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Cover of Breakfast in America by Supertramp
Cover: Breakfast in America

Song · Supertramp

“Goodbye Stranger” by Supertramp

From the album Breakfast in America (1979)

“Goodbye Stranger” by Supertramp appears on 43 radio countdowns from 17 stations between 1994 and 2026. It was first released in 1979 on the album Breakfast in America. Its best result is #90 on the WZLX Memorial 500 (2002). In the combined RockLists rankings it is #531 classic rock song of all time.

43countdowns
17stations
#90best position
0#1 finishes
0top 10 finishes
1994–2026years charted

Watch

Goodbye Stranger (Remastered 2010)

Video from YouTube (Supertramp - Topic). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

Rick Davies wrote and sings "Goodbye Stranger", his sly moment at the microphone on Breakfast in America, Supertramp's sixth album, from 1979. The song is a drifter's cheerful shrug on his way out the door, though at least one critic has heard it as a sarcastic brush-off, and it's built on the band's beloved Wurlitzer and a strong, rolling melody.

Roger Hodgson floats high backing vocals over Davies and plays the guitar solo at the end, which uDiscover Music later rated among the 100 greatest of all time. John Helliwell adds woodwinds, Dougie Thomson and Bob Siebenberg keep the midtempo bounce steady on bass and drums, and Peter Henderson engineered and produced it with the band.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

RockLists rankings

Classic Rock

Hard Rock & Metal

All Rock Formats

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1994 868 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1994) 1000
1995 894 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1995) 1000
1996 809 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1996) 1000
1997 263 100.7 WZLX WZLX Memorial 500 (1997) 499
1997 828 102.3 WBAB WBAB Top 1,023 Rock and Roll Songs of All Time (1997) 1023
1998 897 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1998) 1000
2002 174 92.3 KGON KGON Top 923 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2002) 923
2002 90 100.7 WZLX WZLX Memorial 500 (2002) 500
2004 173 92.3 KGON KGON Top 923 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2004) 923
2011 423 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1100 Countdown (2011) 1100
2011 319 97.9 The Loop The Loop Rock N Roll 500 (2011) 500
2012 109 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2012) 500
2012 429 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1200 Countdown (2012) 1200
2013 238 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2013) 500
2013 300 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Firecracker 500 (2013) 500
2013 147 Big 100 BIG 500 Labor Day Countdown (2013) 500
2014 277 Big 100 BIG 1000 New Year's Countdown (2014) 1000
2015 293 I-95 I-95 Memorial Day Weekend Top 500 (2015) 500
2016 398 Qfm96 Qfm96 Memorial Day 500 (2016) 500
2016 250 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2016) 500
2016 400 102.9 The Whale 102.9 The Whale Hartford 500 (2016) 500
2016 876 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1007 Countdown for 2016 1007
2017 224 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2017) 500
2017 262 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2017) 500
2018 339 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2018) 500
2018 260 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2018) 500
2019 973 102.5 KZOK KZOK Top 1025 of 2019 1025
2019 352 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2019) 500
2020 296 102.5 KZOK KZOK Classic Rock Top 1025 (2020) 1025
2021 454 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Big 500 (2021) 500
2022 497 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2022) 500
2022 339 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2022) 500
2022 331 102.5 KZOK KZOK Classic Rock Top 1025 (2022) 1025
2022 746 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2022) 1043
2023 240 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2023) 1043
2023 342 KSHE 95 KSHE 95 Rock N' Roll 500 (2023) 500
2023 326 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2023) 500
2023 213 97.1 The Drive 97.1 The Drive Memorial Day Weekend Rock N Roll 500 (2023) 500
2024 650 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2024) 1043
2024 381 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2024) 499
2025 890 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2025) 1043
2025 401 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2025) 500
2026 423 WMGK WMGK Philly 500 (2026) 500

Also listed as: Good-bye Stranger.

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