The year was 1978.
I was driving in my mom’s AMC Gremlin (no really, they had a car called a “Gremlin”).
I was only 14 (almost 15) years old and I shouldn’t have been driving as I did not have a license or even a permit, but back in the 70s, things were different and we took chances.
Some chances were not so good, some chances were necessary.
But for now, I’m going to refer to musical chances.
I remember it vividly! It was around the month of October and I was gearing up to play at a Halloween party and on my way to rehearsal when I heard Toto’s “Hold the line.”
It was like nothing I had ever heard before. It was this incredible vocal, with fantastic guitar, with almost a jazz-like feel, very catchy groove, and a very catchy chorus.
This is what I mean by “chances”. Bands took chances back then. They didn’t try to sound like everybody else. In fact, quite the opposite! They tried to go out of their way to be unique and sound like themselves.
Let me show you what I mean!
These were the songs that were in the top charts for the year 1978:
Stayin’ Alive – The Bee Gees
We Will Rock You / We Are the Champions – Queen
How Deep Is Your Love – The Bee Gees
Hot Blooded – Foreigner
Three Times A Lady – The Commodores
Grease – Frankie Valli
Come Sail Away – Styx
You’re the One That I Want – John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John
Take A Chance On Me – Abba
Dust In The Wind – Kansas
Blue Bayou – Linda Ronstadt
Don’t Look Back – Boston
Hollywood Nights – Bob Seger and The Silver Bullet Band
And I could go on and on and on.
Do you notice the diversity? Do you notice the individuality? Do you notice how they took chances to be different and unique?
Well, Toto’s “Hold The Line” was no different.
So Gabriela and I thought it would be fun to take on this epic, classic, iconic piece.
But we decided to also take some chances and to try to take this song to a new level and to add our own twist to it, while maintaining the spirit and integrity of this song.
Let us know how we did?
Ken Tamplin Vocal Academy – Where The PROOF Is In The Singing!
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Now on Spotify!
Popular Releases: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3wpKOlONpzQUc4PRxGElQJ
Soft Rock: https://open.spotify.com/album/0Jqdd1MEIxJKnZB9PffKYB?utm_source=SendGrid&utm_medium=Email+&utm_campaign=website
You can follow Gabriela here:
Website: http://gabrielaguncikova.com/
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