Hot Child in the City

"Hot Child in the City"
Single by Nick Gilder
from the album City Nights
B-side "Backstreet Noise"
Released June 12, 1978
Format 7" single
Recorded October 1977
Genre Pop rock, glam rock
Length 3:33
Label Chrysalis
Writer(s) Nick Gilder, James McCulloch
Producer(s) Mike Chapman
Certification Platinum (U.S.)
Nick Gilder singles chronology
"Here Comes the Night"
(1978)
"Hot Child in the City"
(1978)
"She's One of the Boys"
(1979)

"Hot Child in the City" is a song by English-Canadian musician Nick Gilder. It was released in June 1978 as a single from the album City Nights. It went to number one both in Canada (October 14, 1978) and in the United States (October 28, 1978). It was not his first number one single: as the lead singer of the glam rock band Sweeney Todd, he had hit #1 in Canada on June 26, 1976 (in the RPM listing) with the single "Roxy Roller", which remained at the top for three weeks.[1][2][3] He won 2 Juno Awards in Canada and a People's Choice Award in the US. According to The Billboard Book of Number 1 Hits it held the record for taking the longest amount of time to reach number one. The song became a platinum record.

Content

Despite the song's innocent and catchy pop stylings, the tune is based on Gilder's experiences witnessing child prostitution. "I've seen a lot of young girls, 15 and 16, walking down Hollywood Boulevard with their pimps. Their home environment drove them to distraction so they ran away, only to be trapped by something even worse. It hurts to see that so I tried writing from the perspective of a lecher – in the guise of an innocent pop song."[4]

Cover versions

The song was covered by London on their 1990 album Playa Del Rock. Mac McCaughan of Superchunk and singer-songwriter Kelly Hogan performed a version of the song in August 2013 for The A.V. Club's A.V. Undercover: Summer Break series.[5]

Chart positions

Chart (1978) Peak
position
Australian Singles Chart (Kent Music Report) 9
Canada Top Singles (RPM) 1
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[6] 3
US Billboard Hot 100 1

Award successions

Preceded by
"Sugar Daddy" by Patsy Gallant
Juno Award for Best Selling Single
1979
Succeeded by
"I Just Fall in Love Again" by Anne Murray

See also

References

External links

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