Blame It on the Radio

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"Blame It on the Radio"
Single by John Parr
from the album Running the Endless Mile
B-side "Two Hearts"
Released 1986
Format 7"
Genre Pop/Rock
Length 4:17
Label Atlantic Records
Writer(s) John Parr
Producer(s) John Parr
John Parr singles chronology
"Rock 'n' Roll Mercenaries" (with Meat Loaf)
(1986)		 "Blame It on the Radio"
(1986)		 "Two Hearts"
(1986)

"Blame It on the Radio" is a song by English singer/musician John Parr, released as the lead single from his 1986 album Running the Endless Mile. The song was written, performed and produced solely by Parr.[1]

Background

The song was released as the lead single from the Running the Endless Mile in America.[2] It was the album's only successful single, as the only other eligible charting single was "Two Hearts", which failed to find commercial success. The European singles "Two Hearts", "Running the Endless Mile" and "Don't Worry 'Bout Me" were also not commercially successful, whilst "Don't Worry 'Bout Me" was a promotional only single in America.[3][4][5]

"Blame It on the Radio" was Parr's last charting success in America, where it debuted and peaked at #88.[6][7] The song spent six weeks in the chart.[8] Running the Endless Mile did not appear on the Billboard 200 Albums Chart at all.[9]

In the Billboard magazine issue of 20 December 1986, the song was listed in the Power Playlists section, which highlighted the current playlists of the nation's largest and most influential Top 40 radio stations. The song appeared under the Chicago WBBM-FM station where it was listed at #39.[10] It had previously been listed as EX in the 6 December 1986 issue on the same station.[11] In the Billboard issue of 27 December 1986, it was seen on the playlist for WMMS 100.7FM of Cleveland, where it was at #38, having moved up from #39 the week before.[12]

Release

The single was released on 7" vinyl via Atlantic Records in America and Japan only. The single version of the song was the same version as used on the album. The main single release in America featured "Two Hearts" as the B-side, which appeared on the Running the Endless Mile album whilst also being part of the soundtrack to the film American Anthem. Both songs were listed as the "LP Versions".[2] An American promotional 7" vinyl was also issued with "Blame It on the Radio" on both sides of the vinyl.[13] The Japanese 7" vinyl was issued by Mercury Records and also featured "Two Hearts" as the B-side.[14]

The single's artwork used the same photo of Parr as on the Running the Endless Mile cover, but zoomed in for a closer shot of his face.[15] The Japanese cover used a wide shot of a similar photograph taken during the same shoot as the album's photo.

Promotion

A music video was created for the single, which was the main form of promotion. The video highlighted Parr performing the song with his signature American flag guitar, and other shots involved him driving an open top car, and shots of a woman who ends up driving with Parr in his car.[16] The video was produced by Paul Spencer of Midnight Films Ltd. and was directed by Irish music video director Meiert Avis.[11]

In the Billboard magazine issue of 6 December 1986, the song was listed under the 'New Videoclips' section and was also listed in 'The Clip List' section, where it had just been added to the MTV channel.[11] In the Billboard issues of 13, 20 and 27 December 1986, the video was revealed to be receiving medium rotation on the MTV channel.[7][10][12]

On 6 December 1987, Parr performed the song on the 293rd episode of the American syndicated music television series "Solid Gold".[17]

Track listing

7" Single
  1. "Blame It on the Radio (LP Version)" - 4:17
  2. "Two Hearts (LP Version)" - 6:06
7" Single (American promo)
  1. "Blame It on the Radio" - 4:16
  2. "Blame It on the Radio" - 4:16
7" Single (Japanese release)
  1. "Blame It on the Radio" - 4:17
  2. "Two Hearts" - 6:06

Critical reception

Allmusic noted the song as an album stand-out track by highlighting it as the album's only AMG Pick Track.[18]

Chart performance

Chart (1986) Peak
position
US Billboard Hot 100 Chart[6] 88

Personnel

  • John Parr - lead vocals, performer, producer, writer

References

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