Cool Kids reached position No.177 on the Billboard charts.[4] It showcased a slightly more commercial side of the band. In addition, it started the trend of including material written by outside songwriters, which then continued on their following studio albums.
"Body Talk" was the first single to be released off of the album and one of the album's three cover songs. First released as "(She Talks) Body Talk" on the 1981 Body Talk Muzik album by Nick Gilder (earlier of "Hot Child in the City" fame), and co-written by Gilder and his longtime musical associate, Jamie Herndon, this song was believed to have been included on Cool Kids to appease the group's label. The band was also urged to shoot a video for the song, which featured the Kix members cavorting with ladies in full-on workout garb.
The album also included the Spider cover "Burning Love," co-written by Spider's keyboardist Holly Knight – who later became a member of Device and a hit songwriter (incidentally, sometimes co-writing with Gilder) for artists such as Heart and Cheap Trick – and singer Amanda Blue (later of the group Shanghai), along with the title track "Cool Kids," a cover of a Franne Golde song from her 1980 album Restless, co-written by Golde with producer Peter McIan and Billy Steele.[5]
Track listing
All tracks composed by Donnie Purnell, except where noted
^Donald A. Guarisco. "Kix – Cool Kids review". AllMusic. Retrieved October 4, 2022. This 1983 album pushes Kix in a more new wave direction than their hard-rocking debut outing.
