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" Just Like Heaven " - The Cure from the album Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me (1987) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #40 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 1 Today's Song of the Day comes from the British band the Cure , who started out in southern England as a post-punk outfit led by singer Robert Smith in the late 70s. With drummer Lol Tolhurst, they released their first indie single, the controversial " Killing An Arab " (inspired by the books of French writer Albert Camus), in 1978. A second release, " Boys Don't Cry ", snuck onto the Australian singles chart at #99 the following year and popped on to the American dance chart at #70. As the 80s loomed and the post-punk and new wave movements really gained steam, the Cure's star brightened, as they landed their first top-40 hit in England with " A Forest " (#31). During the first half of the decade the band, who had undergone a member shift with half of the band replaced, were coalesci

Friday is here, and it's time to run down my top 100 tunes from the previous week. Elle King holds at #1 for a second week, while Calvin Harris (pictured above) leaps into the top ten. Songs from twenty-one pilots, Ellie Goulding, and Sam Smith make the biggest jumps (moves of 10+ places highlighted in red ), while former big hits frrom Icona Pop, Thomas Rhett, Fantine, and Zedd drop off my list. Last minute vacation! This Week            Song/Artist (last week's position in parentheses) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1. Ex's & Oh's - Elle King (1) 2. Wildest Dreams - Taylor Swift (2) 3. First - Cold War Kids (4) 4. Renegades - X Ambassadors (6) 5. Can't Feel My Face - The Weeknd (3) 6. How Deep Is Your Love - Calvin Harris f/Disciples (12) 7. Could Have Been Me - The Struts (9) 8. Like I'm Gonna Lose You - Meghan Trainor f/John Legend (8) 9. Photograph - Ed Sheeran (5) 10. Someone N

" Push It " - Salt-N-Pepa from the album Hot, Cool & Vicious (1986) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #19 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 13 Today's Song of the Day comes from the rap act Salt-N-Pepa , named for its leader Cheryl James ("Salt") and Sandra Denton ("Pepa"). Along with DJ Spinderella (Deidra Roper), they released their first indie single " Showstopper " in 1985, which climbed to #46 on the R&B chart in Billboard magazine. That success led them and their producer Herby "Luv Bug" Azor to Next Plateau Records, where they recorded their debut album Hot, Cool & Vicious . The third single from the set, " Tramp ", landed the trio into the top-40 on the soul chart at #21, but it was the "B-side" that brought the women their true breakthrough. "Push It", written by Azor with a dash of the Kinks' 60's hit "You Really Got Me" added, was undeniably dance-club gold, and t

It's time to head Down Under to check out the songs making their debut on the official singles chart in Australia this week, as Macklemore & Ryan Lewis spend a fourth week at #1 with " Downtown "... One Direction claim the top debut of the week as they leap in at #4 with "Perfect". It's the second single from their upcoming Made In The A.M. album, following the #1 "Drag Me Down"... (Click below to see the rest of the post)

" What Have I Done To Deserve This? " - Pet Shop Boys with Dusty Springfield from the album actually . (1987) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #2 (two weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 13 Today's song of the day is by the British synthpop duo Pet Shop Boys , whose sophomore album actually. returned them to the top ten in America with " It's A Sin ". For the second single Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe recruited a singer they revered, British "blue-eyed" soul legend Dusty Springfield, for the tune "What Have I Done To Deserve This?". Dusty, who was nearing her 50th birthday, had been gone from the American Top-40 since 1970's "Brand New Me". In her 60s heyday, she reached the top-10 on the pop chart three times before, but the retro-styled track with Neil's deadpan rap anchoring the song squarely in the 80s, became her highest-charting single ever in the States... "What Have I Done To Deserve This?" climbed al

Here's the top ten hits in Germany this week, according to their official singles chart , as Sido and Andreas Bourani spend a seventh non-consecutive week at #1 with "Astronaut"... 1. " Astronaut " - Sido featuring Andreas Bourani (1) 2. " Geiles Leben " - Glasperlenspiel (2) 3. " Lieblingsmensch " - Namika (3) 4. " Avenir " - Louane (6) 5. " Sugar " - Robin Schulz featuring Francesco Yates (4) 6. " Easy Love " - Sigala (5) 7. " Book Of Love " - Felix Jaehn featuring Polina (8) 8. " Photograph " - Ed Sheeran (7) 9. " How Deep Is Your Love " - Calvin Harris featuring Disciples (10) 10. " Locked Away " - R. City featuring Adam Levine (9) There are no new songs in the top-10; down at #16 is "Ich will nur dass du weißt" ("I Just Want You To Know") from Berlin duo SDP (for Stone Deaf Productions) with singer Adel Tawil...

" Everywhere " - Fleetwood Mac from the album Tango In The Night (1987) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #14 (two weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 10 Today's song of the day comes from the veteran rock band Fleetwood Mac , whose Tango In The Night album had already spun off three big hits with " Big Love ", " Seven Wonders ", and " Little Lies ". The fourth release from the record like "Little Lies" again featured songwriter Christine McVie, with the mid-tempo tune "Everywhere". It would be the last with Lindsey Buckingham before he quit the band (to come back much later), and neither he nor Stevie Nicks even appeared in the video... "Everywhere" became the fourth top-20 pop hit from Tango In The Night in America in February of 1988. The song went all the way to #1 on Billboard 's Adult Contemporary (or "easy listening") chart (their second and last after "Little Lies"), and stopped at

Here's the top ten hits in France this week, according to their official singles chart , as Charlie Puth and Meghan Trainor jump two notches to #1 with "Marvin Gaye"... 1. " Marvin Gaye " - Charlie Puth featuring Meghan Trainor (3) 2. " Summer 2015 " - L.E.J. (2) 3. " El Perdon (Forgiveness) " - Nicky Jam & Enrique Iglesias (4) 4. " Locked Away " - R. City featuring Adam Levine (7) 5. " Le Prince Aladin " - Black M featuring Kev Adams (8) 6. " Sugar " - Robin Schulz featuring Francesco Yates (6) 7. " How Deep Is Your Love " - Calvin Harris featuring Disciples (5) 8. "Perfect" - One Direction (DEBUT) 9. "Don't Worry" - Madcon featuring Ray Dalton (DEBUT) 10. " What Do You Mean? " - Justin Bieber (10) British boy-band kings One Direction went to #1 in France with the first single from their upcoming Made In The A.M. album, "Drag Me Down". Th

" Honestly " - Stryper from the album To Hell With The Devil (1986) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #23 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 8 Today's song of the day comes from the Christian "metal" band Stryper , who came together in lily-white suburbia of Orange County, California in the early 80s, with brothers Michael and Robert Sweet along with guitarist Oz Fox and Tim Gaines on bass (Poison's CC Deville was an early member). Changing their name to reference an Old Testament verse (which showed up on their album covers), the band released their debut EP The Yellow and Black Attack in 1984. They followed with a full length effort the next year, Soldiers Under Command , which ended up selling over a half a million copies. With a fanbase rivaling the best of their more, ahem, secular peers, and with a strong vocalist like Michael (who sounds quite a bit like Dennis DeYoung from Styx), their pinnacle came with their third album, To Hell With The Devil . Rel

" System Of Survival " - Earth, Wind & Fire from the album Touch The World (1987) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #60 This week's 'robbed hit' comes from the long-standing soul/funk/disco band Earth, Wind & Fire , who had sold truckloads of albums and singles in the 70s, though they were still trying to beat the post-disco blacklash by the next mid-decade. After their last top-40 pop hit in 1983, " Fall In Love With Me ", their following album's lead-off single, the new-wave pastiche " Magnetic ", stalled down at #57 (it was a top-10 soul hit, however). Both lead singers Maurice White and Philip Bailey released solo albums, with Bailey's producing a huge single with "Easy Lover", while White's remake of "Stand By Me" stopped at #50. After two albums in a single year, another EWF record didn't emerge until four years later, in 1987, with Touch The World . The first single from the project was "Sy

" Say You Will " - Foreigner from the album Inside Information (1987) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #6 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 12 Today's Song of the Day comes from the mainstream rock band Foreigner , who had evolved from a gritty outfit featuring the voice of American Lou Gramm and guitar work of Englishman Mick Jones to a slick hitmaking machine like fellow (and older) vets Starship, Heart, and Genesis. Their 1984 album Agent Provocateur had landed them a #1 pop hit (their sole one) with the spiritual ballad " I Want To Know What Love Is " and a top-20 follow-up with " That Was Yesterday ". At the beginning of 1987, Gramm released his first solo album, and scored a top-10 pop hit with "Midnight Blue". Later that year, the group recorded their sixth studio record Inside Information . With farmed out synthesizers dominating the audio, the record was much more machine than man. The first single from the project, "Say You W

I'll wrap up today's 'music sweeps' of the songs reaching the charts in Billboard magazine with the latest dance jams in the clubs and on the radio... On the DJ-polled Dance Club Play chart, Justin Bieber ( probably bought ) leaps to #1 with "What Do You Mean?"... As the last single from Nick Jonas' debut album, " Teacher ", drops to #25 on the chart, his brand new one "Levels", my "Dance Pick of the Week", arrives at #30... (Click below to see the rest of the post)

Part four of this week's "music sweeps" has the latest hits on country radio as monitored by Billboard magazine . On their Country Airplay chart, Luke Bryan collects his 13th #1 hit (two as featured artists) with " Strip It Down "... Neo-traditionalist singer Joe Nichols returns at #56 with "Freaks Like Me". He's accrued five #1 hits so far... (Click below to see the rest of the post)

We're at the "hump" of today's 'music sweeps', sampling the songs making the charts in Billboard magazine , and this time out I'm serving up the latest hits on R&B radio stations... On the main R&B/Hip Hop Airplay chart, Drake holds on at #1 with "Hotline Bling"... DJ Khaled comes in at #44 with "Gold Slugs" from his "I Changed A Lot" album. It features Chris Brown, August Alsina, and rapper Fetty Wap... (Click below to see the rest of the post)

Round two of this week's "music sweeps" is up, with the latest hits on rock radio as monitored by Billboard magazine ... On their main Rock Airplay chart, " Renegades " from X Ambassadors will not quit, racking up an eighteen week on top of the chart... Hard rock band Five Finger Death Punch jab in at #39 with "Wash It All Away". It's the follow-up to " Jeckyll & Hyde ", which went to #17 on this list and now stands at #32. This new one is already at #16 in its third week on the Mainstream Rock chart... (Click below to see the rest of the post)

I'm ready to kick off the first of my "music sweeps" for the day, checking out the songs making their way on to the various singles charts in Billboard magazine. As usual, I'll start off on the pop side of things, then later in the day move on to the latest in rock, R&B, country, and dance. And away we gooooo... On the "big chart", Billboard 's Hot 100 , which combines tallies from internet streaming (like Spotify and YouTube), radio airplay from all genres, and sales (like Amazon MP3 and iTunes), The Weeknd spends a fifth week at #1 with " The Hills "... In a rather "slow" week, the first of the three debuts on the Hot 100 doesn't appear until #92. It's actress/singer Jana Kramer with "I Got The Boy". The song is her third to reach the "big" chart; her debut, " Why Ya Wanna ", went to #50 in 2012. It also is up to #18 on Billboard 's Country Airplay chart... (Click below to s

" Pop Goes The World " - Men Without Hats from the album Pop Goes The World (1987) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #20 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 10 Today's Song of the Day comes from the Canadian synth-pop act Men Without Hats , who landed a huge left-field hit in America in 1983 with " The Safety Dance ". With three brothers from the Doroschuk family from Montreal led by singer and guitarist Ivan, their follow-up album Folk Of the 80's (Part III) relatively stiffed, with the single " Where Do The Boys Go " only reaching the American dance chart at #39 (it peaked at #30 in their native Canada). It's a hidden find, that track, but sadly the Men were in fear of that "One Hit Wonder" curse (though technically they hit #84 on the Hot 100 with the second single after "Safety Dance", " I Like "). By the time 1987 came around, the group only had Ivan and Stefan left with musician Lenny Pinkas. With producer Zeus

It's time to check out the latest hits to make the official singles chart in Britain this week, as the top two songs are both newbies.... The new #1 song in the UK this week belongs to London house music DJ KDA, who adds vocals from singer Katy B and rapper Tinie Tempah on his older single "Rumble" to become "Turn The Music Louder (Rumble)"... (Click below to see the rest of the post)

" Don't Shed A Tear " - Paul Carrack from the album One Good Reason (1987) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #9 (three weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 13 Today's song of the day comes from British singer/keyboardist Paul Carrack , who by the mid-80s had racked up a handful of memorable hits under different acts, from the 70s power-pop band Ace ("How Long") to a short but sweet stint in English pub-rock darlings Squeeze ("Tempted") to a vocalist for Genesis guitar-man Mike Rutherford's side project Mike + The Mechanics (" Silent Running "). He even landed a moderate pop hit in America in 1982 with his solo single " I Need You ". After the top-10 success of "Silent Running", Paul got around to releasing his third album One Good Reason in 1987. Using the same producer (Christopher Neil) as with the Mechanics, Paul's slick new pop/rock sound (think Maroon 5 of the 80s) was debuted with the first single "Don't

Friday's here, and I'm ready to run down my top 100 tunes from the previous week. Elle King takes over at the top of the list, while the Cold War Kids (pictured above) leap into the top-5. Former big hits from twenty-one pilots, Fifth Harmony, Disclosure, Kelly Clarkson, Dustin Lynch, and Taylor Swift drop off my list, while songs from Cam, Robyn, and Jason Aldean make the biggest jumps (moves of 10+ places highlighted in red ). The curse continues, dammit... This Week             Song/Artist (last week's position in parentheses) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Ex's & Oh's - Elle King (2) 2. Wildest Dreams - Taylor Swift (4) 3. Can't Feel My Face - The Weeknd (1) 4. First - Cold War Kids (8) 5. Photograph - Ed Sheeran (3) 6. Renegades - X Ambassadors (6) 7. Uma Thurman - Fall Out Boy (5) 8. Like I'm Gonna Lose You - Meghan Trainor f/John Legend (9) 9. Could Have Been Me -

" I Live For Your Love " - Natalie Cole from the album Everlasting (1987) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #13 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 11 Today's song of the day is by singer Natalie Cole , whose father Nat "King" Cole had bridged the gap between R&B and pop music in the 40s and 50s, and herself had carved a respectable career in the 70s with her own dance and ballad hits like "This Will Be" and "Our Love". Returning in the late 80s after battling a drug and alcohol addiction, Natalie's 'comeback' single " Jump Start " leaped into the pop top-20 in the fall of 1987. The second single from the album, "I Live For Your Love", was a by-the-book MOR (middle of the road) ballad written by Pam Reswick, Steve Werful, and Alan Rich. Produced by Dennis Lambert (the Four Tops, Tavares, Five Star), the easy-listening nugget was the polar opposite of her previous sugary club single... "I Live For Your

It's time to head Down Under to check out the songs making their debut on the official singles chart in Australia this week, as Macklemore and Ryan Lewis spend a third week at #1 with " Downtown "... The singing competition craze is still in high gear in this country, as local editions of shows like the X Factor and The Voice continue to be quite successful here, with overseas artists like Ricky Martin and Joel Madden choosing to move down here for the exposure. The X Factor Australia is back on the air, with "judges/mentors" Chris Isaak and James Blunt along with Aussies Guy Sebastian (the first "Australian Idol") and Dannii Minogue (Kylie's sister) in the mix. The first performance of the season to make the chart this season is Cyrus Villanueva from New South Wales. The singer of Filipino heritage remade his mentor/coach Isaak's " Wicked Game ", and the result enters at #6... (Click below to see the rest of the post)

"Motortown" - The Kane Gang from the album Miracle (1987) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #36 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 3 Today's SOTD comes from the British trio the Kane Gang, who came together in the early 80s with singers Paul Woods and Martin Brammer along with Dave Brewis. They released their debut album The Bad and Lowdown World of the Kane Gang in 1985, and after the first single, " Smalltown Creed ", became a minor hit in the UK at #60, the follow-up, " Closest Thing To Heaven ", was their breakthrough in their home country, climbing to #12 on the British singles chart. The three matched that top-20 success with a remake of " Respect Yourself " from the Staples Singers (before Bruce Willis got his dirty paws on it). The album itself was a moderate seller as well at #21. Fast forward two years later, and while their white-boy lite-funk of "sophisti-pop" had fallen out of favor in Britain, it was gaining steam in t

Here's the top ten songs in Germany this week, according to their official singles chart , as "Astronaut" from Sido and Andreas Bourani spends a sixth non-consecutive week at #1... 1. " Astronaut " - Sido featuring Andreas Bourani (1) 2. " Geiles Leben " - Glasperlenspiel (4) 3. " Lieblingsmensch " - Namika (2) 4. " Sugar " - Robin Schulz featuring Francesco Yates (3) 5. " Easy Love " - Sigala (8) 6. "Avenir" - Louane (DEBUT) 7. " Photograph " - Ed Sheeran (6) 8. " Book Of Love " - Felix Jaehn featuring Polina (10) 9. " Locked Away " - R. City featuring Adam Levine (7) 10. " How Deep Is Your Love " - Calvin Harris featuring Disciples (5) The sole new entry on the top-10 this week comes from French singer and actress Louane with "Avenir" ("Future"). The song went to #1 in her home country months ago...

" Tunnel Of Love " - Bruce Springsteen from the album Tunnel Of Love (1987) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #9 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 11 Today's Song of the Day comes from New Jersey's own rock and roll poet laureate , Bruce Springsteen , who followed up his blockbuster album Born In The U.S.A. with the decidedly more somber Tunnel Of Love , whose theme of love going wrong was laid out with the stellar first single, " Brilliant Disguise ". The second release from the record was the title track, which takes the kitschy amusement park ride and flips it on its head into a labyrinth of mystery and darkness, to the point of "not seeing the other person" literally signifying the loss of an emotional connection. This lyric is all over a churning midtempo song dominated by the synth chords and bells like a lost Bruce Hornsby record. The video was shot over in Asbury Park.. "Tunnel Of Love" became the second top-10 pop hit from Tun

Here's the top ten hits in France this week, according to their official singles chart , as a song makes a dramatic return to the top of the list... 1. "Stolen Car" - Mylene Farmer & Sting (RE-ENTRY) 2. " Summer 2015 " - L.E.J. (1) 3. " Marvin Gaye " - Charlie Puth featuring Meghan Trainor (3) 4. " El Perdon (Forgiveness) " - Nicky Jam & Enrique Iglesias (2) 5. " How Deep Is Your Love " - Calvin Harris featuring Disciples (4) 6. " Sugar " - Robin Schulz featuring Francesco Yates (5) 7. " Locked Away " - R. City featuring Adam Levine (7) 8. "Le Prince Aladin" - Black M featuring Kev Adams (RE-ENTRY) 9. " Brise " - Maitre Gims 10. " What Do You Mean " - Justin Bieber (9) French vocal pop legend Mylene Farmer debuted at #1 on the French chart in its first week with her remake of Sting's "Stolen Car" with the artist himself, and now, after the debut

" Could've Been " - Tiffany from the album Tiffany (1987) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #1 (two weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 14 Today's Song of the Day comes from the teenage "mall queen" singer Tiffany , who surprisingly went to the top of the American pop chart in 1987 with her remake of the Tommy James 60's hit " I Think We're Alone Now ". The next single from her self-titled debut album was "Could've Been", a ballad written by nightclub singer Lois Blaitsch, and gave her more of a audience, and definitely fit some prom dances quite nicely... "Could've Been" became Tiffany's second (and possibly final) #1 pop hit in America in February of 1988. The single also topped Billboard 's Adult Contemporary (or "easy listening") chart for a week. Internationally, the record went to #1 on the Canadian pop chart for three weeks, and peaked at #4 in the UK. (Click below to see the rest of the p

" I Can't Help It " - Bananarama from the album Wow! (1987) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #47 This week's "robbed hit" comes from the British female vocal trio Bananarama , whose fourth album Wow! had already scored them their third top-10 pop hit in America with " I Heard A Rumour ".  The follow-up in the U.S. was the third release in the rest of the world, the post-disco nugget "I Can't Help It". Written by the production team of Stock, Aitken, and Waterman along with the trio of Sarah Dallin, Keren Woodward, and Siobhan Fahey, the bouncy dance-pop track played up to their growing gay following with a myriad of muscle eye-candy, and Fahey "Carnie Wilson'd" in the video because of her pregnancy... While "I Can't Help It" went all the way to #7 on Billboard 's Dance chart, and #20 in their native Britain, the single stalled right under the American top-40 in January of 1987. Internationally, th

" Hungry Eyes " - Eric Carmen from the album Dirty Dancing (Original Soundtrack) (1987) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #4 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 16 Today's song of the day comes from singer/songwriter Eric Carmen , who had went from a successful stint leading the power-pop band the Raspberries to a lucrative solo career in soft rock, with a total of ten top-40 pop hits up to the mid 80s, where his Geffen debut single " I Wanna Hear It From Your Lips " became his first top-40 hit in seven years. In 1987, Eric contributed a track to what would become the soundtrack of 1987, Dirty Dancing , which already had scored a #1 hit with " (I've Had) The Time Of My Life " by fellow pop vets Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes. "Hungry Eyes", written by the team who wrote the former hit, Frankie Previte (of the rock band Franke & The Knockouts) and John DiNicola, the song would also return this older musician to the top of the pop charts.

" I Want To Be Your Man " - Roger from the album Unlimited (1987) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #3 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 13 Today's Song of the Day comes from R&B artist Roger Troutman, who got his first break as a late member of the Parliament/Funkadelic band, before starting his own group Zapp with three of his brothers (Larry, Lester, and Terry) in Ohio. With Parliament 'prime minister' George Clinton signing the band to a record deal, they scored their first hit in 1980 with " More Bounce To The Ounce ", which went to #2 on the R&B chart, #19 on Billboard 's Dance Club Play list, and nicked the pop Hot 100 in America at #86. With his voice modified by vocoder years before Cher and T-Pain, Zapp carved a niche in funk fast, with their debut album reaching the top-20 on the Albums chart and selling over a million copies. A year later, Roger released his own solo album The Many Facets Of Roger , also made the top-10, and reached