Episode 14: Help Me If You Can - When the Lead Singer Reaches Out

Sometimes a song isn’t trying to impress you. It isn’t hiding behind clever lyrics or metaphor. Sometimes it’s doing something much simpler.

It’s asking.

In this episode of Who Ordered the Pie?, Christopher explores hit songs where the lead singer drops the pose, abandons toughness, and says exactly what they mean, out loud and on the radio.

These weren’t obscure album cuts or quiet confessions. Songs like ABBA’s “SOS” climbed straight into the Billboard Top 40 in 1975, turning emotional panic into pristine pop. The Beach Boys followed a decade earlier with “Help Me, Rhonda,” a number-one hit that sounds like sunshine but is really an escape plan disguised as a summer anthem.

At the height of Beatlemania, “Help!” raced to number one in both the U.S. and the UK, long before John Lennon admitted it was a genuine cry for help. Joni Mitchell took a different approach in “Help Me,” transforming emotional conflict into a Top 10 hit built on honesty rather than drama. Smokey Robinson & The Miracles quietly carried loneliness onto pop radio with “I Need Somebody,” proving that vulnerability didn’t always need volume to resonate.

The episode also looks at how urgency and demand broke through in 1965 with Fontella Bass’s “Rescue Me,” a Top 5 hit that helped open the door for a new kind of emotional directness in mainstream music. From there, the distance widens with The Police’s “Message in a Bottle,” a chart-topping song about isolation, repetition, and sending something out without knowing if help is coming. The episode closes with Queen’s “Save Me,” a power-chord-driven hit from 1980 that confused listeners who expected bravado, not fear, and vulnerability amplified instead of hidden.

Together, these songs show how asking for help didn’t weaken pop music. It made it louder, bigger, and harder to ignore.

As always, the episode ends with a cocktail to match the theme. This time it’s Fitz’ Flare Gun, a tiki-inspired drink built on spice, citrus, and just enough heat to announce itself, a signal you can’t miss.

If you enjoy music history, classic rock and pop storytelling, and cocktails with a point of view, this episode is for you.

Fitz’ Flare Gun

A tiki-inspired cocktail built around spice, citrus, and just enough heat to announce itself.

Ingredients

• 2 oz spiced rum (I prefer Isle of Wight Mermaid Spiced Rum)
• 1/2 oz orgeat
• 1/2 oz ginger syrup (Recipe available on whoorderedpie.com)
• 3/4 oz pineapple juice
• 1/2 oz fresh lime juice
• 3 dashes Angostura bitters

Method

• Add all ingredients to a shaker filled with ice
• Shake until well chilled
• Strain into a rocks glass over fresh ice

Spiced and bright.
 A little unpredictable.
 Impossible to ignore.