Burning The Ground Exclusive 1984
NEW 2024 Transfer!
NEW Meticulous Audio Restoration!
Originally posted January 16, 2013
“Sister Christian” is a song by the American rock band Night Ranger. A power ballad, it was released in March 1984 as the second single from their album Midnight Madness. It was ranked No. 32 on VH1’s 100 Greatest Songs of the 1980s. It was written and sung by the band’s drummer, Kelly Keagy, for his sister. It was the band’s biggest hit, peaking at number five on the Billboard Hot 100, and staying on the charts for 24 weeks. It also reached No. 1 in Canada. The song is used in several films, including Boogie Nights (1997), Superstar (1999), Friday the 13th (2009) and Ben Affleck’s 2023 film Air (2023).
“Sister Christian” was inspired by Keagy’s younger sister, Christy. Upon returning from a visit to his hometown of Eugene, Oregon, Keagy wrote the song at his San Francisco apartment after being astonished at the speed at which his sister was growing up.
Keagy later recalled that “after we started playing it a lot, Jack turned to me and said, ‘what exactly are you saying?,'” adding that bandmate Jack Blades “thought the words were Sister Christian, instead of Sister Christy, so it just stuck.”
The meaning of the lyric, “You’re motoring. What’s your price for flight? In finding Mr. Right?” has generated significant attention and debate. In a VH-1 Behind the Music interview, the band stated that the term “motoring” should be interpreted to mean “cruising”.
Differences between album version and 7″ single version
On the single version, part of the second chorus is omitted. More specifically, the words “You’ve got him in your sight. And driving through the night,” are omitted from the single version. The third chorus is repeated once on the album version, but never on the single.
The music video (which uses the shorter single version) was filmed within San Rafael High School.
SIDE A:
Sister Christian (Long Version) 4:59
SIDE B:
Sister Christian (Short Version) 4:15
VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint
U.S. CHART HISTORY:
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Sister Christian | U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | #5 |
| 1984 | Sister Christian | U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks | #2 |
RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: MCA Records – L33-1167, Camel (2) – L33-1167
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM, Single, Promo
Country: US
Released: 1984
Genre: Rock
Style: Power Ballad
CREDITS:
- Mastered By – Brian Gardner
- Producer – Pat Glasser
- Written-By – Kelly Keagy
NOTES:
Promotional only – Not for sale
From the MCA LP, MCA-5456, “Midnight Madness”
[Side B]
Track duration printed as 4:04, actual duration 4:15
Buy the 12″ at DISCOGS
VINYL TRANSFER & AUDIO RESTORATION:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net
THE GEAR:
Turntable: Technics SL-1200MK7
Cartridge/Stylus: Ortofon 2M Black PnP MkII
Turntable Isolation Platform: ISO-Tone™ Turntable Isolation Platform
Platter: Pro Spin Acrylic Mat
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck
Phono Pre-amp: Pro-Jec Tube Box DS2
Tubes: Genalex Gold Lion 12AX7 ECC83/B759 Gold Pins Vacuum Tube – Matched Pair
DAC: Alpha Design Labs GT40a USB DAC
Record Cleaning: VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Artwork Scans: Epson Workforce WF-7610 Professional Printer/Scanner
SOFTWARE:
Recording/Editing: Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Down Sampling/Dither: iZotope RX Advanced 2
Artwork Editor: Adobe Photoshop CS5
Click Removal: Manual
FLAC/MP3 Conversion: dBpoweramp
M3U Playlist: Playlist Creator
RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
FLAC (Level Eight)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi
**24bit FLAC Only Available For Seven Days!
Password: burningtheground
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This was a sleeper that finally took off after a while, thus the reason it was on the charts 24 weeks, double the average run for a hit song. We got lots of requests for this as listeners would always ask for “Motoring” LOL
Thank you for this. This song makes me think of middle school; it was everywhere on the radio in 1984.
Talk about a power-anthem!! This song is indelible on one’s sonic memory. Thank you, Paul, for giving us an up-to-date re-rip of this classic Classic!!
Jeff
We’re not worthy! We’re not worthy! Wow what a nice surprise. THE power ballad to end all power ballads. The beautiful sounds filled the air in the Summer of ’84… I have your original rip and looking forward to your new pristine transfer! The videos for this album ((You Can Still) Rock In America, Sister Christian, When You Close Your Eyes) were in heavy rotation on some network called MTV that used to stand for Music Television and played music videos, concerts, artist interviews, etc. It was actually about music, what a concept! Thank you thank you Paul!!!
You are so very welcome, Retro Hound I figured this one would get your attention 🙂
Right you are. You know me so well 😀
Interesting! I never knew there were 2 different versions of that song. THANK YOU for another wonderful share, PAUL!!! It’s such an amazing sing-along anthem.
I actually saw them open for Joan Jett a couple of years ago.
You’re welcome, Martika 🙂