The first song I’m mentioning is “Hold the Line” by Toto. It opens with the rocking piano riff by David Paich who also wrote the song. Steve Lukather provides great guitar and lead singer Bobby Kimball sings intensely in this incredible rocker. Georgy Porgy by the same band has both a soft rock and a jazz rock feel. Steve Lukather sings the verses and the choruses are sung by guest singer Cheryl Lynn. Steve gives an enjoyable jazz influenced guitar solo in this relaxing song.
Hold the Line - Toto
I’m now moving on to Toto’s Columbia labelmates Journey. Wheel in the Sky is a hard rock song with an aggressive feel. Steve Perry sings powerfully, there’s a great guitar solo by Neal Schon and Gregg Rolie underpins the song well with his piano. The next song “Lights” is my favourite Journey song. Like with Toto, we go from a hard rock song to a soft rock song. Lights is incredible with its melody, piano, Steve’s singing, guitar solo, organ and rock feel.
Lights - Journey
I’m a big Bob Seger fan. He’s one of the topics I write about on this blog. These are four songs by him. His signature song “Old Time Rock & Roll” is a rock & roll tribute to that music of the 1950s. We’ve Got Tonight is a special melodic piano ballad with Bob showing his softer side. Hollywood Nights has a hard rock feel unlike the previous two. Bob’s guitars drive the song and he’s backed well by Bill Payne’s keyboards (piano & organ). David Teegarden’s double drums give a special sound. Still the Same is a catchy ballad that takes in some country influences. Bob does double duty on piano (including a solo) and acoustic guitars. All these great songs come from Bob’s album “Stranger in Town” which is the first album of his I listened to 15 years ago.
We’ve Got Tonight - Bob Seger
Warren Zevon’s “Werewolves of London” is a funny satirical comedy rock song. Its simple piano notes are repeated on a consistent loop. This is done creatively as the song isn’t repetitive. Warren sings other melodies over his piano part. The Power of Gold by Dan Fogelberg & Tim Weisberg is sung by Dan who also plays piano and guitars. He doubles the two instruments very well including playing a great guitar solo. Album collaborator Tim Weisberg plays flute. Eric Clapton had a warm soft rock US hit “Promises”. This ballad features Dick Sims’ relaxing keyboards (electric piano & organ) and good guitar parts.
The Power of Gold - Dan Fogelberg & Tim Weisberg
The following songs all have acoustic piano, electric piano, saxophone, guitar and orchestra. Scottish singer Gerry Rafferty had the worldwide soft rock hit “Baker Street” that’s very musical. The sax part comes repeatedly in the song to great effect. The guitar solo contrasts well with the sax. We’ll move on to another singer born in Scotland Al Stewart. He grew up in England and is US based. His US hit “Time Passages” is another six minute soft rock song. There are two solos in a row which are Spanish influenced acoustic guitar and sax ones followed by electric guitar parts. English singer Chris Rea is a one-hit wonder in the US unlike in his country. His US hit “Fool (If You Think It’s Over)” is driven by electric piano and an acoustic piano is featured in much of the song. Chris gave us a special melodic ballad.
Fool (If You Think It’s Over) - Chris Rea
We’re going from one fool song to another. The previous three songs all have a British sensibility (including US based Al Stewart). This time it’s to America with soul influenced soft rock by Michael McDonald’s version of The Doobie Brothers. In “What a Fool Believes”, Michael’s piano riff is brilliant and he sings greatly. Synths also form a major part of the song and they are played by Michael and Bill Payne (the keyboardist on Bob Seger’s “Hollywood Nights”). On “Minute by Minute”, Michael plays electric piano. The synth parts are different from the previous song. Michael sings expressively and is supported well by the backing vocals.
What a Fool Believes - The Doobie Brothers
Michael wrote the previous two songs with Kenny Loggins & Lester Abrams. He co-wrote “Dependin’ on You” with bandmate Patrick Simmons. This was a minor hit unlike the previous two. Patrick sings this song and brings more rock into this version of the band. Michael gives good rock & roll piano and backing vocals. There is rocking guitar including solos. Horns have a good presence. This rock song is fused with soul and a hint of jazz.
Dependin’ on You - The Doobie Brothers
Billy Joel gave us the powerful rock ballad “Honesty” with his rich piano. It’s a moving song that’s very melodic and rocks. I'm a big Elton John fan and he had two global hits that year. Part-Time Love was big when it came out except the US where it was a minor hit. This song has been forgotten now. It’s a pop rock song with a soul influence. Elton’s original guitarist Davey Johnstone plays great lead guitar backed on rhythm guitar by Tim Renwick who was the main guitarist on the “A Single Man” album. Elton’s other hit was “Song for Guy” which was popular globally except the US. This instrumental pop song features Elton on piano & keyboards accompanied by percussion and bass. Elton sings some words near the end.
Part-Time Love - Elton John
List of Articles Featuring these Songs
Below are articles where I featured these songs in a list with it described in a paragraph plus an article about the original demo of “Old Time Rock & Roll” which compares it with the released version. I provide links to these articles.
Ten Great Bob Seger Songs by Ten Different Piano Players
Old Time Rock & Roll - Bob Seger
We’ve Got Tonight - Bob Seger
Ten Great Universal Music Group Songs
Still the Same - Bob Seger
Promises - Eric Clapton
The Original Version of Old Time Rock & Roll
An article about the original demo of the song by George Jackson. Both George’s version and Bob’s version are embedded and compared.
Conclusion
I'm going to make comments and comparisons about these songs. The saxophone was popular during this period which included memorable sax parts in “Old Time Rock & Roll” and “Baker Street”. There are iconic piano riffs for songs in different types of rock which are hard rock (“Hold the Line”), rock & roll (“Old Time Rock & Roll”), comedy rock (“Werewolves of London”) and soft rock (“What a Fool Believes”). It was common to have piano ballads featuring orchestra as seen most prominently in “Honesty” and “We’ve Got Tonight”.
I love the fact that so many of these songs are by singing pianists. It includes the two biggest names in that field who are Elton John (“Part-Time Love”) and Billy Joel (“Honesty”). Michael McDonald did this with The Doobie Brothers’ hits “What a Fool Believes” and “Minute by Minute”. Warren Zevon’s piano part for his hit “Werevolves of London” is memorable. Chris Rea who’s known as a guitarist played acoustic piano on “Fool (If You Think It’s Over)”. This was an anomaly in his career where he didn’t play guitar on one of his songs. Bob Seger played piano and acoustic guitar on “Still the Same”. Dan Fogelberg played piano & guitar even more impressively on “The Power of Gold” with him playing rock piano, electric & acoustic guitars including a solo.
These songs are melodic and reflect great things music can do. They are reflective of the year 1978, but do so in a timeless way that transcends that year. They continue to resonate in 2025 and will continue doing so in the years going forward.
