Total Control (song)

"Total Control" is a song by American new wave band the Motels. It was released in 1979 as the second single from their debut studio album Motels. The song failed to make an appearance on the US Billboard Hot 100, but reached number 9 on the Bubbling Under the Hot 100 chart in December 1979.[1] It fared better in Australasia, peaking at number 7 in Australia and 11 in New Zealand. The song has been covered by American singer Tina Turner and Australian singer Missy Higgins.

"Total Control"
Single by The Motels
from the album Motels
B-side"Love Don't Help"
Released1979
Recorded1979
Length3:45
LabelCapitol
Songwriter(s)Martha Davis, Jeff Jourard
Producer(s)John Carter
The Motels singles chronology
"Closets and Bullets"
(1979)		 "Total Control"
(1979)		 "Anticipating"
(1980)

Background

Speaking of the song in 2000, Davis recalled, "When I wrote this my heart had been broken. I was angry, I wrote a thrash punk rock song, [then] Jeff Jourard came along with this wonderful minimalist chord progression [and] I laid my thrash lyrics on the new progression."[2]

Track listing

US 7" single

  1. "Total Control" - 3:45
  2. "Love Don't Help" - 1:56

Charts

Weekly charts
Weekly chart performance for "Total Control"
Chart (1979–80) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[3] 7
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[4] 11
US Billboard Bubbling Under the Hot 100[1] 9

Year-end charts
Year-end chart performance for "Total Control"
Chart (1980) Position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[5] 32

References
  1. "Bubbling Under the Hot 100". Billboard. Vol. 91, no. 49. Billboard Publications, Inc. December 8, 1979. p. 29. ISSN 0006-2510.
  2. Martha, Davis (2000). Anthologyland (CD). The Motels. US: Oglio Records. OGL81607-2.
  3. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  4. "The Motels – Total Control". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved February 6, 2022.
  5. "National Top 100 Singles for 1980". Kent Music Report. January 5, 1981. Retrieved January 17, 2022 – via Imgur.
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