Twostepcublog

This week's 60s flashback goes back to 1968, the year the 'Summer Olympics' were held in Mexico City in October... Jeannie C. Riley - " Harper Valley PTA " from the album Harper Valley PTA (1968) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #1 Songwriter: Tom T. Hall The first song by a female performer that topped both the pop and country charts, this story of an independent woman (is the Mrs. a widow? a divorcee'? a woman whose husband is off to war?) was a natch to expand to make a TV show starring former genie Barbara Eden... (Click below to see the rest of the post)

Bonjour, mes amis, it's time to check out the top ten singles over in France this week, as Lilly Wood & The Prick hold on at #1 for an eleventh week with " Prayer In C "... 1. "Prayer In C (Robin Schulz Remix)" - Lilly Wood & The Prick (1) 2. "Chandelier" - Sia (3) 3. "Habits (Stay High)" - Tove Lo (2) 4. "Fade Out Lines" - The Avener (DEBUT) 5. "Budapest" - George Ezra (6) 6. "Stay With Me" - Sam Smith (7) 7. "A Sky Full Of Stars" - Coldplay (4) 8. "Lovers On The Sun" - David Guetta f/Sam Martin (5) 9. "La Legend Black" - Black M (DEBUT) 10. "Sur Ma Route" - Black M (10) The first of the two new entries this week is from French alternative dance-pop act The Avener with "Fade Out Lines"... (Click below to see the rest of the post)

Dire Straits - " So Far Away " from the album Brothers In Arms (1985) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #19 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 7 Today's Song of the Day is by the British blues-rock band Dire Straits, whose fifth album Brothers In Arms had broke big in America, scoring a #1 pop hit with " Money For Nothing " and a top-10 follow-up with " Walk Of Life ". For their third single in America they went with the track they led off with in the UK and Europe, the laid-back slide guitar rock of "So Far Away", where Mark Knopfler does his best Bob Dylan impersonation, over a repetitive lyric that seems like a folk hymn... "So Far Away" became the third top-20 pop hit from Brothers In Arms in April of 1986. The song also climbed to #29 on the Mainstream Rock radio chart, but its biggest success was at adult contemporary (or 'easy listening') radio, where it peaked all the way at #3. Internationally, "So Far Away...

Meli'sa Morgan - " Do Me Baby " from the album Do Me Baby (1986) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #46 This week's "robbed hit" is brought to us by R&B singer Meli'sa Morgan , a Queens native that was a member of two charting acts before her own solo success. First, in 1982, as one of the three in Shades Of Love, who climbed the charts with " Keep In Touch (Body To Body) ", which peaked at #26 on the club chart and #52 on the R&B chart in Billboard . The following year, she sang on the High Fashion, and landed in the top-40 on the R&B list with " Feelin' Lucky Lately ". (Another member of that group, Alyson Williams, would also have solo success later on in the 80s.) After stints as a backup singer, Morgan got her chance to record her first solo album on Capitol Records (who were enjoying success with labelmates Freddie Jackson and Melba Moore). The title song from that record, "Do Me Baby", was a remake of ...

The second half of this week's "album sweep", sampling the records making the official Top 200 Albums sales chart in Billboard magazine, is here. You can check out the first part by clicking here . As before I've included highlighted links to buy any of the new sets if possible, as well as the some of the artists' other big work... After five studio albums with their band Good Charlotte, the Madden Brothers strike out on their own at #57 with their project Greetings From California . With GC they had three top-10 efforts with The Chronicles Of Life And Death going to #3 in 2004... (Click below to see the rest of the post)

The Outfield - " Your Love " from the album Play Deep (1985) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #6 (two weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 12 Today's Song of the Day comes from the British power-pop band The Outfield , who came together originally as "the Baseball Boys" in Manchester England in the early 80s. Changing their name for their first album, though still remaining as American-sounding in their moniker as they were in their sound, the trio of guitarist/songwriter John Spinks, drummer Alan Jackman, and lead singer and bass player Tony Lewis released their debut album in 1985. The first single from the project, " Say It Isn't So ", was a personal favorite of mine as well as MTVs, who promoted the video, even though it stiffed on pop radio (it did manage to climb to #18 on the rock radio list in Billboard magazine). The threesome made up for that with their second single, "Your Love". Written by Spinks and produced by William Wittman, the...

The weekend is coming to a close, so it's time to check out the songs making their way on to the official singles chart in the UK this week... The biggest song in Britain is a debut from three of the hottest acts in mindless pop today, Jessie J, Ariana Grande, and Nicki Minaj, as their "Bang Bang" takes over the top spot in its first week on the chart. It's Jessie's third time at #1 (after "Price Tag" and "Domino"), Ariana's second behind "Problem", and believe it or not, Nicki's first as either a lead or a featured artist.... (Click below to see the rest of the post)

Hey gang, I'm ready to roll out the first half of this week's "album sweep", sampling the records making their debut on the official Top 200 Albums sales chart in Billboard magazine. As usual, I've included highlighted links to buy the new crew if possible, as well as some of the artists' other major work. Support the talent! Speaking of talent, the top-selling album in America comes from a national treasure, singer/actress/producer/all-around awesome Barbra Streisand, with her thirty-fourth studio album Partners . The collection of collaborations sells close to 200,000 copies in its first week. It's her tenth release to reach the top (including a greatest hits set and the Star Is Born soundtrack with Kris Kristofferson), her first being People back in 1964. As opposed to her Duets release from 2002 that collected songs from older albums with a couple of new tracks, this is all-new with duets with the likes of Lionel Richie, John Mayer, and Billy...

Pet Shop Boys - " West End Girls " from the album Please (1986) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #1 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 14 Today's Song of the Day is the first hit single for the British electropop duo Pet Shop Boys , who met in the early 80s, and after originally naming themselves West End, changed to their current moniker. Neil Tennant was an up and coming music writer that just got hired by Smash Hits , one of the music tabloids of the day in the UK, while Chris Lowe, a former architecture student, was an keyboard whiz. Coming to America to interview the Police, Neil hooked up with freestyle producer/artist Bobby O, who collaborated with the duo for the original recording of their first single "West End Girls". With a narrative inspired by old 'gangster' films and set in the gritty streets of west London, and delivered in a deadpan rap that drew listeners to the bass synth, the single started to get play in American clubs and even made th...

I'm ready to wrap up the last of today's "chart sweeps", checking out the latest songs to make the singles chart in Billboard magazine, with the latest dance jams in the clubs and on the radio... On the DJ-polled Dance Club Play chart, Iggy Azalea scores her second #1 hit after " Fancy " as " Black Widow " with Rita Ora moves to the top spot... The top two pop hits on the Hot 100 are the two high debuts on the club chart this week. First at #37 is Meghan Trainor with "All About That Bass"... (Click below to see the rest of the post)

Part four of today's "chart sweeps" is up with the latest songs on country radio as monitored by Billboard magazine. On their Country Airplay chart, Dustin Lynch spends a second week at #1 with his first chart-topper, " Where It's At (Yep, Yep) "... As Eric Church's third single from his Outsiders album, " Cold One ", drops from its peak of #20 to #30 this week, he can take consolation as his fourth one, "Talladega", leaps in as the highest debut of the week at #45. It sounds like something Kenny Chesney would've released ten years ago... (Click below to see the rest of the post)

We're at the "hump" of today's "chart sweeps", sampling the songs making the radio charts in Billboard magazine, and this time I'm serving up the latest R&B songs on the radio... On the main R&B/Hip Hop Airplay chart Jeremih and YG rule for a fifth week with " Don't Tell 'Em "... The top debut at #39 is from new singer/rapper from Atlanta I LOVE MAKONNEN, a protege' of Drake with his first hit "Tuesday" featuring the Canadian rapper... (Click below to see the rest of the post)

Round two of this week's "chart sweeps" is up, with the latest rock songs on the radio as monitored by Billboard magazine. On their main Rock Airplay chart, Vance Joy enjoys a seventh week on top with " Riptide "... British singer/songwriter George Ezra jumps in at #39 with his international hit "Budapest". The single is already at #17 on the Triple-A format... Jack Antonoff's side-project from fun, Bleachers, sits in at #46 with "Roller Coaster". It follows " I Wanna Get Better ", which went to #6 on this chart. The new one (well, it sounds straight from the early 80s) moves up to #27 on the Alternative rock chart...  and now on to the rock radio format charts... On the Mainstream Rock radio panel, The Pretty Reckless' " Messed Up World " is at #1 for the third non-consecutive week.... Bush leaps in at #25 with "The Only Way Out", their new one that also moves up to #38 on the Roc...

I'm ready to kick off the first of today's five "chart sweeps", checking out the songs making their debut on the various singles charts in Billboard magazine. As usual, I'll start off on the pop side of the house, and then later on in the day bring you the latest on rock, R&B, country, and dance radio.. And away we go... On the "big" chart, Billboard 's Hot 100 , which combines tallies from sales, internet streaming (like YouTube and Spotify) and radio airplay from all formats, Meghan Trainor holds tight at #1 for a third week with " All About That Bass ".... Rocketing on to the chart at #18 is a song from Jennifer Lopez, who's been having a rough go with her latest album A.K.A. The first two singles from the project, the shitty faux-street-level " I Luh Ya Papi " and the surprisingly enjoyable " First Love ", both stalled on the bottom quarter of the chart. Well, add a soft-porn music video with homoero...

Jermaine Jackson - " I Think It's Love " from the album Precious Moments (1986) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #16 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 9 Today's Song of the Day comes from Jacksons brother Jermaine , whose self-titled 1984 album had scored him a pair of top-20 pop hits with " Dynamite " and " Do What You Do ". In the two years before his next album, Jackson produced three songs from Whitney Houston's debut album (coincidentally the three that were never singles anywhere). In 1986, he released his eleventh solo album Precious Moments . The first single from the project, "I Think It's Love", was co-written with Stevie Wonder and producer Michael Omartian, and it's a slice of bouncy adult-synthpop that is readymade for office-radio play, and a much more natural performance than the forced pseudo-funk of "Dynamite"... "I Think It's Love" became Jermaine's seventh and so far last top-...

Friday's back, and so is my rundown of my top 100 tunes from the week. Sam Smith is on top for a fourteenth week, while Adam Levine (pictured above) and his band Maroon 5 move into the top-5. Songs by Erika Jayne, Jessie J/Ariana Grande/Nicki Minaj, and Linkin Park make the biggest jumps (moves of 10+ places highlighted in red ), while former big hits from Godsmack, Dave Aude/Andy Bell, Brad Paisley, and Billy Currington drop off the list. Welcome, Autumn! This Week              Song/Artist (last week's position in parentheses) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Stay With Me - Sam Smith (1) 2. All About That Bass - Meghan Trainor (4) 3. A Sky Full Of Stars - Coldplay (3) 4. Dangerous - Big Data f/Joywave (2) 5. Maps - Maroon 5 (6) 6. Riptide - Vance Joy (8) 7. Stolen Dance - Milky Chance (11) 8. Rude - Magic! (5) 9. Chandelier - Sia (7) 1...

Opus - " Live Is Life " from the album Up & Down (1985) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #32 (two weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 5 Today's Song of the Day comes from the Austrian rock band Opus , who started out as a garage band in the early 70s, but didn't get to release their first album until the start of the next decade. It took a couple more years, but the group finally scored their first homeland top-10 hit with " Flying High ". In 1984, they released a live album in Europe, Live Is Life . The title track was a folksy sing-a-long number that became immensely popular all over Europe, going to #1 in Germany, France, Canada, and Austria, and top-10 in England, Holland, and Italy. The song about how concerts are more important to them, caught an audience in American as they toured opening for Stevie Nicks, so the song was tacked on to their studio album Up & Down ... "Live Is Life" became Opus' first and only American hit single in...

It's throwback Thursday 80s style time, and this week I'm back to 1987, the year German teen pilot Mathias Rust was tried for flying into Moscow with his Cessna plane, eventually causing the dismissal of much of Russia's old-guard military leaders and leading to the end of the Cold War. Kool & The Gang - "Holiday" from the album Forever (1986) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #66 Songwriters: Robert Bell, Ronald Bell, George Brown, Claydes Smith, J.T. Taylor, Curtis Williams This final (well, so-far) top-10 R&B hit for the New Jersey pop/funk act also was a hit in Germany, reaching the top-40 on their pop chart. (Click below to see the rest of the post)

It's time to head Down Under to check out the songs making their debut on the top-50 of the official singles chart in Australia this week, as Meghan Trainor comes back to spend a fourth non-consecutive week at #1 with " All About That Bass "... The top debut of the week at #19 is the current #1 song in the UK right now, "Changing" by Sigma with Paloma Faith. It follows "Nobody To Love", which peaked at #11 in this country... (Click below to see the rest of the post)

Stevie Nicks - " I Can't Wait " from the album Rock A Little (1985) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #16 (two weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 8 Today's Song of the Day is by singer/songwriter Stevie Nicks , whose third album apart from her stint in the rock band Fleetwood Mac had already scored her fourth top-40 pop hit (and highest non-duet rank) with " Talk To Me ". She also was on the charts coming in to 1986 with her featured appearance on Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers' live single cover of " Needles And Pins ". At the same time, she released her second single from Rock A Little ; "I Can't Wait" was a percussive uptempo pop song co-written with Rick Nowels and Eric Pressly. It would be her "danciest" of singles, driven by the thundering drumrolls and the power chord synths. And in the frenetically paced video, you can see the coke is taking its toll... "I Can't Wait" became the second top-20 pop h...

It's Hump Day 70s party-time, and this week I've got seven more nuggets from 1977, the year Voyager 1 is launched. Mary MacGregor - " Torn Between Two Lovers " from the album Torn Between Two Lovers (1976) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #1  Songwriters: Phil Jarrell, Peter Yarrow Peter Yarrow of  folk-rock trio Peter, Paul & Mary co-wrote and co-produced this tale of complicated love and recruited a different Mary to sing it. A Lee Remick/George Peppard TV movie followed. (Click below to see the rest of the post)

On the official singles chart in Germany this week, David Guetta's "Lovers On The Sun" spends a fifth week at #1 with " Lovers On The Sun ".... 1. Lovers On The Sun - David Guetta f/Sam Martin (1) 2. When The Beat Drops Out - Marlon Roudette (2) 3. Ghost - Ella Henderson (5) 4. Prayer In C (Robin Schulz Remix) - Lilly Wood & The Prick (3) 5. Au Revoir - Mark Forster f/Sido (4) 6. Maps - Maroon 5 (6) 7. Wicked Wonderland - Martin Tungevaag (7) 8. Rude - Magic! (8) 9. Bad Chick - Cro (DEBUT) 10. Superheroes - The Script (10) Debuting at #9 is German comic rapper Cro with "Bad Chick". It's his sixth single to make the top-10...

The Cars - " I'm Not The One " from the album Greatest Hits (1985) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #32 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 4 Today's Song of the Day comes from the American new-wave/power-pop band the Cars , who released their greatest hits album in 1985 and already had scored another top-10 pop hit with " Tonight She Comes ". For its followup they released another cut from the hits set that was originally an album cut on their 1981 record Shake It Up . "Tonight She Comes" was given a "fresher" remix and released as a single, and became their next hit... "I'm Not The One" became the twelfth top-40 pop hit for the Cars in March of 1986. The single also climbed  to #29 on the Mainstream Rock and #24 on the Adult Contemporary radio chart in Billboard magazine. Internationally the single was a minor hit in Canada and Australia. It may not be one of their best-remembered songs, but it's a nice atmospheri...

It's time to go back to the 60s again, and this week I've got a half-dozen nuggets from 1967, the year the residents of Gibraltar had a vote somewhat like Scotland's, whether to remain with Britain or join with Spain. less than 50 sided with the Spaniards. Aretha Franklin - " Respect " from the album I Never Loved A Man The Way I Loved You (1967) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #1 (two weeks) Songwriter: Otis Redding The musical version of Devin Hester scoring a touchdown on a kickoff return in the Super Bowl. From her first words Aretha told you how things are gonna be. One of those absolute perfect records that you can listen to eight times in a row focusing on different aspects of the production. (Click below to see the rest of the post)

On this week's French singles chart , the Robin Schulz remix of Lilly Wood & The Prick's "Prayer In C" stays at #1 for a tenth week... 1. Prayer In C (Robin Schulz Mix) - Lilly Wood & The Prick (1) 2. Habits (Stay High) - Tove Lo (2) 3. Chandelier - Sia (3) 4. A Sky Full Of Stars - Coldplay (4) 5. Lovers On The Sun - David Guetta f/Sam Martin (5) 6. Budapest - George Ezra (9) 7. Stay With Me - Sam Smith (6) 8. Calogero - Un Jour Au Mauvais Endroit (7) 9. Jungle - Emma Louise (DEBUT) 10. Sur Ma Route - Black M (8) Another remix of an older title, this title Australian singer/songwriter Emma Louise, is the sole new entry at #9, with "Jungle" from 2013. German DJ Wanklemut has reworked the track...

Robert Palmer - " Addicted To Love " from the album Riptide (1985) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #1 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 14 Today's Song of the Day was the breakthrough solo hit single for suave British singer Robert Palmer, who started his career back in the 70s, at first in a duo called Vinegar Joe, and then releasing his first solo set in 1974. With dabblings in both roots-rock, soul, and reggae, he first appeared on the American singles chart in 1976 with a cut from his third album, " Man Smart, Woman Smarter ". But with a smoother approach in the later 70s, he scored back-to-back albums with top-20 pop hits in America with the breezy " Every Kinda People " which won over with its steel drum riff, and the harder retro rock of " Bad Case Of Lovin' You ", where it sounds like writer Moon Martin was writing a Chuck Berry through Mitch Ryder song. But this success didn't carry over to his native England until 1980, when...

Dan Seals - " Bop " from the album Won't Be Blue Anymore (1985) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #42 This week's "robbed hit" comes from a singer/songwriter that started out as one half of a big soft-rock duo from the 70's. Dan Seals got his first big break with schoolmate John Ford Coley using the name "England Dan", and the pair placed six singles into the top-40 during the decade, including four that reached the top-10, and one, " I'd Really Love To See You Tonight ", which peaked at #2 in 1976. At the beginning of the 1980's, Dan and John split, with Seals pursuing a new path in country music. At first keeping the "England" in his moniker, his first solo single " Late At Night " was a minor pop hit in 1980. After a second album that didn't go anywhere, Seals switched labels to Capitol Records, which signaled a turning point in his solo direction, as country radio was embracing more softer-sounding a...