Overnight Sensation (Hit Record) - Raspberries (1974) 4/15/21

Some wonderful harmonies in the links today! Click and enjoy! For the most part, the Beach Boys spent the 1970s lost in a vast wasteland of mental illness, drugs, infighting, and an inability to pull it together long enough to create the magical harmonies that defined their "Great Songs of the '60s." There were a few exceptions, of course, but none of them were major hits. (I've provided a few in the links below.)

Anyway, this left the field wide open to other artists who appreciated those harmonies, and used them to produce some "Great Songs" of their own. Case in point: The Raspberries. Thanks to songwriter/lead singer Eric Carmen, their 1974 hit, "Overnight Sensation (Hit Record)" was everything a Beach Boys song could-- and should--have been.

John Lennon was a HUGE Raspberries fan, and loved the song. Rumor has it that he was in the studio when "Overnight Sensation" was recorded and even helped produce it--refusing any credit. The song wasn't a Top 10 hit in either the US (#18) or Canada (#22), but to many people, including me, it's a masterpiece. "Overnight Sensation (Hit Record"): A "Great Song of 1974" for the Raspberries on its own merit, with a harmonic nod to the Beach Boys.

Some Beach Boys Songs of Note:

"Add Some Music to Your Day" (1970): (#64)

"This Whole World" (1970)

"Til I Die" (1971): (#89)

'Sail On Sailor" (1973 & 1975): (#79 & #49)