Bluer Than Blue
Encyclopedia
"Bluer Than Blue" is the title of a 1978 song recorded by Michael Johnson
. The song was written by noted pop and country music
songwriter Randy Goodrum
. Goodrum says that the song came to him while driving down the road, so he pulled into a Wendy's, ordered a hamburger and wrote the verses down. However, he does point out that Wendy's should not get all of the credit because he wrote the chorus across the street in a K-mart parking lot. Originally recorded as a demo, it was taken as the first single from Johnson's subsequent LP, The Michael Johnson Album, "Bluer Than Blue" became the singer's first Top 40 hit, reaching #12 on the Billboard Hot 100
chart during the summer of 1978. It proved even more popular with adult contemporary radio stations, spending three weeks at #1 on the Easy Listening chart that same year. To date, this is Johnson's highest-charting single on either the Pop or AC charts; however, he has scored a number of hits on the country
chart in the time since releasing "Bluer Than Blue".
The song is sung from the point of view of a man who is in a relationship that is failing, and because of this he is trying to convince himself that his situation will improve once the one he loved moves on or left with the lyrics written as: After you go, I can catch up on my reading / After you go, I'll have a lot more time for sleeping in the 1st verse; then in 2nd verse as After you go, I'll have a lot more room in my closet / After you go, I can stay out all night long if I feel like it; however, it is evident by the lyrics to the song that his efforts are thus far unable to erase his sadness: But I'm bluer than blue, sadder than sad / You're the only light this empty room has ever had / Life without you is gonna be / Bluer than blue.
The single received generally favorable reviews at the time of its release. Cashbox Magazine described Johnson's work as "full of touching ballads with all the right production touches, subtle instrumentation and poignant vocals necessary to keep the tenderness from becoming insipid."
In 1978, Johnson was quoted as saying, “I knew it was potentially a successful song but I didn’t think it would go this far. It seemed, well, too mature. The experience of being married or living with someone is hard to indentify with for younger people.”
The song has become a well-known American 1970s soft rock single that continues to be played on radio stations to this day. The video for the song was played on MTV
during the 2nd hour on August 1, 1981 which became the 18th video played on the channel not "Message Of Love" by The Pretenders
.
In 1996, Barry Manilow
covered the song on his album Summer of '78
.
Michael Johnson (singer)
Michael Johnson , is an American pop, country and folk singer-songwriter and guitarist. He is best known for his 1978 hit song "Bluer Than Blue". To date, he has charted four hits on the Billboard Hot 100 charts, and nine more on the Hot Country Songs charts, including two Number One country hits...
. The song was written by noted pop and country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
songwriter Randy Goodrum
Randy Goodrum
Randy Goodrum is an American songwriter. Goodrum has written numerous popular songs, including Anne Murray's #1 hit "You Needed Me" and "Broken Hearted Me" , Michael Johnson's "Bluer Than Blue" , England Dan & John Ford Coley's "It's Sad to Belong" , Steve Perry's "Oh Sherrie" , DeBarge's "Who's...
. Goodrum says that the song came to him while driving down the road, so he pulled into a Wendy's, ordered a hamburger and wrote the verses down. However, he does point out that Wendy's should not get all of the credit because he wrote the chorus across the street in a K-mart parking lot. Originally recorded as a demo, it was taken as the first single from Johnson's subsequent LP, The Michael Johnson Album, "Bluer Than Blue" became the singer's first Top 40 hit, reaching #12 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
chart during the summer of 1978. It proved even more popular with adult contemporary radio stations, spending three weeks at #1 on the Easy Listening chart that same year. To date, this is Johnson's highest-charting single on either the Pop or AC charts; however, he has scored a number of hits on the country
Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales...
chart in the time since releasing "Bluer Than Blue".
The song is sung from the point of view of a man who is in a relationship that is failing, and because of this he is trying to convince himself that his situation will improve once the one he loved moves on or left with the lyrics written as: After you go, I can catch up on my reading / After you go, I'll have a lot more time for sleeping in the 1st verse; then in 2nd verse as After you go, I'll have a lot more room in my closet / After you go, I can stay out all night long if I feel like it; however, it is evident by the lyrics to the song that his efforts are thus far unable to erase his sadness: But I'm bluer than blue, sadder than sad / You're the only light this empty room has ever had / Life without you is gonna be / Bluer than blue.
The single received generally favorable reviews at the time of its release. Cashbox Magazine described Johnson's work as "full of touching ballads with all the right production touches, subtle instrumentation and poignant vocals necessary to keep the tenderness from becoming insipid."
In 1978, Johnson was quoted as saying, “I knew it was potentially a successful song but I didn’t think it would go this far. It seemed, well, too mature. The experience of being married or living with someone is hard to indentify with for younger people.”
The song has become a well-known American 1970s soft rock single that continues to be played on radio stations to this day. The video for the song was played on MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
during the 2nd hour on August 1, 1981 which became the 18th video played on the channel not "Message Of Love" by The Pretenders
The Pretenders
The Pretenders are an English rock band formed in Hereford, England in March 1978. The original band consisted of initiator and main songwriter Chrissie Hynde , James Honeyman-Scott , Pete Farndon , and Martin Chambers...
.
In 1996, Barry Manilow
Barry Manilow
Barry Manilow is an American singer-songwriter, musician, arranger, producer, conductor, and performer, best known for such recordings as "Could It Be Magic", "Mandy", "Can't Smile Without You", and "Copacabana ."...
covered the song on his album Summer of '78
Summer of '78
Summer of '78 is an album by singer-songwriter Barry Manilow, released in 1996. The album was a collections of popular songs mostly from the 1970s, and was recorded in Nashville, Tennessee.- Track listing :#"Summer Of '78" - 1:48...
.
Chart performance
| Chart (1978) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canadian RPM RPM (magazine) RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,... Top Singles Canadian Singles Chart The Canadian Singles Chart is currently compiled by the U.S.-based music sales tracking company, Nielsen SoundScan . The chart is compiled every Wednesday, and is published by Jam! Canoe on Thursdays.... |
6 |
| Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary RPM (magazine) RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,... |
1 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
12 |
| US Billboard Adult Contemporary | 1 |