Paul Davis - "Cool Night"

I always had a hard time squaring his smooth-as-silk MOR yacht-rock sound with the fact that he looked like he belonged in Molly Hatchet.

haha, yeah, when I saw what he actually looked like, I was surprised

this is a jam!!

this has been stuck in my head for the 40-odd years since it was new as well. i think i had it on a K-tel LP?

if it don't feel right
u can go

come on OOOOOOOOOOOOOVer toniiiiiiiiiight

why does this song always make me both happy and sad :/

It’s corny as fuck but I love it, was inescapable on FM radio in the 80s

Paul keeps his cool (night) until the end, where the key changes show him trying too hard.

The production is a strange mix of slick and cheap. I don't know if it's a problem with the mastering, but the version I have is very hissy - of course, it was produced before they expected everyone to be listening to crisp digital reproductions instead of forgiving vinyl and cassette.

Any of y'all who grew up with older siblings can likely remember when you started to like different music than whatever your older sisters told you to like? For me, it was around age 7, right as this track began getting serious airplay, and soon became one of my first-ever "That song is great, even if you think it's stupid" songs. I'll admit that I originally thought "Cool Night" was the same band as "You Make My Dreams" and "I Can't Go For That", a mistaken impression that was aided by Paul Davis releasing the equally-awesomely-H&O "'65 Love Affair" later in '82. The fact that radio stations all over the Inland Empire seemed to play all four songs fairly regularly didn't help!

I hadn't heard that Hall and Oates sound in this until I listened to it last night, in both the lead and the background vocals, although they would have given it a little more of a rhythmic kick, I think.

lol, the Paul Davis greatest hits album and Hall & Oates Rock & Soul Vol. 1 were two of the like seven cassettes my mom had in the car when we were growing up.

Yes! That would have been a great way to make a 90-minute ride far less annoying.