Hold On Loosely

"Hold On Loosely"
Single by .38 Special
from the album Wild-Eyed Southern Boys
B-side	"Throw Out the Line"
Released	February 11, 1981
Recorded	1979–1980
Genre	Hard rock power pop[1] Southern rock[1]
Length	4:40 (album version) 3:58 (7" version)
Label	A&M
Songwriter(s)	Don Barnes, Jeff Carlisi, Jim Peterik
Producer(s)	Rodney Mills
.38 Special singles chronology
"Stone Cold Believer" (1980) "Hold On Loosely" (1981) "Fantasy Girl" (1981)
Music video
"Hold On Loosely" on YouTube

"Hold On Loosely" is a song by American rock band .38 Special, released by A&M Records on their 1981 studio album Wild-Eyed Southern Boys.

Release

Released as the lead single from the album, the song reached No. 3 on the US Billboard Rock Tracks chart, No. 27 on the US Billboard Hot 100,[2] and No. 32 in Canada.[3] It later appeared on their 1987 compilation album Flashback: The Best of 38 Special and their 1999 live album Live at Sturgis. It was the 13th music video to be played on the day that MTV debuted in 1981.[4] Don Barnes sang lead vocals on the song.

Record World said that "Rip-roarin' guitars slash away at the dual-drum rhythm section while Don Barnes' convincing lead vocal handles the bold hook."[5]

Origin

Barnes[6] going through a difficult time in his marriage, lamented that his wife was not being more supportive of his career aspirations. He presented a seed idea for a song to co-writer Jim Peterik, asking what he thought of the title "Hold On Loosely", to which Peterik came back with, "...but don't let go".[7][8] For the music, Peterik described the song's opening riff as "Like the Cars meets Lynyrd Skynyrd or something".[6] Taking inspiration from "Just What I Needed" by the Cars, Jeff Carlisi wrote the famous riff to the song.

In popular culture

The song was used in the comedy films Joe Dirt and Without a Paddle as well as the Better Call Saul episode "Five-O".[9]

References

1. Clark, Jeff (June 7, 2016). "38 Special bring thrill of 'Hold on Loosely' to Hard Rock Live". Sun Herald. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
2. Whitburn, Joel (2013). Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles, 14th Edition: 1955-2012. Record Research. p. 837.
3. "RPM Top 50 Singles - May 23, 1981" (PDF).
4. Rubin, Daniel (August 1, 2006). "Blinq: After 25 years, do you still want your MTV?". Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on September 21, 2014.
5. "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. March 7, 1981. p. 1. Retrieved February 27, 2023.
6. Wardlaw, Matt (October 19, 2014). "How Survivor's Jim Peterik Helped .38 Special + Sammy Hagar Write Big Hits". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
7. 38 Special's Don Barnes talks Hold on Loosely, Decades TV Network (YouTube channel, uploaded November 16, 2018)
8. Paulson, Dave. "Story Behind the Song: 'Hold On Loosely'". The Tennessean.
9. Foster, Tom (January 26, 2018). "The Top Uses of 38 Special's "Hold on Loosely" in Movies or TV".

External links