THE HIT HAMMER: Looking Glass' "Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)"

(The Hit Hammer is where I'm reviewing each #1 song on the Billboard Hot 100. Starting from when the chart started in 1958 and eventually working my way to the present. To see my inspiration and more information about this blog, please CLICK HERE)

Looking Glass - "Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)"

Hit Number 1: August 26, 1972

Stay at Number 1: 1 Week

Most people that appreciate the history of music have likely heard of the name Clive Davis. For those who aren't sure who that is, he was a famous record executive who was primarily active in the '70s and '80s. Davis was known for recognizing hit music when he heard it, and he thought he heard another hit song in the Looking Glass' "Don't It Make You Feel Good". Davis had signed Looking Glass, four young guys who recently graduated from Rutgers University, to a deal with his record company, and released "Don't It Make You Feel Good". The record wasn't doing so hot at first, but by chance, a disc jockey in Washington D.C. flipped the record and began playing the B-side to "Don't It Make You Feel Good". That song quickly picked up steam in D.C., and before long, the song became a massive hit nationwide. This was a rare instance of Davis striking out on a song. The song that disc jockey insisted on playing was "Brandy", a yacht rock song about good wives, sailors and seas.

"Brandy" was written by Looking Glass lead vocalist Elliot Lurie, and it tells the story of a bartender named Brandy who works at a harbor town. The bar is extremely busy all the time, with sailors constantly coming in and out. Brandy, who is said to be a very beautiful woman, always deals with the sailors flirting with her, as they tell her things like "your eyes can steal a sailor from the sea." But Brandy can never move past one particular sailor that she had a love affair with, who left her because he believed his "life, love and lady" was the sea instead. She continues to wear a locket that has this sailor's name on it, and though she's still heartbroken by his decision to leave her, she does her best to understand. Out of all the stories I've heard (and honestly, will hear) from 1972, "Brandy" probably has the coolest story tied to it.

Personally, I'd love to ask Clive Davis why he looked past "Brandy". For me, I think it's pretty obvious that this song had hit material oozing out of it. The guitars sway and sparkle, the backing vocalists harmonize with cool-sounding "doo doo doos", Lurie tells the story in a drawn back murmur before coming alive in the chorus and the overall musical production is a fun, easy-to-listen-to yacht rock wonderland. The chorus is easily identifiable, it's fun to sing along with and when it hits, it hits hard. Not only that, but I can picture the bar. I can picture the sailors coming in and out. I can picture Brandy working at the bar, putting on fake smiles to the customers while hiding her sadness about her lost love. I've always felt the music with this song, and I've always thought it could make a good movie someday. In fact, I'd love to see more movies based off of songs.

As for Looking Glass, "Brandy" was the best thing but also the worst thing to happen to them. It was by far their biggest hit, and from my research, it was their only song to ever appear on the Hot 100. But no matter what they did after "Brandy", fans were always disappointed in their new music. They were a hard rock band, and "Brandy" was a lot more mellow than anything they'd ever done before. Even if they tried to create another "Brandy", they just couldn't do it. Fans would be disappointed in their live shows, and before long, Looking Glass were launched into total obscurity. They broke up just a couple years after hitting #1 with "Brandy", and today they still remain a one-hit wonder. If you're going to have just one hit, though, it's best that it comes with something like this. In my opinion, "Brandy" is one of the best songs of the '70s.

GRADE: 9/10