''Love's So Tough'' is a

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by the

Iron City Houserockers The Iron City Houserockers were an American rock band from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, led by the singer and guitarist Joe Grushecky, from 1976 to 1984. History Started in 1976 as the Brick Alley Band by Grushecky, a high school special education ...

. Released in 1979, the Iron City Houserocker's first album attempts to capture the presence of what was essentially a Pittsburgh bar band playing to a blue collar crowd every night. While Joe Grushecky's songwriting skills are clearly still developing, his potential is visible in cuts such as "Dance With Me" and "Heroes Are Hard to Find". The general sound of the album is reminiscent of a slightly "harder"

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originat ...

, and the heavy use of harmonica would be a distinguishing factor of the Houserockers for several albums to come.

Background

In the spring of 1977 Joe Grushecky's brother Jon sent him a full page advertisement from ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'', about the release of a Ronnie Spector record on

Cleveland International Records Cleveland International Records is an independent record label formed in 1976 by Steve Popovich, Sr. originally founded in Willoughby, Ohio and moved to Nashville. History One of the first albums the label released was ''Bat Out of Hell'' (1977) ...

. The band was known at that time as the Brick Alley Band, and they sent a demo tape to

Steve Popovich Steve Popovich (July 6, 1942 – June 8, 2011) was an American record company executive. As the founder of Cleveland International Records, he launched and guided the careers of many famous artists through his work with the CBS label family, inclu ...

at Cleveland International Records. After a personal phone call from Steve Popovich, Joe Grushecky and his band drove out to Cleveland and under the guidance of Steve Popovich and Marty Mooney, made a series of recordings that landed a deal with

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc., which later became part of Universal Music Group. Pre-history MCA Inc., a powerful talent agency and a television production company, entered the recorded music business in 1962 wit ...

.Liner notes from ''Love's So Tough'' 1999 re-issue The song "Blondie" was originally recorded during the ''Love's So Tough'' sessions and issued as the B-side to the "Hideaway" single. The song would go on to be completely re-written with the help of

Steve Van Zandt Steven Van Zandt (né Lento; born November 22, 1950), also known as Little Steven or Miami Steve, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and actor. He is a member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, in which he plays guitar and mandolin ...

and re-recorded during the '' Have a Good Time... But Get Out Alive'' sessions and issued on that album in 1980.Liner notes from ''Have a Good Time... But Get Out Alive'' 1999 re-issue The

Chuck Berry Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the " Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and developed rhythm and blues into th ...

song " School Days (Ring! Ring! Goes the Bell)" was also recorded for the album but was cut from the final release. The track was then released on '' Pumping Iron & Sweating Steel: The Best of the Iron City Houserockers''. A promotional-only picture disc LP containing an exclusive pre-release mix of the album as well as the track "Blondie" was released early to attendees of the 1979 NARM National Convention in North Canton, Ohio. The album was reissued in CD format in 1999 by Rock Heritage, and again in 2019 in remastered digital format by

for its 40th anniversary.

Track listing

Side one

#"I Can't Take It" (Joe Grushecky) – 3:54 #"Hideaway" (Fred Goodman) – 4:31 #"Turn It Up" (Grushecky) – 4:54 #"Dance with Me" (Grushecky, Art Nardini) – 4:46

Side two

#"Love So Tough" (Grushecky, Gil Snyder) – 3:42 #"Veronica" (Grushecky) – 3:38 #"Heroes Are Hard to Find" (Grushecky, Nardini, Gary Scalese) – 2:55 #"Stay with Me Tonight" (Grushecky) – 4:43 #"I'm Lucky" (Grushecky, Nardini) – 4:27

Personnel

;Iron City Houserockers *

Joe Grushecky Joe Grushecky (born Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) is a rock musician in the United States known for his work with the Iron City Houserockers in the late 1970s and early 1980s; and for his works since the late the 1980s with his act Joe Grushecky and T ...

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

* Gary Scalese -

*Art Nardini -

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

*Gil Snyder -

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

*Ned E. Rankin -

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

*Marc Reisman -

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica inclu ...

with: *Billy Cross -

slide guitar Slide guitar is a technique for playing the guitar that is often used in blues music. It involves playing a guitar while holding a hard object (a slide) against the strings, creating the opportunity for glissando effects and deep vibratos tha ...

on "Turn It Up",

on "Hideaway" and "Stay with Me Tonight" *Denny Martin -

accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German ''Akkordeon'', from ''Akkord''—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a reed ...

on "Stay with Me Tonight" *Richard Reising -

background vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are used ...

on "Dance with Me" and "Hideaway" *Susan Lynch -

on "Dance with Me" and "Hideaway" *Rodney Psyka -

on "Dance with Me" and "Hideaway" *Tampa Lann -

on "I'm Lucky" "Turn It Up" was recorded at Asterick Recording,

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

, Pennsylvania.

Chart performance

References

External links

Joe Grushecky's official web site

{{Authority control 1979 debut albums Iron City Houserockers albums MCA Records albums