Player and the song that was never a one-hit wonder

Peter Beckett came from Liverpool, and had played in a progressive rock group called Paladin and then in Skyband with the Australian Steve Kipner. After Skyband broke up in 1975 he was still living in Los Angeles, where he met John Charles Crowley at a party. They teamed up as Riff Raff, which soon became Bandana and released a single, “Jukebox Saturday Night”, on the Haven label.

When Haven folded, producers Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter brought the pair to RSO Records in 1976. Beckett and Crowley started again as Player with manager Paul Palmer, who brought in bassist Ronn Moss and drummer John Friesen, a former percussionist and musical director for the Ice Follies. Former Steppenwolf keyboardist Wayne Cook joined them for live shows.

They built a reputation as a live act in the stadium rock era, opening in autumn 1977 for Gino Vannelli and then Boz Scaggs, and developed an edgy, melodic style. “Baby Come Back”, written by Beckett and Crowley and released in late 1977, rose to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in January 1978. The follow-up “This Time I'm in It for Love” peaked at No. 10 the same year. That is why the source insists it is an error to call them a one-hit wonder, as VH1 and others have. Billboard named them Best New Singles Artist of 1978.

Eric Clapton invited them to open for him on his 1978 North American Slow Hand tour, and around then the band started moving away from the blue-eyed soul sound of their debut. Later songs such as “Who Do You Think You Are” and “Givin' It All” belong to a band that never quite lost the sound it started with: smooth harmonies, a hook, and a voice that sounds like it is pleading.