This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.Find sources: "I Wanna Go Back" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (February 2019) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)
"I Wanna Go Back"
Single by Billy Satellite
from the album Billy Satellite
B-side"Rockin' Down the Highway"
ReleasedDecember 1984
GenreAOR, pop rock
Length3:52
LabelCapitol
Capitol 5409
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Don Gehman
Billy Satellite singles chronology
"Satisfy Me"
(1984) 		"I Wanna Go Back"
(1984)
Audio
"I Wanna Go Back" on YouTube
Audio sample
"I Wanna Go Back"
Single by Eddie Money
from the album Can't Hold Back
B-side"Broken Down Chevy"
ReleasedDecember 1986
Genre
Length3:59
LabelColumbia
Columbia 38-06569
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Eddie Money singles chronology
"Take Me Home Tonight"
(1986) 		"I Wanna Go Back"
(1986) 		"Endless Nights"
(1987)
Audio sample
Music video
"I Wanna Go Back" on YouTube

"I Wanna Go Back" is a 1984 song by American rock band Billy Satellite, written by band members Monty Byrom, Danny Chauncey, and Ira Walker, that achieved major popularity when recorded by Eddie Money in 1986. Another version was recorded by former Santana/Journey keyboardist/singer Gregg Rolie for his self-titled 1985 debut solo album.

Billy Satellite version

Released in 1984 as the band's debut single, it reached the Billboard Hot 100 chart on December 8, 1984, charting for three weeks and peaking at number 78,[3] and number 72 Cash Box. The mid-tempo song is reliant on synthesizers but contains a short guitar solo in the bridge and some guitar in the outro. The music video begins with the members of Billy Satellite driving a jeep to Alameda, California to the site of a previous live show; the latter portion features the band playing in a bar there.

Eddie Money version

American rock singer Eddie Money covered the song on his 1986 album Can't Hold Back, and it was released as the follow-up single to the top-ten hit "Take Me Home Tonight". It reached number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100, #33 Adult Contemporary,[4] and number three on the Album Rock Tracks chart in early 1987. Money's version, which AllMusic's Mike DeGagne says has "sincere, semi-ballad charm,"[5] still relies heavily on synthesizers but includes more guitar and adds saxophone in the intro, bridge, and outro, with backing vocals by Marilyn Martin.[citation needed] The music video to his version features Money revisiting a high school interspersed with him and his band playing before a concert audience. Martin can also be seen in the video as mysterious figure that Money briefly follows through the crowd at the school dance, representing the girl who got away.

Critical reception

Upon its release, Billboard described "I Wanna Go Back" as a "hard rock ballad" which "capsulizes grown-up regret".[6] Cash Box called it a "hook-laden mid-tempo rocker" which shows off Money's "grainy, expressive voice" and provides a "solid follow up" to "Take Me Home Tonight".[7]

Charts

Chart (1986–87) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 14
U.S. Billboard Album Rock Tracks 3
U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary 33
Canadian RPM Top Singles 42

References

  1. ^ Sorgi, Jay (13 September 2019). "Singer Eddie Money dead after battle with cancer". WTMJ. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
  2. ^ "Reviews - Singles". Billboard. Vol. 98. 13 December 1986. p. 61.
  3. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2013). Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles, 14th Edition: 1955-2012. Record Research. p. 82.
  4. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001. Record Research. p. 173.
  5. ^ DeGagne, Mike. "Can't Hold Back - Eddie Money | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 15 April 2010.
  6. ^ "Reviews: Singles". Billboard. Vol. 98, no. 50. Billboard Publications, Inc. December 13, 1986. p. 61. ISSN 0006-2510.
  7. ^ "Single Releases". Cash Box. Vol. 50, no. 26. December 13, 1986. p. 8. ISSN 0008-7289.
Categories