Pilot of the Airwaves

"Pilot of the Airwaves"
Single by Charlie Dore
from the album Where to Now
B-side	"Falling" (original version); "Sleepless" (Radio edit);
Released	November 1979 (UK) February 1980 (North America);
Recorded	1979 at Crazy Mama's in Nashville, Tennessee, United States
Genre	Pop
Length	3:15 (radio edit); 3:45 (album version)
Label	Island
Songwriter(s)	Charlie Dore, Julian Littman
Producer(s)	Alan Tarney, Bruce Welch

"Pilot of the Airwaves" is a 1979 hit single by the English singer-songwriter Charlie Dore. The song reached No. 13 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and earned Dore the Record World New Female Artist of the Year, and an ASCAP award. The single also charted in Canada, Australia and Europe.[1]

Content

The lyrics are from the point of view of a woman who frequently listens, late at night, to a radio disc jockey whom she calls a "pilot of the airwaves," keeping what has often been called the "dawn patrol." She admits that she has few real-life friends and that the DJ keeps her as much company as she believes she needs, describing her life and the feelings she has surrounding the fact that she considers the radio DJ her only true friend. The DJ does not need to play the selection she has requested; she does hope the DJ will do his best along those lines, adding:

I've been listening to your show on the radio,
And you seem like a friend to me.

In history

On 5 November 1990, "Pilot of the Airwaves" was the final track played by Radio Caroline as an unlicensed offshore radio station.[2]

Chart performance

Weekly singles charts

Chart (1979-80)	Peak position
Australia	28
Canada RPM Top Singles[3]	3
New Zealand (RIANZ)[4]	12
UK [5]	66
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	13
U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks[6]	4
U.S. Cash Box Top 100	12

Year-end charts

Chart (1980)	Rank
Canada [7]	38
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 [8]	77

Cover versions

A German cover version was recorded by Ingrid Peters, entitled "Weißt du wo du hingehst".

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References

Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 166. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
"Top Singles - Volume 33, No. 13, June 21 1980". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Archived from the original on 2015-12-08.
http://nztop40.co.nz/chart/singles?chart=2896
"Pilot of the airwaves". Officialcharts.com.
Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001. Record Research. p. 82.
"Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-04-25. Retrieved 2016-10-14.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
"Top 100 Hits of 1980/Top 100 Songs of 1980". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved 2015-12-02.

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[British_Hit_Singles_&_Albums-1] Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 166. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.

[3] "Top Singles - Volume 33, No. 13, June 21 1980". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Archived from the original on 2015-12-08.

[4] ttp://nztop40.co.nz/chart/singles?chart=2896

[5] "Pilot of the airwaves". Officialcharts.com.

[6] Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001. Record Research. p. 82.

[7] "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-04-25. Retrieved 2016-10-14.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

[8] "Top 100 Hits of 1980/Top 100 Songs of 1980". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved 2015-12-02.