This one hit wonder, which tells a story with a surprising twist, opened the 80s at No. 1

The 80s opened with a one-hit wonder as its No. 1 single, which, if you pay attention to the lyrics, things end quite differently than the listener expects.

The song was written and performed by a British American singer-songwriter, Rupert Holmes, who included it on his fifth studio album Partners in Crime. It tells the story of a man bored with his routine marriage, so he turns to the classifieds to find an escape with something/someone more exciting. If you haven't guessed already, the single is "Escape (The Piña Colada Song)."

The album was released in 1979, and the first single received ample airplay when it drew attention from Billboard, who recommended it to radio stations. "Escape" not only opened in 1980 at No. 1 but was the No. 1 single to close out the previous decade, making it the first song to accomplish this feat.

The catchy lyrics "If you like piña coladas and getting caught in the rain," seemed like a nice way to spend an afternoon. But the story takes a turn when the listener realizes that the man is bored with his wife and is reading the personal ads in the newspaper to find a new adventure. The ad that catches his eye talks about piña coladas, midnight lovemaking, not loving yoga, and more.

The song explains that the man didn't give his wife one thought when he answered the ad and gave a location for a meet-up: "a bar called O'Malley's." After the chorus, he continues the story, stating he went to the meeting place, and to his shock, his wife walks in. She took out the personal ad revealing she was just as bored in the marriage as he. What?! This goes to show communication in a relationship is key!

The song spent two weeks at No. 1 and, on Jan. 5, 1980, was replaced with "Please Don't Go" by KC and the Sunshine Band. "Escape" would return to the top spot on Jan. 12 for one more week. Another fun fact: Holmes has never tasted a piña colada.

The song was initially titled "Escape" with no mention of the boozy beverage but when Holmes finally relented and allowed "The Piña Colada Song" to be added as a subtitle, the song shot straight to the top of the chart. He was reluctant to the change as the whole meaning behind the story was an escape.

The single has seeped its way into pop culture being featured in season 2 of AMC's Better Call Saul.
The song was also featured a The Goldbergs series in "The Piña Colada Episode" from season 6. It would also be included in Guardians of the Galaxy: Awesome Mix Vol. 1, which was the original soundtrack for the film in that series.

In 2019, Jimmy Fallon and Andy Samberg used the song in a skit featured on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. Titled "Peter and His Heckler," the bit features Fallon as Peter, a man trying to sing the song while he is heckled from the audience by the Heckler, played by Samberg.