Journeyman rocker Greg Kihn plugged along through many an album before things opened up in a big way for him with two big 1980s hits. The second of those, “Jeopardy,” earned him and the Greg Kihn Band a No. 2 spot on the Billboard charts and still lights up playlists from the decade today.
What is the song about? How did Kihn change his approach ever so slightly to make the song happen? And what did Kihn have to do with the famous Weird Al Yankovic parody, “I Lost on Jeopardy”? Let’s play a round of “Jeopardy,” ’80s rock category, and find out all about this beloved hit.
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Greg Kihn is a guy that’s done a little bit of everything in his career. In recent years, he’s found success both as a popular San Francisco radio DJ and novelist. But rock and roll is how he made his name, even if it took a while for his name to be recognized on anything more than a regional level.
Although born and raised in Baltimore, Kihn started to find his groove when he moved to San Francisco in the mid-’70s. That’s when he put together a band and started to move away from singer/songwriter music and toward more of a rock and roll vibe. His first album appeared in 1976, and he and his band churned out one LP a year with regularity through the end of the decade and into the ’80s.
National commercial success was elusive, at least until “The Breakup Song (They Don’t Write ‘Em),” which combined rock heft with new wave precision and featured a memorable wordless hook. It snuck into the Top 40 in 1981. That set the table for Kihn’s biggest success a few years later.
In an interview with Like Totally ’80s, Kihn described how “Jeopardy,” written by the artist and bandmate Steve Wright, represented an acquiescence on his part to the prevailing musical styles of the day:
“I guess if you were gonna say my music sounded like anything in the early days, it probably sounded a little like Buddy Holly; very basic, economical, three-chord rock. By the time it got to ’83, ‘Jeopardy’ was a hit, which we had written on the keyboard. I remember an A&R guy saying, ‘I can’t get your record on the radio unless it’s got a synthesizer on it.’ I remember thinking, ‘We’ve come a long way from Little Richard, haven’t we?’”
“Jeopardy” just missed the top spot on the Billboard charts (held off by Michael Jackson’s “Beat It”) in 1983. Just a year later, Weird Al Yankovic delivered his parody hit “I Lost on Jeopardy.” Part of the reason for the quick turnaround was Kihn, unlike some artists at the time, embraced the idea of Yankovic doing a take on his song. He even appeared in the video, which has an ending that mirrors the end of his own “Jeopardy” clip.
What is the Meaning of “Jeopardy”?
Because Weird Al’s parody is one of the most popular of his career, many people who don’t listen closely enough think the Greg Kihn Band’s “Jeopardy” is also about the game show. In fact, the title refers to the state of the narrator’s current relationship. He’s trying to impart to his partner just how bad things are getting.
It’s the lightning, not the thunder / You never know when it’s gonna strike, Kihn sings. That line speaks to the possibility things could end between these two at any time. The narrator explains that he can only take so much more: Don’t let go while I’m hanging on / ‘Cause I’ve been hanging on so long. She doesn’t seem to realize the urgency: It’s later than you think, Kihn sings.
With that indefatigable synth groove combining with tough guitar work, “Jeopardy” was catnip for listeners in ’83 and gave Greg Kihn a hard-earned smash single. Just try to remember when you hear it that it has absolutely nothing to do with the Daily Double.
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