BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1988

Originally posted August 26, 2012

“Soldier of Love” is a 1988 song by American singer Donny Osmond, which became his comeback hit.

A Top 30 hit in the UK in 1988, the track was not initially released in the US as Osmond did not have a record deal there. However, a cassette of the song from a British import was sent by an Osmond fan to Jessica Ettinger, the acting Program Director and Music Director at ABC’s WPLJ-FM New York. Ettinger liked the song but was concerned that Osmond, a former child star, wouldn’t be accepted by the current pop audience.

Ettinger, believing the song to be a hit, up-ended the top 40 music and radio industry by giving it a slot on her playlist. Osmond was not only unsigned by any record label in the U.S., but the song itself was unavailable for purchase in the U.S. at the time. To give the song a chance, she created a “mystery artist” promotion; put the song in rotation, and kept listeners guessing who the artist was for several weeks. Eventually, Ettinger had her air talent reveal that the song was by Donny Osmond, who appeared live on the air at the same time. Osmond was soon signed by Capitol Records, which copied Ettinger’s promotion idea nationwide and released the song as a single. “Soldier of Love” reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1989, behind Michael Damian’s “Rock On”; and Osmond credits Ettinger with re-launching his career by listening to the music and not pre-judging whether a song could be a hit based on the name of the artist.

The song is set to a post-disco beat. Songwriters are Carl Sturken and Evan Rogers. The music video for the song was by John Scarlett Davis and produced by Nick Verden for Radar Films. Shot on location at London’s Docklands.

SIDE A:
Soldier Of Love (Remix) 5:54
Producer, Written-By – Carl Sturken , Evan Rogers
Remix – Chris Lord-Alge

SIDE B:
Soldier Of Love (Dub Mix) 5:48
Producer, Written-By – Carl Sturken , Evan Rogers
Remix – Chris Lord-Alge

Time Can’t Erase (Non-Lp track) 3:37
Producer, Written-By – D. Osmond*
Written By – P. Ross

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1988	“Soldier Of Love”	U.S. Billboard Hot 100	#2
1988	“Soldier Of Love”	U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks	#20

 

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label:Virgin ‎– 611 784-213
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM
Country: Europe
Released: 1988
Genre: Rock, Pop
Style: Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Design – Stylorogue*
Photography By – Dean Freeman

NOTES:
“Soldier Of Love” taken from the LP “DONNY OSMONG“

Find the 12″ at DISCOGS

VINYL RESTORATION BY:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net

EQUIPMENT USED:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut Carbon (DC)
Cartridge: Ortofon 2M
Stylus: Ortofon 2M Bronze
Isolation: Auralex Acoustics ISO-Tone Turntable Isolation Platform
Platter: Pro-Ject Acryl-It platter
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck
DAC/Phono Pre-amp: 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 USED:
Recording/Editing: Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Down Sampling/Dither: iZotope RX Advanced 2, ocenaudio
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)
MP3 (320kbps)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi

Username: btg
Password: burningtheground

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