Christmas Fern – Polystichum acrostichoides

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"Hold On Loosely" is a song by American rock band .38 Special, released by A&M Records on their 1981 studio album Wild-Eyed Southern Boys.

Release

Released as the lead single from the album, the song reached No. 3 on the US Billboard Rock Tracks chart, No. 27 on the US Billboard Hot 100,[2] and No. 32 in Canada.[3] It later appeared on their 1987 compilation album Flashback: The Best of 38 Special and their 1999 live album Live at Sturgis. It was the 13th music video to be played on the day that MTV debuted in 1981.[4] Don Barnes sang lead vocals on the song.

Record World said that "Rip-roarin' guitars slash away at the dual-drum rhythm section while Don Barnes' convincing lead vocal handles the bold hook."[5]

Origin

Barnes[6] going through a difficult time in his marriage, lamented that his wife was not being more supportive of his career aspirations. He presented a seed idea for a song to co-writer Jim Peterik, asking what he thought of the title "Hold On Loosely", to which Peterik came back with, "...but don't let go".[7][8] For the music, Peterik described the song's opening riff as "Like the Cars meets Lynyrd Skynyrd or something".[6] Taking inspiration from "Just What I Needed" by the Cars, Jeff Carlisi wrote the famous riff to the song.

The song was used in the comedy films Joe Dirt and Without a Paddle as well as the Better Call Saul episode "Five-O".[9]

References

  1. ^ a b Clark, Jeff (June 7, 2016). "38 Special bring thrill of 'Hold on Loosely' to Hard Rock Live". Sun Herald. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
  2. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2013). Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles, 14th Edition: 1955-2012. Record Research. p. 837.
  3. ^ "RPM Top 50 Singles - May 23, 1981" (PDF).
  4. ^ Rubin, Daniel (August 1, 2006). "Blinq: After 25 years, do you still want your MTV?". Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on September 21, 2014.
  5. ^ "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. March 7, 1981. p. 1. Retrieved February 27, 2023.
  6. ^ a b Wardlaw, Matt (October 19, 2014). "How Survivor's Jim Peterik Helped .38 Special + Sammy Hagar Write Big Hits". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
  7. ^ 38 Special's Don Barnes talks Hold on Loosely, Decades TV Network (YouTube channel, uploaded November 16, 2018)
  8. ^ Paulson, Dave. "Story Behind the Song: 'Hold On Loosely'". The Tennessean.
  9. ^ Foster, Tom (January 26, 2018). "The Top Uses of 38 Special's "Hold on Loosely" in Movies or TV".


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