Song #13: "Big Time"--Peter Gabriel (1986)

We're at the point in our musical journey where some of the top songs grew on me, and some of them had me at the word go. Today's song falls in the latter category. From the very first time I heard it, I became obsessed.

Released as a single just before the end of 1986, "Big Time" was on Peter Gabriel's massively successful "So" album, and peaked on the Hot 100 in the top ten early in 1987.

"Big Time" holds the distinction of having perhaps my favorite opening to any song of all-time, a very simple message from Gabriel of , "Hi there!", before launching head first into one fantastic jam.

The message sets you up for success (though be careful what kind of success it is you're looking for), and the song ends up being one big party. The ending ain't half bad, either.

Gabriel used techniques from his groundbreaking video for "Sledgehammer", which owned MTV in 1986, for "Big Time" as well, as you will see below.

For a guy who led a rather progressive group like "Genesis", then had some rather progressive solo hits earlier in the decade, Gabriel did pretty well when he settled into the pop world mid-decade, but doing so in his own way. No one sounded like Peter Gabriel during his "So" days, which made it that much more popular, and successful.