Peter McCann/Jennifer Warnes (1977) 2/1/23

It just won't stop!

Today we pay tribute to yet ANOTHER member of the music world: Singer/Songwriter Peter McCann, who passed away at the age of 74 in Nashville.

Unfortunately, I couldn't find an obituary worth linking to, and that's a shame, because Peter was responsible for TWO "Great Songs of 1977." One of them he wrote, and the other one he took into the Top 5 as a singer.

Here's the story...

In 1976, Peter was trying to negotiate a recording contract with Arista Records. Arista's president, legendary hitmaker Clive Davis, didn't bite...but he but took several of Peter's songs and handed one of them over to Jennifer Warnes, who was putting together her first solo album.

The song was "Right Time of the Night." Peter had written the song with with the intent of making listeners "sigh and hold hands," but Jennifer thought one of the verses was too masculine, so she rewrote the verse with more female-friendly lyrics.

When the song was released as a single in 197, it became a triple-chart hit in the US and Canada. The numbers:

Adult Contemporary Chart: #1: US & Canada. Top 40: #6 US and #3 Canada. Country: #17 US and #18 Canada.

(It was later used in the classic film, "When Harry Met Sally.")

Shortly thereafter, Peter scored a contract with 20th Century Records and recorded his own debut album, which included a song designed to "make people think about their relationships."

"Do You Wanna Make Love" was released as a single later in 1977, and it also became a bona-fide hit, reaching #10 on Billboard's Adult Cotemporary Chart, and #1 in South Africa.

For good measure, the flip side was Peter's version of "The Right Time of the Night." (Hey, why not?)

After that, Peter became a go-to songwriter for just about everyone from Crystal Gayle to Whitney Houston to Donny Osmond to Kenny Rogers--and that's barely scratching the surface!

"Right Time of the Night" by Jennifer Warnes, and "Do You Wanna Make Love" by the man himself: TWO "Great Songs of 1977" by Peter McCann, may he rest in peace.

Jennifer ("Right Time of the Night): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-TPdgIn0pc

Peter's Version (with the original lyrics): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yDGL6ehHxM

Peter (Do You Wanna Make Love"): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Kj-tdp7reE