Song of the Week: Night Ranger - Sister Christian

"Sister Christian" was a great power ballad by the hard rock band Night Ranger recorded 1982, and it was their second single. It's from their album Midnight Madness (released 1984). The song was the band's biggest hit, peaking at number five on the Billboard Hot 100 - and later it ranked number 32 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of the 1980s.

Written and sung by the band's drummer, Kelly Keagy, for his sister, after he had just returned from a visit to his hometown of Eugene, Oregon. He had been struck at how fast his teenaged sister, 10 years younger than he, was growing up.

The lyric, "You're motoring. What's your price for flight? In finding Mr. Right?" is the subject of much debate. The band stated in a VH-1 Behind the Music interview that the term "motoring" was synonymous with the term "cruising." The term is most often used to describe driving around in a car slowly as a social experience, but can also be used to describe picking up people for casual sex. When Keagy visited his family he heard second hand about his sister cruising for a man to casually sleep with. After verifying this with her, he was shocked and lamented how fast she was growing up. He then went back home and wrote "Sister Christian" about the experience.




The video of the song shows the Night Ranger performing it, with guitarist Brad Gillis and bass player Jack Blades standing shoulder to shoulder. The other guitarist, Jeff Watson, is renowned for his 8 fingered tapping technique.[citation needed] However, he also played piano, and is shown playing keyboards standing up in this song (the song has 2 separate keyboard parts). The band's main keys player - Alan Fitzgerald - is shown seated, and plays the well-known intro. Although Kelly Keagy sings this song, bassist Jack Blades sang the majority[dubious – discuss] of Night Ranger's songs. The plot of the video portrays a girl questioning her ascension into womanhood. In the end, she rejects the nuns and makes herself beautiful in a bathroom with her friends, and then gets in a convertible with rock band members.

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