Follow You, Follow me - Genesis (1978) 9/15/22

Here's a fact that that's a little hard to believe: It took the group Genesis 9 albums to score a Top 40 hit in the US.

The album was 1977's ' "And Then There Were Three," and the single was 1978's "Follow You, Follow Me."

According to keyboardist Tony Banks, the members of Genesis usually wrote songs separately, but in this case, they collaborated from the get-go.

Guitarist Mike Rutherford started playing the riff, then Tony added the chords. Finally, after Phil Collins filled in the drum parts, Mike added the lyrics, and a "Great Song" was born.

It should be noted that "Follow You, Follow Me" was a departure from their usual sound. Up to that point, Genesis was strictly a progressive rock band whose targeted audience was mostly male, but this was more "pop" than rock, and therefore mainstream and mass appeal.

There's certainly nothing wrong with any of that, but when the song reached #23 on Billboard's Hot 100, it was an eye-opener for Genesis, and a treat for fans--both old and new. It was the first of many mass-appeal "Great Songs" for the group, who, by-the-way, recently wrapped up their 'Last Domino" tour after a 13-year hiatus...and 45 YEARS after "Follow You, Follow Me!"