Monday, January 24, 2011

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Quarterflash

Artist:Quarterflash
Song:Harden My Heart
Album:Harden My Heart: The Best Of Quarterflash





Quarterflash had a brief run in the 80s and had their biggest hit with Harden My Heart in 1981. The group was from Portland, OR led by lead singer and sax player Rindy Ross and her guitarist husband Marv Ross. He also wrote all the songs including Harden My Heart. They had a very popular band in Portland called Seafood Mama. They merged with the group Pilot and brought in guitarist Jack Charles, keyboardist Rick DiGiallonardo, bassist Rich Gooch and drummer Brian David Willis. Seafood Mama released Harden My Heart as a single in 1980 and it was so popular on Portland radio it earned them a local TV special. Of course word got out and the band signed with Geffen Records in 1981. The name Quarterflash is some sort of Australian slang that they saw in a book when they were at producer John Boylan's house. Boylan was best known for producing the band Boston. They released their debut album Quarterflash in 1981. It sold a million copies and was certified gold and reached #8 on the Billboard Hot 200. Harden My Heart reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100. I'm not sure why Quarterflash was successful. Maybe people liked the sax. Their music hasn't aged very well. And that's probably why subsequent albums diminished in sales so that Geffen dropped them in 1985. If you're interested in Quarterflash, I recommend this budget comp as it includes the theme to the 1982 film Night Shift and a couple of other songs that appeared on film soundtracks. Marv & Rindy Ross formed a new version of Quarterflash and released an album on Epic in 1990. They also formed the Oregon Trail historical music group The Trail Band and they released a CD Goodbye Uncle Buzz in 2008. Here's the video for Harden My Heart by Quarterflash.

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