Playlist: The Lasting Lines of Supertramp

The ‘70s British rock band Supertramp effortlessly combined genres, creating a legacy of pop melodies and lyrics that have stood the test of time. 

Written by Miranda Robertson

Photo courtesy of Reddit user u/Forsinain48

As many folks have noticed, TikTok has played a major part in bringing 2000s hits back to the charts. More recently, Gym Class Heroes’ song “Cupid’s Chokehold” has found itself back in the limelight. And while nostalgic trends have brought it to center stage, there’s something about the song’s catchy chorus that makes it such a lasting jam. Similarly, Tame Impala’s single, “It Might Be Time,” ranked 18th in November 2019 on Billboard’s 200. What might these two songs have in common? Both of these tracks, along with about 70 other pieces of music, incorporate sampled elements from the band Supertramp. It turns out a group that had their initial success in the ‘70s and ‘80s has survived time and managed to maintain a musical legacy to this day. 

The members of Supertramp found their start in London in 1969, after lead singer Rick Davies set out to find a new musical project. Their first two albums, including their self-titled debut, didn’t perform too well with audiences and didn’t gain much traction in the music industry at the time. This initial defeat caused members to leave the group, as they feared a failed project. But the founder, Davies, and lead guitarist Roger Hodgson had a new approach for the group that included incorporating new members. These new group members added a saxophone, woodwinds, electric piano, and keyboard to the musical elements of the band. This new version of Supertramp changed the band’s style to a more pop-orientated sound which in turn helped with the public reception of its next album. The band’s real success came in 1979, with the album Breakfast in America. The top three tracks from this album all found a spot in the top 20 hits, reportedly selling around four million copies in the U.S. and hitting platinum in multiple countries, including Supertramp’s home country of the United Kingdom. 

In 1983, founding guitarist Hodgson left Supertramp to take on a solo career. At the same time, the remaining members took a step back from pop, instead aiming their music in the direction of progressive rock. Supertramp even worked with Pink Floyd’s guitarist David Gilmour in 1985. Although the band still had a big following after changing musical directions, much of its fanbase was curated from the group’s pop-fused rock days of Breakfast in America, and founder Rick Davies decided to break up the band before heading off to pursue other projects. 

Photo courtesy of A&M Records

What set Supertramp apart from its contemporaries was the band’s interesting stylistic approach. An article by AllMusic’s Mark Deming described Supertramp’s successful sound as “fusing the stylistic ambition and instrumental dexterity of progressive rock with the wit and tuneful melodies of British pop.” The band was one of the first to experiment with this combination of genre-blending, which meant that its music could follow a suite of instrumental rock while having the catchy choruses and lyrics of pop music. This combination gave  Supertramp’s music such a unique, yet widely known sound, and other musicians throughout the decades following have been inspired to take the band’s original songs and create new pop hits that sample Supertramp’s mash-up style. Artists such as Kevin Parker have even mentioned in interviews how Supertramp was extremely influential to the making of highly successful albums like Lonerism. The aforementioned Gym Class Heroes, Childish Gambino, Mindless Self Indulgence, and many more artists have all taken bits and pieces from the Supertramp discography, reworking them into new genres like indie, alternative, and even rap. 

To check out how musicians and creators have altered and covered Supertramp’s music throughout the decades, Afterglow has curated a playlist with some of the most successful samples. Although Supertramp’s name might have been forgotten, the band’s experimental pop sound and wistful lyrics have remained in the spotlight.