Remembering Alan Thicke, The Artist!
Today us Gen Xer's lost one of our favorite TV Dads and show host, actor Alan Thicke. The 80's TV star of the hit show "Growing Pain" passed away from a heart attack while playing hockey. Long before he landed his signature role as Jason Seaver in the mid 80's sitcom, Alan Thicke made a few strides in the music industry.
In the late 60's while dating his then girlfriend, singer Gloria Loring (who had a few recordings of her own), Alan Thicke signed a recording deal with RCA Records and released a few singles under the name A.J. Thicke.
In the latter part of the 70's, Alan Thicke started a management company and one of his main clients was Philippé Wynne, lead singer of The Spinners. After tension grew between them, Philippé left the group to embark on a solo career. Alan secured him a deal with Atlantic Record's subsidiary Cotillion and in 1977 (the year of the birth of his son Robin Thicke) the album was released. Alan contributed to the production of the album, writing two songs including the title track.
In 1970, Alan Thicke married his girlfriend Gloria Loring and throughout the 70's the two collaborated as songwriters, composers and began to enjoy a career composing songs for various games show including Wheel Of Fortune. In 1978, they struck it big composing the theme songs for two of Howard Leed's sitcoms that would go on to become iconic along with those songs, "Diff'rent Strokes" and "The Facts Of Life", the latter sang by Gloria. (This was my first memory of him, seeing his name in the ending credits every week). A year later, Gloria joined the cast on the soap opera "Days Of Our Lives" and portrayed the iconic Liz Chandler.
In 1981, Alan wrote this song for Bill Champlin of the band Chicago that would go on to be one of the biggest chart toppers of his solo career.
In 1984, the year of his divorce with Gloria Loring, Alan gave his career as a recording artist another go, releasing this single on Atlantic Records produced by his friend, famed producer David Foster. The single failed to chart. Later that year he landed the role of Jason Seaver and the rest is history. Rest in eternal peace to this TV mainstay.
