What Are the 5 Biggest US Hits by Supertramp?

Supertramp came perilously close to their career ending soon after it began when their first few albums struggled to make a mark. Luckily, they stuck with it. As years progressed, they’d become the rare progressive band that successfully made the leap to the pop charts with consistency.

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As it turned out, the British band did better commercially in America than in their own home country. Here are the five Supertramp songs that enjoyed the best US chart success.

“Give A Little Bit” – No. 15 in 1977

Supertramp’s third album, Crime Of The Century, started the turnaround in their career. They successfully blended their artistic tendencies with a knack for catchy melodies. When their song “Dreamer” from that album snuck into the US Top 40 in 1974, it ensured that they’d their next few albums would get a little more exposure as well. The band took advantage with “Give A Little Bit”, their first foray into the Top 20, from Even In The Quietest Moments in 1977. That song not only did well on its own, but it also helped pave the way for the massive phenomenon of Breakfast In America two years later.

“Goodbye Stranger” – No. 15 in 1979

Most Supertramp albums in their halcyon days were split pretty evenly down the middle between songs written by Roger Hodgson and those by Rick Davies. Hodgson had more of a knack for the radio songs, if only because Davies tended towards bluesier material that took more of a downbeat lyrical approach. “Goodbye Stranger” represents the Davies-penned song that did the best on radio. Even as it’s all about a character constantly on the move and saying farewell, the song trips along quite lightly. Hodgson contributed both the catchy high-pitched vocals and a smoking guitar solo at the end of the track.

“It’s Raining Again” – No. 11 in 1982

The 1982 album …Famous Last Words… turned out to be Hodgson’s last with the band. He and Davies had always written separately, and that schism carried over to their personal relationship as well. As a whole, the album fails to live up to the excellence of Breakfast In America. But you have to hand it to Hodgson for being able to keep the band relevant on the radio at a time when other bands of the same ilk were struggling in that regard. “It’s Raining Again”, like a lot of Hodgson’s songs, manages to sound sneakily upbeat, even as, in this case, it’s lyrically stuck under a cloud.

“Take The Long Way Home” – No. 10 in 1979

Breakfast In America stands as one of those records that just seems to resonate with people at a time when they’re questioning their life choices a bit. Hodgson’s songs, especially, play with the idea of the human who seems to have all they need but can’t seem to grasp happiness anyway. “Take The Long Way Home” epitomizes that feeling, as a guy wakes up one day and can’t understand why everything has gone wrong. The band’s old prog-rock leanings show up in the instrumental touches here. Surprising elements like Davies’ harmonica and John Helliwell’s saxophone keep the track from wallowing.

“The Logical Song” – No. 5 in 1979

Supertramp’s biggest US hit came in part from Hodgson’s experiences in boarding school as a child. He felt that he was being steered into what kind of human he should be, rather than making those choices on his own. Here’s another case where the instrumentation is punchy and surprising. Don’t overlook the sturdy groove conjured by bassist Bob Siebenberg and drummer Dougie Thomson, either. In terms of the lyrics, Hodgson spits out the words that end each line (“logical,” “sensible,” “radical,” etc.) with disdain, as if they’re mere constructs and nothing that relates to real life lived by flesh-and-blood humans.

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