Booming ballad: Remembering “Take My Breath Away” by Berlin

It was this booming ballad that took advantage of a fairly new technology that gave it a unique sound. It was part of one of the most iconic movies of the decade, and seemed to start playing at the strangest time.

I had the TV on last night while I was writing and this commercial for Gain laundry detergent came on. It had this slightly less booming but obviously recognizable song.

It was that same “Take My Breath Away”, originally recorded by the band Berlin for the movie “Top Gun”.

Going to the movies
“Top Gun” came out in the first semester of Grade 12. I had begun to hang out with a guy named Cliff at the end of Grade 11 and, when school started again in the Fall, we picked up where we left off.

He had a blue Bobcat or Pinto, and a driver’s licence, and invited me to go to see “Top Gun” with him in Lethbridge. He was really cool because he actually lived norh of Coaldale too, just a few miles south of our farm on the other side of the Picture Butte Highway. Consequently, he had no problem picking me up on the farm.

The clouds were forming when we went to the movie. By the time it was out, it had begun to storm. As we were leaving Lethbridge on the highway to Coaldale, the lightning was more regular. It was so bright, Cliff put on his sun glasses – and it was like 10:30 p.m. or later.

I had taken driver’s ed that summer, and we had talked about hydroplaning.

I asked him if we were in danger of that.

“We did that a bit back there,” he said, as the lightning flashed.

We went back to his place for awhile and talked about the movie. He was a devout Christian, so there was some language that he really didn’t like, and a bit of sexuality. However, he was also pretty pragmatic, so nothing really surprised him.

One thing he said, and I could not disagree with it, was the randomness of the bedroom scenes. They really did not advance the plot, and seemed obligatory more than anything.

We agreed that it was easy to tell when one of them was coming, because that booming intro to “Take My Breath Away” played. We both laughed.

The Rockman
The band Boston made a comeback in the Fall of 1986 with “The Third Stage”, their first album in nine years. Their lead singer was Brad Delp, who brought those signature Boston vocals, but their leader was Tom Scholz.

One day, my Social Studies 30 teacher Mr. Vuch, mentioned Scholz at the beginning of class. Mr. Vuch often talked about music. On this day, he had seen a story in “Time” magazine on Scholz. It described how he drove the same car he had for years, lived in the same house, and was an engineer by trade. I expressed an interest in that article, so Mr. Vuch made me a photocopy.

Around that time, LA-107 also did an album highlight of “The Third Stage”. That feature talked about Scholz’s engineering background, and how he had developed a new piece of equipment that gave guitars a unique sound.

It was called the Rockman. It was some sort of amp that, when a guitar plugged in, gave off a unique sound.

The Rockman was used in Boston songs such as “Amanda”; “Can’tcha Say (You Believe in Me)”; and “Holyann”. You will instantly recognize the sound when you hear it.

During that album highlight, they also mentioned that other bands were using the Rockman as well, and they specifically mentioned – Berlin.

That deep booming intro was courtesy of the Rockman.

The song
“Take my Breath Away” was released in the middle of June of 1986 and went all the way to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. It would go on to win the Oscar for Best Original Song and the Golden Globe for Best Original Song.

Parting thoughts
I am a sucker for a slow song. However, “Take My Breath Away” just doesn’t elicit the same kind of emotion as a lot of ballads.

Yet, I do like the use of the Rockman. It does give “Take My Breath Away” that twang produced by the Rockman, providing a strong, memorable intro.

Plus, hearing the song takes me back to 1986, and seeing a movie with a long ago friend. It also conjures up that indelible image of my friend wearing sun glasses at night because the lightning was so bright while he drove.