Escape (The Piña Colada Song) by Rupert Holmes
Artist: Rupert Holmes Weeks at #1: 2 weeks Chart dates: December 22, 1979 – December 29, 1979
About
Rupert Holmes’s claim to fame – the hit that was the last number 1 of the ‘70s in the US. It was also a top 30 hit in New Zealand, Belgium, The Netherlands and the UK. “Escape” is about a man wishing to escape with another woman because he feels tired of the relationship he’s in. The third verse comes with an unforeseen plot twist. The song, a variation of an older song he wrote, was included on the album Partners in Crime, which included his only other hit – “Him”. It was originally to be titled simply “Escape”. However, when Rupert Holmes received a call from the record company, they said everyone was asking for “the piña colada song”, and so they asked him to let them add the phrase to the title in parentheses, to which Holmes reluctantly agreed. While it led to success and fame, Holmes laments that people never acknowledged his plays, scores and multiple awards for other projects – and – he never liked piña coladas…
