RUPERT HOLMES – Escape (The Pina Colada Song) (1980)

“Escape (The Piña Colada Song)” Single by Rupert Holmes from the album Partners in Crime
B-side “Drop It”
Released September 17, 1979
Label Infinity
Songwriter Rupert Holmes
Producers Rupert Holmes and Jim Boyer
Charted No.1 in US,, No.23 in UK, No.1 in Canada, No.3 in Australia, No.10 in Ireland

Rupert thought a song called “Him” should be the first single from the album, but the record label liked “Escape” and convinced him that they should release it first. They got it played on a radio station in Washington, and listeners started calling in to the station asking for it. The problem was that they were asking for “The Piña Colada Song,” and the official title was “Escape.” This hurt sales because people would ask for “that song about Piña Coladas” at record stores and the stores had no idea what they were talking about. The record label wanted to change the title to “Escape (The Piña Colada Song)” and told Rupert it wouldn’t sell if they didn’t. Rupert replied, “I guess it’s The Piña Colada Song.”

The song shot up through the US charts, becoming the country’s last number-one Billboard Hot 100 hit of 1979 and of the 1970s. “Escape” was knocked out of the top spot but returned to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart during the second week of 1980, having been displaced for a week by KC and the Sunshine Band’s “Please Don’t Go”. It is the first pop song to ascend to No. 1 on the Billboard pop chart in two different decades. The song was the 11th best-selling single of 1980 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.

Rupert Holmes has written several Broadway plays, including Say Goodnight, Gracie and The Mystery Of Edwin Drood. He has written songs that have been performed by Barbra Streisand, Judy Collins, and Britney Spears. He created a television series called Remember WENN and wrote a novel called Where The Truth Lies. His works have won Tonys, Emmys, and Edgars. Despite all this, he is best known for this song.