Song:Almost Paradise
Album:Footloose: Original Soundtrack
Not only was the 1984 film Footloose very successful but the soundtrack was also very successful. It topped the Billboard Hot 200 and it was certified 6XPlatinum. There were two number one hits from the album and a third single that reached #7 on the Billboard Hot 100. That third single was Almost Paradise by Mike Reno and Ann Wilson. Reno is lead singer of Loverboy and Ann is lead singer of Heart. Both bands were successful at the time. The soundtrack was produced by Dean Pitchford and he also wrote all the songs with various co-writers. Pitchford started out on Broadway. He was in the 1975 musical Pippin and he also appeared in TV commercials. Then he got into songwriting. He wrote three songs for the 1980 film Fame with Michael Gore including the title song. Pitchford wrote the screenplay for Footloose based a news item about the end of an Oklahoma ban on dancing. Almost Paradise is the love theme for Footloose. Pitchford wrote it with Eric Carmen. The idea to pair up Mike Reno and Ann Wilson probably came from Columbia Records. Loverboy and Heart were both on the label at the time. It's the only time the two recorded together. My guess is they recorded their parts separately. These kind of one off duets are common on soundtracks. Both returned to their bands afterwards. Footloose is available as a budget CD. Loverboy and Heart are still together. Mike Reno has recorded occasionally for films and he released a solo album in 2002. Ann Wilson's sister Nancy used to be married to director Cameron Crowe. So she occasionally contributed to his films. She released a solo album in 2007. Here's the video for Almost Paradise by Mike Reno and Ann Wilson.
No comments:
Post a Comment