Song:Cleveland Rocks
Album:The Singles Collection 1975-83
Ian Hunter is best known as the lead singer of the British band Mott The Hoople. He went solo in 1974 and his best known song is Cleveland Rocks which was the theme of The Drew Carey Show. He was born Ian Hunter Patterson June 3, 1939 in Oswestry, Shropshire, England but he grew up in Scotland. In the early 60s he was in The Apex Group. After some regional success, Hunter left and joined The Scenery in 1966. That's when he met his future collaborator Mick Ronson. There were plans for Hunter to be in The New Yardbirds with Jimmy Page. But that got scuttled when Page formed Led Zeppelin. That's when Mott The Hoople was formed. Of course they had success with the 1972 David Bowie song All The Young Dudes. After that there was a lot of pressure on Mott The Hoople to produce more hits. And that led to Hunter's departure in 1974. Hunter's 1975 solo debut featured Once Bitten Twice Shy. This was a hit in England but the 1989 Great White cover was a much bigger hit. Hunter's first three albums were on Columbia and then he moved to Chrysalis for the 1979 album You're Never Alone With A Schizophrenic. Cleveland Rocks is Hunter's signature song. He first recorded it as England Rocks in the 1977 album Overnight Angels. Columbia hated that album and refused to promote it or release it in the US. For You're Never Alone With A Schizophrenic, Hunter reunited with Ronson. And the band was Roy Bittan, Garry Tallent and Max Weinberg of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band. Hunter re-recorded England Rocks as Cleveland Rocks. He says that Cleveland Rocks was the original title but Columbia forced him to change it to England Rocks. Of course Cleveland Rocks is very popular in Cleveland. Most notably, a cover by The Presidents of the United States of America was the theme for the Drew Carey show. You can get it on this 2CD comp. You're Never Alone With A Schizophrenic is available in a 2CD edition with bonus and live tracks. Hunter is still around. His current band The Rant Band has released three albums most recently in 2016. Hunter celebrated his 80th birthday performing at the City Winery in New York City. He also did a brief British tour with a reformed Mott The Hoople. Here's Ian Hunter performing Cleveland Rocks at the Agora Ballroom in Cleveland June 18, 1979.
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