Twostepcublog

"Love Cries" - Stage Dolls from the album Stage Dolls (1988, 1989 US) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #46 This week's "robbed hit" comes from the Norwegian hard rock band Stage Dolls , who hailed from the central city of Trondheim. As opposed to the synth-pop of a-ha, the group, who got together in the early 80s, performed more harder pop-metal, like Def Leppard or their Swedish counterparts Europe. In 1985, they had their first top-10 hit in their home country with " Soldier's Gun " (#10), which was followed in 1988 with " Wings Of Steel " (#10). That latter single came from their self-titled 1988 album, which was released a year later in the States. The song that got airplay from the set was the uptempo glam-metal pastiche of "Love Cries". Written by lead singer/guitarist Torstein Flakne and Bob Icon, it got play on pop and rock stations... "Love Cries" became the Stage Dolls' sole pop hit in America, but al...

" The Best " - Tina Turner from the album Foreign Affair (1989) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #15 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 8 Today's song of the day comes from Tina Turner , who was enjoying a major comeback in the 80's, overshadowing her earlier work with her blockbuster Private Dancer album, her acting/singing turn in Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome , and her 1987 album Break Every Rule , which not only spun off three top-40 pop hits in America with " What You Get Is What You See ", " Two People ", and the #2 " Typical Male ", but was also followed by a massively successful tour (as documented in her Live In Europe set). In 1989, Tina released her seventh solo studio record Foreign Affair , preceded by the single "The Best". It was a cover of a minor hit for Welsh vocal powerhouse Bonnie Tyler (of the "Total Eclipse Of The Heart" fame), but Tina made it so much her own that the song, written and produced by so...

" Cover Girl " - New Kids On The Block from the album Hangin' Tough (1988) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #2 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 10 Today's song of the day comes from the "boy-band" from Boston, New Kids On The Block , whose second album Hangin' Tough proved its title by spinning off four consecutive top-10 singles with " Please Don't Go Girl ", " You Got It (The Right Stuff) ", " I'll Be Loving You (Forever) ", and the title track , the latter two going all the way to #1 on the American pop chart. The fifth and final single released from the album was the bouncy teen-pop of "Cover Girl". Written and produced by their mentor Maurice Starr, the track found them at their corny-cutsiest... "Cover Girl" became their fifth consecutive top-10 hit from Hangin' Tough , reaching the runner-up spot on the American pop chart in November of 1989. Internationally, the single made the to...

" Dr. Feelgood " - Mötley Crüe from the album Dr. Feelgood (1989) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #6 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 9 Today's song of the day comes from the "glam-metal" hard rock band Mötley Crüe , who had landed one top-20 pop hit from each of their third and fourth albums, with " Girls, Girls, Girls " doing the trick in the summer of 1987. A follow-up single, the "power ballad" " You're All I Need ", slipped in at #83, while becoming their highest-charting British hit at #23. However, things in the band were in major turmoil; lead singer Vince Neil had been convicted of vehicular manslaughter in a car crash from 1985, while bassist/songwriter Nikki Sixx almost overdosed to death and was sent to rehab. Even their manager was nabbed for smuggling drugs. Cleaning up their act by the end of the decade, the group released their fifth studio set Dr. Feelgood in the summer of 1989. The title track, written by Sixx...

Friday's here, and I'm ready to run down my top 100 tunes from the previous week. twenty-one pilots rule for a fifth week, while Bastille (pictured above) climbs into the top-5. Former big hits from Lukas Graham, Enrique Iglesias, and Kristine W drop off my chart, while songs from the Weeknd/Daft Punk, Calvin Harris, and Ellie Goulding make the biggest jumps (moves of 10+ places highlighted in red ). Happy Halloweenies! This week            Song/Artist (last week's position in parentheses) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1. Heathens - twenty-one pilots (1) 2. Closer - The Chainsmokers f/Halsey (6) 3. This Girl - KUNGS vs. Cookin' On 3 Burners (3) 4. Trouble - Cage The Elephant (5) 5. Good Grief - Bastille (7) 6. Bang Bang - Green Day (8) 7. All We Ever Knew - The Head and the Heart (2) 8. Cheap Thrills - Sia f/Sean Paul (4) 9. HandClap - Fitz & Th...

" Healing Hands " - Elton John from the album Sleeping With The Past (1989) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #13 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 9 Today's song of the day comes from Elton John , who was still going strong by the late 80's, scoring his highest-charting hit of the decade in the summer of 1988 with " I Don't Wanna Go On With You Like That ", followed by the top-20 pop hit " A Word In Spanish " (another track from the album, " Goodbye Marlon Brando ", went to #22 on the rock radio chart as well). A year later Elton released his final studio album of the decade, Sleeping With The Past . The first single from the set was the mid-tempo adult-pop of "Healing Hands", written by Elton with longtime professional partner Bernie Taupin... "Healing Hands" returned Elton to the American pop top-20 in October of 1989. The single also climbed all the way to #1 on Billboard 's Adult Contemporary (or "...

It's time to head Down Under to check out the songs from local artists making the charts in Australia this week... On the Australian Artists Singles chart, Sia holds on top with "The Greatest"... Sisterly rock group the Veronicas from Brisbane take their new tropical house-infused single "On Your Side" to #6. It follows their recent #1 hit " In My Blood "... (Click below to see the rest of the post)

" Love In An Elevator " - Aerosmith from the album Pump (1989) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #5 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 11 Today's song of the day comes from the hard rock heroes from Boston, Aerosmith , whose comeback album Permanent Vacation had landed them three top-40 pop hits with " Dude (Looks Like A Lady) ", " Rag Doll ", and the #3 power-ballad " Angel ". Rolling off that success, the band set to record their next record, Pump , with the same producer, Bruce Fairbairn, that helped their sound be loud and hard yet accessible to pop radio on their last set. The first single from the record, "Love In An Elevator", again used the double-entendre lyrical hook to sell the by-the-book pop-metal song, written by Joe Perry and Steven Tyler. In doing so, it sounded less 70s Aerosmith and more Def Leppard/Bon Jovi (no surprise, since Fairbairn helmed the latter's Slippery When Wet album)... "Love In An Eleva...

Here's the top ten hits in Germany this week, according to their official singles chart , as Rag N' Bone Man spends a fourth week at #1... 1. " Human " - Rag N' Bone Man (1) 2. " The Sound Of Silence " - Disturbed (5) 3. " The Greatest " - Sia featuring Kendrick Lamar (4) 4. "Would I Lie To You" - David Guetta, Cedric Gervais, and Chris Willis (DEBUT) 5. " Closer " - The Chainsmokers featuring Halsey (2) 6. "My Way" - Calvin Harris (6) 7. " Let Me Love You " - DJ Snake featuring Justin Bieber (3) 8. " Starboy " - The Weeknd featuring Daft Punk (8) 9. " Holz " - 257ers (7) 10. " Heathens " - twenty-one pilots (9) French DJs David Guetta and Cedric Gervais team up with soul/dance singer Chris Willis on a cover of the 1992 hit by Charles and Eddie, "Would I Lie To You", which leaps into the top-10 at #4. The original spent a week at #1 on the chart in G...

" Rock Wit'cha " - Bobby Brown from the album Don't Be Cruel (1988) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #7 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 11 Today's song of the day comes from R&B/pop star Bobby Brown , whose second album after leaving New Edition, Don't Be Cruel , had scored him four consecutive top-10 pop hits with the title track , " Roni ", " Every Little Step ", and the #1 " My Prerogative ". Also, Bobby provided the theme song to the massive movie franchise hit Ghostbusters II with " On Our Own " which made it to #2 in the summer of 1989. Between those five song he spent 65 weeks in the top-40, but he wasn't through yet, returning to the Don't Be Cruel album to release a fifth single, "Rock Wit'cha". Written by Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds (who just landed his own top-40 hit with "It's No Crime") and Darnell Bristol (Babyface's old bandmate in The Deele), and prod...

Here's the top ten hits in France this week, according to their official singles chart , as a rebounding single from French singer Julien Dore rockets to #1... 1. " Le Lac " - Julien Dore (9) 2. " 24K Magic " - Bruno Mars (1) 3. " Lost On You " - LP (2) 4. "En Feu" - Soprano (DEBUT) 5. " Starboy " - The Weeknd featuring Daft Punk (3) 6. " The Greatest " - Sia featuring Kendrick Lamar (6) 7. " Let Me Love You " - DJ Snake featuring Justin Bieber (7) 8. " DKR " - Booba (4) 9. " Un Homme Debout " - Claudio Capeo (8) 10. " Heartbeat " - Richard Orlinski & Eva Simons (10) Rapper Soprano, from Marseille, lands his sixth top ten hit at #4 with "En Feu" ("On Fire")... (Click below to see the rest of the post)

" Sowing The Seeds Of Love " - Tears for Fears from the album The Seeds Of Love (1989) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #2 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 12 Today's song of the day comes from the British emo/new wave group Tears For Fears , whose second album Songs From The Big Chair had made them into superstars, landing back-to-back #1 pop hits in America with " Everybody Wants To Rule The World " and " Shout ", along with the top-10 hit " Head Over Heels " and the top-40 follow-up " Mothers' Talk ". Their next release, The Seeds Of Love , would take nearly four years to record, with band member Roland Orzabal crafting a lusher sound inspired by the Beatles' later work. I'm sure the first single, "Sowing The Seeds Of Love", was meant to be a masterstroke of that effect, with a Spector-esque wall of sound surrounding the trippy love lyrics written by him with Curt Smith. The track included original members ...

" Need A Little Taste Of Love " - The Doobie Brothers from the album Cycles (1989) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #45 This week's "robbed hit" comes from the southern rock band the Doobie Brothers , who made a big comeback in the summer of 1989 (albeit without Michael McDonald) with the top ten hit " The Doctor ".  The second single from their Cycles album was a cover of the Isley Brothers' "Need A Little Taste Of Love", which originally appeared on their Live It Up album in 1974... The Doobies kept the breezy tempo of the Isleys version and pumped up the rhythm guitar, making it call back to their own mid-70s work like "Listen To The Music"... While their version of "Need a Little Taste Of Love" went all the way to #3 on Billboard 's Mainstream Rock radio chart, the song stalled right under the top-40 at #45 in September of 1989. The song did better at "adult contemporary" radio, reaching #...

" What I Like About You " - Michael Morales from the album Michael Morales (1989) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #28 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 6 Today's song of the day comes from Michael Morales , not the famous mass murderer but rather the singer/guitarist from Texas who had an enjoyable if not totally memorable top-40 pop hit in the summer of 1989 with " Who Do You Give Your Love To? ". For his follow-up Morales covered a post-punk classic that still has legs, the Romantics' "What I Like About You". Even though that record didn't make the top-40 back in 1980, stopping at #49, it remains probably their most known and beloved hit, even though they reached the top-3 a few years later with "Talking In Your Sleep"... Almost ten years later, Morales, who bears a resemblance to the Romantics' drummer Jimmy Marinos who sang lead, kept it rather faithful to the original, and pop radio felt ready to give the song another tr...

" Listen To Your Heart " - Roxette from the album Look Sharp! (1988) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #1 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 14 Today's song of the day comes from the Swedish pop duo Roxette , who had landed a #1 hit in America with " The Look ", and followed that up with the top-20 " Dressed For Success " in the summer of 1989. The third American single from their Look Sharp! album was originally released the previous fall as the fourth single in Europe, reaching #3 in their native country. "Listen To Your Heart", written by the pair's Per Gessle along with Mats Persson and sung by Marie Fredriksson, the "power-ballad" fit in the mold of similar bombastic adult-pop choices from Heart and Cher, and mainstream radio listened... "Listen To Your Heart" became Roxette's second #1 pop hit in the U.S. in November of 1989. The song also climbed to #2 on Billboard 's Adult Contemporary (or "easy...

Let's cross the Atlantic one more time to check out the notable songs and albums making the charts in the UK this week... On the official singles chart in Britain , X Factor UK eighth-series winners Little Mix are back all the way at #1 in their first week with "Shout Out To My Ex". It's the first single from their upcoming Glory Days album. It becomes their fourth chart-topper in the UK... (Click below to see the rest of the post)

" Mixed Emotions " - The Rolling Stones from the album Steel Wheels (1989) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #5 (two weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 9 Today's song of the day comes from one of the biggest bands of the rock and roll era, the Rolling Stones , who found themselves at such an acrimonious point by the mid-80s that best friends Mick Jagger and Keith Richards weren't even on speaking terms. After their 1986 album Dirty Work , which scored a top-5 pop hit in the U.S. with a cover of the blues-soul classic " Harlem Shuffle ", and a top-40 follow-up in " One Hit (To The Body) ", the band took a break, where both Mick and Keith released solo albums (Mick also had a top-40 pop hit with the god-awful "Let's Work" in 1987). With that cool-off time, coupled with their impending induction into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame, the guys patched things up and got to work on a new studio album, which would be released in the summer of 1989. T...

Friday's here, and it's time to run down my top 100 tunes from the previous week. "Heathens" from twenty-one pilots spends a fourth week at #1, while the Chainsmokers and Halsey (pictured above) leap into the top ten. Songs from Kings of Leon, Stonebridge, and DJ Gozzi make the biggest jumps (moves of 10+ places highlighted in red ), while former big hits from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, The 1975, and Band Of Horses drop out. "I’m not eligible for sainthood but getting through these three debates with Donald has to count as a miracle" - Hillary tonight LOL... This Week        Song/Artist (last week's position in parentheses) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Heathens - twenty-one pilots (1) 2. All We Ever Knew - The Head and the Heart (2) 3. This Girl - KUNGS vs Cookin' On 3 Burners (7) 4. Cheap Thrills - Sia f/Sean Paul (4) 5. Trouble - Cage The Elephant (6) 6. Closer - The...

" It's No Crime " - Babyface from the album Tender Lover (1989) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #7 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 10 Today's song of the day comes from R&B/singer Kenneth Edmonds, aka Babyface , who grew up in Indiana, playing with various funk artists before teaming up with Antonio "L.A." Reid. The two formed the group The Deele, who landed a top-10 pop hit in the spring of 1988 with " Two Occasions ". At the same time, he had his own solo career, releasing his first solo album in 1986. From that record, Lovers , four singles reached the R&B chart in Billboard magazine, with " I Love You Babe " peaking at #8, however none of them made so much as a dent on the pop chart. After leaving the Deele in 1988, Babyface and Reid became highly sought-after producers and writers, scoring hits for the likes of Sheena Easton, Bobby Brown, and Karyn White, who he had his first #1 hit with his duet with her on " Love Sa...

Let's take another trip Down Under to check out the singles and albums from local artists that are making the charts in Australia this week... On that country's Local Artists singles chart , Sia remains at #1 with " The Greatest "... DJ/producer Timmy Trumpet (aka Timothy Smith from Sydney) arrives at #13 with "Party Till We Die" with American DJ MAKJ and singer Andrew W.K.... (Click below to see the rest of the post)

" Miss You Much " - Janet Jackson from the album Rhythm Nation 1814 (1989) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #1 (four weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 13 Today's song of the day comes from Janet Jackson , who went from being "Michael's baby sister" to pop superstar with her third album Control , which spun off six massive singles with " The Pleasure Principle ", " What Have You Done For Me Lately ", " Nasty ", " Let's Wait Awhile ", " Control ", and the #1 pop hit " When I Think Of You ". That string of top-20 pop hits was unprecedented for a solo female artist, putting her immediately in the company of Bruce Springteen, Prince, and of course her brother. She followed up that success with an even more ambitious project, Rhythm Nation 1814 . While Control mostly stayed on message of a woman coming of maturity and self-empowerment, Rhythm tackled more social issues, though retaining the infectious mu...

Here's the top ten hits in Germany this week, according to their official singles chart , as Rag N' Bone man racks up a third week on top... 1. " Human " - Rag N' Bone Man (1) 2. " Closer " - The Chainsmokers featuring Halsey (3) 3. " Let Me Love You " - DJ Snake featuring Justin Bieber (2) 4. " The Greatest " - Sia featuring Kendrick Lamar (4) 5. " The Sound Of Silence " - Disturbed (5) 6. "My Way" - Calvin Harris (10) 7. " Holz " - 257ers (7) 8. "Starboy" - The Weeknd featuring Daft Punk (DEBUT) 9. " Heathens " - twenty-one pilots (9) 10. " Ohne Mein Team " - Bonez MC & RAF Camora featuring Maxwell (RE-ENTRY) Canadian pop and R&B wunderkind The Weeknd is back at #8 with "Starboy" featuring French electrodance duo Daft Punk. It becomes his second top-10 hit in this country and highest rank (he took "The Hills" to #10)... (Click...

" Partyman " - Prince from the album Batman (Original Soundtrack) (1989) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #18 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 7 Today's song of the day comes from Prince, who had been commissioned for the pop music soundtrack (as opposed to the score) for the Tim Burton-directed Batman movie starring Michael Keaton. The totally left-field mish-mash of a single " Batdance " climbed all the way to #1 on the American pop chart (most likely due a large part to name recognition). The second release from the album was a more straightforward (and much more enjoyable, IMHO) funk explosion in "Partyman". Used in the Joker scene in the movie with Jack Nicholson, the groove was no too far from his one in "U Got The Look". (You can see the original video by clicking here. (Here's the "Purple Party" 12" Version...)  "Partyman" became the second top-40 hit from Batman in October of 1989. The song also cl...

Here's the top ten hits in France, according to their official singles chart , as a new #1 comes in... 1. "24K Magic" - Bruno Mars (DEBUT) 2. " Lost On You " - LP (2) 3. " Starboy " - The Weeknd featuring Daft Punk (3) 4. " DKR " - Booba (1) 5. " Encore Un Soir " - Celine Dion (4) 6. " The Greatest " - Sia featuring Kendrick Lamar (7) 7. " Let Me Love You " - DJ Snake featuring Justin Bieber (5) 8. " Un Homme Debout " - Claudio Capeo (8) 9. " Le Lac " - Julien Dore' (RE-ENTRY) 10. " Heartbeat " - Richard Orlinski & Eva Simons (6) American pop sensation Bruno Mars scores his second ever #1 hit (after "Uptown Funk") with "24K Magic"... (Click below to see the rest of the post)

" When I Looked At Him " - Exposé from the album What You Don't Know (1989) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #10 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 12 Today's song of the day comes from the female freestyle dance trio Exposé , who had landed their fifth top-10 hit with the title track and first single from their second album, What You Don't Know . The second release from the record was a ballad, "When I Looked At Him", written by producer Lewis Martinee. While the first single was sung by Gioia Bruno, this love song had Jeanette Jurado on lead... "When I Looked At Him" continued the group's streak to six straight top ten pop hits in the U.S. in October of 1989. The song also climbed to #3 on Billboard 's Adult Contemporary (or 'easy listening') radio chart. Internationally, the record went to #18 in Canada, and #5 in the Netherlands. (Click below to see the rest of the post)

" Forget Me Not " - Bad English from the album Bad English (1989) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #45 This week's "robbed hit" comes from the hard rock supergroup Bad English, with Jonathan Cain and Neal Schon from Journey, who had broken up not too long before, and singer John Waite , who worked with Cain before in the power-pop band The Babys. Also on board was another former Baby, Ricky Phillips , and well as drummer Deen Castronovo . Waite, who had a moderately successful solo career, was the frontman for the outfit, but instead of adult-pop musings like his solo work, Bad English were a wall of guitar crunch, as exemplified by the lead single "Ready Or Not". Written by Waite and Cain with Mark Spiro, it brought Waite back to rock radio, and Schon and Cain more to their progressive rock wheelhouse beginnings... While "Forget Me Not" climbed all the way to #2 on Billboard 's Mainstream Rock radio chart, the single stalled right...

" (You're My One And Only) True Love " - Seduction from the album Nothing Matters Without Love (1989) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #23 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 8 Today's song of the day comes from the dance act Seduction, which was originally a studio creation of producers and remixers Rob Clivilles and David Cole, who would eventually go on to form their own act in the C + C Music Factory. With Carol Cooper providing vocals, their 12" single " Seduction " both gave a name to the act and the first club hit, reaching #17 on Billboard 's Dance Club Play chart (it also spent a couple of weeks on the British chart, peaking at #87). With this success, they put together a second single, this time more mainstream pop-inflected, and with former "Weather Girls" ("It's Raining Men") singer Martha Wash singing. "(You're My One and Only) True Love", co-written by Clivilles and Cole along with future C+C member Fr...