"Escape (The Piña Colada Song)" by Rupert Holmes reached the top of the U.S. pop chart during this week back in 1979 and would remain there, becoming the last number one song of the decade.
Holmes was born David Goldstein in Northwich, Cheshire, England to an American father and British mother. When he was six, the family moved to the States to Nanuet, New York where David began to pursue music, learning to play several instruments. By the time he was twenty, he had become a sought after session musician where he worked on record production, wrote jingles and songs and scored feature films.
Holmes soon went to work as a solo artist and recorded his debut album, "Widescreen" which was released in 1974. While it was not much of a success, it did catch the attention of Barbra Streisand who asked him to help write and produce some tracks on her 1975 album, "Lazy Afternoon". This lead to Holmes producing for other artists and releasing more solo albums. But his own material continued to fail to chart.
It was not until his fifth studio album, "Partners in Crime" that Holmes had a breakthrough with the single, "Escape (The Piña Colada Song)" which would become a worldwide hit. "Escape" is a classic story-song about a man, bored with his marriage, deciding to put out a personal ad in search of a new lover. He proceeds to rattle off a list of what he's searching for including someone who likes that sweet cocktail. And if you have never heard the song, I won't spoil the ending but let's just say that the woman our protagonist meets during the secret rendezvous is someone he knows very well. Holmes had another top-ten hit from the album with, "Him" but that would bring a quick end to his pop music success.
He soon turned his attention to the theater and wrote the book for the musical, "The Mystery of Edwin Drood" in 1985. The play would win Holmes two Tony Awards for Best Book of a Musical and Best Original Score. He continued to create for the stage with original shows, "Say Goodnight, Gracie" and "Accomplice"; a play based on "A Time To Kill and musical versions of "Robin and The 7 Hoods", "The First Wives Club" and "The Nutty Professor".
Enjoy this live version of Rupert Holmes performing his number one smash, "Escape":
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