Description
The self-titled debut album by the American alternative pop-rock band 4•4•1 was released on Blue Collar Records (…the workers are few) in early November 1984 as the label’s very first effort, distributed by Lexicon Distribution. The album was produced, recorded, and mixed by Doug Doyle at his 3-D Studios in Costa Mesa, California. All songs written by vocalist John McNamara except tracks B1 and B3 co-written with Glenn Holland.
4•4•1 features John McNamara on lead vocals and guitar; John Giali on guitar; Glenn Holland on bass and keyboards; and Steve Giali on drums. Background vocals provided by Ken Samuels of Common Bond and Bruce Swift of Sacred Warrior. As well featuring guest musicians Alan Palmer on saxophone, Darrell Mansfield on harmonica, Terl Bryant on Timbales, Rob Watson (additional keyboards on track B1), and Doug Doyle (additional guitar on track B1).
Both the single «Break Out» and 4•4•1’s self-titled album debuted at the top position on so-cal CCM radio station KYMS, a first for any act and topping the hugely successful new release by U2, The Unforgettable Fire and their legendary hit «Pride (In the Name of Love)». The album stayed in the Top 40 for several months and the band was named 1984’s “Best New Band” in the KYMS listener music awards. At that time, KYMS was the nerve center for southern California’s contemporary Christian music scene, with a pop music format veering into the more adventurous side of things come Saturday night.
> Apple Music (https://music.apple.com/us/album/4-4-1/262174073)
LP tracklist:
Side One
A1. “Judgement Game” – 3:41
A2. “Love’s Irony” – 3:14
A3. “Fish On The Car” – 4:28
A4. “Mom And Dad” – 3:26
Side Two
B1. “Show Me” – 5:47
B2. “Break Out” – 3:00
B3. “In His Presence” – 4:34
B4. “Looking At You” – 3:27
Note: First released on cassette and 12-inch vinyl LP by Royal Commandment Music (soon to be renamed Blue Collar Records). New pressings of the album were released on the Blue Collar Records label. Later remastered and re-issued on CD by the band.
I met with the guys of 441, and decided to do a little record with them. It was interesting. We didn’t have a lot of expectations. We didn’t have anything. We didn’t know what would happen.
So, we do the record and took it to a radio station. It was the biggest radio station, as far as contemporary Christian music goes, in the country, called KYMS. They were based out of Orange County, and there were so many large mega-churches in the county at the time. Their audience was quite large. They had a Saturday night radio countdown, and the release of our record, 441, came out and we listened wondering, ‘are we going to make it?’ into the, I think it was a top twenty or top 40 list. I think it was top 40 for Christian music albums sold in southern California. We were waiting and hoping, you know, that we would fall in there somewhere. We had a pretty successful debut, so we thought with the initial record release we could maybe make the top 40. And it counts down and we do not hear us, so it comes to the last spot, we thought we missed the top 40 and the host comes on, ‘Hey, this band with new a record here from southern California. 441 – its #1!’
It’s kind of makes me teary eyed thinking about it right now because it was such a high! We never expected that. It blew us all away; the guys in the band, myself. We hear that being played on the radio. Let me tell you, it was the first time it had ever happened in the history of their countdown that a debut album debuted at #1. And the funny thing is that we knocked out U2 with Unforgettable Fire, I believe, was the one that we knocked off. We held that spot for a while. The amazing thing was that record stayed in their top 40 countdown for an entire year. We were all just completely blown was very exciting.
After that, we started up some national distribution deals with Lexicon music, owned by a gentleman named Ralph Carmichael. He was a super-nice man and a very talented composer and orchestra leader. He was a phenomenal musician and very successful in what he did in the music world in general, I know he was a Grammy winner and maybe even an Oscar.
I’ve always appreciated records that make you think. 441, with «Fish On Her Car», made me think a bit farther than things you might typically hear at the time.
Exactly. Now, it’s interesting that you mention that. Because 441 they were always looked at as, for lack of a better word, a ‘goody two-shoes’ band. They all came from good homes in a very affluent neighborhood in San Gabriel valley. Most of the guys had grown up and lived near Arcadia, which is again just a well-to-do area.
Some of the guys from the other groups had a rough-edge to them. Undercover certainly had a rough edge. Bands like the Altar Boys had a rough edge. Gene Eugene (Adam Again) was just a character himself. He was a very unique individual. He definitely came from a different part of town with different sort of environment.
But 441 actually, when you listen to a lot of their lyrics, if you look beneath the surface you’ll find out there’s a little bit more to them than just «Break Out, Break Free» which was a great little song they did. It had a great hook, a great drum intro – it was just a little rockabilly tune that they did that really launched everything. But «Fish On Her Car» was really, without any malicious intention, it was really mocking what was going on in the Orange County Christian mentality. You know, where everyone had a fish on their car and were doing all the things that made you look like a Christian. It wasn’t like you lived like one or had genuine changes in your life. So yes, they were not quite as simplistic as people may think.
[Excerpt from an interview with Harry L. Barnes, the founder/owner of Blue Collar Records, as featured in Down The Line Magazine #18, August 2015]
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