| Escape (The Piña Colada Song) | |
| Cover: | Rupert Holmes Pina.jpg |
| Alt: | A photo of a man's hands in handcuffs |
| Caption: | Standard picture sleeve |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | Rupert Holmes |
| Album: | Partners in Crime |
| B-Side: | Drop It |
| Recorded: | 1979 |
| Genre: | Soft rock[1] [2] [3] |
| Length: | 4:36 (album version) 3:50 (single version) |
| Label: | Infinity |
| Prev Title: | Let's Get Crazy Tonight |
| Prev Year: | 1978 |
| Next Title: | Him |
| Next Year: | 1980 |
"Escape (The Piña Colada Song)" is a song written and performed by British-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,[4] then added to prominent US radio playlists during October–November.[5] Rising in popularity, the song peaked at the end of December to become the final US number-one song of the 1970s.
The song speaks, in three verses and three choruses, of a man who is bored with his current relationship because it has become routine and he desires some variety. One day, he reads the personal advertisements in the newspaper and spots an ad that catches his attention: a woman seeking a man who, among other little things, must like piña coladas (hence it being known as "the piña colada song"). Intrigued, he takes out an ad in reply and arranges to meet the woman "at a bar called O'Malley's", only to find upon the meeting that the woman is actually his current partner. The song ends on an upbeat note, showing the two lovers realized they have more in common than they had suspected and that they do not have to look any further than each other for what they seek in a relationship.
The chorus originally started with "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.[6]
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".[7] It is the first pop song to ascend to No. 1 on the Billboard pop chart in two different decades.[8] The song was the 11th best-selling single of 1980 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.[9]
In a 2016 episode of the TV show Better Call Saul, the show's protagonist, Jimmy says he is making a documentary about Rupert Holmes and sings part of "Escape".[10]
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.[11]
| Chart (1979–1980) | Peak position | |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report)[12] | 3 | |
| Belgium (VRT Top 30 Flanders)[13] | 10 | |
| Canada (RPM) Top Singles | 1 | |
| Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM) | 1 | |
| Ireland (IRMA) | 10 | |
| South Africa (Springbok)[14] | 11 | |
| UK Singles (Official Charts Company) | 23 | |
| US Billboard Hot 100[15] | 1 |
| Chart (1980) | Position | |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report)[17] | 47 | |
| Canada[18] | 19 | |
| US Billboard Hot 100[19] | 11 |
