A great record producer can sometimes pull a great song out of a section of melody…or even a single guitar riff…even if the artist he or she is working with can’t initially hear it.

In 1981, producer Mutt Lange was working with Foreigner guitarist Mick Jones on the group’s “4” album, and Mick was struggling to come up with material.

Mutt demanded to hear everything Mick had: every idea, every riff, every lyric fragment, every cassette–everything.

Mick complied as best he could, and from all that, Mutt chose a guitar riff, and they worked together to create the song “Urgent.”

Then…a little serendipity:

While recording “Urgent,” it was decided that a “Jr. Walker style” saxophone solo would be a perfect addition to the song. Junior, who had several hits with the All Stars during the 1960s ,was actually in town and performing THAT NIGHT just a few blocks away–so they called him up, and Junior was more than happy to stop by the studio, where he nailed it in no time flat!

Note: Jr. Walker & the All Stars had several hits during the ’60s–check the link to one of their best below.

When “Urgent” was released as a single in the summer of ’81, it took a while to catch on…but by1982, it had topped the charts in South Africa, Canada, and here in the US, on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Chart. It also reached #4 on the Hot 100.

So Thanks to producer Mutt Lange, a stray guitar riff by Mick Jones and some” sax appeal” from Jr. Walker, “Urgent” became a Great Song of the ’80s!

What Does It Take (To Win Your Love) – Junior Walker & The All Stars: (1969)

For the stories behind more than 1,500 Great Songs of the ’70s and ’80, visit my Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/MichaelCuuuk/