Some Guys Have All the Luck

"Some Guys Have All the Luck" is a song written by Jeff Fortgang,[1] which has been a Top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 twice, first by The Persuaders in 1973 reaching No. 39,[2] then by Rod Stewart in 1984 where it hit No. 10 in the U.S. and No. 32 on the Adult Contemporary chart.

"Some Guys Have All the Luck"
Single by The Persuaders
from the album Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me
B-side"Love Attack"
ReleasedOctober 1973
Recorded1973
GenreR&B
Length3:29
LabelAtco
Songwriter(s)Jeff Fortgang
Producer(s)
  • LeBaron Taylor
  • Phil Hurtt
  • Tony Bell (The Young Professionals)
The Persuaders singles chronology
"Bad, Bold and Beautiful, Girl"
(1973)		 "Some Guys Have All the Luck"
(1973)		 "All Strung Out on You"
(1974)

Background

Fortgang wrote many songs during his three years in the music industry after graduating Yale in 1971. While Fortgang eventually released a solo album in 2013, titled All the Music in the World, consisting of the demos he had created in the 1970s, "Some Guys Have All the Luck" was not one of the tracks.[3]

Original Persuaders version

The single was released from The Persuaders' album, Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me. It was their last Top 40 hit in the United States, peaking at No. 7 on the R&B chart and No. 39 on the Billboard Hot 100 in December 1973.

Chart history
Chart (1973–1974) Peak
position
Canada Top Singles (RPM) 64
US Billboard Hot 100[4] 39
U.S. Billboard Hot Soul Singles[5] 7
US Cash Box Top 100[6] 39

Robert Palmer version
"Some Guys Have All the Luck"
Single by Robert Palmer
from the album Maybe It's Live
B-side"Too Good to Be True"
Released1982
Genre
Length3:09
LabelIsland
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Robert Palmer
Robert Palmer singles chronology
"Looking for Clues"
(1980)		 "Some Guys Have All the Luck"
(1982)		 "You Are in My System"
(1983)
Audio
"Some Guys Have All the Luck" on YouTube

In 1982, English singer Robert Palmer released a version of the song as a single from his live/studio album Maybe It's Live. It reached No. 16 in the UK Singles Chart.[7]

Palmer's version has a significantly altered melody and lyrics in comparison to other versions of the song. Palmer told Max Bell in 1989: "I was working with Moon Martin when I wrote "Some Guys". I played it to him and a few days later he said he'd just heard someone singing it in the studio across the road, which seemed impossible since I hadn't finished it myself! What happened was that I must have heard it subliminally, I think it was on Australian radio, and just hadn't realised. The only thing I remembered was the title line."[8]

Reception

Upon release, Ian Birch of Smash Hits described Palmer's version as "a great combination of limb-loosening rhythm and immediate melody" and predicted the song would reach the UK Top 5.[9] Billboard considered it "one of Palmer's most enticing singles" since "Every Kinda People". They also noted the "offbeat rhythm" and "eccentric arrangement".[10] Cash Box commented: "This cover paints yet another picture of the ever-changing Palmer. Here he plays a jumpy electronic popper".[11]

Chart history
Chart (1982) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[12] 41
Germany[13] 52
New Zealand[14] 49
Sweden[15] 7
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[7] 16
US Billboard Top Rock Tracks[16] 59

Rod Stewart version
"Some Guys Have All the Luck"
Single by Rod Stewart
from the album Camouflage
B-side"I Was Only Joking"
ReleasedJuly 1984
Genre
Length4:36 (Album version)
4:03 (7" version/video edit)
LabelWarner Bros.
Songwriter(s)Jeff Fortgang
Producer(s)Michael Omartian
Rod Stewart singles chronology
"Infatuation"
(1984)		 "Some Guys Have All the Luck"
(1984)		 "All Right Now"
(1984)
Music video
"Some Guys Have All the Luck" on YouTube

British rock singer Rod Stewart released a cover over a decade after the original Persuaders version, released as the second single from his 1984 album Camouflage. The most successful version to date, in Stewart's native country the single climbed to No. 15 on the UK Singles Chart. In the United States, the single peaked at No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 in October 1984, while on the US Cash Box Top 100, the single peaked at No. 16 in that same month. Stewart's version incorporated a vocal refrain from "Ain't Got No Home" by Clarence "Frogman" Henry.

Rod Stewart began using the Palmer-style arrangement in live concerts in 2003 after Palmer's death as a tribute, with live female backup vocalists and a horn player wearing identical dresses, similar to Palmer's signature music videos.

Track listing

7-inch single

  1. Some Guys Have All the Luck (7" Edit) - 4:03

12-inch single

  1. Some Guys Have All the Luck (LP version) - 4:36
  2. Some Guys Have All the Luck (Extended Version) - 6:32

Chart history
Chart (1984) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[17] 95
Canada[18] 16
Germany[18] 58
Ireland[18] 11
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[19] 15
US Billboard Hot 100[20] 10
US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[21] 27
US Cash Box Top 100[22] 16

Other notable cover versions
  • The Shakers recorded it for their debut album Yankee Reggae (Elektra, 1976)[23] and released the song as a single.
  • Reggae artist Junior Tucker recorded a version released by Island Records in 1980.[24] Critic Robert Christgau wrote that the teenage Junior Tucker's "sweetly devastated" version was a "must-hear,"[25] and comparing it to Robert Palmer's later recording, he wrote that Tucker "owned" the song the way Sonic Youth's Kim Gordon owned "Addicted to Love."[26]
  • Louise Mandrell recorded a country version of the song in 1985, altering the lyrics to the female perspective and changing the title to "Some Girls Have All the Luck". Mandrell's version peaked at No. 22 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart in 1986.[27] A music video was filmed for the song.
  • Maxi Priest recorded it on his album Maxi in 1987.[28] His version peaked at No. 12 on the UK Singles Chart.[29]

References
  1. "Some Guys Have All the Luck - Rod Stewart | Song Info". AllMusic. Retrieved 2016-07-29.
  2. "The Persuaders". Billboard. Retrieved November 20, 2016.
  3. Jeff Fortgang- All the Music in the World @bandcamp.com Retrieved 6-26-2015.
  4. "The Persuaders Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved November 25, 2017.
  5. Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 457.
  6. "Cash Box Top 100 Singles – Week ending December 29, 1973". Cash Box Magazine. December 29, 1973. Archived from the original on October 1, 2012. Retrieved February 3, 2018.
  7. "ROBERT PALMER | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". Officialcharts.com. Retrieved 2019-10-11.
  8. Palmer, Robert (1989). Addictions: Volume 1 (Media notes). Robert Palmer. UK. CID 9944.
  9. Birch, Ian (7 January 1982). "Singles". Smash Hits.
  10. "Top Single Picks". Billboard. 10 April 1982.
  11. "Reviews: Singles". Cash Box. 10 April 1982.
  12. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. Australian Chart Book, St Ives, N.S.W. pp. 228, 236. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  13. Steffen Hung. "Robert Palmer - Some Guys Have All The Luck". germancharts.de. Retrieved 2019-10-11.
  14. Steffen Hung. "charts.org.nz - Robert Palmer - Some Guys Have All The Luck". Charts.nz. Retrieved 2019-10-11.
  15. Steffen Hung. "Robert Palmer - Some Guys Have All The Luck". swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 2019-10-11.
  16. "Robert Palmer Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 2019-10-11.
  17. "Australian Chart Books". Austchartbook.com.au. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
  18. "Song artist 18 - Rod Stewart". Tsort.info. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
  19. "Official Charts". Official Charts. July 28, 1984. Retrieved February 3, 2017.
  20. "Rod Stewart - Chart history". Billboard. October 27, 1984. Retrieved February 4, 2017.
  21. "Rod Stewart Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved February 3, 2018.
  22. "CASH BOX Top 100 Singles – Week ending October 27, 1984". Archived from the original on 1 October 2012. Retrieved 2018-02-03.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)Cash Box magazine.
  23. "Yankee Reggae - Shakers | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 2016-07-29.
  24. "Some Guys Have All the Luck - Junior Tucker | Song Info". AllMusic. Retrieved 2016-07-29.
  25. "Consumer Guide Album - Reggae Greats: Strictly for Lovers". The Village Voice. Retrieved 2020-10-15.
  26. "Consumer Guide Album - Robert Palmer". The Village Voice. Retrieved 2020-10-15.
  27. Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 214.
  28. Hit Singles: Top 20 Charts from 1954 to the Present Day (5th ed.). San Francisco: Backbeat Books via Hal Leonard Corporation. 2004 [1994]. ISBN 9780879308087. Retrieved November 20, 2016.
  29. "MAXI PRIEST; full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
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