Quarterflash
Origin Portland, Oregon, U.S.
Genres Pop rock, adult contemporary
WEB:
Quarterflash is an American rock group formed in 1980 in Portland, Oregon. The band was originally made up of the two current members, Rindy Ross (lead vocals and saxophone) and her husband Marv Ross (guitars), along with Jack Charles (guitars), Rick DiGiallonardo (keyboards/synthesizers), Rich Gooch (electric bass), and Brian David Willis (drums and percussion). Having a lead singer who also played the saxophone made Quarterflash notable. In a 1982 interview, Rindy Ross said that she viewed the saxophone as an extension of her voice, enabling her to express things she could not express with her voice alone.
Recording history
The group was formed by merging two popular Oregon bands, Seafood Mama and Pilot (not to be confused with the Scottish band of “Magic” fame). Continuing under the name Seafood Mama, the band originally released the picture-sleeved single “Harden My Heart” on a local private label, Whitefire Records, in the spring of 1980 (with the B-side track being “City of Roses”). “Harden My Heart” was a big hit on Portland radio stations and got the band a one-hour TV special, Seafood Mama In Concert, on KOIN on June 5, 1980. “Harden My Heart” would later be rerecorded by the band after they renamed themselves Quarterflash. The name came from an Australian slang description of new immigrants as “a quarter flash, three quarters foolish”, which the Rosses found in a book at producer John Boylan’s house.
Quarterflash signed to Geffen Records and released their self-titled debut album Quarterflash in September 1981. It reached No. 8 on Billboard’s Top LPs & Tape chart, and sold over a million copies, earning RIAA platinum status on June 30, 1982. The album contained the new version of “Harden My Heart”, which became their biggest single, reaching No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 (and the Top 20 in France). The follow-up single from the album, “Find Another Fool”, reached No. 16. A second one-hour Portland television special, Quarterflash In Concert, was broadcast on KOIN on October 22, 1981, and simulcast on KGON. This concert was taped at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall on October 15, 1981.
Discography
Studio albums
1981 Quarterflash 8
1983 Take Another Picture 34
1985 Back Into Blue 150
1991 Girl in the Wind
2008 Goodbye Uncle Buzz
2013 Love Is a Road
Compilation albums
The Best of Quarterflash: The Millennium Collection (1996)
Harden My Heart: The Best of Quarterflash (1997)
Singles
Year Song U.S. Hot 100 U.S. Mainstream Rock U.S. Adult Contemporary UK Singles Chart [10] Album
1981 “Harden My Heart” 3 1 41 49 Quarterflash
1982 “Find Another Fool” 16 12 – –
“Right Kind of Love” 56 – – –
“Night Shift” 60 – – – Night Shift soundtrack
1983 “Take Me to Heart” 14 6 28 – Take Another Picture
“Take Another Picture” 58 – – –
1985 “Talk to Me” 83 – – – Back Into Blue
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