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"Cleveland Rocks" is the name of one of Ian Hunter's best-loved compositions. First released in 1979, it's since became the de-facto anthem of the city, a rock proclamation whose title has always rung true. Cleveland's rock scene during the '70s was largely championed by Steve Popovich, a former Cleveland resident who ended up being the head of A&R at Epic. In mid-1976, he left the corporate rock world and headed back home to Cleveland, where he set up Cleveland International Records, part record label, part management company, part marketing consulting group. Throughout the '70s, Cleveland International had a hand in some of the most unique records in rock. Decades on, many of their projects remain legendary.
Now, Cleveland International has announced the April 4 release of Cleveland Rocks, a 13-track collection (10-track on the LP) that brings together some of the best of the C/I catalog. Among them is the aforementioned Hunter's "Cleveland Rocks," plus the Jersey bar-band grit of Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, the blue-collar rock of Joe Grushecky and the Iron City Houserockers, and many other certified classics.
The label's first release opens the collection. It was a meeting of legends as Ronnie Spector cut "Say Goodbye To Hollywood," a Phil Spector-eque Billy Joel cover, with Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band backing her up. While it didn't gather all the success that it arguably deserved at the time, the best was yet to come for C/I. Around the same time, Popovich heard a copy of a prospective album by an obscure artist that kept getting turned down by other labels. Unlike the others, Popovich gave the album a chance, though. He believed in the music, and Cleveland International poured all its efforts into it. Popovich championed the recording in meetings with Epic and was instrumental in getting the album released. By 1978, that record -Meat Loaf's Bat Out of Hell - surpassed platinum status. More than 40 years later, it's still one of the most successful LPs of all time. Cleveland Rocks include's the album's epic "Paradise By the Dashboard Light," as well as Meat Loaf's duet partner Ellen Foley's "We Belong to the Night," and Bat Out of Hell arranger Jim Steinman's solo track "Rock and Roll Dreams Come Through." There's also a mostly instrumental take on Rocky Horror Picture Show classic "Time Warp" produced by Alice Cooper associate Dick Wagner and writer-arranger extraordinaire Michael Kamen, and an assortment of other great rock tunes.
So mark your calendars for a celebration of some of Cleveland's best rock. Both the CD and LP edition of Cleveland Rocks will be released on April 4, with the LP featuring a slightly shortened and re-sequenced program. You can find the track listings for both below, along with links so you can secure your copy.
Various Artists, Cleveland Rocks (Cleveland International, 2019)
CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
CD Track Listing:
- Say Goodbye to Hollywood - Ronnie Spector & The E Street Band
- I Don't Want to Go Home - Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes
- Time Warp - Just Us Girls
- Have a Good Time (But Get Out Alive ) - Joe Grushecky & The Iron City Houserockers
- There's No Surf in Cleveland - Euclid Beach Band
- Too Wild to Tame - The Boyzz
- Rock and Roll Dreams Come Through - Jim Steinman
- We Belong to the Night - Ellen Foley
- Paradise by the Dashboard Light - Meat Loaf
- Sweet Fools - Essence
- I Am a Rocker - Mike Berry
- Wasn't That a Party - The Rovers
- Cleveland Rocks - Ian Hunter
LP Track Listing:
- Say Goodbye to Hollywood - Ronnie Spector & The E Street Band
- I Don't Want to go Home - Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes
- Have A Good Time (But Get Out Alive) - Joe Grushecky & Iron City Houserockers
- Sweet Fools - Essence
- Wasn't That A Party - The Rovers
- There's No Surf In Cleveland - Euclid Beach Band
- Paradise By the Dashboard Light - Meat Loaf
- We Belong to the Night - Ellen Foley
- Too Wild To Tame - The Boyzz
- Cleveland Rocks - Ian Hunter
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This is a reissue, BTW. Good stuff, though.
https://www.ebay.com/p/Cleveland-International-Records-1977-1983-by-Various-Artists-CD-Oct-1995-Cleveland-International/
I was 22 years old, living in Boston, Massachusetts, when Say Goodbye To Hollywood was receiving some airplay on Boston's biggest radio station at the time, FM WBCN. For weeks, I went to so many record stores in Boston and Cambridge, trying to buy the single. No matter where I went, including return visits to the same stores, no one had this in stock. Sales clerks would tell me they knew nothing about it, or they were surprised to hear that Ronnie Spector had a new record out. Or, worse for me, younger sales clerks didn't know who she is. I persisted in trying to buy the record. I couldn't get any shop to special order it for me. Finally, about 4 weeks into my quest, with no luck at all, I gave up.
Many years later, an Australian compilation album for Ronnie Spector, issued on Raven Records, was released on CD. This song was included. Finally, I owned it. Ronnie's superb version of Say Goodbye To Hollywood deserved a much better fate, in 1977, but what does it say when record stores in Boston and Cambridge couldn't stock it, or order it?
It says it had no chance of being the hit deserved to be.
Somehow, it still charted but it’s a shame the record didn’t break big for Ronnie — and Billy — the way it should’ve.
Billy would have his big, big break soon, but Ronnie remained somewhat forgotten (By the mainstream public I mean) until that Eddie Money song almost a decade later. That song was OK, I guess, but it didn’t hold a candle to either “Be My Baby” or “Say Goodbye To Hollywood.”
Even as a reissue, this is still some enticing stuff. Though "Sweet Fools" (whose release actually predates the imprint) and especially "There's No Surf in Cleveland" had been on CD before, it's still the only place a collector can get the Just Us Girls (even though B-side "By the Fire" remains MIA to this day) and Boyzz tracks (although the latter's album HAS been reissued overseas a few times) on an American CD. "Cleveland Rocks", great as it is, wasn't actually a Cleveland International release, however.
But as I've said, still enticing stuff.
Exact same track listing as earlier CD. Is there a reason to buy the new one? Asking because I will - if there is...
There's no information available as to remastering yet.
Popovich took on the music biz jerks who tried to screw him out of Bat Out of Hell royalties. Interesting, sad story. Google it.
He was also involved with Ronnie on her version of "It's a Heartache."
Collection is a bit skimpy. Glad they included The Rovers Wasn't That A Party. Would have been nice to also include B.J.Thomas' "Whatever Happened To Old Fashioned Love".