Hot Child in the City

"Hot Child in the City"
Single by Nick Gilder
from the album City Nights
B-side"Backstreet Noise"
ReleasedJune 12, 1978
RecordedOctober 1977
Genre
Length3:09 (single version)
3:35 (album version)
LabelChrysalis
SongwritersNick Gilder, James McCulloch
ProducerMike Chapman
Nick Gilder singles chronology
"Here Comes the Night"
(1978)		 "Hot Child in the City"
(1978)		 "She's One of the Boys"
(1979)

"Hot Child in the City" is a song by English-Canadian musician Nick Gilder. It was released in June 1978 as a single from the album City Nights. It went to No. 1 both in Canada (October 14, 1978) and in the United States (October 28, 1978). It was not his first No. 1 single: as the lead singer of Sweeney Todd, he had hit No. 1 in Canada on June 26, 1976 (in the RPM listing) with the single "Roxy Roller", which remained at the top for three weeks.[2][3][4] He won 2 Juno Awards in Canada and a People's Choice Award in the US. According to The Billboard Book of Number 1 Hits, it held the record for taking the longest amount of weeks to reach No. 1 at the time, taking 21 weeks to reach the summit. The song became a platinum record.

Content

The tune is based on Gilder's experiences witnessing child prostitution in Los Angeles. "I've seen a lot of young girls, 15 and 16, walking down Hollywood Boulevard with their pimps. Their home environment drove them to distraction so they ran away, only to be trapped by something even worse. It hurts to see that so I tried writing from the perspective of a lecher – in the guise of an innocent pop song."[5]

Speaking with the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame, Gilder backed away from the prostitution backstory. “In Los Angeles, you see every walk of life ….You see a lot of would-be actors, the adventurous, the disenfranchised,” he explained. “[The song is] a celebration of life, ultimately, of going out and finding yourself. L.A. was a magnet for people trying to find themselves. I wanted to write this song about what I’d experienced and seen.”[6]

Chart history

Certifications

Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[16] Gold 75,000^
United States (RIAA)[17] Platinum 2,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Breihan, Tom (January 6, 2020). "The Number Ones: Nick Glider's "Hot Child in the City"". Stereogum. Retrieved January 21, 2020. ...his panting power-popper "Hot Child In The City"...[is] a tight, well-constructed rocker...
  2. ↑ "Item Display – RPM – Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Archived from the original on October 15, 2012. Retrieved February 22, 2012.
  3. ↑ "Item Display – RPM – Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Archived from the original on October 15, 2012. Retrieved February 22, 2012.
  4. ↑ "Item Display – RPM – Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Archived from the original on October 15, 2012. Retrieved February 22, 2012.
  5. ↑ Bronson, Fred. "Hot Child In The City". Super Seventies Rocksite. Retrieved July 27, 2010.
  6. ↑ Miller, Victoria (May 3, 2026). "1978 No. 1 One-Hit Wonder Has a Sad Backstory—But There's More To It". Parade. Retrieved May 17, 2026.
  7. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  8. ↑ "RPM 100 Singles - Volume 30, No. 3". Library and Archives Canada. July 17, 2013. Retrieved October 29, 2024.
  9. ↑ "Nick Gilder – Hot Child in the City". Top 40 Singles.
  10. ↑ ""Hot Child in the City" Song by Nick Gilder". Music Charts Archive. January 5, 2020. Retrieved October 29, 2024.
  11. ↑ "Cash Box Top 100 Singles, November 4, 1978". Archived from the original on October 9, 2016. Retrieved September 27, 2017.
  12. ↑ "Top 200 Singles of '78 – Volume 30, No. 14, December 30 1978". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. July 17, 2013. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
  13. ↑ "End of Year Charts 1978". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved May 1, 2017.
  14. ↑ "Musicoutfitters.com". Archived from the original on July 14, 2016. Retrieved September 27, 2017.
  15. ↑ "Cash Box Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles, December 30, 1978". Archived from the original on September 29, 2018. Retrieved September 27, 2017.
  16. ↑ "Canadian single certifications – Nick Gilder – Hot Child in the City". Music Canada. Retrieved December 8, 2024.
  17. ↑ "American single certifications – Nick Gilder – Hot Child in the City". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved December 8, 2024.
This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.