Cool Change (song)

"Cool Change" is a hit song by Australian rock group Little River Band written by lead singer Glenn Shorrock. It was the second single from their sixth album, First Under the Wire.[1][2][3] Released in August 1979, "Cool Change" did not reach the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart top 50.[4] It was released in the United States in 1979 on the Capitol Records label and peaked at number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 the week of 19 January 1980.[5]

"Cool Change"
7" vinyl single
Single by Little River Band
from the album First Under the Wire
A-side	"Cool Change"
B-side	"Middle Man"
Released	August 1979
Recorded	1979
Genre	Soft rock
Length	5:14 (album version) 3:56 (single version)
Label	Capitol
Songwriter(s)	Glenn Shorrock
Producer(s)	John Boylan, Little River Band
Little River Band singles chronology
"Lonesome Loser" (1979) "Cool Change" (1979) "It's Not a Wonder" (1979)

In May 2001 "Cool Change" was selected by Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) as one of the Top 30 Australian songs of all time.[6] The song also awarded a special citation of achievement by BMI for over two million radio broadcasts in the United States.[7]

In January 2018, as part of Triple M's "Ozzest 100", the 'most Australian' songs of all time, "Cool Change" was ranked number 89.[8]

Background

The Australian soft rock group Mississippi had toured the United Kingdom (UK) in 1974 but failed to make an impact on the music scene. While in the UK, they met ex-The Masters Apprentices bass guitarist and now manager, Glenn Wheatley, who was due to return to Australia. Also in the UK was Glenn Shorrock (ex-The Twilights), who had attempted a solo career there. Mississippi returned to Australia in 1975 with Shorrock joining on lead vocals and songwriting and Wheatley serving as manager. They soon changed their name to Little River Band. Other original members were guitarist-vocalists Graeham Goble and Beeb Birtles, lead guitarist Ric Formosa, bass guitarist Roger McLachlan and drummer Derek Pellicci. They first toured the US in 1976, and had top ten hits there with "Reminiscing" (No. 3) in 1978 and "Lady" (No. 10) in 1979 from Sleeper Catcher.[5]

First Under the Wire was their sixth album and was released in August 1979 by EMI in Australia and Capitol Records in US. It was the band's only top ten album on the US Billboard 200.[9] The album also featured another top 10 Billboard Hot 100 hit with "Lonesome Loser" as the first single released ahead of the album in June.

Cover versions

Greg London released a cover to radio on 16 June 2009 that entered the Top 30 on the Media Base and R&R airplay charts on 18 August 2009,[10] reaching number 5 on the FMQB AC40 Chart.

Track listing

1. "Cool Change" (Glenn Shorrock)[11] – 3:56
2. "Middle Man" (Beeb Birtles, Graeham Goble)[12] – 4:24

Personnel

Little River Band members

• Beeb Birtles – guitar, backing vocals (track 1), lead vocals (track 2)
• Mike Clarke – bass guitar
• Derek Pellicci – drums, percussion
• Glenn Shorrock – lead vocals (track 1), backing vocals (track 2)
• Graeham Goble – guitar, backing vocals

Additional musicians

• Bill Harrower – saxophone
• Peter Jones – piano (track 1), keyboards (track 2)

Production details

• Producer – John Boylan, Little River Band

Charts

Year-end chart (1980)	Rank
US Top Pop Singles (Billboard)[13]	56

References

1. McFarlane, Ian (1999). "Encyclopedia entry for 'Little River Band'". Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop. Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1-86448-768-2. Retrieved 19 March 2010.
2. Holmgren, Magnus; Reboulet, Scott; Warnqvist, Stefan; Birtles, Beeb; Sciuto, Tony. "Little River Band". Australian Rock Database. Passagen.se (Magnus Holmgren). Archived from the original on 23 October 2013. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
3. Nimmervoll, Ed. "Little River Band". HowlSpace – The Living History of Our Music. Archived from the original on 29 January 2003. Retrieved 10 February 2014.
4. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book Ltd. ISBN 0-646-11917-6. NOTE: Used for Australian Singles and Albums charting from 1974 until ARIA created their own charts in mid-1988. In 1992, Kent back calculated chart positions for 1970–1974.
5. "First Under the Wire > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 19 March 2010.
6. Kruger, Debbie (2 May 2001). "The songs that resonate through the years" (PDF). Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 May 2008. Retrieved 19 March 2010.
7. "Glenn Shorrock". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
8. "Here Are The Songs That Made Triple M's 'Ozzest 100'". Musicfeeds. 27 January 2018. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
9. "First Under the Wire > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 19 March 2010.
10. Position 29 on USA TODAY airplay charts as compiled by Mediabase, retrieved 20 August 2009
11. ""Cool Change" at APRA search engine". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Retrieved 19 March 2010.
12. ""Middle Man" at APRA search engine". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Retrieved 19 March 2010.
13. "1980 Talent in Action – Year End Charts : Pop Singles". Billboard. Vol. 92 no. 51. 20 December 1980. p. TIA-10.