Every #1 Country Single of the Eighties: Don Williams, “Heartbeat in the Darkness”
Don Williams pushes beyond his normal boundaries on “Heartbeat in the Darkness.”
The track has his signature groove and his reserved delivery, but they liven things up a bit with some smooth jazz elements, especially toward the end of the song. It’s cool to hear Williams surrounded by brass instrumentation.
The song’s verses are stronger than its chorus, with the melody forcing Williams to stretch some notes for too long. The insightful observations about what matters in life more than compensate for the record’s sole shortcoming.
“Heartbeat in the Darkness” gets a B+.
There are a number of things worth talking about with this one. As the final number hit of the Gentle Giant’s career, it would make sense to reflect on the outrageous consistency of his ’80s output. Or the influence of Merle Haggard’s bandmate Don Markham on horn usage in country music. We could even talk about Dave Loggins logging another chart-topper as a songwriter.
Instead, all I can think about is who is in the on deck circle of this feature.
Things are about to change.
