Step by Step is the seventh studio album by American country music artist Eddie Rabbitt. It was originally released in 1981 under the Elektra Records label but the rights to the album were later sold to Liberty Records. The album continued the crossover success established in the singer's two previous albums. Three singles were produced including the "title track", which went to number one on country charts and reached the top 5 on both the Adult Contemporary and Billboard 100 charts. "Someone Could Lose a Heart Tonight" also reached number one on country charts and made the top 15 on the other two. "I Don't Know Where to Start" peaked at two and nine on the country and adult contemporary charts, respectively.
| Step by Step | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | July 31, 1981 | |||
| Studio |
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| Genre | Country | |||
| Length | 33:28 | |||
| Label | Elektra (original label); Liberty | |||
| Producer | David Malloy | |||
| Eddie Rabbitt chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Step by Step | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
Like Horizon, Step by Step reached number one on country album charts and ultimately achieved gold status. Allmusic retrospectively gave the album 4.5 out of 5 stars.
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Early in the Mornin" | Eddie Rabbitt, David Malloy | 2:19 |
| 2. | "Bring Back the Sunshine" | Rabbitt, Even Stevens | 3:33 |
| 3. | "Skip a Beat" | Rabbitt, Stevens, Larry Byrom, Malloy | 3:15 |
| 4. | "Dim Dim the Lights" | Malloy, Stevens, Rabbitt | 2:49 |
| 5. | "Rivers" | Rabbitt, Byrom, Malloy, Stevens | 2:46 |
| 6. | "Step by Step" | Rabbitt, Stevens, Malloy | 3:41 |
| 7. | "Someone Could Lose a Heart Tonight" | Rabbitt, Malloy, Stevens | 3:28 |
| 8. | "I Don't Know Where to Start" | Thom Schuyler | 3:26 |
| 9. | "Nobody Loves Me Like My Baby" | Rabbitt | 5:01 |
| 10. | "My Only Wish" | Rabbitt, Stevens, Malloy | 3:07 |
Chart performance
editAlbum
edit| Chart (1981) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Top Country Albums | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard 200 | 23 |
Singles
edit| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country | US | US AC | CAN Country | CAN | CAN AC | ||
| 1981 | "Step by Step" | 1 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 23 | 2 |
| "Someone Could Lose a Heart Tonight" | 1 | 15 | 10 | 4 | — | — | |
| 1982 | "I Don't Know Where to Start" | 2 | 35 | 9 | 13 | — | — |
Personnel
edit- Eddie Rabbitt – lead and backing vocals, acoustic guitar
- Randy McCormick – keyboards, synthesizers, string arrangements
- Larry Byrom – electric guitars, acoustic guitar
- Billy Joe Walker Jr. – electric guitars, acoustic guitar
- Don Barrett – bass
- David Hungate – bass
- James Stroud – drums, percussion
- Larry Muhoberac – string arrangements
- David Malloy – backing vocals (2)
Production
edit- David Malloy – producer
- Peter Granet – engineer
- Terry Christian – second engineer
- Mitch Gibson – second engineer
- David "Gino" Giorgini – second engineer
- Russ Martin – second engineer
- Greg Fulginiti – mastering at Artisan Sound Recorders (Hollywood, California)
- John Coulter – art direction
- Lynn Goldsmith – photography
- Stan Moress – management