Great Buildings – Hold On To Something

I had never heard of this band but I like this song. You probably have heard of the song that two of the members made when this band was over.

Danny Wilde and Phil Solem originally met each other at a party, where they bonded over a stack of David Bowie, Brian Eno, Roxy Music, and Cheap Trick records. At the time, Solem and Wilde were just 20. Solem was performing around Los Angeles with a power pop band called Loose Change. Wilde was playing in a power-pop band The Quick.  When the Quick dissolved, Wilde and his Quick bandmate, bassist Ian Ainsworth, formed Great Buildings and recruited Solem to join, adding vocals and guitar work that created

In the early eighties, they were the LA band with the best shot at Top 40 radio. From the start, the band kept a relatively low profile on the local club circuit and got their big break with Columbia and released their album Apart From The Crowd in 1981.

Well Apart From The Crowd was ignored by radio programmers and the public in general. You would think right after The Knack had exploded on the scene…these guys would get some play…but that didn’t happen. Hold On To Something is pure power pop and a good bit of ear candy. It sounds very radio-friendly.

After Great Buildings broke up, members Danny Wilde and Phil Solem, started The Rembrandts and would make considerable waves around the globe with their hit (and Friends theme song) “I’ll Be There For You,” while Ainsworth would make a name for himself as a producer.

Phil Solem: “Our m.o. is to only put out things that have a timeless kind of quality to it, that isn’t going to be time-stamped in some era,” Solem says. “And, so far, our records have done pretty well with that.”

Hold On To Something

Late night, the house is empty still
Wish I could hold you close to me
No right to leave me here this way
I thought love was here to stay tonight
Tonight

Hold on, hold on
Just hold on to something
Hold on, hold on
Hold on, hold on
Just hold on to something
Hold on, hold on

Ha!

Pressure, so you refuse to share
And you forget to care at all
Something, something besides just you
And no matter if it’s true tonight
Tonight

Hold on, hold on
Just hold on to something
Hold on, hold on
Hold on, hold on
Just hold on to something
Hold on, hold on

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…And The Light Goes On
Great Buildings
…And The Light Goes On
Great Buildings
Cupid (Twin Version)

I’ve got to deny myself once
Just ignore the fronts that keep me from you
Oh, you
Oh

Hold on, hold on
Just hold on to something
Hold on, hold on
Hold on, hold on
Just hold on to something
Hold on, hold on

Hold on, hold on
Baby, you just gotta hold on
Hold on, hold on
Well, hold on
Well, hold on, hold on
Baby, baby, baby, hold on
Hold on, hold on, hold on
Yeah!

Hold on, hold on (H

…

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.

14 thoughts on “Great Buildings – Hold On To Something”

  2. While a catchy pop song, I don’t think they succeeded in “a timeless kind of quality to it, that isn’t going to be time-stamped in some era,”. I’d peg it for early-80s within a few notes.

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  4. that’s not half bad. I’d never heard of them (at least I don’t remember) but I recognized the two guys names right away as the Rembrandts, and I think I would have guessed it was the Rembrandts if I’d just randomly heard the song. Not at all a bad track, nice jangly guitar , it should have done alright. To me, it just lacked a certain something in the chorus that might keep it from being a really BIG hit, but it seemed good enough that it should have been spun on radio then.

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    1. It’s a pretty good song…. yea I don’t know why they didn’t get played… I like this one a lot…but the album is really good.

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  6. “Hold On to Something” was entirely new to me – I agree 100%, this is pretty catchy power pop and hard to believe it didn’t go anywhere!

    I’m glad Wilde and Solem found success with The Rembrandts. I really dig “Just the Way It Is, Baby” and also like the “Friends” theme song.

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  7. Wouldn’t play for me Max, ‘Video Unavailable BS’ but hey, YouTube is just a click away. So no worries. Call me crazy but its like Tom Petty met the Eagles on one of their energetic days.

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  9. Quite nice. Once you know they went on to be the Rembrandts you can really hear it in the harmonies. (The Friends theme is one song I’d happily chuck in Room 101.)

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