Loverboy, Working For the Weekend | Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶

In the 151^st edition of Throwback Vibez (2025), we recollect and reflect on “Working For the Weekend” by Loverboy.

The vibes, the vibes, those Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶! Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 is a column that celebrates awesome songs from the past.  The records that grace this column are older, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re ancient – no fossils 🦴! All genres of music are welcome. In the 151^st edition of Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 (2025), we recollect and reflect on “Working For the Weekend” performed by Loverboy.

In case you weren’t aware, “Everyone’s watchin’ to see what you will do / Everyone’s lookin’ at you.” Woo! Cue up the 👀 emoji, Mike Reno (b. 1955)! No, emojis didn’t exist then, but if they did, that would probably be an ideal choice! The everyone-led lyrics don’t stop in the first verse of “Working For the Weekend”, a hit for the Canadian rock band Loverboy. Reno, the talented lead singer, adds in the second verse, “Everyone’s lookin’ to see if it was you / Everyone wants you to come through / Everyone’s hopin’ it’ll all work out / Everyone’s waitin’, they’re holdin’ out.” Noted, Mike! “Workin’ for the Weekend” is the opener from the band’s 1981 multi-platinum album, Get Lucky.  Reno penned the song with Matt Frenette and Paul Dean. Dean and the late Bruce Fairbairn (1949 – 1999) produced it.  Notably, “Weekend” peaked at number 29 on the Billboard Hot 100. 

“Working For The Weekend” features a dynamic musical accompaniment comprised of colorful keys, souped-up guitars, driving bass, and hard-hitting drums.  The instrumental riffs are nothing short of electrifying.  Mike Reno is on autopilot, impressing with his assertive and exuberant lead vocals.  Not only are the verses (excerpted earlier) memorable, so are the melodies.  Notably, during the second verse, Reno delivers an even more high-flying performance – some insane high notes! Beyond the verses, the chorus and post-chorus are S-W-E-E-T.  In the song’s centerpiece, Loverboy shifts from everyone to everybody:

“Everybody’s workin’ for the weekend

Everybody wants a new romance

…Everybody’s goin’ off the deep end

Everybody needs a second chance.”

By the end, the post-chorus is repeated three times. “You want a piece of my heart? / You better start from the start,” Reno sings, and continues, “You wanna be in the show? / Come on, baby, let’s go.” “Working For the Weekend” is a surefire, unforgettable ‘80s classic.  More than three decades later, it still rocks!