"Escape (The Piña Colada Song)" is a song written and performed by British-born American singer-songwriter Rupert Holmes taken from his fifth studio album Partners in Crime (1979). As the lead single for the album, the pop song was recommended by Billboard for radio broadcasters on September 29, 1979, then added to prominent US radio playlists during October–November. Rising in popularity, the song peaked at the end of December to become the final US number-one song of the 1970s.

Content The song follows a three-act narrative with three verses and choruses.

It is told from the perspective of a man bored with his partner. While she sleeps, he reads the personals column in the newspaper and sees an ad from a woman seeking a carefree man who, among other things, enjoys piña coladas. Planning to cheat on his partner, he replies and arranges a secret meeting—only to discover the woman is his current partner, who had also planned to cheat on him. The song's narrative puts a positive spin on this encounter, where the man realizes that they had more in common than they thought, and that all they needed was already in front of them.

Background and writing Initially, the chorus started with the line "If you like Humphrey Bogart", which Holmes changed at the last minute, replacing the actor with the name of the first exotic cocktail that came to mind and fit the music.

Holmes said in 2019 that he still does not drink piña coladas.

Reception and legacy The song shot up through the US charts, becoming the country's last number-one Billboard Hot 100 hit of 1979 and of the 1970s. "Escape" was knocked out of the top spot but returned to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart during the second week of 1980, having been displaced for a week by KC and the Sunshine Band's "Please Don't Go". It is the first pop song to ascend to No. 1 on the Billboard pop chart in two different decades.If a decade is measured instead by the traditional definition of a ten-year period starting on January 1 in a year whose last digit is "1" and ending on December 31 in a year whose last digit is "0", then Chubby Checker's "The Twist" is the first pop song to ascend to No. 1 on the Billboard pop charts in two different decades, once on September 19, 1960 (inside the decade January 1, 1951 – December 31, 1960), and again on January 13, 1962 (inside the decade January 1, 1961 – December 31, 1970). The song was the 11th best-selling single of 1980 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.

The song was covered by Jack Johnson for the 2013 adaptation of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.

In a 2016 episode of the TV show Better Call Saul, the show's protagonist, Jimmy McGill (a.k.a. Saul Goodman), while filming an ad for his fledgling legal practice, claims he is making a documentary about Rupert Holmes and sings part of "Escape".Potts, Kimberly. "Better Call Saul First Look: 'The Piña Colada Song' Saves Jimmy's Hide", Yahoo.com, April 8, 2016, accessed July 16, 2017

The Goldbergs "The Piña Colada Episode" in 2019 is based on an incident that Adam F. Goldberg said really happened to his family. Goldberg said his family had to listen to "Escape" over and over when a cassette tape got stuck in the car's tape deck.

Credits and personnel Rupert Holmes – vocals, acoustic piano, electric piano, Oberheim polyphonic Dean Bailin – electric guitar Frank Gravis – bass Leo Adamian – drums Steve Jordan – "double drumming" with Adamian

Charts

Weekly charts +Weekly chart performance for "Escape (The Piña Colada Song)"Chart (1979–1980)PeakpositionAustralia (Kent Music Report)3Belgium (VRT Top 30 Flanders)10Canada (RPM) Top Singles1Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM)13Ireland (IRMA)10South Africa (Springbok)11US Billboard Hot 100Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–1990 – 1

Year-end charts +1979 chart performance for "Escape (The Piña Colada Song)"Chart (1979)PositionCanada156

+1980 chart performance for "Escape (The Piña Colada Song)"Chart (1980)PositionAustralia (Kent Music Report)47Canada19US Billboard Hot 100"Pop Singles" Billboard December 20, 1980: TIA-10.11

All-time charts +All-time chart performance for "Escape (The Piña Colada Song)" Chart (1958–2018) PositionUS Billboard Hot 100357

Certifications

See also List of Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles of 1979 List of Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles of 1980

References