Eddie Rabbitt
Eddie Rabbitt | |
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Warner Bros. |
Edward Thomas Rabbitt (November 27, 1941 – May 7, 1998) was an American
Early life
Rabbitt was born to
Career
Early career
Rabbitt worked as a mental hospital attendant in the late 1950s; but, like his father, he fulfilled his love of music by performing at the Six Steps Down club in his hometown. He later won a talent contest and was given an hour of Saturday night radio show time to broadcast a live performance from a bar in
Rabbitt became successful as a songwriter in 1969, when Elvis Presley recorded his song "Kentucky Rain". The song went gold, and cast Rabbitt as one of Nashville's leading young songwriters. Presley also recorded Rabbitt's song "Patch It Up", which was featured in the concert film "Elvis: That's the Way It Is", and a lesser-known Rabbitt song called "Inherit the Wind" on the album Back in Memphis. While eating Cap'n Crunch,[11] he penned "Pure Love", which Ronnie Milsap rode to number one in 1974. This song led to a contract offer from Elektra Records.
Rabbitt signed with Elektra Records in 1975. His first single under that label, "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. These three songs, along with a recording of "Pure Love", were included on Rabbitt's 1975 self-named debut album. The year 1976 saw the release of his critically acclaimed album Rocky Mountain Music, which included Rabbitt's first number-one country hit, "Drinkin' My Baby (Off My Mind)". In 1977, his third album, Rabbitt, was released, and made the top five on the Country Albums chart. Also in 1977, the Academy of Country Music named Rabbitt "Top New Male Vocalist of the Year". By that time, Rabbitt had a good reputation in Nashville, and was being compared by critics to singer Kris Kristofferson.[11] That year, at Knott's Berry Farm, Rabbitt appeared at the Academy of Country Music Awards and sang several of his songs from Rocky Mountain Music. He won the Top New Male Vocalist of the Year award.
Crossover success
While still relatively unknown, Rabbitt toured with and opened for crossover star
Rabbitt's next album, Horizon, reached platinum status and contained the biggest crossover hits of his career, "I Love a Rainy Night" and "Drivin' My Life Away." Rabbitt developed "Rainy Night" from a song fragment he penned during a 1960s thunderstorm. "Drivin'" recalled Rabbitt's tenure as a truck driver, and was inspired by Bob Dylan's song "Subterranean Homesick Blues".[17] His popularity was so great at this point that he was offered his own variety television show, which he respectfully declined, saying "It's not worth the gamble."[18]
The release of his 1981
Late career
During the 1980s, Rabbitt moved further from crossover-styled music. His 1984 album The Best Year of My Life produced a number-one country hit and three more top-10 country hits, but none had crossover success. The illness and subsequent death of his son put his career on hold following the 1985 RCA Records release Rabbitt Trax, which included the number one "Both to Each Other (Friends and Lovers)", a duet with country pop star Juice Newton. Like "You and I", the song was used as the theme for a soap opera, Days of Our Lives.[17]
Rabbitt returned from his hiatus in 1988 with the release of
Rabbitt was among the many country singers who suffered a dramatic decline in chart success beginning in 1991. That year, he released Ten Rounds, which produced the final charting single of his career, "Hang Up the Phone". Following that release, he left Capitol Records to tour with his band Hare Trigger.
In 1997, Rabbitt signed with Intersound Records, but was soon diagnosed with lung cancer. After a round of chemotherapy, he released the album Beatin' the Odds. In 1998, he released his last studio album, Songs from Rabbittland.
Musical styles
Rabbitt used innovative techniques to tie country music themes with light rhythm and blues-influenced tempos. His songs often used echo, as Rabbitt routinely sang his own background vocals. In a process called the "Eddie Rabbitt Chorale", Rabbitt compensated for what Billboard Magazine described as a "somewhat thin and reedy voice" by recording songs in three-part harmonies.[4] His music was compared to rockabilly, particularly the album Horizon, which was noted as having an Elvis-like sound. Rabbitt remarked that he liked "a lot of the old Memphis sounds that came out of Sun Records" during the 1950s, and that he "wanted to catch the magic of a live band."[21] He credited such wide-ranging artists as Bob Dylan, Steely Dan, Elvis Presley, and Willie Nelson with influencing his works.[4] When putting together an album, Rabbitt tried to make sure he put in "ten potential singles...no fillers, no junk." He remembered listening to albums as a child and hearing "two hits and a bunch of garbage."[9]
Rabbitt believed that country music was "Irish music" and that "the minor chords in [his] music gave it that mystical feel."
During the early 1990s, Rabbitt voiced criticism of hip hop music, particularly rap, which he said was sending a negative message to youth. He stated that the music was "inciting a generation" and that it had helped to contribute to the high rates of teenaged pregnancy, high-school dropouts, and rapes during this period.[24]
Personal life
When Rabbitt arrived in Nashville during the late 1960s, a friend gave him a pet chicken. Rabbitt said he had "an affinity for animals", and he kept the bird for a while before giving it to a farmer.[7] During his Nashville days in the early 1970s, Rabbitt had a pet monkey, Jojo. Before his Rocky Mountain Music tour, the monkey bit Rabbitt, leaving his right arm in bandages.[25]
In 1976, Rabbitt married Janine Girardi,
Rabbitt felt his responsibility as an entertainer was to be a good role model and he was an advocate for many charitable organizations, including the Special Olympics, Easter Seals, and the American Council on Transplantation, of which he served as honorary chairman. He also worked as a spokesman for the Muscular Dystrophy Association and United Cerebral Palsy.[1]
Rabbitt was a registered Republican and let Bob Dole use his song "American Boy" during Dole's 1996 presidential campaign.[27]
Rabbitt was also a fan of
Death
Rabbitt died on May 7, 1998, in Nashville from lung cancer at the age of 56. He had been diagnosed with the disease in March 1997 and had received radiation treatment and surgery to remove part of one lung.[29] His body was interred at Calvary Cemetery in Nashville on May 8, 1998.
No media outlets reported the death until after the burial at the family's request. The news came as a surprise to many in Nashville, including the performer's agent, who "had no idea Eddie was terminal" and had talked to him often, remarking that Rabbitt "was always upbeat and cheerful" in the final months of his life.[30] Although he was widely believed to have been born in 1944 (this year can still be found in older publications and texts), at the time of his death, he was revealed to have been born in 1941.[31]
Awards and nominations
As a songwriter
Year | Organization | Award |
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1979 | Music City News | Country Songwriter of the Year |
1979 | BMI
|
Robert J. Burton Award[4] ("Suspicions") |
1980 | BMI | Song of the Year ("Suspicions") |
1981 | Grammy Awards | Nominated for Best Country Song ("Drivin' My Life Away") |
1996 | BMI | Three Million-Air award ("I Love a Rainy Night") |
1996 | BMI | Two Million-Air award ("Kentucky Rain") |
1998 | Nashville Songwriters Foundation | Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame[32] |
2016 | ACM Honors | ACM Poet's Award |
As a recording artist
Grammy Awards
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
---|---|---|---|
1980
|
"Every Which Way but Loose" | Best Male Country Vocal Performance | Nominated |
1981
|
"Drivin' My Life Away" | Nominated | |
1982
|
"Step by Step" | Nominated |
American Music Awards
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
---|---|---|---|
1980 | Suspicions | Favorite Country Single | Nominated |
1982 | Eddie Rabbitt | Favorite Pop/Rock Male Artist | Nominated |
Academy of Country Music Awards
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
---|---|---|---|
1978 | Eddie Rabbitt | Top New Male Vocalist | Won |
1979 | Top Male Vocalist of the Year | Nominated | |
1981 | Nominated | ||
Entertainer of the Year | Nominated | ||
"Drivin' My Life Away" | Single Record of the Year | Nominated | |
1983 | Crystal Gayle and Eddie Rabbitt | Top Vocal Duo of the Year | Nominated |
Country Music Association Awards
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
---|---|---|---|
1983 | Eddie Rabbitt and Crystal Gayle | Vocal Duo of the Year | Nominated |
Discography
References
- ^ a b " Eddie Rabbitt, 56, Whose Songs Zigzagged From Pop to Country", The New York Times, May 9, 1998. Retrieved November 3, 2007.
- Penn State University, September 23, 1981
- ^ Jennings, Rob. "How growing up in a N.J. city shaped one of country music’s biggest stars", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, November 27, 2022. Accessed November 12, 2023. "Rabbitt appears to have gotten his musical interest from his father, who played the fiddle and accordion. It is believed he attended East Orange High School but did not graduate."
- ^ Billboard Magazine, May 23, 1998
- ^ Landon, Grelun and Irwin and Lyndon Stambler. Country Music Encyclopedia. MacMillan, 2000
- Penn State University, September 28, 1981
- ^ a b "Eddie Rabbitt Made Breaks on His Own," The Spokesman-Review, February 5, 1977
- ^ Cornyn, Stan (October 8, 2013). "Stay Tuned By Stan Cornyn: Joe Smith Spreads Out". Rhino Entertainment. Retrieved February 4, 2021.
- ^ Wilmington Morning Star, August 1, 1979
- Wilmington Morning Star, July 22, 1978
- ^ Milwaukee Sentinel, August 12, 1977
- ^ Sutton, Lorna. "Rogers provides memorable show," The Spokesman-Review, July 20, 1978
- CMT, August 21, 2006
- Allmusic
- Kingman Daily Miner, July 4, 1980
- Milwaukee Sentinel, June 29, 1981
- ^ a b c d e f Wadey, Paul (May 19, 1998). "Obituary: Eddie Rabbitt". The Independent.
- ^ Nash, Alanna The Urban Cowboy Archived October 10, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, Entertainment Weekly
- Allmusic
- Allmusic
- ^ Wetmore, Elaine Daily Collegian, September 28, 1981
- ^ People Magazine, April 17, 1989
- San Jose Mercury News, August 11, 1986
- Kingman Daily Miner, April 23, 1993
- St. Petersburg Times, September 20, 1976
- ^ a b Johnson, Anne Rabbitt, Eddie Contemporary Musicians, 1991
- ^ "INDECISION '96", The Philadelphia Inquirer, October 15, 1996
- ^ Star Trek: The Next Generation - 25th anniversary (2012).
- ^ "Singer-Songwriter Eddie Rabbitt Dies at 60", The Washington Post, May 9, 2002
- ^ Waddell, Ray Country Music Performer Eddie Rabbitt Dies, Amusement Business, May 18, 1998
- ^ Names ... in the news - The Union Democrat, 11 May 1998
- Billboard Magazine, October 3, 1998