through the late 1970s and early 1980s, the band enjoyed its greatest success. their 1978 album "pieces of eight" found the group moving in a more straight-ahead hard-rock direction and spawned three shaw sung hit singles "renegade" (no. 16 in the us) and "blue collar man (long nights)" (no. 21 in the us), plus a minor hit "sing for the day" that stopped just short of the top forty at no. 41.