Twostepcublog

" Thinkin' Back " - Color Me Badd from the album CMB (1991) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #16 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 12 Today's song comes from the vocal pop/soul group Color Me Badd , whose debut album CMB had already scored a trio of huge hits with " I Wanna Sex You Up " and two pop charttoppers in " I Adore Mi Amor " and " All 4 Love ". The fourth single released from the record would be the slow groove reminiscing of "Thinkin' Back". Written by the group with Troy Taylor and producer Hamza Lee, their harmonies flow on top of a bassline that guides this minor-key gem... "Thinkin' Back" became Color Me Badd's fourth top-40 pop hit (though their first to miss the top ten) in April of 1992. The song also climbed to #31 on Billboard 's R&B chart. Internationally, the single peaked at #35 in Canada. (Click below to see the rest of the post)

Friday's here, and it's time to run down my top 100 tunes from the previous week. Pink reigns supreme for a ninth week, while Foster The People (pictured above) leap into the top ten. Songs from Meghan Trainor, Demi Lovato, and the Weeknd/Kendrick Lamar make the biggest jumps (moves of 10+ places highlighted in red ), while former big hits from Toni Braxton, Kelsea Ballerini, and Kane Brown/Lauren Alaina drop off my list. Where's the discount chocolate???? This Week           Song/Artist (last week's position in parentheses) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Beautiful Trauma - Pink (1) 2. Finesse - Bruno Mars f/Cardi B (4) 3. Live In The Moment - Portugal, The Man (3) 4. You Worry Me - Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats (6) 5. Broken Halos - Chris Stapleton (7) 6. No Roots - Alice Merton (2) 7. Perfect - Ed Sheeran (5) 8. How Long - Charlie Puth (9) 9. ...

" Tears In Heaven " - Eric Clapton from the album Rush (Original Soundtrack) (1992) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #2 (four weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 23 Today's song of the day comes from rock god Eric Clapton , who had coasted through much of the 1980s, scored a few hits like the top-40 " Forever Man " in the spring of 1985, as well as some solid albums, like 1986's August and 1989's Journeyman , which both sold decently but didn't land any success on pop radio (the biggest hit from the late 80s, " Pretending ", stopped below the halfway mark on the Hot 100). Eric started off the next decade with a series of concerts that would eventually be captured by the live release 24 Nights , with a take on his "Wonderful Tonight" reaching the top-40 in the UK (#30). However, this period was also marked by tragedy - tourmate Stevie Ray Vaughn was killed in a helicopter accident. The following year, his own son Conor passed away after f...

" Justified & Ancient " - The KLF featuring Tammy Wynette from the album The White Room (1991, original version) and The Works (1992, Tammy Wynette version) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #11 (two weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 12 Today's song of the day comes from the British art-dance act the KLF , who landed a left-field top ten pop hit in the U.S. with their massive international single " 3 A.M. Eternal " in the fall of 1991. In America, that was followed by the re-release of their earlier indie single " What Time Is Love? ", which went top-20 on the Billboard Dance Chart in the beginning of 1991, and this time around climbed to #57 on the pop Hot 100. Meanwhile, in their native UK, the one-off single " Last Train To Trancentral " rose to #2 on their singles chart. The LP version of the track, found on the White Room set, had chants on "Mu Mu!", forecasting what would arrive as the most innovative and unexpected collaborat...

" I Can't Dance " - Genesis from the album We Can't Dance (1991) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #7 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 14 Today's song of the day comes from the British band Genesis , who had transformed themselves from a progressive rock outfit to one of the biggest pop hitmakers of the 1980s. Their first album of the new decade, We Can't Dance , had already landed a top-20 pop hit in the winter of 1992 with the rather gloomy " No Son Of Mine ". The second single from the record would lighten things up a little with the acerbic wit of "I Can't Dance". Written by the trio of Mike Rutherford and Tony Banks with Phil Collins providing the lyrics, the song sported a video where the guys spoof on TV ads... "I Can't Dance" became the band's seventh and final top ten pop hit in April of 1992. The single spent three weeks at #2 on Billboard 's Mainstream Rock radio chart, and crossed over to #26 on thei...

" Save The Best For Last " - Vanessa Williams from the album The Comfort Zone (1991) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #1 (five weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 23 Today's song of the day comes from former Miss America turned R&B/pop singer Vanessa Williams , who landed her second top-40 pop hit in the fall of 1991 with " Running Back To You ", the lead single from her second album The Comfort Zone . That was followed by the lush Soul II Soul-style title track " The Comfort Zone ", which spent two weeks at #2 on Billboard 's R&B chart, but only managed to climb to #62 on the pop Hot 100. She came back with a love ballad that would end up being her greatest hit: the "friendzone" anthem "Save The Best For Last". Written by Phil Gladston, Wendy Waldman, and Jon Lind, the song has Vanessa's manfriend going through many girls before settling in with the one who's been there the entire time... "Save The Best For La...

" Stay " - Jodeci from the album Forever My Lady (1991) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #41 This week's "robbed hit" comes from the R&B vocal group Jodeci , who had landed their first pop hit in the winter of 1991 with the second single and title track from their first album, " Forever My Lady ". The third single from their debut would be the downtempo "please give me one more night" anthem "Stay". Written by member Devante Swing, it turned what could be a wishy-washy beg for a broken up lover to a booty call-worthy groove... While "Stay" became Jodeci's second #1 hit on Billboard 's R&B chart, spending two weeks at the top, the single stopped one notch short of the pop top-40 in the U.S. in February of 1992. (Click below to see the rest of the post)

" Breakin' My Heart (Pretty Brown Eyes) " - Mint Condtion from the album Meant To Be Mint (1991) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #6 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 16 Today's song of the day comes from the R&B band Mint Condition , who came together in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area as schoolmates in the mid-80s (Roger Troutman of Zapp's son was an early member). With lead singer and drummer Stokely Williams and an actual band of players (O'Dell would be on guitar, Keri "future Mr. Toni Braxton" Lewis and Lawrence Waddell on keyboards, Ricky Kinchen on bass, and Jeffrey Allen with the saxophone), the group was signed to Janet Jackson producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis' Perspective Records, where they would record their debut album Meant To Be Mint . It was produced by another former member of The Time, Jellybean Johnson, along with the band themselves. Just like another contemporary soul group just getting started, Jodeci, their company deci...

" On A Sunday Afternoon " - A Lighter Shade Of Brown from the album Brown & Proud (1990) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #39 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 1 Today's song of the day comes from the Latin hip-hop duo A Lighter Shade Of Brown , who came together in the late 1980s with Robert Gutierrez and Bobby Ramirez releasing their debut album Brown & Proud in 1990. The second single released from the record, the freestyle music jam " Latin Active ", became their first minor hit, reaching #59 on the pop chart in the summer of 1991. But the third release from the record turned things retro, with the easy breezy "On A Sunday Afternoon". Sampling the Young Rascals' "Groovin'" (where the title came from) as well as "Crystal Blue Persuasion" from Tommy James and the Shondells on a chorus sung by Shiro Stokes, the record had lyrics young kids in the city could relate to, and yet older listeners could recognize, and the ...

" Paper Doll" - P.M. Dawn from the album Of The Heart, of the Soul, and of the Cross: The Utopian Experience (1991) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #28 (two weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 6 Today's song of the day comes from the alternative hip-hop duo P.M. Dawn , who had taken their breakthrough single " Set Adrift On Memory Bliss " all the way to #1 on the American pop chart in the fall of 1991. The follow-up from the Cordes brothers would be the lush rhythmic single "Paper Doll". Written by leader Prince Be (Attell Cordes), it sounds like he's rapping over a Sade' record, but rather its a sample of an obscure jazz-funk record; " Angola, Louisiana " from Gil-Schott Heron and Brian Jackson. Nevertheless, it continued their American success... "Paper Doll" became the second top-40 hit for P.M. Dawn in America in February of 1992. The song also climbed to #35 on Billboard 's R&B chart, while the remixes on the CD s...

Friday's here, and it's time again to run down my top 100 tunes from the previous week. Pink's "Beautiful Trauma" leads for an eighth week, while Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats (pictured above) roll into the top ten. Former big hits from Niall Horan, Chris Young, Clean Bandit, and Easton Corbin drop off my list, while songs from Tony Moran, Kelly Clarkson, and Jordan Davis make some of the biggest jumps (moves of 10+ places highlighted in red ). May the children guide our future... This Week                Song/Artist (last week's position in parentheses) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Beautiful Trauma - Pink (1) 2. No Roots - Alice Merton (2) 3. Live In The Moment - Portugal, The Man (5) 4. Finesse - Bruno Mars f/Cardi B (8) 5. Perfect - Ed Sheeran (3) 6. You Worry Me - Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats (12) 7. Broken Halos - Chris Stapleton (10) 8. O...

" Live and Let Die " - Guns N' Roses from the album Use Your Illusion I (1991) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #33 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 4 Today's song of the day comes from the down and dirty hard rock band from Los Angeles, Guns N' Roses , whose double-album/separate-release set Use Your Illusion I & II had set records for simultaneous releases, and already had landed a pop hit from each volume with the top ten " Don't Cry " from the first and " You Could Be Mine " from the second. The third release from the pair came from the first set again, with a cover of one of the most popular and celebrated themes from the iconic James Bond film series. "Live and Let Die", written and recorded by Paul McCartney with his band Wings, reunited him with his former Beatles studio svengali Sir George Martin. Released in 1973, the orchestral-rock track climbed to #2 on the American rock chart and #9 in his native Britain... ...

" Missing You Now " - Michael Bolton featuring Kenny G from the album Time, Love and Tenderness (1991) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #12 (two weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 12 Today's song of the day comes from soft-pop king Michael Bolton , whose seventh album Time, Love and Tenderness had already scored three huge pop hits with " Love Is A Wonderful Thing ", " Time, Love and Tenderness ", and his #1 Grammy-winning cover of " When A Man Loves A Woman ". The fourth single released from the record would be the midtempo ballad "Missing You Now". Written by Bolton with producer Walter Afanasieff and "song doctor" Diane Warren, and featuring lite-jazz sax god Kenny G , the record would continue his success with "easy" pop radio stations. Future Desperate Housewives star Teri Hatcher starred in the music video. Bolton was dating her then, and eventually settled with DH co-star Nicolette Sheridan...  "Miss...

" Masterpiece " - Atlantic Starr from the album Love Crazy (1991) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #3 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 19 Today's song of the day comes from the R&B group Atlantic Starr, who had landed their second big ballad hit in the summer of 1987 with the wedding reception staple " Always ". The co-lead singer on that record, Barbara Weathers, left not long after, and Porscha Martin signed on for their next album We're Movin' Up , in 1988. The lead single " My First Love " became their second #1 R&B hit, but it missed the pop Hot 100 completely. Again switching labels from Warner Bros to Reprise, the band returned with their ninth album Love Crazy in 1991. The first single and title track " Love Crazy " climbed to #7 on Billboard 's R&B chart, but stalled down at #75 on the pop list (though at least this time it made the chart). The second single from the set would be another love ballad that would...

" Too Blind To See It " - Kym Sims from the album Too Blind To See It (1992) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #38 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 1 Today's song of the day comes from dance music singer/songwriter Kym Sims , who hails from Chicago, the capital of house music, and with the help of producer and remixer Steve "Silk" Hurley, with whom she co-wrote CeCe Peniston's "Keep On Walkin'", released her own debut album in 1992. The title track "Too Blind To See It", which came out the previous year, became a huge hit in the clubs before reaching the top ten in the UK and then conquering the American top-40, if only for a week... "Too Blind To See It" became Kym's first and only top-40 pop hit in the U.S. in February of 1992. The single reached #5 on Billboard 's Dance Club Play chart as well. Internationally, the record hit #5 in the UK, and made the top-40 in Belgium (#14), Australia (#16), Ireland (#20), Sw...

" Send Me An Angel " - Scorpions from the album Crazy World (1990) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #44 This week's "robbed hit" comes from the German heavy metal band Scorpions , who rode into the American pop top ten in the summer of 1991 in the spirit of glasnost that eventually led to the falling of the Berlin Wall on their third single from their Crazy World album, " Wind Of Change ". With that momentum, the group released a fourth single from the record, "Send Me An Angel". Like "Wind of Change", it was a softer number, but more of a standard metal power-ballad than the political anthem the other single turned out to be...  While "Send Me An Angel" climbed all the way to #8 on Billboard 's Mainstream Rock radio chart, the song stalled right under the top-40 in January of 1992. Internationally, the single was much more successful, reaching the top ten in Belgium (#4), the Netherlands (#4), Sweden (#4), Germa...

" There Will Never Be Another Tonight " - Bryan Adams from the album Waking Up The Neighbours (1991) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #31 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 4 Today's song of the day is by Canadian rocker Bryan Adams , whose 1991 album Waking Up The Neighbours already landed him two huge pop hits with " Can't Stop This Thing We Started " and the #1 smash ballad " (Everything I Do) I Do It For You ". The third single released from the record would be the uptempo rock of "There Will Never Be Another Tonight". Produced by Bryan with Robert "Mutt" Lange, who both wrote it with the help of Jim Vallance, the song seemed pulled out of the 1980s rock format playbook. (See if you can spot actress Rachel Weisz...) While "There Will Be Another Tonight" climbed as high as #6 on Billboard 's Mainstream Rock radio chart, the song managed a month in the pop top-40's lower rungs in February of 1992. Internat...

" Vibeology " - Paula Abdul from the album Spellbound (1991) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #16 (three weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 7 Today's song of the day comes from dance-pop singer Paula Abdul , whose sophomore album Spellbound had already granted her three big hits with the top ten " Blowing Kisses In The Wind " and two #1 singles in " Promise Of A New Day " and " Rush Rush ". The fourth release from the record would be the funky dance jam "Vibeology". Written by her production helpers Peter Lord, V Jeffrey Smith, and Sandra St. Victor of The Stand, the single already sounded like a remixed track when it was sent to radio, with its house-music bassline and shallow lyrics... While Vibeology became Abdul's ninth top-40 pop hit in February of 1992, it broke her string of top ten singles going back to her breakthrough "Straight Up". The remixes on the 12" single helped it rise to #17 on Billboard 's D...

" Remember The Time " - Michael Jackson from the album Dangerous (1991) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #3 (four weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 16 Today's song of the day is from Michael Jackson , whose Dangerous album started out his 90s with one of his biggest pop hits, with " Black or White " spending seven weeks at #1 in December of 1991 through January of the following year. The second single from the record would pair Jackson up with new jack swing master Teddy Riley, with whom he co-produced "Remember The Time". The song was written by Jackson and Riley along with Bernard Belle, who recently penned the #1 hit from Hi-Five, "I Like The Way (The Kissing Game)". The "event"-style music video featured Michael back in time in ancient Egypt, along with comedian Eddie Murphy, model Iman, and basketball star Magic Johnson... ...soooo basically Iman's a big c-word here.... "Remember The Time" became the second top-...

Friday's here, and it's time to run down my top 100 tunes from the previous week. Pink reigns for a seventh week, while Chris Stapleton (pictured above) reaches the top ten for the first time. Songs from Zedd/Maren Morris/Grey, Kelly Clarkson, and James Bay make the biggest jumps on my list (moves of 10+ places highlighted in red ), while former big hits from 30 Seconds To Mars, The War On Drugs, Andy Grammer, Royal Blood, and Diana Ross drop out. RuPaul, that was damn anticlimactic! This Week         Song/Artist (last week's position in parentheses) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Beautiful Trauma - Pink (1) 2. No Roots - Alice Merton (4) 3. Perfect - Ed Sheeran (3) 4. One Foot - Walk The Moon (2) 5. Live In The Moment - Portugal, The Man (5) 6. Havana - Camila Cabello f/Young Thug (6) 7. New Rules - Dua Lipa (7) 8. Finesse - Bruno Mars f/Cardi B (10) 9. How ...

" I'll Get By " - Eddie Money from the album Right Here (1991) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #21 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 10 Today's song of the day comes from rock singer Eddie Money , who closed out the 1980s, his most successful years, with a greatest hits record including a new top-40 pop hit in " Peace In Our Time " in the winter of 1990. The following year, Eddie recorded his eighth studio album Right Here . The first single from the record, the nostalgic rock of " Heaven In The Back Seat ", climbed to #6 on Billboard 's Mainstream Rock radio chart, but even with Richard "Mutt" Lange (Bryan Adams, Def Leppard, pre-Shania) wrote and produced the track, it stalled out at #58 on their pop Hot 100. That was followed by " She Takes My Breath Away ", which did one notch better at #5 on the rock list, but missed the pop chart altogether, even though it was a bit more radio-friendly. For the third try, Eddie brought ...