1979 Eddie Rabbitt – Suspicions

1979 Eddie Rabbitt – Suspicions

Eddie Rabbitt grew up in Orange County, New Jersey, an unusual place to start out as a Country singer and songwriter. His father worked at an oil refinery but played fiddle and accordion in local clubs. Eddie learned to play guitar and dropped out of school and began singing in clubs when he was only 16 years old.

Eddie began working as a mental hospital attendant while performing part-time until he won a talent contest. He won the chance to do a one-hour radio show, and that led to a recording contract with 20th Century Records. The company released two singles in 1964. When they were unsuccessful, Eddie moved to Nashville and began working part-time as a songwriter. Everything changed when Elvis recorded one of Eddie’s compositions, Kentucky Rain. Elvis recorded two more songs Eddie had written, and as a result, Elektra Records signed Eddie to a recording contract in 1974.

Two of Eddie’s singles nearly reached the Country top ten in 1975. Eddie’s next single topped the Country chart, and a seemingly endless string of hit Country singles followed.

In 1979, Eddie recorded the theme song for the Clint Eastwood film Every Which Way But Loose. They released the song as a single that became his third consecutive chart-topping record on the Country chart. It also reached #30 on the Hot 100 and #26 on the Adult Contemporary (AC) chart.

Eddie’s next single again reached all three charts. Eddie wrote Suspicions with the help of three other co-writers, and the record became his fourth consecutive #1 on the Country chart. It also reached #13 on the Hot 100 and entered the top ten on the AC chart.

Suspicions was the beginning of a series of crossover records. I Love A Rainy Night topped the Country chart, the Hot 100, and the AC chart in 1980. Over the next three years, Eddie released seven more chart-topping Country singles. Those releases resulted in two more top-five records and three more top forty singles on the Hot 100. He was also successful on the AC chart, where three of the singles peaked at #2 or #3 and two more reached the top ten.

After 1983, Eddie found success almost exclusively on the Country music chart. In his career, Eddie had a total of 17 number one Country singles and 17 more top ten singles. Like many other traditional Country singers, Eddie’s charting days ended in 1990.

Eddie fought lung cancer beginning in 1997 and died a year later. He was only 56 years old.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddie_Rabbitt
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddie_Rabbitt_discography

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