Initially known as "Seafood Mama", the group gained a strong local following playing bars and nightclubs in Portland, Oregon. In the spring of 1980, Seafood Mama recorded Marv's new composition "Harden My Heart" on a private record label. The single received considerable airplay on Portland radio stations, and the band felt that they were ready for something more
Signed by a then young label, Geffen Records, the group released their first album, 'Quarterflash', in 1981. The label's marketing organization had urged getting rid of the "Seafood Mama" name, so they changed things. The new name supposedly came from an colloquial Australian reference to new immigrants as "one quarter flash and three parts foolish".
A new version of "Harden My Heart" was recorded and released; and rose to number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album reached number 8 on Billboard's Top Albums, and sold over a million copies, earning RIAA gold certification on February 5, 1982, and platinum status on June 29, 1982. Their follow-up single from the album, "Find Another Fool", reached #16.
Quarterflash released their second album, Take Another Picture, in 1983. It reached #34 on Billboard, and scored the single "Take Me to Heart", which reached #14. The group released their final album, Back Into Blue, in 1985. It peaked at #150 in Billboard, and group disbanded after getting dropped from their record label.
In 1991, Marv & Rindy Ross were awarded a commision by the state of Oregon to produce a stage musical based on diaries of migrants on the historic Oregon Trail. From that project came a nine disc collection of traditional Americana music, recorded as The Trail Band.
"Harden My Heart" still receives air play on "Classic" rock radio.
Take Another Picture
Quarterflash Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Squinting in the Michigan sun
'Caught forever in his blouse and knickers
Wasn't he the lucky one?
While the fear is growing stronger
The sun is almost gone
So hold me in your naked eye
And shoot me on the run
Oh, won't you please, please
Take another picture
Please, please freeze my features
Oh, won't you please, please
Take another
I don't want to fade away
I saw a picture hidden in the bedroom
Underneath father's ties
A beautiful woman caught naked forever
Black strip over her eyes
I still remember that picture
The image sits sharp and clear
And I'll never erase that eyeless face
Still smiling all these years
Oh, won't you please, please
Take another picture
Please, please freeze my features
Oh, won't you please, please
Take another
I don't want to fade away
The lyrics of "Take Another Picture" by Quarterflash tells the story of a person who is consumed by the fear of being forgotten. In the first few lines, they express their longing to capture memories of their father, who they see in an old photograph squinting in the Michigan sun. The lines "caught forever in his blouse and knickers/Wasn't he the lucky one?" adds a tinge of nostalgia to the lyrics, with the reference to the father's clothing hinting at the era in which the photo was taken. The singer's fear that they too will disappear into the oblivion of forgotten memories is echoed in the chorus. "Oh, won't you please, please/Take another picture/Please, please freeze my features/Oh, won't you please, please/Take another/I don't want to fade away."
The second verse describes another picture hidden in the bedroom of the singer. It's an old picture of a beautiful woman who is naked, with a black strip over her eyes. The photograph is intriguing because the woman's eyeless face is still smiling after all these years. This image creates a clear mental picture of the singer, who is desperate to hold onto life's moments before they fade away. The chorus loops in a repeat with a slightly different second half. "Oh, won't you please, please/Take another picture/Please, please freeze my features/Oh, won't you please, please/Take another/Before I fade away."
Overall, the song is a poignant reminder of the power of photographs to capture a moment in time, prevent entropy of memories, and allow them to live forever. The lyrics are a cry to hold onto memories that matter, to stop time for as long as possible, and to hang onto those moments.
Line by Line Meaning
Saw my father living in a picture
I saw a photograph of my father and it seemed like he was alive in the picture.
Squinting in the Michigan sun
My father was squinting his eyes because of the bright sun in Michigan.
'Caught forever in his blouse and knickers
My father was captured forever in his clothes in the picture.
Wasn't he the lucky one?
I felt that my father was lucky to be captured in that picture.
While the fear is growing stronger
As time passes, my fear of losing my memories of my loved ones is growing stronger.
The sun is almost gone
The day is ending and there is limited time to save the moment.
So hold me in your naked eye
Capture me in your mind without any distraction.
And shoot me on the run
Take a picture of me while we're moving because life keeps moving on.
Oh, won't you please, please
I am pleading for you to do something for me.
Take another picture
Take another photograph to save this moment forever.
Please, please freeze my features
Capture the essence of my face and my emotions in the photograph.
I saw a picture hidden in the bedroom
I found a photograph hidden in the bedroom.
Underneath father's ties
The picture was under my father's ties.
A beautiful woman caught naked forever
There was a photograph of a beautiful woman captured in the nude.
Black strip over her eyes
The woman had a black strip covering her eyes in the photograph.
I still remember that picture
I still have a clear memory of that photograph.
The image sits sharp and clear
The photograph is still vivid in my memory.
And I'll never erase that eyeless face
The woman's face with the black strip covering her eyes is unforgettable.
Still smiling all these years
Despite the years that have passed, the woman's smile is still preserved in the picture.
I don't want to fade away
I don't want to be forgotten or fade away with time.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: MARVIN ROSS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Odee Dillon
How Rindy Ross leaps from sax straight into singing without pause is amazing.
Karl Liedike
I always loved bands that added sax in the 80's
f0rTyLeGz
They were a wonderful band. She's so great on the sax! And this video is at least a decade before it's time!
wildturkey1960
So glad that they are still kicking out the jams. I'll have to get their latest album.
august fontana
What"s their latest album?
VM Hill
Anela I'd forgotten about this...I had fun hanging out and playing a photographer in the the video with Quaterflash they were all really nice people. I actually won the all expense paid trip (airfare and hotel) to be in their video from a drawing I won on my b-day at a store called The Jean Machine believe it or not... what a great b-day gift!! The group Seafood Mama broke up in 1980 and Marv & Rindy Ross founded Quarterflash in 1981. Four Musicians from a NW group called Pilot joined them....
andyinoregon
Great story. Is that you at 1:11 here?
MrLAKERS21
Quarterflash could ROCK! The lyrics were impressive too! Does anybody remember the song "Valarie"?
Michael Ottto
MrLAKERS21 you mean Valerie? Yes, saw video for it on YouTube
The Flag Inspector
One of my favorite songs from Quarterflash!