Hot Child in the City

"Hot Child in the City"
"Hot Child in the City"
Single by Nick Gilder
from the album City Nights
B-side	"Backstreet Noise"
Released	June 12, 1978
Recorded	October 1977
Genre	Rock; power pop;
Length	3:09 (Single Version); 3:35 (Album Version)
Label	Chrysalis
Songwriter(s)	Nick Gilder, James McCulloch
Producer(s)	Mike Chapman
Nick Gilder singles chronology

"Hot Child in the City" is a song by English-Canadian musician Nick Gilder. It was released in June 1978 as a single from the album City Nights. It went to No. 1 both in Canada (October 14, 1978) and in the United States (October 28, 1978). It was not his first No. 1 single: as the lead singer of Sweeney Todd, he had hit No. 1 in Canada on June 26, 1976 (in the RPM listing) with the single "Roxy Roller", which remained at the top for three weeks.^[2]^[3]^[4] He won 2 Juno Awards in Canada and a People's Choice Award in the US. According to The Billboard Book of Number 1 Hits, it held the record for taking the longest amount of weeks to reach No. 1 at the time, taking 21 weeks to reach the summit. The song became a platinum record.

Content

Despite the song's innocent and catchy pop stylings, the tune is based on Gilder's experiences witnessing child prostitution in Los Angeles. "I've seen a lot of young girls, 15 and 16, walking down Hollywood Boulevard with their pimps. Their home environment drove them to distraction so they ran away, only to be trapped by something even worse. It hurts to see that so I tried writing from the perspective of a lecher – in the guise of an innocent pop song."^[5]

Chart history

Weekly charts

Chart (1978)	Peak position
Australia (Kent Music Report)^[6]	18
Canada Top Singles (RPM)^[7]	1
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)^[8]	3
US Billboard Hot 100^[9]	1
US Cash Box Top 100^[10]	1

Year-end charts

Chart (1978)	Rank
Canada Top Singles (RPM)^[11]	7
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)^[12]	36
US Billboard Hot 100^[13]	22
US Cash Box Top 100^[14]	6

Certifications


Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)^[15]	Gold	75,000^{^}
United States (RIAA)^[16]	Platinum	2,000,000^{^}
^{^} Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Award successions

References

^ ^a ^b Breihan, Tom (January 6, 2020). "The Number Ones: Nick Glider's "Hot Child in the City"". Stereogum. Retrieved January 21, 2020. ...his panting power-popper "Hot Child In The City"...[is] a tight, well-constructed rocker...
^ "Item Display – RPM – Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Archived from the original on October 15, 2012. Retrieved February 22, 2012.
^ "Item Display – RPM – Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Archived from the original on October 15, 2012. Retrieved February 22, 2012.
^ "Item Display – RPM – Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Archived from the original on October 15, 2012. Retrieved February 22, 2012.
^ Hot Child In The City
^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
^ "RPM 100 Singles - Volume 30, No. 3". Library and Archives Canada. July 17, 2013. Retrieved October 29, 2024.
^ "Nick Gilder – Hot Child in the City". Top 40 Singles.
^ ""Hot Child in the City" Song by Nick Gilder". Music Charts Archive. January 5, 2020. Retrieved October 29, 2024.
^ "Cash Box Top 100 Singles, November 4, 1978". Archived from the original on October 9, 2016. Retrieved September 27, 2017.
^ "Top 200 Singles of '78 – Volume 30, No. 14, December 30 1978". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. July 17, 2013. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
^ "End of Year Charts 1978". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved May 1, 2017.
^ Musicoutfitters.com
^ "Cash Box Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles, December 30, 1978". Archived from the original on September 29, 2018. Retrieved September 27, 2017.
^ "Canadian single certifications – Nick Gilder – Hot Child in the City". Music Canada. Retrieved December 8, 2024.
^ "American single certifications – Nick Gilder – Hot Child in the City". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved December 8, 2024.

This 1970s pop song–related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

[Breihan_2020-1] Breihan, Tom (January 6, 2020). "The Number Ones: Nick Glider's "Hot Child in the City"". Stereogum. Retrieved January 21, 2020. ...his panting power-popper "Hot Child In The City"...[is] a tight, well-constructed rocker...

[2] "Item Display – RPM – Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Archived from the original on October 15, 2012. Retrieved February 22, 2012.

[3] "Item Display – RPM – Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Archived from the original on October 15, 2012. Retrieved February 22, 2012.

[4] "Item Display – RPM – Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Archived from the original on October 15, 2012. Retrieved February 22, 2012.

[5] Hot Child In The City

[6] Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.

[7] "RPM 100 Singles - Volume 30, No. 3". Library and Archives Canada. July 17, 2013. Retrieved October 29, 2024.

[sc_New_Zealand_Nick_Gilder-8] "Nick Gilder – Hot Child in the City". Top 40 Singles.

[9] ""Hot Child in the City" Song by Nick Gilder". Music Charts Archive. January 5, 2020. Retrieved October 29, 2024.

[10] "Cash Box Top 100 Singles, November 4, 1978". Archived from the original on October 9, 2016. Retrieved September 27, 2017.

[11] "Top 200 Singles of '78 – Volume 30, No. 14, December 30 1978". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. July 17, 2013. Retrieved July 31, 2017.

[12] "End of Year Charts 1978". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved May 1, 2017.

[13] Musicoutfitters.com

[14] "Cash Box Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles, December 30, 1978". Archived from the original on September 29, 2018. Retrieved September 27, 2017.

[CanadaNick_GilderHot_Child_in_the_CitysingleCertRef-15] "Canadian single certifications – Nick Gilder – Hot Child in the City". Music Canada. Retrieved December 8, 2024.

[United_StatesNick_GilderHot_Child_in_the_CitysingleCertRef-16] "American single certifications – Nick Gilder – Hot Child in the City". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved December 8, 2024.

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v t e Nick Gilder
Studio albums	You Know Who You Are (1977) City Nights (1978) Frequency (1979) Rock America (1980) Body Talk Muzik (1981) Nick Gilder (1985) Stairways (1997) Longtime Coming (1999)
Songs	"Hot Child in the City" "Roxy Roller"