PRISM - Don't Let Him Know (#39 - 3/12/1982)
How well I remember it: 6 (I remember hearing it several times.)
How well I liked it then: 6 (Liked it well enough but wish it was more rocking.)
How well I like it now: 5 (Still thing it needed more kick to it.)
Prism was a Canadian band that seemingly rotated a million people in it. By a million I mean 24. They placed 5 songs in the Hot 100 and had 3 albums make the Billboard Top 200. Don't Let Him Know was penned by Bryan Adams and his writing partner Jim Valance before Adams became a household name. The song actually hit the top of the U.S. Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.
Around this time, I remember a couple of pranks and practical jokes that were perpetrated by one of the kids at my high school. There was a guy that pretty much was set up and had a career path already. His family owned several businesses that weren't exactly high tech or glamorous. I believe his family owned the trash removal company in town, a junkyard, and a septic system installation and cleaning company. The kid wasn't really that into the education thing and mostly got in trouble.
Way back in the 60's and early 70's, when musical groups and artists started touring, there really weren't many venues for them to play in. So when they hit the road, many of them played at high schools, as they were one of the few places that could host an event for a lot of people. My high school was one of those places, and our auditorium had hosted the likes of The Doors, Simon & Garfunkel, The Byrds, The Animals, The Yardbirds, and Cream.
The auditorium was a big tall brick building, but instead of building it with the bricks aligned in a row, they designed the exterior to have every other brick stick out. So instead of: _________________________________________ on the side of the building (looking from above) it looked like +++++++++++++++++++++++++++. The kid had gotten into mischief so often that they were threatening to expel him. The town needed the high school and the auditorium for some big meeting or special state political event that was going to be held on a Monday. But over the weekend, the kid borrowed a lift and a crane from his family's businesses and did two things: 1) he placed an empty beer can on EVERY brick that stuck out on the auditorium and 2) he used the crane to place car tires over the flag pole and stacked them all the way to the top. The event itself drew press coverage on its own, and the pranks just made it more so. The student body LOLed when we all showed up for school that morning and the administration was appalled. Of course, no one could prove he did it but everyone knew. Classic.