Twostepcublog

Teddy Pendergrass with Whitney Houston - " Hold Me " from the albums Love Language (1984) and Whitney Houston (1985) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #46 This week's "robbed hit" is by soul singer Teddy Pendergrass, who started his career as the drummer for the doo-wop group the Cadillacs, before joining up with Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes, where as lead singer he topped the R&B chart four times, including two top-10 pop hits with " If You Don't Know Me By Now " and " The Love I Lost ". Teddy left the Blue Notes in 1977, and that same year scored his first top-10 solo R&B and dance hit " I Don't Love You Anymore ". That single peaked at the most frustrating of ranks, #41, but by the following year he placed his first top-40 pop hit with hit first chart-topping R&B single, " Close The Door ". After that came six more top-10 R&B singles by the time 1984 rolled around. But in that time, Teddy...

It's time for part two of this week's Album Sweep sampling the records making their first appearance on Billboard magazine's Top 200 Albums chart. You can check out part one by clicking here , and as usual I've included links to buy anything if possible. Coming in at #48 is New Zealand indie-rock group The Naked And Famous with their second album In Rolling Waves . Their first, Passive Me, Aggressive You made it to #91 in 2010 (maybe the success of fellow countrywoman Lorde will help)... (Click below to see the rest of the post)

Scandal featuring Patty Smyth - " The Warrior " from the album The Warrior (1984) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #7 (two weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 15 Today's Song of the Day is by the New York-based pop/rock band Scandal , whose debut EP was a huge local success, and even had a couple of minor national hits, including the "robbed hit" " Goodbye To You " from 1983. It did manage to set up expectation for their second album, and with lead singer Patty Smyth getting equal billing, their first single (and title track) "The Warrior" got them the hit they deserved. Written by Holly Knight with Nick Gilder (the guy who sang "Hot Child In The City"), and produced by new wave champ Mike Chapman (Blondie, The Knack), "The Warrior" was an anthemic yet accessible rocker MTV couldn't avoid, even though the video was Showgirls -esque godawful... "The Warrior" became Scandal's first and only top-40 pop hit in...

The end of the weekend is upon us, and it's time to check out the new songs on the just-released official singles chart in Britain this week, as Jason Derulo spends a second week at #1 with " Talk Dirty "... The top entry of the week at #14 is from producer Nick Douwma, who under his moniker Sub Focus is in with the fourth top-40 single from his album Torus . "Turn It Around" features vocals by "out" singer/guitarist Kele Okereke of the band Bloc Party. It follows Nick's first top-10 single " Endorphins " from earlier this year... (Click below to see the rest of the post)

Hey gang, I'm ready to kick off the first half of this week's "album sweeps" sampling the records making their first appearance on the Top 200 Albums chart in Billboard magazine. As always, I've included links to buy anything if available, but please get yourself to an indie record store if you can. The top-selling album of the week is the fourth consecutive #1 set from Hawaiian singer/songwriter Jack Johnson, who pushes 117,000 copies of his sixth studio album From Here To How To You . His first was his soundtrack album to the kids movie Sing-A-Longs and Lullabies for the Film Curious George in 2006... (Click below to see the rest of the post)

Sheila E. - " The Glamorous Life " from the album The Glamorous Life (1984) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #7 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 16 Today's Song of the Day is by singer and percussionist Sheila Escovedo , who was a chip off her father Pete's block, and at a young age was working with jazz and soul greats like Lionel Richie and Herbie Hancock. After hooking up with Prince in the late 70s, she became a longtime collaborator, and arguably the most talented of his stable of women side-acts. Sheila released her first solo album, The Glamorous Life , in 1984, and the title track became her first and so far biggest hit to date. It was written by Prince and produced by himself with Sheila, but the percussion fury and her subdued vocals are what stole the show. This song was originally to be recorded by Prince's Purple Rain squeeze, Apollonia, but thankfully Sheila made it timeless, with a little help from Larry Williams' amazing sax solo... ...

We're up to the final "chart sweep" of the day, with the latest songs to make the dance charts in Billboard magazine... On the DJ-polled Hot Dance Club Play chart, Lady GaGa racks up another #1 with " Applause "... The top entry at #42 is Robin Thicke with Kendrick Lamar on "Give It 2 U". It follows his "Blurred Lines" which made it to #3 on the club chart... (Click below to see the rest of the post)

I'm up to the fourth installment of today's "chart sweeps" checking out the songs making the singles charts in Billboard magazine, and this time out it's the latest on country radio... On the format radio-monitored Hot Country Airplay chart, Jason Aldean scores his tenth #1 hit with " Night Train "... It seems like musical chairs on this week's chart...first off debuting at #59 is singer/Broadway star Laura Bell Bundy with "Two Step" featuring Colt Ford, my " Country Pick of the Week "... (Click below to see the rest of the post)

We're at the hump of today's "chart sweeps" sampling the songs making the charts at Billboard magazine, and this time out I'm serving the newest on R&B radio. On the main R&B/HipHop Airplay chart, Robin Thicke holds tight for a tenth week at #1 with " Blurred Lines "... There are two new songs on the chart...first at #45 with "Pound Cake/Paris Morton Music 2" by rappper Drake featuring colleague Jay Z. His sung track "Hold On We're Going Home" is up to #4... (Click below to see the rest of the post)

Round two of this week's "chart sweeps" is up, and this time I've got the latest songs hitting rock radio per Billboard magazine.. On the aggregate Rock Airplay chart, Lorde's " Royals " reigns for a sixth week.... The top debut of the week all the way up at #15 is the collaboration between neo-metal group Linkin Park with DJ Steve Aoki on "A Light That Never Comes" from their upcoming remix album Recharged . I already featured it on the "pop sweep", and it's my " Rock Pick of the Week "... (Click below to see the rest of the post)

Hey gang, it's time to kick off this week's five-part "chart sweeps" to check out the songs making the singles charts in Billboard magazine, and as always I'll begin with the pop side of things... On the "big" chart, Billboard 's Hot 100 , Miley Cyrus' " Wrecking Ball " rides for a second week at #1... The top debut of the week is another young woman with "issues" that's riding the TMZ wagon for publicity. This time it's Britney Spears, and unlike Cyrus' passable pop of "Wrecking Ball", she offers the shiny turd of "Work Bitch" at #12, which I guess is made for the gay fanboys who think that her collab with will.i.am, " Scream & Shout ", was too wordy, and opt only for her adopted tagline. This song is so bad it makes me question whether we deserve gay marriage. (kidding) (Click below to see the rest of the post)

Face To Face - " 10-9-8 " from the album Face To Face (1984) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #38 (three weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 3 Today's Song of the Day is by the Boston band Face To Face, who went from New Hampshire to Boston to get signed in the early 80s, Led by singer Laurie Sargent and guitar man Stuart Kimball,  they released their self-titled first album in 1984. Their first single, " Out Of My Hands ", reached to rock radio chart in Billboard in June of that year for a couple of weeks, peaking at #55. They followed that up with the infectious mix of power-pop and new wave in "10-9-8", written by band member Angelo Petraglia and produced by dance mix whiz Arthur Baker along with Dick Wingate.... "10-9-8" became the group's first and only top-40 hit in July of 1984. In fact, it was their only single to make the "Hot 100", making them a true "one-hit-wonder", and this single is one of my top five fav...

Hey gang, Friday is finally here, and time to rack up my top 100 tunes from the week. This time out after ten weeks at #1 Robin Thicke is dethroned by Swedish folk-EDMer Avicii, while Kiwi Lorde (pictured above)  jumps into the top-5. Songs by Luke Bryan, Kings Of Leon, and Krewella make the biggest jumps (moves of 10+ places highlighted in red ), while former big hits from Walk Off The Earth, Rihanna, Of Monsters And Men, Hunter Hayes, Cher, and Sebastian Ingrosso fall off the chart. Here comes the judge! This Week            Song/Artist (last week's position in parentheses) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Wake Me Up - Avicii (3) 2. True Love - Pink f/Lily Allen (4) 3. Blurred Lines - Robin Thicke f/T.I. & Pharrell Williams (1) 4. Brave - Sara Bareilles (2) 5. Royals - Lorde (7) 6. Safe And Sound - Capital Cities (5) 7. All Over The Road...

John Waite - " Missing You " from the album No Brakes (1984) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #1 (one week) Weeks in the top-40: 16 Today's Song of the Day is by British singer John Waite , who got his first big break as the lead singer for the power-pop band the Babys. They landed two singles in the American top-20 in the late 70s, " Isn't It Time " and " Everytime I Think Of You ". After the Babys broke up, John released his debut solo album in 1982, and from it scored a top-20 rock radio hit with " Change ". While "Change" wasn't the pop hit they expected, it did set John up for his next release in 1984, No Brakes . The first single, "Missing You", was written by Waite with Mark Leonard and Charles Sanford, and alluded to his relationship with MTV DJ Nina Blackwood . The video was a constant on the channel, and gave the singer his biggest success... "Missing You" became John's first and on...

It's time for this week's 80's throwback, and now I'm serving up eight more nuggets from 1982, the year that Scott Fahlman posted the first "emoticons" in an e-mail. :-) (as before I've included links to buy anything on CD or mp3 if available) The Rolling Stones - " Waiting On A Friend " from the album Tattoo You (1981) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #13 Songwriters: Mick Jagger, Keith Richards The Glimmer Twins go all bromantic in this timeless rock classic that the Smiths gleaned the guitar effect from I'm sure. (Click below to see the rest of the post)

Hey gang, it's time for today's 70's throwback, and this week I'm back to 1972, the year Bobby Fischer defeated Russian chess master Boris Spassky to become the first American world chess champion. (I've included links to buy the songs on mp3 and CD when available) Sammy Davis Jr. with the Mike Curb Congregation - " The Candy Man " from the album Sammy Davis, Jr. Now (1972) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #1 Songwriters: Leslie Bricusse, Anthony Newley The Rat Packer stripped "The Candy Man" of its Willy Wonka roots and enlisted children of the corn singers the Mike Curb Congregation for this record certain to cause diabetes with repeated use. (Click below to see the rest of the post)

The Go-Go's - " Turn To You " from the album Talk Show (1984) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #32 (two weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 5 Today's Song of the Day is by the female rock group the Go-Go's , whose third album Talk Show 's first single " Head Over Heels " just missed becoming their third top-10 single by a notch. The second release from the set was the rifftastic "Turn To You". Written by guitarist Charlotte Caffey with second axewoman Jane Wiedlin, the song was directed at Caffey's boyfriend, pitcher Bob Welch. Martin Rushent (the Human League) produced the track, and the video featured the Go-Go's at a rich peoples' dance playing both male (as the band save drummer Gina) and female (where Gina did her man-drag), and even sported a cameo by a then unknown actor named Rob Lowe... The Go-Go's - Turn To You (1984) from MTVClassic1 on Vimeo . "Turn To You" became the band's fifth and last top-40 ...

G'day mates, it's time to head down under again to check out the singles that made this week's official sales chart in Australia , as Katy Perry returns to the top for a fourth non-consecutive week with " Roar "... The big debut of the week at #19 is singer/songwriter Lorde from New Zealand with "Team". She previously went to #2 with the Love Club EP, which contained her worldwide breakthrough "Royals"... (Click below to see the rest of the post)

Hey gang, it's back to the 60s time, and this week I'm going to 1962, the year the Beatles record their first single, "Love Me Do", at Abbey Roads in London. And now let's start off this half-dozen "twistin' party" classics....(I've included links to buy everything either on CD or MP3 in the highlights)... Joey Dee & The Starliters - " Peppermint Twist - Part 1 " from the album Doin' The Twist At The Peppermint Lounge (1962) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #1 Songwriters: Joey Dee, Henry Glover The lead vocals for this dance fad classic were provided by David Brigati, whose brother Eddie would gain even more success singing with the Rascals. (Click below to see the rest of the post)

Billy Squier - " Rock Me Tonite " from the album Signs Of Life (1984) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #15 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 12 Today's Song of the Day is by rock singer/guitarist Billy Squier , who came into 1984 with a track record of back-to-back top-5 albums, with the second landing him a top-40 hit with " Everybody Wants You " in 1982. After a successful tour, Billy took two years to release his next album Signs Of Life . MTV was ready, granting him a coveted "World Premiere Video" slot (remember when they actually had that?). The first single, his self-writte n"Rock Me Tonite", was produced by Squier with Meat Loaf mentor Jim Steinman. The record had the right balance of arena rock guitars and punkish edge, so most of their ducks were in a row. Most. After burning through a couple of directors to shoot the music video, Billy brought in director/choreographer Kenny Ortega, a friend of Squier's girlfriend, to complet...

Hey folks, I'm ready to cross the border to check out the songs making the charts in Germany this week, as Avicii's " Wake Me Up! " spends a tenth week at #1.... The top debut of the week is by German rapper Casper with "Hinterland" at #11... (Click below to see the rest of the post)

It's time for my weekly trip across the Atlantic to check out the songs making the official sales charts in France this week, as Stromae spends a second week on top with " Formidable "... It's a rather slow weeks for new releases here, but the highest debut at #46 is a song that's already conquered much of the rest of the world, from New Zealand's Lorde, it's "Royals"... (Click below to see the rest of the post)

Glenn Frey - " Sexy Girl " from the album The Allnighter (1984) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #20 (two weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 9 Today's Song of the Day is by singer/songwriter Glenn Frey, whose first solo album after the dissolution of the classic rock group Eagles, No Fun Aloud , scored him a couple of top-40 hits with " I Found Somebody " and " The One You Love ", as well as a third that missed the mark by a notch, " All Those Lies ". Two years later in 1984 Frey released his second effort, The Allnighter , and the first single sang the praises of a "Sexy Girl". Written by Frey with Jack Tempchin, who had co-written with the artist for some Eagles' hits like "Peaceful Easy Feeling", the record was produced by Frey with Muscle Shoals sound guy Barry Beckett along with Allan Blazek... Glenn Frey - Sexy Girl by jpdc11 "Sexy Girl" became Frey's second top-20 pop hit in August of 1984, while ...

Juice Newton - " A Little Love " from the album Can't Wait All Night (1984) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #44 This week's "robbed hit" belongs to country-pop singer Juice Newton , who had a string of seven top-40 hits in the early 80s, during a boom for lite-pop music. however, by the time 1984 came around, rock and new wave had taken over the radio waves and the record store shelves. Juice's last album in 1983, Dirty Looks , managed one top-40 single with a remake of the Zombies' hit as " Tell Her No ". In 1984 she released Can't Wait All Night , which tried to move more in the pop/rock direction, and the first single, "A Little Love", did have the bounce of her previous hits to boot. Written by Danny Douma, Richard Feldman, and Todd Sharp, the song was produced by Richard Landis, who has had success with crossover acts like Van Stephenson and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.. However, MTV was in no mood to play a soft-r...

Hey folks, I'm back with round two of this week's "album sweep" sampling the records making their first appearance on this week's Top 200 Albums chart in Billboard magazine. You can check out part one by clicking here , and as usual I've included links to buy anything if possible. Coming in at #75 is the iconic electronica duo Goldfrapp, named for its lead singer Alison, with their sixth full-length studio album Tales Of Us . Their last, 2010's Head First , made it up to #45... (Click below to see the rest of the post)

Hey gang - I'm a little late to the game, but it's time to catch up to see what songs made the official sales chart in Britain this week... The top-selling single of the week belongs to American R&B/pop singer Jason Derulo, who nabs his third #1 hit with "Talk Dirty" featuring rapper 2 Chainz. Jason previously topped the list with "In My Head" and "Don't Wanna Go Home"... (Click below to see the rest of the post)

Tony Carey - " First Day Of Summer " from the album Some Tough City (1984) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #33 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 2 Today's Song of the Day is by rock singer Tony Carey , who score his first top-40 pop hit in 1984 with his dramatic " A Fine, Fine, Day ". For its followup he released the feel-good guitar and synth rocker "The First Day Of Summer", written by Carey and with a babealicious video to boot... "The First Day Of Summer" became Tony's second and most recent top-40 pop hit in July of 1984, while also reaching #21 on the rock radio chart as well. After this Carey would go on recording both as a solo artist as well as part of his previous bands Planet P and Rainbow. (Click below to see the rest of the post)

Hey gang, it's time to roll out part one of this week's "album sweep" sampling the records reaching the Top 200 Albums chart in Billboard magazine for the first time. As usual, I've included links to buy anything if possible... The top-selling album of the week is by country singer Keith Urban, with his second #1 album Fuse . He also hit the top four years ago with Defying Gravity . Now when the firm that provides the data for this chart, SoundScan, announced this week's list, at first this was a hair behind at #2, but a retallying of the numbers put this ahead, at just under a hundred thousand copies... (Click below to see the rest of the post)

Ratt - " Round and Round " from the album Out Of The Cellar (1984) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #12 (two weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 10 Today's Song of the Day is by the heavy metal band Ratt , who came together under lead singer Stephen Pearcy in the early 80s in southern California. After a locally successful EP was released independently, the group released their debut album in 1984. The first single, "Round And Round", became one of MTV's hottest videos thanks to a cameo from Mr. Television himself, Milton Berle, but in and out of drag. add that to the infectious song written by Pearcy with guitarists Robbin Crosby and Warren DeMartini, and you've got a recipe for a big rock hit.... "Round and Round" became Ratt's first top-40 single in August of 1984. It also shot up to #4 on the rock chart, their best showing on both of Billboard 's lists. It also went to #6 in Canada, and went top-40 down under in Australia. It also a...

Hey gang, we're at the last of today's 'chart sweeps' sampling the songs making the singles charts in Billboard magazine, and I'll wrap things up with the latest dance jams in the clubs and on the radio. On the DJ-polled Hot Dance Club Play chart, Selena Gomez scores her second #1 dance hit from her first "solo" album with " Slow Down "... The top entry at #42 are French producer David Vendetta and vocalist Sylvia Tosun, recording as VenSun, with "Love Is Love", this week's " Dance Pick of the Week "... (Click below to see the rest of the post)

Part four of this week's "chart sweeps" is up, with the newest songs to make Billboard magazine's country chart. On the Country Airplay chart, Florida Georgia Line stick around for week two with " Round Here "... The top debut of the week at #54 are the Brothers Osborne with "Let's Go There"... (Click below to see the rest of the post)

We're at the "hump" of today's 'chart sweeps' checking out the singles making Billboard magazine's radio charts, and now I've got the latest R&B jams on the radio... On the main R&B/HipHop Airplay chart, Robin Thicke won't let go for a ninth week with " Blurred Lines "... There's two new songs on the list; first up at #48 is John Legend, who made it to #4 here with "Ordinary People" in 2005. He's back with "All Of Me", my " Soul Pick of the Week "... (Click below to see the rest of the post)

It's time for part two of today's 'chart sweeps' sampling the records making their debut on this week's singles charts in Billboard magazine, and now I'm up to the latest on rock radio. On the aggregate Rock Airplay chart, Lorde reigns for a fifth week with " Royals "... The top entry of the week and my " Rock Pick of the Week " belongs to Canadian indie-rock heroes Arcade Fire, with the first single and title track from their upcoming fourth album, "Reflektor" at #25, featuring David Bowie on backup vocals. The band previously went to the same rank with "Ready To Start" in 2010... (Click below to see the rest of the post)

I'm ready to kick off today's five part 'chart sweeps' checking out the songs reaching the singles charts in Billboard magazine, and as usual I'll start off with the pop side of the house... On the "big" chart, Billboard 's Hot 100 , which combined radio airplay, sales, and internet streaming numbers, Miley Cyrus twerks herself to her first #1 record with "Wrecking Ball", leaping from #22 to #1... The top debut of the week at #51 is DJ/producer Zedd with "Stay The Night" featuring Hayley Williams of the rock band Paramore on vocals. It follows his former top-10 hit "Clarity"... (Click below to see the rest of the post)