Never Gonna Give You Up - Rick Astley (1987) 10/23/23

Once Upon a Time, there was a young man who worked for the British music production team of Mike Stock, Matt Aitken and Pete Waterman.

This eager young man did all sorts of jobs around the studio... from running tape machines to singing background on a few records...even making tea for everyone. Basically, he was an apprentice, learning the ins and outs of the record business.

He was also living with Pete Waterman at the time, and one night, after eavesdropping on a 3-hour phone call between Pete and a girlfriend, he said, "Geez, you're NEVER gonna give her up!"

And that one sentence from Rick Astley changed everything.

That gave Pete an idea, so he got together with Matt and wrote what turned out to be one of the biggest hits of the ''80s...but not until they flipped the lyric and title to "Never Gonna Give YOU Up."

Of course, they gave Rick the chance to record the song for his 1986 debut album. "Whenever You need Somebody," but although the album came out in July of '87, they held off releasing "Never Gonna Give You Up" as a single until October, somehow figuring it would be the perfect time.

They figured correctly: by the end of the year, the song was sitting at #1 in SEVENTEEN COUNTRIES, while reaching the Top 6 in 6 more!

In the US alone, "Never Gonna Give You Up" Topped 4 separate Billboard Charts: The Hot 100, The Adult Contemporary Chart, the Dance Club Chart, and the Dance Sales Chart.

It sold 5 million copies in the US, 2 million in the UK, and well over a million more across the planet! And just a few weeks ago, Billboard ranked it at #244 on their list of the "500 Best Pop Songs of All Time!"

The song has been used in TV Shows like "Ted Lasso,. insurance commercials, and, most notably, for "Rick Rolling," a prank that began in 2007, when businesses started using fake links in emails to staff members and other companies. When YouTube "Rick Rolled" several videos on April Fools Day, 1988, "it became a fad between friends that continues today.

Rick himself loves it. In 2008, he told the Los Angeles Times: "It's just one of those odd things where something gets picked up and people run with it." That's what's brilliant about the Internet!"

What else can I say? As a Great Song of the '80s. "Never Gonna Give You Up" by Rick Astley is "never gonna let us down!" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ

T

omorrow: Cher Rocks!