''Runaway'' is an album by

Bill Champlin William Bradford Champlin (born May 21, 1947) is an American singer, musician, arranger, producer, and songwriter. He formed the band Sons of Champlin in 1965, which still performs today, and was a member of the band Chicago from 1981–2009. H ...

, released on

Elektra Records Elektra Records (or Elektra Entertainment) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, founded in 1950 by Jac Holzman and Paul Rickolt. It played an important role in the development of contemporary folk and rock music between the 1 ...

in 1981. It is notable as containing "Tonight Tonight", Champlin's minor hit as a solo artist, as well as "Sara", which also achieved a degree of chart success.

History

The album was released as component of Champlin's development of his solo career, following his longtime association with the

Sons of Champlin The Sons of Champlin are an American rock band, from Marin County, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area, formed in 1965. They are fronted by vocalist-keyboardist-guitarist Bill Champlin, who later joined rock band Chicago, from 1981 to 2009 ...

. Champlin's first solo album, ''Single'', had been released in 1978, on

Full Moon Records Full Moon Records was an American record label existing from 1974 to 1992. Prominent signed acts included Chicago, Joe Walsh and Dan Fogelberg. Beginning in 1974 with Fogelberg, Full Moon Records was originally a subsidiary "spin-off" label from ...

, following Champlin's departure from the

in 1977. ''Runaway'' was also released in the same year that Champlin commenced a near thirty-year association with

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. According to Champlin, ''Runaway'' prompted his decision to join Chicago, due to the record executive overseeing his project leaving Elektra on the day of its release. The album received mixed reviews, based on critics viewing it as a weaker version of Chicago material that Champlin was contributing to at the same time. The album has been described as an "historic curio, a period artifact, and not much more". The album was primarily produced by

David Foster David Walter Foster (born November 1, 1949) is a Canadian musician, composer, arranger, record producer and music executive who chaired Verve Records from 2012 to 2016. He has won 16 Grammy Awards from 47 nominations. His music career spans mor ...

, who had also produced Champlin's previous solo album, ''Single'', in 1978. The album also featured production by

Kenny Loggins Kenneth Clark Loggins (born January 7, 1948) is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. His early songs were recorded with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band in 1970, which led to seven albums recorded as Loggins and Messina from 1972 to 1977. His ...

on "Take It Uptown", co-written by Loggins and Champlin. One of the comparatively rare songwriting collaborations with

Alan Thicke Alan Thicke (born Alan Willis Jeffrey; March 1, 1947December 13, 2016) was a Canadian actor, songwriter, and game and talk show host. He is the father of singer Robin Thicke. In 2013, Thicke was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame. Thicke was be ...

is also included on the album--"Sara", co-written with Champlin. The single "Tonight, Tonight" was originally composed as the ballad "My Everlasting Love" on the self-titled second album from

Ray Kennedy Raymond Kennedy (28 July 1951 – 30 November 2021) was an English footballer who won every domestic honour in the game with Arsenal and Liverpool in the 1970s and early 1980s. Kennedy played as a forward for Arsenal, and then played as a le ...

, a song which Champlin contributed background vocals on. The album entered the Billboard album chart on February 6, 1982. It spent 4 weeks on the chart, peaking at #178. Despite initially mixed critical reaction, the album was re-released on CD by

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Di ...

in 1996, and as a Japanese export as of 1998. Release history of ''Runaway'' www.allmusic.com. The album track "Gotta Get Back to Love" would later be covered by R&B group

Sister Sledge Sister Sledge is an American musical vocal group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Formed in 1971, the group consisted of sisters Debbie, Joni, Kim, and Kathy Sledge. The siblings achieved international success at the height of the disco era. ...

on their 1983

George Duke George M. Duke (January 12, 1946 – August 5, 2013) was an American keyboardist, composer, singer-songwriter and record producer. He worked with numerous artists as arranger, music director, writer and co-writer, record producer and as a pr ...

produced album ''Bet Cha Say That to All the Girls''. Champlin's last solo album for a major label, ''No Wasted Moments'' (Elektra), was released in 1990.

Track listing

#"Runaway" (Bill Champlin,

Steve Lukather Steven Lee Lukather (born October 21, 1957) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, arranger and record producer, best known as the sole continuous founding member of the rock band Toto. His reputation as a skilled guitarist led to a stea ...

) (3:58) #"One Way Ticket" (Champlin, George Sopuch) (3:03) #"Sara" (Champlin,

) (3:15) #"Tonight Tonight" (Champlin,

Raymond Louis Kennedy Raymond Louis Kennedy (November 26, 1946 – February 16, 2014) was an American singer, songwriter, musician and record producer, based in Los Angeles. His works span multiple genres including R&B, pop, rock, jazz, fusion, acid rock, country and ...

) (3:47) #"Runaway Reprise" (Champlin,

) (0:47) #"Take It Uptown" (Champlin,

) (4:24) #"Satisfaction" (Champlin,

Richard Page Richard Lewis Page (born 22 February 1941) is a former Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) in the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979 and from December 1979 to 2005. Early life Born the son of Victor Charles Page, he went to the independent Hu ...

) (3:42) #"Stop Knockin' on My Door" (Barron Abramovich, Champlin) (4:16) #"Gotta Get Back to Love" (Kerry Hatch, Tom Kelly) (3:30) #"Without You" (Champlin, Amber DiLena) (4:05) #"The Fool Is All Alone" (Champlin,

) (4:29)

Personnel

*Bill Champlin - arranger, guitar, keyboards, vocals *

Chuck Findley Charles B. Findley (born December 13, 1947 in Johnstown, Pennsylvania) is an American trumpet player known for his diverse work as a session musician. He also plays other brass instruments such as flugelhorn and trombone. His technical abilities ...

- trumpet *

- arranger, backing vocals, drums, piano, producer, string arrangements, synthesizer *

Humberto Gatica Humberto Gatica is a Chilean-born American recording engineer, mixing engineer and record producer, best known for his work with Celine Dion, Chicago, Michael Jackson, Barbra Streisand, Andrea Bocelli, Josh Groban and Michael Bublé. Gatica's inter ...

- engineer, mixing, percussion *Bobby Gerber - assistant engineer *Venette Gloud - backing vocals *Gary Grant - trumpet *

Jay Graydon Jay Joseph Graydon (born October 8, 1949, Burbank, California) is an American songwriter, recording artist, guitarist, singer, keyboardist, producer, arranger, and recording engineer. He is the winner of two Grammy Awards (in the R&B category) wi ...

- guitar *

Ed Greene Ed Greene is an American drummer and session musician. In 1971 he recorded with Donald Byrd (''Ethiopian Knights'', 1972), together with Thurman Green, Harold Land, Bobby Hutcherson, Joe Sample, Bobbye Porter Hall, David T. Walker, and Wilton ...

- drums *Carmen Grillo - backing vocals *Gary Herbig - saxophone *

Jerry Hey Jerry Hey (born 1950) is an American trumpeter, flugelhornist, horn arranger, string arranger, orchestrator and session musician who has played on hundreds of commercial recordings, including Michael Jackson's '' Thriller'', ''Rock with You'', ...

- horn arrangements, trumpet *

James Newton Howard James Newton Howard (born June 9, 1951) is an American film composer, music producer and keyboardist. He has scored over 100 films and is the recipient of a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, and nine nominations for Academy Awards. His film scores ...

- string arrangements, strings *Kim Hutchcroft - saxophone *Gregg Jampol - assistant engineer * Tom Kelly - backing vocals *

Abraham Laboriel Abraham Laboriel López Sr. (born July 17, 1947) is a Mexican-American bassist who has played on over 4,000 recordings and soundtracks. ''Guitar Player'' magazine called him "the most widely used session bassist of our time". Laboriel is the f ...

- bass *Paul Lani - assistant engineer, percussion * David Leonard - assistant engineer *

- backing vocals, producer *Charles Loper - trombone *

- guitar * Tamara Matoesian - backing vocals *Peggy McCreary - assistant engineer *

- backing vocals *Tony Pappa - assistant engineer * John Pierce - bass *

Jeff Porcaro Jeffrey Thomas Porcaro (; April 1, 1954 – August 5, 1992) was an American drummer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known for his work with the rock band Toto but is one of the most recorded session musicians in history, working on ...

- drums *

Aaron Rapoport Aaron Rapoport (born May 22, 1954) is an American photographer, best known for his photographs of musicians. Biography In a career that spans over three decades, Rapoport has photographed in a wide variety of areas including commercial photogr ...

- photography *

Bill Reichenbach Jr. William Frank Reichenbach Jr. (born November 30, 1949) is an American jazz trombonist and composer. He is the son of Bill Reichenbach, who was the drummer for Charlie Byrd from 1962 to 1973. He is best known as a session musician for television, ...

- trombone * John Robinson - drums * Tom Scott - saxophone *Ernie Sheesley - assistant engineer *

Leland Sklar Leland Bruce Sklar (born May 28, 1947) is an American bassist and session musician. Sklar rose to prominence as a member of James Taylor's backing band, which coaleced into a group in its own right, The Section. This group of musicians so frequ ...

- bass *Larry Tolbert - drums *Patrick Von Wiegandt - assistant engineer *

Larry Williams Larry Williams (born Lawrence Eugene Williams, a.k.a. Lawrence Edward Williams; May 10, 1935 – January 7, 1980) was an American rhythm and blues and rock and roll singer, songwriter, producer, and pianist from New Orleans, Louisiana. Williams ...

- saxophone

References

{{Authority control 1981 albums Albums produced by David Foster Elektra Records albums