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On This Day in 1976, Eddie Rabbitt Reached the Top of the Country Charts With This Boozy Heartbreak Anthem
Like many successful performers, Eddie Rabbitt got his start as a songwriting. After penning tracks like Elvis Presley’s “Kentucky Rain” and Ronnie Milsap’s No. 1 hit “Pure Love”, Rabbitt inked a deal with Elektra Records in 1975. It didn’t take long for success to find him, scoring the first of 15 No. 1 solo country hits on this day (April 17) in 1976 with “Drinkin’ My Baby (Off My Mind)”.
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Co-written with fellow songwriter Even Stevens, Eddie Rabbitt released “Drinkin’ My Baby” in February 1976 as the lead single from his second studio album, Rocky Mountain Music.
Like many timeless country music standards, its lyrics are soaked in tears and alcohol. Our narrator is an unfaithful partner whose spouse has finally had enough. I stepped out on her one too many times / Now I’m drinkin’ my baby off my mind.
The song spent 12 weeks on the country charts, including one week at No. 1. “Drinkin’ My Baby Off My Mind” established Eddie Rabbitt as a country music performer, rather than just a songwriter.
It also marked the first of 15 chart-topping hits for the New Jersey native. Releasing 15 studio albums throughout his career, Rabbitt would go on to deliver perhaps his most famous song, the Hot 100 No. 1 smash “I Love a Rainy Night” (1980) and the Crystal Gayle duet “You and I”, which reached No. 7 on the all-genre chart and appeared on the soap opera All My Children.
Another No. 1 collaboration, “Both to Each Other (Friends and Lovers)” with Juice Newton, would become the theme song for the long-running NBC soap opera Days Of Our Lives.
More About Eddie Rabbitt
Born in Brooklyn, New York, to Irish immigrant parents, Eddie Rabbitt lacked the traditional country singer upbringing in many ways. He was no stranger to music, however, as his father played both fiddle and accordion and often performed in New York City dance halls.
Mastering the guitar by age 12, Rabbitt became a walking encyclopedia of country music as a child. Dropping out of high school at age 16 following his parents’ divorce, he soon moved to Nashville with just $1,000 to his name in pursuit of a songwriting career.
Eddie Rabbitt’s final studio album, Songs from Rabbittland, came in late 1997. He died not long after on May 10, 1998, following a year-long battle with lung cancer. He was just 56 years old.
Featured image by Arthur Grimm/United Archives via Getty Images
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