Quarterflash - Take Me to Heart

Quarterflash were a successful pop/rock act from the early 1980s with a couple of unusual features.  First, the band's lead singer, Rindy Ross, also played saxophone (well, we might add).  Second, Quarterflash's key members were a married couple -- Rindy and Marv Ross.  Prior to writing this entry, we did not realize just how successful they were -- between 1981 and 1983, Quarterflash had 6 charting singles, 3 of which went top 20, and their first two LPs both broke the top 40.

The band formed in Oregon in the late 1970s as the merger of two bands, Seafood Mama and Pilot, and briefly continued as Seafood Mama before changing their name to Quarterflash.  The Australian slang term came from a book the Rosses read that described recent immigrants as "one quarter flash and three parts foolish."  It seems that they just liked the name.  (I imagine that after Seafood Mama, the bar may not have been set that high.)

Quarterflash are best-known for "Harden My Heart," the lead single off their self-titled debut album, which hit #3 in 1981.  In typical ERV style, we skipped over that (for now, at least) and went for a less well-known cut from 1983's Take Another Picture LP.  "Take Me to Heart" was the band's last big hit; it peaked at #14.  The video ... well, it features that Rosses and a bunch of manikins.  (I have to call out the turned up collar on Rindy's shirt as well ... for our younger readers, this was the style of the times).

After their 1985 LP, Back into Blue did not sell that well (peaking at #150), the band was dropped by their label, and broke up soon afterwards.  The Rosses remained together, and continued to make music, even releasing Quarterflash albums in 1991 and 2008.