Breathless - Takin' It Back (1980)

After playing just two gigs at the Painesville Agora, Breathless opened for the Atlanta Rhythm Section (“Imaginary Lover”) at Playhouse Square’s Palace Theater. That summer saw a change in formation. Lynch had left and was replaced by keyboardist George Sipl, whose resume included Magic, the Eric Carmen Band, and the Euclid Beach Band. Before year’s end, Breathless made more changes, bringing in guitarist Alan Greene (formerly of Jimmy Ley and the Coosa Band), and Mark Avsec (former Wild Cherry keyboardist), who replaced Sipl. This lineup headed to Florida to record the band’s first LP on EMI/Capitol Records (with John Cougar Mellencamp’s producer, Don Gehman). The self-titled Breathless album was released in the summer of 1979. A single from that effort, “Takin’ It Back,” charted in Billboard's Top 100. It was put in heavy rotation on WMMS (as was “Glued to the Radio” and “Walk Right In”) and remains one of its most memorable songs from that debut.