Caught Up In You – 38 Special | Top 40 Chart Performance, Story and Song Meaning
Chart Performance: Pop (#10); 1982
Story Behind The Song By Ed Osborne
In 1980, 38 Special scored a breakthrough with its Rockin’ Into The Night album and the title track #43 single. The third LP, Wild-Eyed Southern Boys, did even better: racking up platinum sales and launching Hold On Loosely and Fantasy Girl onto the singles chart. With album number four, 38 Special proved they were going to be around for awhile. The artwork for
Special Forces extended the theme of Wild-Eyed‘s cover, with the shapely woman now in shorts rather than a tight skirt. The music inside built on 38 Special’s strengths: a melodic brand of country, pop, and Southern rock that appealed to wild-eyed country boys as well as their city brethren.
Former Ides Of March (Vehicle #2; 1970) and current Survivor (Eye Of The Tiger #1; 1982) member Jim Peterik had co written the previous chart singles, and he – along with guitarists Don Barnes and Jeff Carlisi – also wrote Caught Up In You. The three penned the #38 follow-up, You Keep Runnin’ Away, as well.
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:
- Rodney Mills
Lyrics Written by:
- Don Barnes
- Jeff Carlisi
- Jim Peterik
- Frankie Sullivan
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).