Country singer-songwriter Eddie Rabbitt has survived personal tragedy and a bout of professional obscurity to emerge as one of Nashville's favorite superstars. The lanky baritone scored a string of crossover hits in the late 1970s with songs such as "I Love a Rainy Night," "Step by Step," and "Someone Could Lose a Heart Tonight," but as the 1980s progressed he all but disappeared from the scene. The "new" Eddie Rabbitt returned to the limelight in 1988, saddened by the death of his oldest son but determined to let music ease his sorrow. His recent work shows the same country-soft rock fusion that proved so popular in his earlier songs.
In the San Jose Mercury News, Harry Sumrall suggested that Rabbitt is "like a hot corn dog: nothing fancy, nothing frilly. You know what you're getting and you like it." The critic added: "Never a country purist, Rabbitt nonetheless makes music that is plain and simple, with all of the virtues that make good country good.... [His songs] might be brisk, but they are also warm and familiar, like the breeze that wafts in over the fried artichokes."
Rabbitt first came to Nashville at a time when the industry was backing away from the traditional country sound in favor of a more pop-oriented product. Much of this crossover material was eminently forgettable, but Rabbitt's catchy songs were the exception. The artist produced a dozen top-selling albums and placed more than two dozen hits on the country and pop charts, ultimately becoming one of the most successful crossover acts in the country. Sumrall wrote: "Friendly, relaxed, good-natured and real down-home, [Rabbitt] seemed to symbolize all the good feelings that people have about themselves."
It is not terribly surprising that Rabbitt has never recorded pure country work. He is in fact a native of Brooklyn, New York, who spent most of his childhood in Newark, New Jersey. Rabbitt's parents were Irish immigrants who came to the United States in 1924. His father worked at an oil refinery by day and played fiddle and accordion in Manhattan dance halls by night, concentrating on traditional Irish music.
Rabbitt was born in 1941 and was christened Edward Thomas. He grew up in a home full of Irish influences and learned to love country music as well. "Country music is Irish music," Rabbitt told People magazine. "Appalachian music was brought over by the Scotch and Irish. I think the minor chords in my music give it that mystical feel." Rabbitt was so consumed by music that he had little interest in formal schooling. He dropped out of high school at sixteen and began to perform at clubs in New Jersey and New York.
Rabbitt told the Akron Beacon Journal: "I remember one night a long time ago—before anybody's really heard of me—I was playing this Jersey honky-tonk, and when I saw Eddie Rabbitt up there on the marquee, I have to admit that it looked more like the name of a magic act, or maybe a clown, than a singer. So I changed it to Eddie Martin—after the guitar I was using. But that didn't help. As a matter of fact, as Eddie Martin, I went from near obscurity to oblivion. So I switched back."
As Eddie Rabbitt the singer found his way to Nashville, where he worked as a truck driver, a fruit picker, and even a soda jerk while trying to peddle his original songs. His first sale was a number entitled "Working My Way up to the Bottom," which was recorded by Roy Drusky in 1968. Two years later Rabbitt's fortune was made when Elvis Presley bought one of his songs, "Kentucky Rain," and made it a million seller. "Kentucky Rain" showed the earmarks of future Rabbitt hits—it had country emotions interwoven with a pop melody—and it suggested the young songwriter might be a candidate for crossover success.
By 1975 Rabbitt had secured a contract with Elektra Records and was turning out solo albums at the rate of almost two per year. His gaunt good looks made him a favorite in live concert, where he drew legions of country and pop fans. Rabbitt's biggest hits included "Drivin' My Life Away," a tune based on his truck-driving experiences, "Step by Step," an optimistic love song, and the jazzy "I Love a Rainy Night." Rabbitt also provided the title song for the popular Clint Eastwood movie, Every Which Way but Loose. As the 1970s ended, the songwriter from New Jersey was riding high in Nashville.
Rabbitt describes himself as an old-fashioned Irishman; home and family are very important to him. In 1983 his wife Janine gave birth to the couple's second child, a boy named Timmy. The child was born with a fatal liver disease that required constant hospitalization, so Rabbitt curtailed his touring and recording so he could visit the boy every day. The Rabbitt family spent long hours with their disabled child and mourned his loss after an unsuccessful liver transplant in 1985. "At that point, I sort of backed out of the business," Rabbitt told the Wichita Eagle-Beacon. "I put out albums that other people wrote, and I just kinda backed out. .. . It was a time to be with people I love—my wife and little girl. I didn't want to be out of the music business, but where I was was more important."
A year or so after Timmy's death Rabbitt resumed his career, finding solace in the music he performed. Since then he has had a number of country hits? most notably a remake of Dion's "The Wanderer" and an upbeat number, "I Wanna Dance with You." Rabbitt told People that his experience with his son's death has affected his songwriting, making him more sensitive to pain and suffering. Rather than write sad songs, though, he tends to view music as a comfort, a restorative when times get tough. "I don't like to write heavy downers," he told the Wichita Eagle-Beacon. "There are enough heavy downers in the world; you can turn on the news for them. I think music should sooth the wild beast in us. It should take people away from the hard stuff in life—the hard jobs, the bad times."
Source: http://www.enotes.com/contemporary-musicians/rabbitt-eddie-biography
