Why You, I Oughtta…Ian Hunter Turns 85

The great Ian Hunter (born Ian Hunter Patterson) is 85 today. He’s had his share of successes, solo and with the legendary Mott The Hoople. But his biggest successes have come as a covered songwriter. Barry Manilow and Great White have hit it big with his songs, and The Presidents of the United States made his “Cleveland Rocks” (updated from “England Rocks”) well-known as the theme song of The Drew Carey Show.

The closest he came to a hit of his own was with the first single from 1979’s You’re Never Alone With a Schizophrenic. Mick Ronson had spotted the phrase written on a men’s room wall and planned to use it as a title for a song or solo album. Ian wanted to use it himself so badly, he offered Mick a co-writing credit on “Just Another Night,” which peaked at #68.

His 2nd single that year was one of those ‘should have been a hit’ singles. Featuring backing vocals and guitar by Ronson, the song offers a message of hope and perseverance to those trying to find their way out of dark times. It’s one of his greatest compositions.

Ian didn’t find much of any success in his initial tries. He was already 30, a father of two, with several years as a member of broken-up bands, by the time he auditioned for Mott the Hoople, named for Willard Manus’ 1966 novel. By the time 1972 came around, the dispirited group had called it a day out of frustration over a lack of success. That’s when David Bowie stepped in. A huge fan of Mott’s, he invited Ian to his music publisher’s office in London to hear “Suffragette City,” which Ian declined. Bowie then sat down with an acoustic guitar and played “All the Young Dudes.” It hit the top 5 in England and the Top 40 in the US, and Bowie produced their album of the same name. At the Freddie Mercury tribute show in ’92, Ian, Ronson, and Bowie…

Speaking of ‘should have been a hit,’ there is another one of Hunter’s songs that’s woefully under-appreciated. Complete with a video filmed at the Empire Diner on 10th Avenue, 1983’s fantastic “All of the Good Ones Are Taken,” which didn’t even chart in the US or UK: