19. Nick Gilder - Hot Child in the City (1978)
Total Points – 406
Charts – 3
Top 40 – 0
Top 20 – 1
Top 10 – 1
Highest Ranking – 8
The English born, Canadian raised Gilder stated out as the lead singer of a glam rock band called Sweeney Todd (a band that would later feature a very young Brian Adams). They had a number 1 Canadian hit “Roxy Roller” which bolstered Gilder and guitarist James McCulloch’s feelings that they could achieve international success. They moved to the US, signed with a label and the second solo album contained this hit, which climbed to #1. This song also reached #1 in Canada, making Gilder the first Canadian artist to reach #1 as a lead singer of a band and as a solo artist. He had some other minor success, mostly in Canada, with only 2 additional songs reaching the Hot 100 in the US, and none making the top 40. The song, while poppy in nature, is actually written from the standpoint of a lecher about to take advantage of a young runaway forced into prostitution. It was something Gilder witnessed regularly on Hollywood Blvd and he wanted to address it. While Gilder hasn’t had much success with his own songs, he has written songs for Bette Midler, Joe Cocker, Pat Benatar, Toni Basil (#26 in the countdown) and he co-wrote “The Warrior”, The Scandal hit that featured Patty Smyth. This is the last song in the countdown to only be rated in 3 lists.