One of the most underrated talents of the 70s was Rupert Holmes. He first came to my attention when I got a hold of his 1974 album “Widescreen”, a collection of musical stories that had great lyrics and even better music. That one never got traction and it wasn’t until this week in 1979 that he had his only number one with “Escape – The Pina Colada Song“.

What is less known is that he was the driving force behind the band The Bouys. Holmes convinced Scepter Records to give them a one-single contract. The label refused to promote the band, so Holmes tried to think of an angle that would get them some viral publicity. He landed on writing a tune that would get The Bouys “banned” from airplay, thus generating major buzz. He wrote a tune that hinted at cannibalism and that did the trick, ultimately getting The Bouys’ one hit, “Timothy” on the charts. It peaked at #17 in February of 1970.