Rate-O-Rama: I Go To Pieces

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Rate-O-Rama is a reader participation game.

Every Thursday evening I will publish a Rate-O-Rama article which will feature three versions of a popular song.

The object is to listen to each of the music videos provided within the post.

After listening to each video you can rate each song in the comments section below.

(You must be a member to comment. If you are not a member you can join Vocal Media for FREE. You don’t ever have to pay for membership unless you choose to upgrade your membership)

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The rating method is easy. Simply give each song a rating of 1 to 100.

(The more you like the song the higher the rating).

If possible, please provide a brief comment to let us now what you think of each song.

After a week (Thursday evening) I will tally the ratings and in the next Rate-O-Rama post, I will announce the average rating each song received.

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Last week we featured the Folk Rock - Folk Pop classic: “Fast Car" as recorded by Tracy Chapman (1988), Jonas Blue featuring Dakota (2015), and Luke Combs (2023).

The following are the average ratings for each song as a result of the votes:

🥇 Tracy Chapman: 100 💐🏆

🥈 Luke Combs: 84.1

🥉 Jonas Blue: 68

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Let's Celebrate Tracy Chapman!

Tracy Chapman has made Rate-O-Rama history!!! She is the first artist to score a perfect 100. Congratulations Tracy Chapman. Your song and your performance of your song have touched people on a level that only few song ever reach. We love you Tracy Chapman!!! 💝💘💖

To honor Tracy Chapman I will be doing a special feature on her here on Vocal Media to be published in March 2024.

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The Twenty-Fourth Edition of Rate-O-Rama features three renditions of the Pop Music classic: “I Go To Pieces."

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Peter and Gordon (1964)

Peter and Gordon was a British Invasion-era pop duo, formed by Peter Asher and Gordon Waller, that rocketed to fame in 1964 with "A World Without Love". Peter Asher's sister (the actress Jane Asher) was dating Paul McCartney (of The Beatles), and so Peter & Gordon recorded "A World Without Love," which was written by Paul McCartney. "I Go To Pieces," the song featured in this week's Rate-O-Rama, was written by Del Shannon and given to the duo after the two acts toured together.

Peter and Gordon took “I Go To Pieces” to #9 in the US, #11 in Sweden, #21 in Canada, and #26 in Canada

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Cotton, Lloyd and Christian (1975)

Cotton, Lloyd, and Christian was a popular soft rock trio in the 1970s. They consisted of Daryl Cotton from Australia and Americans Michael Lloyd and Chris Christian.

In the 1970s Michael Lloyd was a successful producer of teen idol pop stars such as the Osmonds, Shaun Cassidy and Leif Garrett. Chris Christian had a very successful career on several different levels. As a songwriter many big name acts such as Elvis Presley, Olivia Newton-John, Hall and Oates, Carpenters, Dionne Warwick, B. J. Thomas, and many others recorded his songs. He was responsible for discovering popular contemporary Christian artist Amy Grant and signed her to Myrrh records in 1976. In 1981, Christian launched his own label Home Sweet Home Records. On that label he signed and produced albums for Dan Peek, B.J. Thomas, Eric Champion, and others. As a solo artist Christian was an extremely popular contemporary Christian artist. He released 15 albums throughout the 1980s and 1990s, many of which charted high on the Christian music charts. I have had the pleasure of meeting and interviewing Chris Christian and for a while we even wrote letters back and forth through the US mail.

Cotton, Lloyd, and Christian took “I Go To Pieces” to #66 in the US, #52 in the UK, #62 in Australia, and #17 in the Netherlands. In Canada they placed in the Top 10 on the Easy Listening charts.

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Rachel Sweet (1979):

American artist Rachel Sweet broke out in the UK in late 1978 at the age of sixteen with her debut album Fool Around. But the album failed to chart. In the summer of 1979 the album was released in North America (United States and Canada) and also Australia with a new track listing to include the song “I Go To Pieces” which was not included on the original UK release. “I Go To Pieces” was released as a single in the US, Canada, and Australia and received strong radio airplay. But the song failed to chart in both the US and Canada. In Australia the song charted at #39. However, due to the strength of the song the album Fool Around chartered well in all three countries: #97 in the US, #77 in Canada, and #86 in Australia. Many felt Rachel Sweet was to become the next big thing. Her album Fool Around remained extremely popular on the Southern California market through 1981, primarily in Los Angeles county and Orange county.

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My Thoughts

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Peter and Gordon:

Before I move on with my thoughts here. I just wanted to mention that Del Shannon, the one who wrote this song, also did his recording of the song. But it was after Peter and Gordon had a hit with the song. Del Shannon's rendition did not chart anywhere. Therefore I did not include it in the running for this game, even though he is a songwriter. Peter and Gordon were the first to record the song therefore theirs is the original version.

I love Peter and Gordon's flawless vocals. They are up there with the great harmonizers of all time such as the Beach Boys, Mamas and Papas, Carpenters, Simon and Garfunkel, Diana Ross and The Supremes, and so many others. I give P&G a 99.

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Cotton, Lloyd and Christian:

While Cotton, Lloyd, and Christian did a fine job with the song their rendition sounds a bit too similar to Peter and Gordon's original. But, because I am acquainted with Chris Christian, and he really is a very nice and generous person, I am inclined to give it a better rating than what I would give if I didn't know one of the band members. But I'm going to be fair and honest and give it the rating that I think it deserves. I give this song a 70.

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Rachel Sweet:

Her voice is not necessarily a powerhouse, but she has a likable and recognizable style. The double-tracked vocals are the highlight of the song. I like the late 70s soft-rock arrangement, which I think they missed the mark by promoting it to the post-punk and new wave market. But it's understandable as the Stiff Record label was a premiere new wave / post punk label in its day. Regardless, Rachel Sweet was miscast and Stiff should have taken her to Top 40 and Adult Contemporary radio. I give Miss Sweet a 99.25.

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I will be back next week with the results of this Rate-O-Rama Edition.

Last Week's Rate-O-Rama:

With Love, RHC ❤️