by Rick James

"Super Freak" is a 1981 single produced and performed by American singer Rick James. The song, co-written by James and Alonzo Miller, was first released on James' fifth album, Street Songs (1981) and became one of James' signature songs. "Freak" is a slang term for the sexually adventurous, as described in the song's lyrics, "She's a very kinky girl / The kind you don't take home to mother". Rolling Stone magazine ranked the song number 477 in its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time in 2004, number 481 in 2010, and number 153 in an updated list in 2021. The song was nominated for the Grammy for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance at the 1982 Grammys. The song has been sampled by MC Hammer in 1990, the Black Eyed Peas in 2020, and by Nicki Minaj in 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Only You (And You Alone)</span> Pop song composed by Buck Ram

"Only You (And You Alone)" (often shortened to "Only You") is a pop song composed by Buck Ram. It was originally recorded by The Platters with lead vocals by Tony Williams in 1955.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Everlasting Love</span> 1967 single by Robert Knight

"Everlasting Love" is a song written by Buzz Cason and Mac Gayden, originally a 1967 hit for Robert Knight and since remade numerous times, most successfully by Love Affair, as well as Town Criers, Rex Smith & Rachel Sweet, Carl Carlton, Sandra Cretu, U2 and Gloria Estefan. The original version of "Everlasting Love" was recorded by Knight in Nashville, with Cason and Gayden aiming to produce it in a Motown style reminiscent of the Four Tops and the Temptations. When released as a single, the song reached No. 13 on the US chart in 1967. Subsequently, the song has reached the US top 40 three times, most successfully as performed by Carl Carlton, peaking at No. 6 in 1974, with more moderate success by the duo Rex Smith and Rachel Sweet and Gloria Estefan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Start Me Up</span> 1981 single by The Rolling Stones

"Start Me Up" is a song by the English rock band the Rolling Stones from their 1981 album Tattoo You. Released as the album's lead single, it reached number one on Australian Kent Music Report, number two in Canada, number two on the Billboard Hot 100, number seven on the UK Singles Chart, and the top ten in a handful of European countries north of the Alps.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Take Good Care of My Baby</span> 1961 song by Bobby Vee

"Take Good Care of My Baby" is a song written by Carole King and Gerry Goffin. The song was made famous by Bobby Vee, when it was released in 1961.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours</span> 1970 single by Stevie Wonder

"Signed, Sealed, Delivered " is a soul song, by American musician Stevie Wonder, released in June 1970 as a single on Motown's Tamla label. It spent six weeks at number one on the U.S. R&B chart and peaked at number three on the U.S. Pop chart. In the same year, the song was also released on the album Signed, Sealed & Delivered.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Centerfold (song)</span> 1981 single by The J. Geils Band

"Centerfold" is a song by the J. Geils Band, released in September 1981 as the lead single from their tenth album Freeze Frame. The most successful single of the group's career, it reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart in February 1982 and held that spot for six consecutive weeks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">José Hoebee</span> Dutch singer

Josina van de Wijdeven, known as José Hoebee, is a Dutch pop singer. She was a member of Luv', a famous Dutch girl group in the late 1970s and early 1980s that scored hits in more than 15 countries. In late 1981, she went solo and was successful in her homeland and in the Flanders region of Belgium between 1982 and 1985. She formed a duo known as Bonnie & José with Bonnie St. Claire to record Dutch cover versions of ABBA's songs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tee-Set</span> Dutch pop rock band

Tee-Set was a pop rock band formed in 1965 by singer Peter Tetteroo in Delft, Netherlands. The band is best-known for their single "Ma Belle Amie", which was a No. 5 hit in the United States and No. 3 in Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burnin' for You</span> 1981 single by Blue Öyster Cult

"Burnin' for You" is a song by American hard rock band Blue Öyster Cult. It was released as the lead single from the band's eighth studio album, Fire of Unknown Origin, released in June 1981, where it was the album's second track. The song was co-written by guitarist Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser and rock critic songwriter Richard Meltzer, who wrote lyrics for several of the band's songs. Roeser sang lead vocals on the song in lieu of Blue Öyster Cult's usual lead vocalist Eric Bloom.

<i>Watts in a Tank</i> 1980 studio album by Diesel

Watts in a Tank is the first album released by the Dutch musical group Diesel. It was first released in the Netherlands in 1980 by Polydor, and was released in the United States by Regency in 1981. The album was reissued on compact disc by One Way in 2002.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Just Between You and Me (April Wine song)</span> 1981 single by April Wine

"Just Between You and Me" is a single by Canadian hard rock band April Wine, from their ninth studio album The Nature of the Beast, released in 1981.

"Last Date" is a 1960 instrumental written and performed by Floyd Cramer. It exemplifies the "slip note" style of piano playing that Cramer made popular. It peaked at number 11 on the country chart and at number two on the Hot 100 behind "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" by Elvis Presley. Cramer's recording inspired a number of successful cover versions, including a vocal adaptation by Conway Twitty.

<i>Ear Candy</i> (Helen Reddy album) 1977 studio album by Helen Reddy

Ear Candy is the ninth studio album by Australian-American pop singer Helen Reddy, released on 25 April 1977 by Capitol Records. The album included a modern take on the doo-wop genre, a Cajun number that gave the Melbourne native her first and only appearance on Billboard magazine's Country chart, and a dark self-parody on which Reddy proclaims: "I don't take no shit from nobody". Unusually, half of the songs recorded for Ear Candy were co-written by Reddy herself, including the second single: "The Happy Girls", Reddy's first self-penned A-side single since "I am Woman". The album's first single, a remake of the 1964 Cilla Black hit "You're My World", gave Reddy a final Top 40 hit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Promises (Eric Clapton song)</span> 1978 single by Eric Clapton

"Promises" is a single released by the British rock musician Eric Clapton in September 1978. It is part of his studio album Backless.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cliff Richard singles discography</span>

The singles discography of English singer Cliff Richard consists in excess of 200 singles, of which 159 singles have been released in the UK in varying vinyl, CD, cassette and digital formats. Listed alongside the UK singles in the discography below are a further 20 singles which were released in other territories, as well as 22 singles which were sung in German and only released in German-speaking countries.

References

  1. 1 2 "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 1981-09-05. Retrieved 2018-09-21.
  2. "Mark Boon".
  3. Triplett, Gene (13 December 1981). "Tour of U.S. Gives Group New Outlook". The Oklahoman . p. 98.
  4. Michaels, Randdolph (2005). Flashbacks to Happiness: 80s music revisited. Lincoln, Nebraska: ¡Universe. p. 51. ISBN   978-0-595-81415-2.
  5. 1 2 "Diesel". Alexgitlin.com.
  6. Boon, Mark (March 7, 2018). "Interview with Mark Boon". In Gesprek Met... (Interview). Interviewed by Jan-Willem van den Akken. Rosmalen NL: TV73.
  7. Triplett, Gene (1 December 1981). "'Diesel' Provides High-Octane Disc". The Oklahoman. p. S16.
  8. "Diesel – Singles / Sausalito Summernight". pimkoopman.com. Retrieved February 1, 2023.
  9. "Sausolito Summernight". dutchcharts.nl. Dutch Charts.
  10. "Watts in a Tank - Diesel | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic .
  11. "Title unknown". Billboard. Vol. 93, no. 25. 27 June 1981. p. 70.
  12. "Title unknown". Cash Box . Vol. 43, no. 17. 12 September 1981. p. 13.
  13. Kuchta, Mike (4 October 1981). "This is a recording". Quad-City Times . p. 51.
  14. Bishop, Pete (18 October 1981). "Books & Music". Pittsburgh Press . p. J-6.
  15. "Title unknown". Billboard. Vol. 93, no. 42. 24 October 1981. p. 33.
  16. 1 2 Billboard Vol 93 #51 (26 December 1981) p.76
  17. 1 2 Koopmann, Pim (December 26, 2003). "Interview with Mark Boon, Rob Vunderink & Pim Koopman". Top 2000 à Go-Go (Interview). Interviewed by Matthijs van Nieuwkerk. Hilversum NL: Nederlandse Programma Stichting.
  18. "Home". pimkoopman.com.
  19. TopPop. "Diesel - "Sausalito Summernight" TopPop". YouTube . Retrieved 2020-08-24.
  20. Steffen Hung. "Diesel [NL] - Sausolito Summernight". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 2018-09-27.
  21. "Sausolito Summernight van Diesel uit 1980 in Top 2000". 16 December 2020.
  22. Fowley, Kim. "Kim Fowley (Part Two)". antimusic.com. Interviewed by Morley Seaver. Retrieved February 1, 2023.
  23. 1 2 Billboard Vol 93 #45 (14 November 1981) p.B-10
  24. Flint Voice 19 March - 1 April 1982 p.7
  25. Billboard Vol 93 #40 (10 October 1981) p.12
  26. Billboard Vol 93 #35 - #51 (5 September - 26 December 1981) "Singles Radio Action"
  27. 1 2 "ARSA | the Radio Surveys / Record Charts Site".
  28. "Haags bandje brak door in Amerika: 'In uurtje rolde dat nummer eruit'" [Hague band broke through in America: 'That song rolled out in an hour']. Ad.nl (in Dutch).
  29. "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 1981-09-05. Retrieved 2018-10-02.