Twostepcublog

Hey gang, Friday is finally here, and it's time to run down my top 100 tunes from the week. This time out A Great Big World and Christina Aguilera hold on to #1 for a second week, while Pitbull and Ke$ha (pictured above) hold on so close to the top 10. Songs by Natalia Kills, Mel B., and Aloe Blacc make the biggest jumps (moves of 10+ places highlighted in red ), while former big hits from Katy Perry and the Band Perry drop out. I'm gonna Office Space that printer! This Week               Song/Artist (last week's position in parentheses) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Say Something - A Great Big World & Christina Aguilera (1) 2. Do I Wanna Know? - Arctic Monkeys (2) 3. Team - Lorde (3) 4. Happy - Pharrell Williams (8) 5. Hey Brother - Avicii (5) 6. Pompeii - Bastille (4) 7. The Best Day Of My Life - American Authors (7...

John Fogerty - " Rock and Roll Girls " from the album Centerfield (1985) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #20 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 6 Today's Song of the Day is by veteran roots-rocker John Fogerty , who had a big comeback in 1985 with " The Old Man Down The Road ", his first top-ten pop hit since his days in Creedence Clearwater Revival. For its follow-up single John released the straight-forward rock ditty "Rock and Roll Girls", written and produced by the artist... "Rock and Roll Girls" shot up the charts and reached the top-20 on the Hot 100 in April of 1985, while climbing to #5 on Billboard 's Mainstream Rock radio chart. It did a little better in Canada, stopping at #16, while across the pond in England the record was a minor hit at #83. The song would be John's most recent top-40 pop hit; his next single, the title track from the album, almost scraped that level (it'll be an upcoming "robbed hit...

It's 80's throwback time, and this week I'm back to 1981, the year the Wojciech Jaruzelski becomes the last communist head of state in Poland, lasting until the rise of the Solidarity movement under  Lech Walesa. (I've included highlighted links to buy anything on CD or MP3)... Olivia Newton-John - " Physical " from the album Physical (1981) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #1 Songwriters: Steve Kipner, Terry Shaddick At one time the record-holder for most weeks at #1 in the pop era, this sultry number by the former "Sandy" from Grease even included a nod to her gay fanbase, comic as it is... (Click below to see the rest of the post)

70's throwback of the week is here, and to close out Black History Month here's seven more soul-soaked nuggets from 1971. (I've included links to buy anything here on CD and MP3)... Isaac Hayes - " Theme from Shaft " from the album Shaft (Original Soundtrack) (1971) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #1 Songwriter: Isaac Hayes The classic Oscar-winning song even crossed over to the top ten of the easy-listening radio chart, a real coup musically speaking. Shut yo mouth. (Click below to see the rest of the post)

Eric Clapton - " Forever Man " from the album Behind The Sun (1985) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #26 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 6 Today's Song of the Day is by "Slow Hand", the guitar legend himself, Eric Clapton , who we last saw in 1983 with " I've Got A Rock N Roll Heart " from the album he recorded while recovering from drug addiction, Money & Cigarettes . After that, he appears on Roger Waters' first post-Pink Floyd album and tour, before heading back in the studio with Phil Collins from Genesis to record his ninth solo album Behind The Sun . The first single from the set, "Forever Man", was like an extra-pop-hook-filled sequel to "Layla" with the synths just as prominent as his ax. It was written by Jerry Lynn Williams, who penned the top-10 "Giving It Up For Your Love" for Delbert McClinton in the late 70s... "Forever Man" reached the top-40 in April of 1985, while becoming Clapt...

G'day mates I'm ready to head Down Under to check out the new songs making the official sales chart in Australia this week, as Pharrell  spends a seventh week at #1 with " Happy "... The top entry of the week belongs to British singer Lily Allen, who arrives at #15 with "Air Balloon". It follows up "Hard Out Here", which came in at #14... (Click below to see the rest of the post)

It's 60s flashback Hump Day, and this week I'm back to 1961, the year the US tests the Minuteman I ballistic missile....(I've included links to buy anything you see on CD or MP3 when available)... Ferrante and Teicher - " Exodus " from the album Golden Piano Hits (1962) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #2 Songwriter: Ernest Gold Four different covers of this theme from the epic Paul Newman/Eva-Marie Saint movie based on the early history of the modern state of Israel made the pop chart in 1961, but it was this double-piano version that did the best by far. (Click below to see the rest of the post)

Sade - " Smooth Operator " from the album Diamond Life (1985) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #5 (two weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 13 Today's Song of the Day is by the jazz-soul band named for its strikingly beautiful and talented leader and vocalist, Sade . Born Helen Folasade Adu in western Nigeria, then moved to England as a toddler after her parents split up. Her singing career started in a band originally named Pride, but when signed to Portrait Records as a solo artist, she brought on three of Pride's members into her band. They released their first single, " Your Love Is King ", at the start of 1984, and became their first top-10 hit in the UK. Sade's first single in the US, " Hang On To Your Love ", almost made the Hot 100 around the same time, peaking at #102 on the "bubbling under" chart.  For its follow-up Sade released the seductive lite jazz of "Smooth Operator", written by Adu with former Pride bandmate Ray ...

I'm ready to cross over now to see the latest songs to make the official music singles chart in Germany this week, as Pharrell hangs on for a sixth week on top with " Happy "... The top entry of the week at #24 is from French DJ and producer David Guetta with his rework of Cher/Nancy Sinatra's classic "Shot Me Down" with Skylar Grey on vocals. Guetta previously topped the chart in this country with "Sexy Bitch" back in 2009... (Click below to see the rest of the post)...

Bonjour, mes amis, it's time again to cross the Atlantic yet again to check out the records making the official top 100 singles chart in France this week, as Pharrell spends an eleventh non-consecutive week at #1 with " Happy "... The top debut of the week up at #6 is from the French-born international dance music DJ and producing star David Guetta with his rework of the Cher/Nancy Sinatra hit "Shot Me Down" featuring Skylar Grey on vocals. Guetta has topped the charts in his own country twice, with "Gettin' Over You" and "Sweat" with Snoop Dogg.. (Click below to see the rest of the post)

Daryl Hall & John Oates - " Some Things Are Better Left Unsaid " from the album Big Bam Boom (1984) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #18 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 8 Today's Song of the Day is from the Philadelphia blue-eyed soul and pop hitmaking duo of Hall and Oates , whose dance-oriented Big Bam Boom album had already spun off a #1 single with " Out Of Touch " and a top-5 follow up with " Method Of Modern Love ". For the third release the pair slowed things down a bit with a more reflective song about relationships written by Daryl alone called "Some Things Are Better Left Unsaid".... They go through pouring rain, but their hair is perfect . Really. "Some Things..." became the third top-20 pop hit off of the album in May of 1985, while doing the same on the adult contemporary (or "easy-listening") chart at #17. The record even dropped in on the R&B chart in Billboard , peaking at #85. Internationa...

Santana - " Say It Again " from the album Beyond Appearances (1985) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #46 This week's "robbed hit" is by the Latin-rock fusion band Santana , who had last been seen in 1982 with the top-20 pop hit " Hold On ". It took three years for the release of their next album, Beyond Appearances , with most of the lineup changed save for leader and namesake Carlos Santana. Although guitarist and vocalist Alex Ligertwood, who had sung on the band's last two top-40 hits " Winning " and "Hold On", was still on the record, the lead-off single, "Say It Again", was handled by newbie Greg Walker. The song, written by producers Val Garay ("Bette Davis Eyes") and Steve Goldstein with background singer Anthony Lapeau, seemed disconnected from the classic band's sound... "Say It Again" did manage to almost scrape the top-40 (probably mostly from name recognition) in April of 1985, ...

It's time for part two of this week's "album sweep" sampling the records reaching the Top 200 Album chart in Billboard magazine for the first time. You can check out part one by clicking here , and as before I've included highlighted links to buy anything you see as well as the artist's other work. Philly-area indie-punk band Modern Baseball debuts at #97 with You're Gonna Miss It All ... (Click below to see the rest of the post)

The Power Station - " Some Like It Hot " from the album The Power Station (1985) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #6 (two weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 12 Today's Song of the Day is by the rock/funk "supergroup" The Power Station, which came together after the British new wave chart kings Duran Duran, took a break after their tour behind their successful Seven & The Ragged Tiger album in 1984. Guitarist Andy Taylor and bass player John Taylor (no relation) choose to work together on a project that would explore their interest in a more heavier rock style of music, and recruited Chic drummer Tony Thompson to provide the whomping drums that would pervade their recordings. Originally meant to feature a myriad of guest singers, instead they chose suave British blue-eyed soul singer Robert Palmer to record the entire debut album as lead singer, and Thompson's Chic bandmate Bernard Edwards to produce the disc. The first single from the set, "Some Like It ...

The weekend's almost at a close, and time to check out the songs making their first appearance on the just-released British official singles chart this week... The top-selling song of the week belongs to singer and Brit Award winner Sam Smith with his first top-40 lead-artist hit and one of his two entries in the top 100 this week, "Money On My Mind". He previously was at #1 as a featured artist on Naughty Boy's single " La La La " last year... (Click below to see the rest of the post)

Hey folks, I'm ready to roll out the first half of this week's "album sweep", sampling the songs making the Top 200 Albums sales chart in Billboard magazine. As always, I've included highlighted links to buy any of the albums or the artists' other work if possible, but if you get a chance, please visit an independent record store, it'll do you (and the economy) good... The top-selling album of the week selling close to 300,000 copies this week is the fourth studio album by country rocker Eric Church, The Outsiders . It's his second to reach the top of the albums chart; in 2011 he did the same with Chief ... (Click below to see the rest of the post)

Dan Hartman - "Second Nature" from the album I Can Dream About You (1984) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #39 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 2 Today's Song of the Day is by singer/songwriter/producer Dan Hartman , who went from being a rock sideman in the Edgar Winter Group to being a disco wunderkind to being a pop breakout with his I Can Dream About You album, which had already spawned a top ten hit with the title track and a #1 club hit with follow-up " We Are The Young ". For the third release from the album Dan went back to the pop/soul well with "Second Nature", a straightforward pop song written by the artist with collaborator Charlie Midnight, and co-produced by Dan with Jimmy Iovine...(cue up the cheesily-adorbs video) "Second Nature" became Dan's fourth and final top-40 pop hit in March of 1985. The single also climbed to #19 on the adult contemporary (or "easy listening") radio chart, while stopping at #40 o...

I'm ready to wrap up today's "chart sweeps" with the latest dance songs to make the charts in Billboard magazine... On the DJ-polled Dance Club Play chart, Swedish DJ and producer Avicii claims a fifth #1 hit single with " Hey Brother "... Teaming up at #39 with "Can't Remember To Forget You" is Colombian powerhouse Shakira and Barbadian diva Rihanna..... (Click below to see the rest of the post)

Part four of this week's "Chart sweeps" has the latest country songs on the radio monitored by Billboard magazine. On the Country Airplay chart, Jason Aldean scores his fourth #1 from his Night Train album (and eleventh overall) with " When She Says Baby "... I was flabbergasted when Sugarland lead singer Jennifer Nettles' first solo single " That Girl " stalled out at #37.  She's off to a better start by debuting at #50 with the follow-up single, "Me Without You", 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 reaching the singles charts in Billboard magazine, and this time I'm serving up the latest on R&B radio.... On the main R&B/Hip Hop Airplay chart, Beyonce and Jay Z hang on for a fifth week at #1 with " Drunk In Love "... Coming in as the high debut of the week at #46 is the return of Louisiana rappers Lil' Boosie and Webbie with "Show The World" featuring Kiara. The pair previously went to #5 here as a collaboration with " Independent "... (Click below to see the rest of the post)

Round two of this week's "chart sweeps" is up, with the latest song on rock radio as per the charts in Billboard magazine. On the main Rock Airplay list, British alt-rockers Arctic Monkeys score their first #1 with " Do I Wanna Know? "... The big debut at #43 is from electro-pop duo Cherub from Tennessee, with their first hit "Doses and Mimosas"... (Click below to see the rest of the post)

It's time to roll out the first of today's five "chart sweeps", checking out the songs making the latest singles and radio charts in Billboard magazine. As always, I'll start with the pop side, and later on today cover rock, R&B, country, and dance music.... and away we go... On the "big" chart, Billboard 's Hot 100 , which tallies sales, airplay, and internet streaming, Katy Perry remains on top for a fourth week with " Dark Horse "... The top entry of the week at #62 is the theme to the biggest movie in the land, The LEGO Movie , and Tegan Are Sara proclaim that "Everything Is Awesome!!!" with comic trio the Lonely Island in tow. It's automatically their biggest hit to date - last year they snuck in at #90 with their slow-burner hit " Closer "... (Click below to see the rest of the post)

Greg Kihn - " Lucky " from the album Citizen Kihn (1985) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #30 (two weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 4 Today's Song of the Day is by Bay Area rocker Greg Kihn , who had scored a huge hit in 1983 with " Jeopardy ", which peaked one notch away from the top spot. However, Greg had troubles following up that single, and his next album even failed to put a single in the whole top-100. Leaving from local label Berserkley to EMI America, Kihn commemorated his fresh start with the song "Lucky", complete with big-idea storyboarded music video (one of the cheesiest of the 80s).... "Lucky" did manage to bring Kihn back to the pop top 40 in April of 1985, though perhaps it was too much of a paler knockoff of "Jeopardy" to do any better. It did even better in the dance clubs, peaking at #16, while stopping at #24 on Billboard 's Mainstream Rock radio chart. It would be his last hurrah in the top-40, though the...

The end of the work week is here, and I'm ready to run down my top 100 tunes from the week. This time out A Great Big World and Christina Aguilera climb to the #1 spot, while Pharrell Williams (pictured above) leaps into the top ten. Former big hits by Darius Rucker, Fitz & The Tantrums, Cole Plante, and Kristine W fall off my list, while songs by Betty Who, Randy Houser, and Clean Bandit make the biggest jumps (moves of 10+ places highlighted in red ). I'm looking up groundhog recipes now... This Week             Song/Artist (last week's position in parentheses) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Say Something - A Great Big World & Christina Aguilera (2) 2. Do I Wanna Know? - Arctic Monkeys (1) 3. Team - Lorde (5) 4. Pompeii - Bastille (4) 5. Hey Brother - Avicii (7) 6. Burn - Ellie Goulding (6) 7. The Best Day Of My Life - American Authors...

Foreigner - " That Was Yesterday " from the album Agent Provocateur (1984) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #12 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 10 Today's Song of the Day is by the arena-rock group Foreigner , who went a bit soft and scored the biggest hit of their career with " I Want To Know What Love Is ". For its follow-up they picked up the pace just a tad for the midtempo rocker from Lou Gramm and Mick Jones, "That Was Yesterday". With the synths more prominent than the guitar, it's apparent the guys were shooting for pop airplay... "That Was Yesterday" became the second single from the band's Agent Provocateur album to reach the top-20 on the pop chart in May of 1985, while scaling to #4 on Billboard 's Mainstream Rock radio chart. The record was "light" enough to even make the adult-contemporary (or "easy-listening") list at #24. It was a little less successful internationally, but still managed t...

80's throwback time is up right now with eight more nuggets from 1980, the year that the FBI targeted members of Congress in the ABSCAM bribery scandal, which snagged my own congressman Frank Thompson (now the subject of the movie American Hustle )...(I've included highlighted links to buy anything on MP3 or CD when available) The Pointer Sisters - " He's So Shy " from the album Special Things (1980) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #3 Songwriters: Tom Snow, Cynthia Weil Hey whatdya know, it's my own theme song, song by the totally awesome siblings from Oakland. (Click below to see the rest of the post)

Hey gang - it's 70s throwback time, and this week I'm back to 1970, the year Black Sabbath's debut album was released, dubbed by some as the first "heavy metal" album...(I've included links to buy anything if available on mp3 or CD)... The Jackson 5 - " I Want You Back " from the album Diana Ross presents the Jackson 5 (1969) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #1 Songwriters: Berry Gordy, Fonze Mizell, Freddie Peren, Deke Richards The song that started it all for the family from Gary Indiana, and there was no stopping them after that. The album title may be misleading, since it was Gladys Knight that got the boys to Gordy. (Click below to see the rest of the post)

Simple Minds - " Don't You (Forget About Me) " from the album The Breakfast Club (Original Soundtrack) (1985) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #1 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 14 Today's Song of the Day is by the Scottish alternative rock group Simple Minds , who came together in the city of Glasgow in the late 1970s under lead singer Jim Kerr. They released their first album Life In A Day in 1979, and its new-wave styled title track became their first minor hit in the UK, peaking at #62. They would continue to have a few more minor hits while also crossing over to the dance clubs in America, popping up on the club chart in Billboard as early as 1981 with " I Travel " (#55), which was a frantic slice of electro-pop that predicted the Human League's success. Their first big hit in their homeland came in 1982, with the single " Promised You A Miracle ", which slowed to a New Romantic midtempo almost Chic-like sheen, and climbed the British c...

G'day mates, it's time to head Down Under to check out the songs making their way on to the official singles chart in Australia this week, as Pharrell climbs back to #1 for a sixth non-consecutive week with "Happy"... The top debut of the week at #50 is from English singer/songwriter Ryan Keen with "Old Scars"... (Click below to see the rest of the post)