Twostepcublog

Friday's here, and it's time to run down my top 100 tunes from the previous week. Ed Sheeran remains on top for a fourth week, while Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee (pictured above) move up within the top ten (no, Bieber isn't invited to this one). Songs from Foo Fighters, Bleachers, and StoneBridge make some of the biggest jumps (moves of 10+ places highlighted in red ), while former big hits from the Chainsmokers, Cage The Elephant, Alessia Cara, Sigma/Birdy, and Jason Aldean drop off my list. America, Get Your Act Together Again... This Week             Song/Artist (last week's position in parentheses) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Castle On The Hill - Ed Sheeran (1) 2. Feel It Still - Portugal, The Man (4) 3. Believer - Imagine Dragons (2) 4. Symphony - Clean Bandit f/Zara Larsson (3) 5. Blame - Bastille (5) 6. Despacito - Luis Fonsi f/Daddy Yankee (8) 7. Stay - Zedd & Alessia Cara

" Because I Love You (The Postman Song) " - Stevie B from the album Love & Emotion (1990) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #1 (four weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 16 Today's song of the day comes from Stevie B , who was the "king" of Latin freestyle dance music, writing and producing many of the genre, and scoring four top-40 pop hits, including the title track from his 1990 album Love & Emotion in the fall of 1990. The second single from the set would not only end up being his biggest hit, but the biggest pop hit of the whole year itself. "Because I Love You", subtitled "The Postman Song", was a love ballad that featured only Stevie's voice and keyboards, with only a trace of fake hi-hat for percussion... "Because I Love You" spent a month (four weeks) on top of Billboard 's Hot 100 pop chart in December of 1990. The song also went to #1 for two weeks on their Adult Contemporary (or "easy listening") ra

Let's head Down Under yet again to check out the songs and albums from local artists making the charts in Australia this week... On the Australian Artists Singles chart , Dean Lewis spends yet another week on top with " Waves "... Sibling indie-pop duo Angus & Julia Stone enter at #9 with "Snow"... Meanwhile, on the local artist album chart in Australia, religious collective Hillsong United spend a second week at #1 with Wonder ... Metal band Belle Haven from Victoria crash in at #13 with You, Me And Everything In Between. ..

" Lyin' To Myself " - David Cassidy from the album David Cassidy (1990) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #27 (two weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 5 Today's song of the day comes from David Cassidy , the son of actors Jack Cassidy and Evelyn Ward, but was most famous with his stepmother Shirley Jones, with whom he appeared on television in the classic TV program The Partridge Family . As a musical group that performances formed the apex of the show's episodes, and recording albums under the moniker (with only Cassidy and Jones singing on), the "Partridge Family" act ended up having four top ten albums and seven top-40 pop hits, including the #1 " I Think I Love You " in 1970. Also, as a result, David became an instant teen idol on the spot, not only securing ratings for the show but allowing him to launch a concurrent solo career in his own right. In 1971, his cover of the Associations' hit " Cherish " went to #9 in the U.S. He enjoyed

Here's the top ten hits in Germany this week, according to their official singles chart , as "Despacito" remains on top for a ninth week... 1. " Despacito " - Luis Fonsi featuring Daddy Yankee (1) 2. " OK " - Robin Schulz featuring James Blunt (2) 3. " Thunder " - Imagine Dragons (4) 4. " 2U " - David Guetta featuring Justin Bieber (3) 5. "Wild Thoughts" - DJ Khaled featuring Rihanna and Bryson Tiller (DEBUT) 6. " Mama " - Jonas Blue featuring William Singe (9) 7. " There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back " - Shawn Mendes (5) 8. " Unforgettable " - French Montana featuring Swae Lee (8) 9. " Shape Of You " - Ed Sheeran (6) 10. "Heute Mit Mir" - Nimo (DEBUT) As DJ Khaled drops out of the top ten with "I'm The One", he replaces it at #5 with his new "Wild Thoughts" featuring Rihanna and Bryson Tiller... (Click below to see the rest o

" The Way You Do The Things You Do " - UB40 from the album Labour Of Love II (1989) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #6 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 15 Today's song of the day comes from the British reggae band UB40 , who had an unexpected rebound hit with the re-release of their 1984 single " Red Red Wine ", which ended up going to #1 in America in the fall of 1988. The song came from their first album of all remakes, Labour Of Love , which ended up reaching the top-20 on the U.S. albums chart. A year later, the group released a second covers album, Labour Of Love II , five albums of theirs after the release of the first Labour . While in Britain, the lead single would be the Chi-Lites by way of Inner Circle's " Homely Girl ", which made it to #6 in the UK, Americans were treated to a remake of a Motown classic with musical royalty heritage. "The Way You Do The Things You Do" was written by Smokey Robinson and one of the members of hi

Here's the top ten hits in France this week, according to their official singles chart , as Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee return to #1 for an eighth non-consecutive week... 1. " Despacito " - Luis Fonsi featuring Daddy Yankee (2) 2. "Wild Thoughts" - DJ Khaled featuring Rihanna & Bryson Tiller (DEBUT) 3. " Je Joue De La Musique " - Calogero (4) 4. " Shape Of You " - Ed Sheeran (6) 5. " Attention " - Charlie Puth (7) 6. " Chocolat " - Lartiste featuring Awa Imani (8) 7. " Skin " - Rag N' Bone Man (RE-ENTRY) 8. " Chained To The Rhythm " - Katy Perry featuring Skip Marley (5) 9. " Swalla " - Jason Derulo featuring Nicki Minaj & Ty Dolla $ign (RE-ENTRY) 10. "Feels" - Calvin Harris featuring Pharrell Williams, Katy Perry, and Big Sean (DEBUT) DJ Khaled rockets on to the chart at #2 with "Wild Thoughts" featuring Rihanna and Bryson Tiller. It's from Kh

" I'm Your Baby Tonight " - Whitney Houston from the album I'm Your Baby Tonight (1990) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #1 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 14 Today's song of the day comes from Whitney Houston , who had landed her tenth consecutive top ten pop hit with her contribution to the 1988 Olympic Games, " One Moment In Time ", in the fall of 1988. Her third studio album, coming three years after her #1 smash Whitney , started the new decade with a more urban contemporary sound. The title track, "I'm Your Baby Tonight", was written and produced by the superstar team of Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds (by then an R&B star in his own right) and Antonio "L.A." Reid. The result was a mid-tempo jam that let her relax and vamp with the song without having to go into so many vocal gymnastics. The video had her aping Dietrick, Ross, and Hepburn, complete with "mime dancers" no less... "I'm Your Baby

" The Boomin' System " - LL Cool J from the album Mama Said Knock You Out (1990) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #48 This week's "robbed hit" comes from rapper LL Cool J , who closed out the 1980's with his Walking With A Panther album, which spun off two top-40 pop hits with " Going Back To Cali " and " I'm The Type Of Guy ". The following year, James Smith put out his fourth studio album, Mama Said Knock You Out , with the underground-styled rap track "The Boomin' System" as the lead single. Fashioned for the clubs and rap radio instead of the mainstream, the record sampled James Brown's "Funky Drummer" percussion and "Payback" instrumentation as its base. The video had him going through an arcade alternative universe, and for the tribute to the big radio setups on cars that gave guys respect... While "The Boomin' System" topped Billboard 's Top Rap Singles chart, and

" From A Distance " - Bette Midler from the album Some Peoples Lives (1990) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #2 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 19 Today's song of the day is from Bette Midler , who after decades of being a film, stage, and music star finally earned her first #1 hit in the summer of 1989 with " Wind Beneath My Wings " from her starring role movie Beaches . A little over a year later, Midler would return with a proper studio album, Some People's Lives , that she also included a cover song that she would truly make her own. "From A Distance" was originally written by Philadelphia-area native Julie Gold, who shopped the inspirational song around until alternative country artist Nanci Griffith recorded it for her 1987 album Lone Star State Of Mind . That delicate and yearning reading of the song would be the standard still among a lot of people (including myself), though it by far didn't get any attention on the radio... Bette

" Stranded " - Heart from the album Brigade (1990) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #13 (two weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 13 Today's song of the day comes from the hard rock turned pop hitmaking band Heart, whose Brigade album had already scored a pair of hit singles with " I Didn't Want To Need You " and the #2 " All I Wanna Do Is Make Love To You ". The third pop radio release from the album was the dramatic midtempo number "Stranded". With Nancy Wilson singing lead (she's done one single per album since their revitalization in the 80's), the power-ballad-ish number was written by Jeff Harrington and Jamie Kyle, and it's my favorite of Nancy's three ("These Dreams" and "There's The Girl" are the others)... "Stranded" became the third top-40 pop hit from Brigade in December of 1990. The single also climbed to #8 on Billboard 's Adult Contemporary (or "easy listening")

Let's cross the Atlantic again to check out the notable songs and albums making the charts in the UK this week... On the official singles chart in Britain , after only two days of being available, the charity record for the victims of the Grenfell Tower fire tragedy, a cover of Simon & Garfunkel's "Bridge Over Troubled Water" put together by Simon Cowell (of Idol and X Factor ) fame, arrives at the top of the chart. The version features music stars like Robbie Williams, Liam Payne and Louis Tomlinson from One Direction, the Who's Roger Daltrey, Jesse J, James Arthur, Geri Halliwell, and much much more. It sold over 169,000 copies just from those 48 hours. (Click below to see the rest of the post)

" Hippychick " - Soho from the album Goddess (1990) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #14 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 9 Today's song of the day comes from the British alternative-dance act Soho , who came together in the late 1980s with songwriter/musician Tim Brinkhurst (aka Timothy London) and sisters Jacqui and Pauline Cuff. In 1988, their debut single " Piece Of You ", a slice of techno/HI-NRG that was a minor hit in the UK at #80. A year later, the trio re-emerged with their sophomore effort, Goddess , which featured a single that would sport one of the most left-field of samples. "Hippychick", written by Brinkhurst, had as its foundation the instrumental break from the classic "How Soon Is Now?" emo-rock titans the Smiths. That original was that band's best-known song, with a trippy beat that enraptured the youth of Britain and America in 1985, with lyrics about a politically active girl telling her cop boyfriend that she's m

Friday's here, and it's time to run down my top 100 tunes from the previous week. Ed Sheeran holds tight at #1 for a third week, while British modern rockers Bastille (pictured above) storm into the top 5. Former big hits from Blondie, Blake Shelton, and Calum Scott drop off my chart, while songs from Shawn Mendes, Midland, and Harry Styles make some of the biggest jumps (moves of 10+ places highlighted in red ). Happy Pride, NYC... This Week               Song/Artist (last week's position in parentheses) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Castle On The Hill - Ed Sheeran (1) 2. Believer - Imagine Dragons (2) 3. Symphony - Clean Bandit f/Zara Larsson (3) 4. Feel It Still - Portugal, The Man (6) 5. Blame - Bastille (7) 6. That's What I Like - Bruno Mars (4) 7. Stay - Zedd & Alessia Cara (12) 8. Despacito - Luis Fonsi f/Daddy Yankee (16) 9. Hurricane - Luke Combs (5) 10. Heavy - Linkin

" So Close " - Daryl Hall and John Oates from the album Change Of Season (1990) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #11 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 9 Today's song of the day comes from the biggest pop duo of the 1980's, Daryl Hall and John Oates , who had dominated the decade with twenty-one top-40 hits in those ten years. Among them were three from their first album with new record label Arista in 1988, " Downtown Life ", " Missed Opportunities ", and the #3 single " Everything Your Heart Desires ". Two years later, the pair released their second record with the imprint, Change Of Season , which marked an evolution from their pop-soul sound to a more rock/adult affair. The first single from the project was produced by Jon Bon Jovi, who added music (along with guitarist Danny Kortchmar) to a song from Hall and George Green called "So Close".  It ended up being their last big hurrah on mainstream pop radio... "So Close

Let's take another trip Down Under to check out the songs and albums from local artists reaching the charts in Australia this week... On the Australian Artists Singles chart, Dean Lewis holds on at #1 with " Waves "... Pop singer Starley, who had an international hit with "Call On Me", returns to her homeland's chart at #6 with "Touch Me"... (Click below to see the rest of the post)

" Groove Is In The Heart " - Deee-Lite from the album World Clique (1990) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #4 (three weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 13 Today's song of the day comes from the alternative dance trio Deee-Lite , who came together in the late 1980's when married couple Pittburgh-raised American singer/DJ Lady Miss Kier and Russian-born DJ Dmitri, who performed together at first, took on Japanese DJ/producer Towa Tei in New York. The eclectic trio released their debut album, World Clique in 1990, with the first single being what would become a club classic, "Groove Is In The Heart". The funky retro-style booty-shaker was based on a foundation of a sample from jazz legend Herbie Hancock's "Bring Down The Birds", a less-than-two-minute track from a soundtrack to an obscure film... Incorporating that with elements from Vernon Burch's " Get Up ", along with other samples, the song sounded old and new at the same time, an

Here's the top ten hits in Germany this week, as Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee remain on top for an eighth week... 1. " Despacito " - Luis Fonsi featuring Daddy Yankee (1) 2. " OK " - Robin Schulz featuring James Blunt (2) 3. "2U" - David Guetta featuring Justin Bieber (DEBUT) 4. " Thunder " - Imagine Dragons (5) 5. " There's Nothin' Holding Me Back " - Shawn Mendes (6) 6. " Shape Of You " - Ed Sheeran (3) 7. " I'm The One " - DJ Khaled featuring Justin Bieber, Quavo, Chance The Rapper, & Lil' Wayne (7) 8. "Unforgettable" - French Montana featuring Swae Lee (DEBUT) 9. "Mama" - Jonas Blue featuring William Singe (DEBUT) 10. " Louis Louis " - Kay One (9) Justin Bieber again has two appearances in the top ten as his featured role on DJ Khaled's "I'm The One" is joined at #3 with his collaboration with French dance music king David Guetta&

" Something To Believe In " - Poison from the album Flesh & Blood (1990) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #4 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 15 Today's song of the day comes from the glam-metal band Poison , whose third album Flesh & Blood had already scored a top-10 pop hit with " Unskinny Bop " in the fall of 1990. Their second single from the set was a power-ballad in the style that made their "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" their biggest hit. Written by lead singer Bret Michaels and the band and produced by Bruce Fairbairn, the anthemic chorus was concocted for lighters to come out during their concerts, but with lyrics containing a rail against shyster preachers as well as a subtle story of forgotten soldiers and their fight with mental illness... "Something To Believe In" became Poison's sixth (and so far last) top ten pop hit in the U.S. in December of 1990. The single also climbed to #5 on Billboard 's Mainstream Rock

Here's the top ten hits in France this week, according to their official singles sales chart , as we finally have a new winner at #1... 1. "La Vie Est Belle" - Indochine (DEBUT) 2. " Despacito " - Luis Fonsi featuring Daddy Yankee (1) 3. "2U" - David Guetta featuring Justin Bieber (DEBUT) 4. "Je Joue De La Musique" - Calogero (RE-ENTRY) 5. " Chained To The Rhythm " - Katy Perry featuring Skip Marley (3) 6. " Shape Of You " - Ed Sheeran (2) 7. " Attention " - Charlie Puth (5) 8. " Chocolat " - Lartiste featuring Awa Imani (4) 9. " Bon Appetit " - Katy Perry featuring Migos (10) 10. " Something Just Like This " - The Chainsmokers & Coldplay (7) Veteran new wave band Indochine, from Paris, return big-time in the #1 spot with their new track "La Vie Est Belle" ("Life Is Beautiful"). It's their second to reach the top in their native country; the

" Ooops Up " - Snap! from the album World Power (1990) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #35 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 2 Today's song of the day comes from the German-based dance act Snap! , who had a huge international hit with the club jam " The Power " that ended up climbing to #2 on the American pop chart in the summer of 1990. Their follow-up single, "Ooops Up", used the Gap Band's funk classic "I Don't Believe You Want To Get Up And Dance (Oops)" as a foundation. That record, released in 1980, hit the top ten on the American R&B (#4) and British pop singles (#6) charts... Snap's update, which featured singer Penny Ford now as an official member (she was a singer in the Gap Band's outfit back in the day), brought the beat back to the club with a rap written by Turbo B (Durron Butler) over a house music beat provided by the act's leaders/producers Michael Münzing and Luca Anzilotti... "Ooops Up

"I'd Rather Go Blind" - Sydney Youngblood from the album Feeling Free (UK-1989) & Sydney Youngblood (US-1990) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #46 This week's "robbed hit" comes from pop/soul singer Sydney Youngblood , who got his first success in Europe in the late 1980's. A cover of Bill Withers' " Ain't No Sunshine " was a minor hit in the UK in 1988 (it would later reach the top-40 in France), but his next release, " If I Only Could ", which sampled the club classic "Break 4 Love", proved to be a massive single, topping the chart in Belgium and reaching the top ten in Britain, France, and Germany. That was followed by " Sit And Wait " (which cribbed from Gwen Guthrie's "Ain't Nothin' Goin' On But The Rent", which got to the runner-up spot in Germany, Austria, Sweden, and Belgium. Sydney finally got attention in his American homeland with his fourth single, a cover of the so

" Lies " - En Vogue from the album Born To Sing (1990) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #38 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 1 Today's song of the day comes from the soul vocal group En Vogue , whose first single " Hold On " proved to be one of the biggest R&B hits of the year and landed at #2 on the pop chart as well. Their follow-up would be another mid-tempo jam with lyrics that went into an opposite direction. "Lies", written by the quartet with producers Thomas McElroy and Denzil Foster, confronts a cheating lover with a bit of sass. A rap bridge was given by Debbie T (who I never heard from again)... "Lies" became En Vogue's second top-40 pop hit, slipping in for a week in October of 1990. The song did much better on urban radio, giving the group their second straight #1 single. On Billboard 's Dance Club Play chart, the remixed version of the track made it to #18. Internationally, the record just missed the top 40 in th

" Knockin' Boots " - Candyman from the album Ain't No Shame In My Game (1990) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #9 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 12 Today's song of the day comes from rapper Candyman, who hails from Los Angeles. After working behind Tone Loc of "Wild Thing/Funky Cold Medina" fame, Candell Manson released his major-label debut album Ain't No Shame In My Game in 1990. The first single, "Knockin' Boots", uses the instrumental track from Betty Wright's " Tonight's The Night " as the base, with an interpolation of the chorus of " Ooh Boy " from Rose Royce as the bridge between verses. Tone provided the intro to the single and video...  "Knockin' Boots" became Candyman's sole top-40 pop hit, reaching the top ten in November of 1990. The single also climbed to #5 on Billboard 's R&B chart. Internationally, the record topped the singles chart in the Netherlands, and go

" Joey " - Concrete Blonde from the album Bloodletting (1990) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #19 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 8 Today's song of the day comes from the alternative rock band Concrete Blonde , which started out in Los Angeles with singer/songwriter Johnette Napolitano and James Mankey as the Dream 6. Adding drummer Rushakoff, they renamed themselves with the moniker given by Michael Stipe from R.E.M. (a labelmate at the time), for their self-titled debut album. A song from it, " True ", became a minor rock radio hit at #42 in 1987. A year later, their sophomore effort Free was released, with drummer Al Bloch coming aboard, and from it " God Is A Bullet " changed their sound a little bit to a lighter version of the Cult and landed them at #15 on Billboard 's new Modern Rock radio list. Roxy Music's Paul Thompson changed out for drums for their third release, Bloodletting , which saw the band have their biggest success. "