Key Largo (song)

"Key Largo" is the debut single by Bertie Higgins, released in September 1981. It became, in early 1982, Higgins' only top 40 hit in the United States, peaking at No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The track spent 17 weeks in the top 40 and was certified gold by the RIAA.^[2] In addition, "Key Largo" topped the Adult Contemporary chart for two weeks.^[3] In the United Kingdom, it reached No. 60 on the UK Singles Chart.

"Key Largo"
Side A of US single
Single by Bertie Higgins
from the album Just Another Day in Paradise
B-side	"White Line Fever"
Released	September 1981
Recorded	1981
Genre	Soft rock,[1] tropical rock
Length	3:20 3:05 (7")
Label	Kat Family, Epic
Songwriter(s)	Bertie Higgins, Sonny Limbo
Producer(s)	Sonny Limbo, Scott MacLellan
Bertie Higgins singles chronology
"Key Largo" (1981) "Just Another Day in Paradise" (1982)

Background and content

The song's lyrics plead with a lover to reconsider ending a romance. The singer recalls their first winter together, when they lived in a poorly heated place, with their only entertainment watching the "Late, Late Show", featuring films such as Casablanca and Key Largo, the latter of which starred Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. Bacall does not appear in Casablanca.

The glamorous couple is recalled in the lyric, We had it all / Just like Bogie and Bacall / Starring in our own late, late show / Sailin' away to Key Largo. 

The lyrics also draw from the film Casablanca, in the lines, "Here's looking at you, kid" and "Please say you will / Play it again". The song "Key Largo" was included on Higgins' album Just Another Day in Paradise.

In 2009, VH1 ranked "Key Largo" #75 on its program 100 Greatest One-Hit Wonders of the ‘80s.

The song was also featured in the Netflix series "Disjointed" (2018), Part Two, Episode Two "Hellium Dream."

Music video

A promotional music video was produced in 1982, filmed in and around Tarpon Springs, Florida and directed by David Jean Schweitzer. It begins with Bertie Higgins leaning against a pole, smoking a cigarette, reminiscing. Later, the singer is seen walking with a young woman, played by then-17-year-old Patty Wolfe.^[4] The scene then cuts to the pair riding in a motorboat around Anclote Key, off Tarpon Springs. The video also shows them in a car on Fred Howard Park. The final moments depict the two walking along a beach at sunset.

Chart performance

Weekly charts Chart (1981–82) Peak position Australia (Kent Music Report)[5] 2 Canadian RPM Top Singles[6] 3 Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary Tracks[7] 1 Ireland (IRMA)[8] 6 New Zealand Singles Chart 8 South Africa (Springbok)[9] 18 UK Singles Chart[10] 60 US Billboard Adult Contemporary Tracks 1 US Billboard Hot Country Singles 50 US Billboard Hot 100[11] 8 US Cash Box Top 100[12] 7

Year-end charts Chart (1982) Rank Australia (Kent Music Report)[13][14] 5 Canada RPM Top Singles [15] 29 US Billboard Hot 100[16] 17 US Cash Box [17] 41

Certifications and sales

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[18]	Gold	50,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

See also

• List of Billboard Adult Contemporary number ones of 1982