Artist: Supertramp Video: From YouTube.
I was not aware of this song in 1985. In fact, it has managed to escape my consciousness completely until right now.
It was years before I became aware of Supertramp at all, since the band's greatest successes occurred before I discovered music. I have a greatest hits collection of theirs which I like, but I've never been a huge fan. I appreciate their work, they've just never really struck a chord with me.
"Cannonball" was not a tremendous hit, although I do enjoy the horn section. It only reached #28 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song is about a betrayal of trust. Maybe I’m naïve, but I was really hoping it had something to do with the Cannonball Run movies with Burt Reynolds and Dom DeLuise. Apparently there is no connection whatsoever. That's a shame.
The video features a caveman as the main character, which is nice; it’s been eight videos since we’ve seen cave dwellers. He is quite agitated, taking part in one chase scene after another with no discernible goal. The “Brother Where You Bound” album features a caveman on the cover, so there is probably a connection there, but I wasn’t able to discover it. I’d be interested to hear what it is.
And, unless I missed it, there is not a cannonball to be found. What a gyp.
My introduction to Supertramp came in 1982/'83, when "It's Raining Again" became a hit. The video was humorous, and the children's chorus singing a nursery rhyme at the end of the song was an interesting touch. "Breakfast in America" was given to me a few years later when one of my friend's older sisters handed me some records she thought I'd like, and I was immediately drawn to some of those songs (though I find a couple to be overplayed today).
ReplyDeleteAs for "Cannonball," I heard it a couple of times, but really wasn't a fan of it.
My favorite of theirs was "Goodbye Stranger". Their music was an important part of the movie "Magnolia",
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