Sister Christian

"Sister Christian"
Single by Night Ranger
from the album Midnight Madness
B-side	"Chippin' Away"
Released	1984
Recorded	1983
Genre	Rock
Length	5:02 (album) 4:14 (7")
Label	MCA Records
Writer(s)	Kelly Keagy
Producer	Pat Glasser
Night Ranger singles chronology
"(You Can Still) Rock in America" (1983) "Sister Christian" (1984) "When You Close Your Eyes" (1984)

"Sister Christian" is a power ballad by the hard rock band Night Ranger, which was the second single released on their album Midnight Madness. It was ranked number 32 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of the 1980s. To this day, it is one of the most popular first dance songs at weddings.

Origin and meaning

It was written and sung by the band's drummer, Kelly Keagy, for his sister. It was the band's biggest hit, peaking at number five on the Billboard Hot 100, and staying on the charts for 24 weeks.^[1]

The song is about Keagy's little sister, Christy. Keagy wrote the song at his apartment, near Divisadero and California streets in San Francisco, 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, was growing up.^[2]

"After we started playing it a lot, Jack turned to me and said, 'What exactly are you saying?' " Keagy recalled. "He thought the words were Sister Christian, instead of Sister Christy, so it just stuck." He added that the real Christy was so mortified when the song came out she nearly changed her name.^[2]

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^[3] that the term "motoring" was synonymous with the term "cruising."

Other versions

An newly-recorded acoustic version of the song was produced for the band's 9th album, Hole in the Sun. ^[4]

In 2011, an Old Navy commercial showed an Auburn University fan delivering pizza to University of Alabama fans, who sing about the chain's sports-related clothing, to the tune of "Sister Christian".^[5]

References

1. ^ "Sister Christian - Night Ranger". Billboard. http://www.billboard.com/#/song/night-ranger/sister-christian/340430. Retrieved May 20, 2011. 
2. ^ ^{a b} Jones, Carolyn (2005-11-11). "Night Rangers revisit 'Sister Christian' and San Rafael". San Francisco Chronicle. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/11/11/NBGVAFIG871.DTL. Retrieved 2008-05-09. "Specifically, the song is about Keagy's little sister, Christy. Keagy wrote the song at his apartment, near Divisadero and California streets in San Francisco, after he had just returned from a visit to his hometown in rural Oregon. He had been struck at how fast his teenage sister, 10 years younger than he was, was growing up." 
3. ^ "VH1 -- True Spin : Our Lips Are Sealed, Sister Christian, And More". http://www.vh1.com/shows/dyn/true_spin/82230/episode.jhtml. Retrieved 2008-05-08. 
4. ^ http://nightranger.com/content/hole-sun
5. ^ Diel, Stan (2011-09-03). "Old Navy ad has some Auburn fans calling for boycott". The Birmingham News. http://blog.al.com/businessnews/2011/09/old_navy_ad_has_some_auburn_fa.html. Retrieved 2011-09-08. 

External links

• Lyrics and chords, courtesy Gunther Anderson
• "Sister Christian" at last.fm