Robbie Dupree ~ Steal Away 1980 Disco Purrfection Version

Robbie Dupree modified his surname slightly from his birth name of Dupuis. Born on December 23, 1946 in Brooklyn, NY, he grew to love the R&B music of Marvin Gaye and Sam Cooke. His two big hits were "Hot Rod Hearts" and the doobie like smash of "Steal Away" that peaked at #6 on the Hot100 in 1980. Released on April 12, it took until July for it to peak at #6 for two weeks then dropped of the chart after September 13th where it was listed as #100.

There are people who swear that they hear Michael McDonald on the record, close but no cookie! I'll admit that it sounds like him, but he has officially denied any association with the song. It is background singers Arno Lucas, Bill LaBounty, Joe Turano, Kal David, Leslie Smith and Matthew Weiner who provided the soulful sounds.

The next part is the instrumentation that was riffed off of the Doobie Brothers "What A Fool Believes" particularly on the piano. "Steal Away" was more polished and smoother by adding synthesizers that brighten the song. It should be christened Yacht Rock, something not lost on Dupree who joined John Ford Coley, Stephen Bishop and Ambrosia for the Rock The Yacht tour in 2018.

After this, Dupree released "Hot Rod Hearts" a mellow tune that peaked at #15 in August of 1980. His next appearance on vinyl was on 1987's "Piledriver - The Wrestling Album 2" where he contributed "Girls In Cars". He has become more active in the 2010's where he signed with Spectra Records and put out "Time and Tide" where he worked with Springsteen's E Street Band keyboardist David Sancious, and then went on Jimmy Fallon to promote it and his connection to Yacht Rock.

He toured the US & Canada in 2013 with Gary Wright, Christopher Cross, Al Stewart, Orleans, Firefall, Player and John Ford Coley.

Most recently he has been interviewed in summer of 2019 for the podcast A Bunch Of Malarkey. Oh his last charting single was 1981's "Brooklyn Girls" that peaked at #54. Here is a closer look at his singles discography.

1980: "Steal Away" – US No. 6, R&B #85; Canada No. 14
1980: "Hot Rod Hearts" – US No. 15
1980: "Nadie Mas"
1981: "Brooklyn Girls" – US No. 54
1981: "Saturday Night"
1981: "Are You Ready for Love"
1987: "Girls in Cars"
1988: "This Is Life"
1993: "Walking on Water"
1993: "Goodbye LA"
1995: "Smoke and Mirrors"
1997: "Make It Easy on Yourself"
1997: "Live All Night Long"
2007: "The Critics Are Never Kind"
2008: "Fly Away"
2010: "Lucky"
2011: "Satisfied"