"Total Control" is a song by American new wave band

the Motels The Motels are an American new wave band from Berkeley, California, that is best known for the singles "Only the Lonely" and "Suddenly Last Summer", each of which peaked at No. 9 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, in 1982 and 1983, respectively. In ...

. It was released in 1979 as the second single from their debut studio album ''

Motels A motel, also known as a motor hotel, motor inn or motor lodge, is a hotel designed for motorists, usually having each room entered directly from the parking area for motor vehicles rather than through a central lobby. Entering dictionaries ...

''. The song failed to make an appearance on the US ''

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 ...

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

, but reached number 9 on the

Bubbling Under the Hot 100 Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (also known as Bubbling Under the Hot 100) is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The chart lists the top songs that have not yet charted on the main ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Chart ...

chart in December 1979. It fared better in Australasia, peaking at number 7 in Australia and 11 in New Zealand. The song has been covered by American singer

Tina Turner Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939) is an American-born Swiss retired singer and actress. Widely referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", she rose to prominence as the lead singer o ...

and Australian singer

Missy Higgins Melissa Morrison Higgins (born 19 August 1983), known professionally as Missy Higgins, is an Australian singer-songwriter and musician. Her Australian number-one albums are ''The Sound of White'' (2004), ''On a Clear Night'' (2007) and ''The Ol ...

Background

Speaking of the song in 2000, Davis recalled, "When I wrote this my heart had been broken. I was angry, I wrote a thrash punk rock song,

hen Hen commonly refers to a female animal: a female chicken, other gallinaceous bird, any type of bird in general, or a lobster. It is also a slang term for a woman. Hen or Hens may also refer to: Places Norway *Hen, Buskerud, a village in Ringer ...

Jeff Jourard came along with this wonderful minimalist chord progression ndI laid my thrash lyrics on the new progression."

Track listing

US 7" single # "Total Control" - 3:45 # "Love Don't Help" - 1:56

Charts

References

{{Missy Higgins 1979 singles 2022 singles The Motels songs Missy Higgins songs Capitol Records singles 1979 songs Songs written by Martha Davis (musician)