John Waite - "Every Step of the Way"

(Debuted August 10, 1985, Peaked #25, 12 Weeks on the Chart)

John Waite enjoyed three phases of stardom in his career. From 1977-80 he was the leader of The Babys. He went solo in 1982 and enjoyed a #1 hit with "Missing You" in 1984. After the hits dried up, he joined the supergroup Bad English and started off a new decade with another #1, "When I See You Smile." Waite has since returned to solo work, but pop music has moved in another direction. Not that he cares (or should he); Waite does his own thing and enjoys a fairly sizable fan following anyway.

"Every Step of the Way" is a tune from Waite's first solo period, and is the biggest hit he had in the U.S. besides "Missing You." It was the first single from his 1985 LP Mask of Smiles, the first one he recorded after his biggest hit. Waite wrote the lyrics, while Ivan Kral composed the melody. With the passage of time, the public memory of this hit seems to grow dimmer, but it deserves to get played from time to time.