38 SPECIAL [US] - Southern Rock
Introduction
38 Special is an American southern rock band that was founded in Jacksonville (Florida) in 1975. The original line-up consisted of Donnie Van Zant (v), Don Barnes (v, g), Jeff Carlisi (g), Ken Lyons (b), Jack Grondin (d, p) and Steve Brookins (d, p). With two vocalists, two guitar players and two drummers in the line-up, it’s obvious that all the potential was (and still is) there to deliver. While the first two studio albums can be described as pure southern rock, elements of AOR were creeping in from album #3 onwards. With the title track of that album, called “Rockin’ Into The Night”, the band scored in the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time, peaking at #43.
What followed, were four studio albums that all climbed high in the Billboard Hot 200 Chart. The first three were certified platinum by the RIAA, while “Strength In Numbers” was still good for gold. And with singles like “Hold On Loosely” (#27) & “Fantasy Girl” (#52) from “Wild-Eyed Southern Boys” (1981) and “Caught Up In You” (#10) & “You Keep Runnin’ Away” (#38) from "Special Forces" (1982), more hits were scored in their homeland.
Which brings us to Rock Report's choice: 1983’s “Tour De Force”. Although its two predecessors and its successor all scored a little higher in the American charts, this sixth studio album was without a doubt 38 Special’s ‘tour de force’. Ken Lyons was no longer part of the band then, as he was already replaced by newcomer Larry Junstrom before the recording of the band’s third album, the aforementioned “Rockin’ Into The Night”. Junstrom was an important addition to the line-up. Not only did he co-write 6 out of the 9 songs on “Tour De Force”, he also got credtis as co-producer next to Don Barnes. The producer himself was no one else than Rodney Mills, who had worked and would go on to work with a lot of southern rock bands at the time, such as The Atlanta Rhythm Section, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Outlaws. “Tour De Force” peaked at #22 on the Billboard Hot 200, was certified platinum in the US (gold in Canada) and spawned two hit singles: “If I’d Been The One” (#19) and “Back Where You Belong” (#20).
In 1984 the band scored another hit with “Teacher, Teacher” (#25), featured on the soundtrack of the film “Teachers”, a mix of comedy and drama, starring Nick Nolte, JoBeth Williams, Ralph Macchio and Judd Hirsch. “Strength In Numbers”, the last in the row of 38 Special’s four successful studio albums, appeared in 1986. Spawning another two hit singles with “Like No Other Night” (#14) and “Somebody Like You” (#48), it was good for a gold certification by the RIAA. More albums followed, but they didn’t score that well anymore, apart from the compilation “Flashback – The Best Of 38 Special” (1987), that peaked on #35 in the Billboard Hot 200 and was certified platinum.
Chris Lambert
What followed, were four studio albums that all climbed high in the Billboard Hot 200 Chart. The first three were certified platinum by the RIAA, while “Strength In Numbers” was still good for gold. And with singles like “Hold On Loosely” (#27) & “Fantasy Girl” (#52) from “Wild-Eyed Southern Boys” (1981) and “Caught Up In You” (#10) & “You Keep Runnin’ Away” (#38) from "Special Forces" (1982), more hits were scored in their homeland.
Which brings us to Rock Report's choice: 1983’s “Tour De Force”. Although its two predecessors and its successor all scored a little higher in the American charts, this sixth studio album was without a doubt 38 Special’s ‘tour de force’. Ken Lyons was no longer part of the band then, as he was already replaced by newcomer Larry Junstrom before the recording of the band’s third album, the aforementioned “Rockin’ Into The Night”. Junstrom was an important addition to the line-up. Not only did he co-write 6 out of the 9 songs on “Tour De Force”, he also got credtis as co-producer next to Don Barnes. The producer himself was no one else than Rodney Mills, who had worked and would go on to work with a lot of southern rock bands at the time, such as The Atlanta Rhythm Section, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Outlaws. “Tour De Force” peaked at #22 on the Billboard Hot 200, was certified platinum in the US (gold in Canada) and spawned two hit singles: “If I’d Been The One” (#19) and “Back Where You Belong” (#20).
In 1984 the band scored another hit with “Teacher, Teacher” (#25), featured on the soundtrack of the film “Teachers”, a mix of comedy and drama, starring Nick Nolte, JoBeth Williams, Ralph Macchio and Judd Hirsch. “Strength In Numbers”, the last in the row of 38 Special’s four successful studio albums, appeared in 1986. Spawning another two hit singles with “Like No Other Night” (#14) and “Somebody Like You” (#48), it was good for a gold certification by the RIAA. More albums followed, but they didn’t score that well anymore, apart from the compilation “Flashback – The Best Of 38 Special” (1987), that peaked on #35 in the Billboard Hot 200 and was certified platinum.
Chris Lambert
Line-up changes
Lead vocals: Don Barnes (+ g, k, ma, ha) (74-87) > Max Carl (+ k) (87-92) > Don Barnes (+ g, k, ma, ha) (92-now)
Lead vocals: Donnie Van Zant (+ g) (74-13)
Guitars: Jeff Carlisi (74-97)
Guitars: Danny Chauncey (+ bv) (87-now)
Bass: Ken Lyons (74-77) > Larry Junstrom (+ g) (77-14) > Barry Dunaway (14-now)
Drums/Percussion: Steve Brookins (74-87)
Drums/Percussion: Jack Grondin (74-91) > Scott Meeder (91-92) > Scott Hoffman (92-97) > Gary Moffatt (97-now)
Keyboards: Gary D. Rollins (+ ha, bv) (86-87) > Bobby Capps (+v) (91-now)
Backing vocals: Carol Bristow (77-87)
Backing vocals: Dale Krantz (77-80) > Nancy Henderson (80-81) > Lu Moss (81-84) > Lynn Hineman (86-87)
In bold: the "Tour De Force" line-up
Lead vocals: Donnie Van Zant (+ g) (74-13)
Guitars: Jeff Carlisi (74-97)
Guitars: Danny Chauncey (+ bv) (87-now)
Bass: Ken Lyons (74-77) > Larry Junstrom (+ g) (77-14) > Barry Dunaway (14-now)
Drums/Percussion: Steve Brookins (74-87)
Drums/Percussion: Jack Grondin (74-91) > Scott Meeder (91-92) > Scott Hoffman (92-97) > Gary Moffatt (97-now)
Keyboards: Gary D. Rollins (+ ha, bv) (86-87) > Bobby Capps (+v) (91-now)
Backing vocals: Carol Bristow (77-87)
Backing vocals: Dale Krantz (77-80) > Nancy Henderson (80-81) > Lu Moss (81-84) > Lynn Hineman (86-87)
In bold: the "Tour De Force" line-up
Recommended albums
#1 Special Forces
1982 |
#2 Tour De Force
1984 |
#3 Rockin' Into The Night
1980 |
#4 Wild-Eyed Southern Boys
1981 |
#5 Strength In Numbers
1986 |
Discography01|1977|38 Special
US #148 | 694 (#8) 02|1978|Special Delivery 679 (#9) 03|1980|Rockin’ Into The Night US #57 | 748 (#3) 04|1981|Wild-Eyed Southern Boys US #18 (Platinum) | 742 (#4) 05|1982|Special Forces US #10 (Platinum) | 788 (#1) 06|1984|Tour De Force US #22 (Platinum) | 773 (#2) 07|1986|Strength In Numbers US #17 (Gold) | 739 (#5) 08|1988|Rock & Roll Strategy US #61 | 715 (#7) 09|1991|Bone Against Steel US #170 | 677 (#11) 10|1997|Resolution 728 (#6) 11|2001|A Wild-Eyed Christmas Night 468 (#12) 12|2004|Drivetrain 679 (#10) |
Rock Report's choice
Tour De ForceA&M, 1983
Produced by Rodney Mills Co-produced by Don Barnes & Jeff Carlisi Charts: US #22 (Platinum) Ratings: HH: 86 (15) | RYM: 3.43 (172) Total rating: 773 Updated: 141208 Line-upDonnie Van Zant (v)
Don Barnes (v, g) Jeff Carlisi (g) Larry Junstrom (b) Jack Grondin (d) Steve Brookins (d) + Carol Bristow (bv) Lu Moss (bv) Steve McRay (k) |
Track listing01|If I’d Been The One (DB/JC/DVZ/LJ)
US #19 02|Back Where You Belong (GOC) US #20 03|One Time For Old Times (GOC) 04|See Me In Your Eyes (DB/JC/LJ) 05|Twentieth Century Fox (DB/JC/DVZ/LJ) 06|Long Distance Affair (DB/DVZ/LJ) 07|I Oughta Let Go (SD/TS/ES) 08|One Of The Lonely Ones (DB/DVZ/LJ) 09|Undercover Lover (JC/DVZ/LJ) SongwritersDB = Don Barnes
DVZ = Donnie Van Zant ES = Eddie Setser GOC = Gary O’Connor JC = Jeff Carlisi LJ = Larry Junstrom SD = Steve Diamond TS = Troy Seals |
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