Always And Forever – Heatwave | Top 40 Chart Performance, Story and Song Meaning
Chart Performance: Pop (#18) & R&B (#12); 1978
Story Behind The Song By Ed Osborne
During a tour of duty in Germany, vocalist Johnnie Wilder and various U.S. Army buddies sang together for pleasure. Post-military, Johnnie found himself heading up a group known as the Soul Sessions.
Ultimately, Johnnie’s group merged with another, the Upsetters, to create Heatwave, a name inspired by an overly-warm rehearsal building with an ever-on radiator. The addition of English keyboard player Rod Temperton opened up touring opportunities in the UK, which, in turn, brought an offer from GTO Records.
Heatwave’s third single, Boogie Nights, written by Temperton, was released in January, 1977. By April it was heating up club dance floors, and then the pop chart, where it topped out at #2.
Another Temperton composition – Always And Forever – followed. Unlike the disco-driven Boogie Nights, Always And Forever was a slow-burn ballad that showed off the band’s versatility.
The romantic tune became Heatwave’s second platinum-selling single, and surpassed Boogie‘s #5 peak on the R&B chart; becoming the group’s biggest rhythm list hit.
This content and all Song Meaning articles were created and written by Top 40 Contributing Editor Ed Osborne. © 2024 Ed Osborne. All Rights Reserved. In addition to these song meaning articles, Ed has written our “Year in Music 1960s-1990s” articles.
Produced by:
- Barry Blue
Lyrics Written by:
- Rod Temperton
Ed Osborne
Hi. I got my first record at age two and never looked back, spending a decades-long career in radio and the music business. Even after years of reading about and listening to all types of music, I am still fascinated by it. Apart from that, I’m endlessly intrigued by art, nature, and the inner lives of people (and dogs).