Twostepcublog

" Back To The Hotel " - N2Deep from the album Back To The Hotel (1992) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #14 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 22 Today's song of the day comes from the hip-hop duo N2Deep, who got together in the early 1990s in the northern outskirts of the San Francisco/Oakland area. Rappers Timothy "TL" Lyon and James "Jay Tee" Trujillo signed on to Profile Records (Run DMC's original label) just as they were about to release their debut album. The first single, title track "Back To The Hotel", which prominently sampled the slinky saxophone hook from " Darkest Light " from the Lafayette Afro-Rock Band, was produced by partner John Zunino, and followed a story of the pair trying various ways to get chicks while cruising around the hood... "Back To The Hotel" meandered in the pop top-40 for weeks before eventually reaching the top-20 in January of 1993. The single also made it to #33 on Billboard '

Friday's here, and it's time to run down my top 100 tunes from the previous week. Camila Cabello climbs to the summit, while Calvin Harris and Dua Lipa (pictured above) leap into the top five. Songs from Florence + The Machine, Backstreet Boys, and Beck make some of the biggest jumps (moves of 10+ places highlighted in red ). One week away... This Week             Song/Artist (last week's position in parentheses) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Never Be The Same - Camila Cabello (3) 2. Done For Me - Charlie Puth f/Kehlani (1) 3. The Middle - Zedd, Maren Morris, & Grey (2) 4. Thought Contagion - Muse (4) 5. One Kiss - Calvin Harris & Dua Lipa (8) 6. Friends - Marshmello & Anne-Marie (9) 7. Whatever It Takes - Imagine Dragons (6) 8. In My Blood - Shawn Mendes (10) 9. One Number Away - Luke Combs (5) 10. Women, Amen - Dierks Bentley (12) 11. Broken - lovelytheband (7) 12. Tequil

" She's Playing Hard To Get " - Hi-Five from the album Keep It Goin' On (1992) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #5 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 16 Today's song of the day comes from the soul vocal group Hi-Five , who had scored a pair of big pop hits from their debut album with " I Can't Wait Another Minute " and the #1 " I Like The Way (The Kissing Game) ", both in 1991. The following year, the young men led by singer Tony Thompson released their sophomore effort, Keep It Goin' On . Treston Irby, who had been around since the promotion of their first set, joined on as an official member. The first single was the lite new-jack-swing of "She's Playing Hard To Get". Written by producer Timothy Allen along with William Walton, the smooth harmonies returned them to the top of the charts yet again... "She's Playing Hard To Get" became Hi-Five's third (and last) top ten pop hit in the U.S. in October of

" Do I Have To Say The Words? " - Bryan Adams from the album Waking Up The Neighbours (1991) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #11 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 15 Today's song of the day comes from Canadian rock artist Bryan Adams , whose 1991 album Waking Up The Neighbours , his "collaboration" with producer Robert "Mutt" Lange, had already spun off four top-40 pop hits in America with " There Will Never Be Another Tonight ", " Thought I Died And Gone To Heaven ", " Can't Stop This Thing We Started ", and the #1 classic " (Everything I Do) I Do It For You ". Also, album track " Touch The Hand " climbed to #13 on the Mainstream Rock radio chart (released in Canada, it went to #37), while " All I Want Is You " was put out as a single internationally and reached the top-40 in Ireland (#20), the UK (#22), and Australia (#31). The fifth American pop radio single from the album would be the d

" Jesus He Knows Me " - Genesis from the album We Can't Dance (1991) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #23 (three weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 9 Today's song of the day comes from the progressive rock band turned pop hitmakers Genesis , whose 1991 album We Can't Dance (as of now the last studio set with Phil Collins on board) had already spun off a trio of hits with " No Son Of Mine ", " Hold On My Heart ", and the top ten " I Can't Dance ". (Also, album track " Driving The Last Spike " went to #25 on Billboard 's Mainstream Rock radio chart.) The fourth single from the record would be the uptempo dig at religion, "Jesus He Knows Me". Aimed at the trend of TV evangelists who are banking on their flock, the track is a fun yet truthful look at the sorryful state of faith that continues today. It's my favorite video of theirs, not just because of the message but in that it features all three of them - Colli

" Even Better Than The Real Thing " - U2 from the album Achtung Baby (1991) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #32 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 6 Today's song of the day comes from the Irish rock band U2 , whose landmark album Achtung Baby had already spun off a pair of top ten American pop hits with " Mysterious Ways " and " One ". The fourth single from the record (first promo single "The Fly" was a minor pop hit) was the uptempo flash of "Even Better Than The Real Thing". Written by the band from work originally back in their previous album Rattle and Hum , the song sported a music video from Kevin Godley (Godley & Creme) that had Bono and the boys with lookalikes of themselves... "Even Better Than The Real Thing" became the third top-40 pop hit in the U.S. from Achtung Baby in September of 1992. The was a huge hit on rock radio, spending three weeks at #1 on Billboard 's Mainstream Rock chart and peakin

" Twilight Zone " - 2 Unlimited from the album Get Ready! (1992) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #49 This week's "robbed hit" comes from the Dutch techo-dance act 2 Unlimited , who were put together by Belgian producers Jean-Paul DeCoster and Phil Wilde in the early 1990s in Amsterdam. Jean-Paul and Phil had first recorded under the moniker Bizz Nizz, and reached #7 in the UK and #10 in Germany with the single " Don't Miss The Party Line " in 1990. Recruiting rapper Ray Slijngaard, who brought in singer Anita Doth, they created 2 Unlimited, and recorded an older song of DeCoster and Wilde's, "Get Ready For This". Released as a single, it was a big international hit, going to #2 in the UK, Spain and Australia, and reaching #14 on the American dance chart in Billboard . However, it would be their second release, "Twilight Zone", that got American radio buzzing. With an unforgettable synth hook that sounded classical yet bangin

" Humpin' Around " - Bobby Brown from the album Bobby (1992) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #3 (three weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 17 Today's song of the day comes from R&B singer Bobby Brown , whose second solo album after leaving New Edition, Don't Be Cruel , spun off five top ten pop hits with " Rock Witcha ", " Every Little Step ", " Don't Be Cruel ", " Roni ", and the #1 " My Prerogative ". He also went to #2 with his theme from the second Ghostbusters movie, " On My Own ". After a mysteriously shelved second album and a collaboration with teen "good kid" Glenn Medeiros that resulted in a left-field #1 pop hit in "She Ain't Worth It", Brown returned in the summer of 1992 with the first single from his upcoming Bobby album. At that point, he had just married Whitney Houston, and his bad boy image had already raised a few eyebrows about the relationship. Brown came out

" Please Don't Go " - KWS from the album KWS (Please Don't Go) (1992) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #6 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 16 Today's song of the day comes from the British dance music trio K.W.S., whose moniker comes from the names of its members, Chris King, Winston Williams, and lead singer Delroy St. Joseph. King brought them together to produce a single remake of a song that hit #1 in the U.S. back in 1979. "Please Don't Go", written by Harry Wayne "KC" Casey and Richard Finch, was the last big hit for disco giants KC & The Sunshine Band, and one of the very rare cases of a full-on "ballad" in that genre (as opposed to a ballad that breaks into a floorfiller, like Donna Summer's "Dim All The Lights"), as it became the first #1 hit of the 1980s in Billboard magazine... In the beginning of 1992, Italohouse act Double You? released an uptempo version of the song in Europe which became an in

" Mr. Loverman " - Shakka Ranks with Chevelle Franklin from the albums Rough & Ready Volume 1 and Deep Cover (Original Soundtrack) (1992) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #40 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 1 Today's song of the day comes from dancehall artist Shabba Ranks, who had his crossover breakthrough in the U.S. in the winter of 1991 with " Housecall " featuring Maxi Priest. The following year, Ranks released his Rough & Ready Volume 1 album, with the first single already appearing on the soundtrack to the Larry Fishburne/Jeff Goldblum movie Deep Cover . "Mr. Loverman", written by Ranks with Mike Bennett and Hopeton Lindo, was originally a takeoff on the song " Champion Lover " from Guyanese singer Deborahe Glasgow. Retitling it "Mr. Loverman", Ranks included it on his 1988 album Rappin With The Ladies . But after Glasgow became ill with cancer, Ranks would re-record the song for the single with Jamaican reggae si

Friday's here, and it's time to run down my top 100 tunes from the previous week. Charlie Puth and Kehlani claim a third week at #1, while Muse (pictured above) reach the top five. Songs from Florence + The Machine, Donna Summer, and Lauv make the biggest jumps (moves of 10+ places highlighted in red ), while former big hits from Martin Garrix/David Guetta, Jade Bird, Tom Walker, Vassy/Afrojack, and Keala Settle with the Greatest Showman Ensemble drop off my list. No rain, please, no rain... This Week              Song/Artist (last week's position in parentheses) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Done For Me - Charlie Puth f/Kehlani (1) 2. The Middle - Zedd, Maren Morris, and Grey (2) 3. Never Be The Same - Camila Cabello (4) 4. Thought Contagion - Muse (6) 5. One Number Away - Luke Combs (5) 6. Whatever It Takes - Imagine Dragons (3) 7. Broken - lovelytheband (7) 8. One Kiss - Calvin Harris &a

" You Remind Me " - Mary J. Blige from the albums What's The 411? (1992) and Strictly Business (Original Soundtrack) (1991) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #29 (two weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 6 Today's song of the day comes from Mary J. Blige , who was born in New York City, but grew up in the South, before returning to the Big Apple, where she was discovered and signed to MCA's Uptown record label, where she joined up with producer Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs, with whom she worked with to release her debut album, What's The 411? (a nod to a former job of hers). The first single, put out a month prior, was the smooth new jack swing-infused "You Remind Me". Already seen on the Tommy Davidson/Halle Berry movie Strictly Business, the video version of the song had a rap bridge performed by Greg Nice from the duo Nice & Smooth (who were my "robbed hit of the week" last week). It was written by Eric Milteer along with producer Dave

" Everybody's Free (To Feel Good) " - Rozalla from the album Everybody's Free (1992) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #37 (two weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 4 Today's song of the day comes from dance music singer and self-dubbed "Queen Of Rave" Rozalla , who was born in the southern African nation of Zambia, where she was raised before moving to neighboring Zimbabwe as a teenager. She had a successful local career before jetting to England to reach the international market, where she was signed to the dance label Pulse-8. After an unnoticed first single, she reached the British chart for the first time in the spring of 1991 with " Faith (In The Power Of Love) ", which was a minor hit at #65. The third release, though, did much, much better, as the techno classic "Everybody's Free (To Feel Good)" became Rozalla's breakthrough success. Written and produced by Tim Cox and Nigel Swanston (aka the Band Of Gypsies), it brought a stron

" Jump Around " - House Of Pain from the album House Of Pain (1992) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #3 (two weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 25 Today's song of the day come from the white-boy rap trio House Of Pain , who came together as former schoolmates in the early 90s in Los Angeles. Adapting a branding that tied them to Irish-Americans (even though DJ Lethal was Latvian), maybe to curate a, well, lighter audience, Erik "Everlast" Schrody and "Danny Boy" O'Connor were taken on by Tommy Boy Records and released their debut single "Jump Around" in the spring of 1992. Produced by DJ Muggs (Lawrence Muggerud, who again has no Irish background), who helped orchestrate the dancehall-beat jumper that took a sample ot Jr. Walker's soul classic " Shotgun ", and twisted the sax wail to be acting as a percussion instrument. Add the beginning and beat, which cribs Bob & Earl's " Harlem Shuffle ", which the Rolling S

" All I Want " - Toad The Wet Sprocket from the album fear (1991) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #15 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 18 Today's song of the day comes from the alternative rock band Toad The Wet Sprocket , who came together in the mid-1980s and named themselves from a fictional group used in a Monty Python sketch . Schoolmates from Santa Barbara, California, they initially released their debut album Bread & Circus in 1989. One of the songs from the set, " One Little Girl ", reached Billboard 's Modern Rock radio chart at #24. With that success they signed to Columbia Records, and recorded their sophomore effort Pale , which came out the following year. Again they landed a moderate hit on the Modern Rock chart with " Come Back Down ", but it took until their third release, fear , that the timing was right for their pensive rock sound. In 1991, lead singer Glen Phillips and Toad the Wet Sprocket released fear , with the big-sou

" Sometimes I Rhyme Slow "- Nice & Smooth from the album Ain't A Damn Thing Changed (1991) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #44 This week's "robbed hit" comes from the rap duo Nice & Smooth, who got together in the Bronx in the mid-1980s. Greg "Nice" Mays and Daryl "Smooth" Barnes released their self-titled debut album in 1989, and while that record made the R&B albums chart (#26), it failed to have a successful single. That changed with their sophomore effort Ain't A Damn Thing Changed two years later. The lead track, " Hip Hop Junkies ", which samples the Partridge Family's "I Think I Love You", nabbed them buzz and a top-40 R&B hit (#38). That was followed by " How To Flow ", which did a bit better, going to #23 R&B. But it would be the third release from the record that would be their biggest moment. "Sometimes I Rhyme Slow" has the duo throwing verses on top of a sa

" Stay " - Shakespear's Sister from the album Hormonally Yours (1992) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #4 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 14 Today's song of the day comes from the alternative rock act Shakespear's Sister, which came about when British singer Siobhan Fahey left her ska-rock turned HI-NRG trio Bananarama . That group had landed a trio of top ten pop hits in America, including " I Heard A Rumour " in the fall of 1987. However, the sugary fey Stock Aitken Waterman production of the album left Fahey cold, and she departed the following year. Reemerging under the moniker Shakepear's Sister, a take-off from a song by mope-rock gods The Smiths , At the urging of Siobhan's husband, Eurythmics member David Stewart, Fahey took on American writing collaborator Marcy Levy as a full-on member to make the act a duo. Marcy, who had co-written " Lay Down Sally " with Eric Clapton, which went to #3 on the American pop chart in 1977. Thre

" End Of The Road " - Boyz II Men from the albums Boomerang (Original Soundtrack) (1992) and Cooleyhighharmony (Reissue) (1993) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #1 (13 weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 28 Today's song of the day comes from the soulful vocal group from Philadelphia, Boyz II Men , whose debut album Cooleyhighharmony had scored them a trio of big pop hits with " Motownphilly ", " It's So Hard To Say Goodbye To Yesterday ", and " Uhhh Ahhh " (a fourth, " Please Don't Go ", reached the R&B top ten as well). They started out 1992 by winning a Grammy Award and going on tour with MC Hammer, but tragically losing their manager who was killed in Chicago. In the spring of that year, they recorded a song to contribute to the soundtrack of the Eddie Murphy rom-com film Boomerang . The resulting "End Of The Road" was written and produced by the team of Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, L.A. Reid, and Daryl S

" Honey Love " - R. Kelly & Public Announcement from the album Born Into The 90's (1992) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #39 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 1 Today's song of the day comes from R&B singer Robert (R.) Kelly , who grew up in Chicago, where he attended school near the University of Chicago and put together his first group MGM, who were winners of the televised talent show Big Break , but after a bombed single never went anyplace before breaking up. Recruiting backup singers Andre Boykins, Earl Robinson, and Ricky Webster to form "Public Announcement", Kelly recorded their debut album Born Into The 90s . The first single from the record was the new jack swing exercise " She's Got That Vibe ", which climbed all the way to #7 on Billboard 's R&B chart, and became their first minor pop hit at #59 (it also got to #57 in the UK). The second single from their album, the slow jam "Honey Love", would serve as the

Friday's here, and it's time to run down my top 100 tunes from the previous week. Charlie Puth and Kehlani spend a second week at #1, while Camila Cabello (pictured above) makes it into the top five. Former big hits from Portugal The Man and Alice Merton drop off my chart, while songs from Dan + Shay, the Record Company, and Donna Summer make the biggest jumps (moves of 10+ places highlighted in red ). Happy daddy's day... This Week               Song/Artist (last week's position in parentheses) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Done For Me - Charlie Puth f/Kehlani (1) 2. The Middle - Zedd, Maren Morris, & Grey (2) 3. Whatever It Takes - Imagine Dragons (3) 4. Never Be The Same - Camila Cabello (6) 5. One Number Away - Luke Combs (5) 6. Thought Contagion - Muse (8) 7. Broken - lovelytheband (7) 8. Heaven - Kane Brown (4) 9. Friends - Marshmello & Anne-Marie (12) 10. One K