Hot Chocolate – Everyone 1’s A Winner

Some songs take me back to a point in time. This one is no different but it takes me to two points. I remember this when I was a small kid growing up. I didn’t hear it again until the early 2000s.

I was driving around in Panama City Beach Florida and this song came on the radio. As soon as I heard it I knew the song but I didn’t know what band did it. I loved that riff and that tone…was it a guitar or synth??? Whatever it was I had to find it. I searched for it on the internet…I used the only word I remembered…”winner” plus a great guitar riff. This one finally came up and I was on my way. I grew up with a single my sister had by them called “You Sexy Thing.”

Les Paul GR500

1978 Roland GR500

Everyone 1’s A Winner came off an album of the same name by Hot Chocolate. It peaked at #6 on the Billboard 100,#5 in Canada, #7 in New Zealand, and #12 in the UK in 1978.

It’s known for the great guitar riff that was played using the first Roland guitar synth with the Les Paul-type guitar-the GR500. Yea my urge that my wife hates is kicking in…the urge to track one of these babies down and buy it. 

Roland-GR-500-1978_Print_Advertisement

They are best known for “You Sexy Thing” but this is one that sticks with me. Hot Chocolate was briefly signed with The Beatle’s Apple Records and they did a reggae version of John Lennon’s “Give Peace a Chance.”

This band charted a song every year between 1970 and 1984. The song was written by Errol Brown the lead singer.

Lead Guitar player Harvey Hinsley: The guitar I used on most of our records was an SG standard, It had a thicker sound than Fenders, Usually double-tracked the riffs, etc; The amp was a sound city 200 watt, or 125 pa amp, [no distortion on amps back then-just turned amp up] – they sounded much the same; On early stuff like Brother Louis, You’ll always be a friend & I believe in love, -I used Larry Ferguson’s Leslie cab; On Cadillac, I used a phaser pedal; On Emma, Sexy thing, so you win, I used a foot volume pedal too, on Every 1′ a winner I used the first Roland guitar synth with the Les Paul type guitar-the GR500; Put your love in me I used a Watkins echo & a waa-waa pedal set half on to give a more trebly sound

Lead singer Errol Brown: “I was getting nowhere with it when I heard my eldest daughter crying in a particular rhythm and used that for the melody.”

Every 1’s A Winner

Never could believe the things you do to me,Never could believe the way you are.Every day I bless the day that you got through to me,‘Cause baby, I believe that you’re a star.

Everyone’s a winner, baby, that’s the truth (yes, the truth)Making love to you is such a thrill.Everyone’s a winner, baby, that’s no lie (yes, no lie)You never fail to satisfy (satisfy)

Never could explain just what was happening to me,Just one touch of you and I’m a flame.Baby, it’s amazing just how wonderful it isThat the things we like to do are just the same.

Everyone’s a winner, baby, that’s the truth (yes, the truth)Making love to you is such a thrill.Everyone’s a winner, baby, that’s no lie (yes, no lie)You never fail to satisfy (satisfy)

Let’s do it again.

Everyone’s a winner, baby, that’s the truth (yes, the truth)Making love to you is such a thrill.Everyone’s a winner, baby, that’s no lie (yes, no lie)You never fail to satisfy (satisfy)

Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball, Beatles, old movies, and tv show fan. Also anything to do with pop culture in the 60s and 70s... I'm also a songwriter, bass and guitar player.

30 thoughts on “Hot Chocolate – Everyone 1’s A Winner”

    1. Man…i would love to locate that guitar. I saw one for sale on Reverb for $350. I don’t like synths very much as you know…but I love the sound he got.

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  4. Good post! It shows how we all learn from each other. I wrote about that one not long ago, coincidentally, and you commented on the guitar. So when I re-listened to it I went ‘oh ya!” I’d never stopped to really think about that sound, cool as it was, but I might have guessed it was just some sort of synthesizer not a guitar with effects. Like you said, I was surprised to say the least when I found how big they had been in the UK.

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    1. Thanks Dave…yes I believe we combined to covered this all the way around. You concentrated on one thing and me the other. I was going to post this that day you did lol…it was last Friday my 3000th post…I had it lined up for that day. We will do it one day with some song.

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  5. Driving around in Panama City I thought you would be hollering VH’s Panama! Man I forgot about this song so I watched the video. Good time tune Max…love that guitar synth …it rocks

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  8. Hot Chocolate were a singles band par excellence. Hooks you can’t shake off, lyrics clear as a bell yet always blessed a great beat. Perfect in a pop band, and that isn’t faint praise. This is another case of, for whatever reason, a talented deserving brit band not making it big in the States. Another musical mystery.

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    1. You Sexy Thing was the big hit over here…well and this one but I can’t remember many more except Could Have Been A Lady…but yea like you said… in the UK they ruled.

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      2. So I am on a hot streak…you will know tomorrow’s song…I don’t know if you will like it but you will know it.
        See….I like posting songs that are not as known

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  10. Heck yes, love this song and glad you brought it back to me. I remembered You Sexy Thing but forgot about this one. The guitar working with the organ gives it a groovy funkiness that is the best. I love how the beginning of the first video has the singer waving his crotch in the center of the shot. Very strange angle they filmed it at.

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