Eddie Rabbitt

Infobox musical artist |
Name = Eddie Rabbitt
Img_capt =
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Background = solo_singer
Birth_name = Edward Thomas Rabbitt
Born = birth date|1941|11|27|mf=y
Brooklyn, New York
Died = death date and age|1998|5|7|1941|11|27|mf=y Nashville, Tennessee
Instrument =
Genre = Country music/Pop music
Occupation = singer/songwriter
Years_active = 1974-1998
Label = Elektra Records
RCA Records
Capitol Records
Warner Bros. Records
20th Century Records
Columbia Records
Associated_acts = Kenny Rogers
Crystal Gayle
Lynn Anderson
Ronnie Milsap
Juice Newton
Louise Mandrell

Edward Thomas Rabbit (born November 27, 1941 - May 7, 1998) was a country music singer. He enjoyed much pop success in his career, helping develop the crossover-influenced sound in country music during the 1970s and 80s. During his career, he scored 26 number-ones on Billboard's country singles chart.Fact|date=February 2007

Rise to success

Rabbitt was born to Irish immigrants in Brooklyn, New York, and raised in East Orange, New Jersey. [ [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D03EFDC1131F93AA35756C0A96E958260 " Eddie Rabbitt, 56, Whose Songs Zigzagged From Pop to Country"] , "The New York Times", May 9, 1998. Accessed November 3, 2007. "The son of Irish immigrants, he was born in Brooklyn and raised in East Orange, N.J."] In the 1960s, he recorded for 20th Century Records and Columbia Records. In 1968, he moved out to Nashville, where he got his first start as a songwriter. In the beginning, Roy Drusky and George Morgan cut songs he wrote. His biggest success as a songwriter came in 1970, when Elvis Presley recorded his song "Kentucky Rain". The song went gold and marked Rabbitt as one of Nashville's leading young songwriters.

The height of his career

Rabbitt signed with Elektra Records in 1974. His first single, "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, but in 1976, Rabbitt got his first #1 Country hit with the song "Drinkin' My Baby (Off My Mind)". He achieved more recognition with the songs "You Don't Love Me Anymore" and "Every Which Way But Loose" (the title track from the Clint Eastwood movie of the same name).

However, his biggest hits were "I Love a Rainy Night" (Pop #1), "Drivin' My Life Away" (Pop #5), and "Step By Step" (Pop #5), which were hits for him in 1981. These hits are probably his best-known and signature tunes. In the 1980s, Rabbitt enjoyed further success in music. In 1982, he teamed up with another Country/Pop crossover star, Crystal Gayle, to record the duet "You and I". The duet eventually became a big crossover smash. "Someone Could Lose a Heart Tonight" cracked the Top 20 on the Pop charts, peaking at #15.His other #1s include "The Best Year of My Life," a cover of Dion's "The Wanderer," "I Wanna Dance With You," "On Second Thought," and "Both to Each Other (Friends and Lovers)" (a duet with Juice Newton). However, in the late 1980s, his success was starting to fade. His singles did not crack the Pop Top 40 during this time.

In 1977, he was named Top New Male Vocalist by the Academy of Country Music Awards.

In 1981, he also won an American Music Award for Best Pop Male Vocalist in 1981.

Decline and death

As the 1980s came to an end, Rabbitt moved more and more away from crossover-styled music. His career declined as contemporary artists such as Garth Brooks and Clint Black rose on the country music charts. However he did continue to record and tour. In the 1990s, he recorded very little, in part because of the illness and subsequent death of his young son. After his son died, Rabbitt became active in raising money for organizations that aid sick children. During his career, Rabbitt scored 26 #1 hits on the country charts and eight Top 40 pop hits.

On May 7, 1998, Rabbitt died due to lung cancer at the age of 56, and is interred in the Calvary Cemetery in Nashville, Tennessee. Although during his career he was widely believed to have been born in 1944, at the time of his death, it was revealed that he was in fact 56 years old, putting his year of birth in 1941.

Discography

Trivia

*Actually terrified of rain.Fact|date=September 2008

*"I Love a Rainy Night" appeared on the , playing on fictional country music station K-ROSE.

*"Suspicions" was rerecorded by Tim McGraw in 2007 on his album Let It Go.

*A cover of "Drivin' My Life Away" was recorded for the movie "Black Dog" starring Patrick Swayze. The cover was sung by Rhett Akins.

*In 2006 Highspeed Hayride recorded a cover of "Drivin' My Life Away" on their "Thought You Should Know" album.

*Rabbitt, and specifically his song "I Love a Rainy Night", is mentioned in the Weezer song "Heart Songs" as an influence of lead singer Rivers Cuomo.

References

External links

* [http://www.cmt.com/ Eddie Rabbitt at CMT.com]

ources

* Goldsmith, Tommy. (1998). "Eddie Rabbitt". In "The Encyclopedia of Country Music". Paul Kinsgbury, Ed. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 427-8.
* LP at [http://www.discography.com Discography.com]
* Wolff, Kurt. "Country Music: The Rough Guide".