Twostepcublog

" Take Your Time (Do It Right) " became the breakthrough hit for the S.O.S. Band, a disco-soul group from Atlanta that dominated the clubs in the summer of 1980. The single spent four weeks at #1 on Billboard 's Disco/Dance Singles chart.

Friday's here, and it's time again to run down my top 100 tunes from the previous week.British soul singer Ella Mai climbs into the #1 spot, while Maroon 5 (pictured above) reach the top five. A former big hit from Toni Braxton drops out, while songs from twenty-one pilots, Metro/Nelly Furtado, and Eurovision winner Netta make some of the biggest jumps (moves of 10+ places highlighted in red ). It's Labor Day already ????? This Week               Song/Artist (last week's position in parentheses) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Boo'd Up - Ella Mai (2) 2. I Like Me Better - Lauv (4) 3. Don't Go Breaking My Heart - Backstreet Boys (1) 4. Girls Like You - Maroon 5 f/Cardi B (6) 5. Whatever You Want - Pink (7) 6. Say Amen (Saturday Night) - Panic! At The Disco (3) 7. In My Blood - Shawn Mendes (5) 8. Mercy - Brett Young (10) 9. No...

" TOOTIMETOOTIMETOOTIME " is the second release from the upcoming album A Brief Inquiry into Online Relationships from the British modern rock band from Manchester, The 1975 . Lead singer Matty Healy, son of TV host and one-time winner of Celebrity Big Brother Denise Welch, is absolutely charming as he danced around with a bunch of fans in this bop that is perfect for the waning days of the summer. Their last single "Give Yourself A Try" reached #14 on Billboard 's Alternative Rock radio chart.

" Here We Go Again! " - Portrait from the album Portrait (1992) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #11 (two weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 18 Today's song of the day comes from the R&B group Portrait, who got together in Los Angeles in the early 1990s, and rode the new jack swing wave with their self-titled debut album in 1992. The lead single from the record was "Here We Go Again!", a classic of that genre written by the band's Phil Johnson, Eric Kirkland, Michael Saulsberry, and Irving Washington and produced by Saulsberry, the uptempo track would be their first and by far biggest hit... Portrait's sole top-40 pop hit, "Here We Go Again" spent two weeks right under the top ten on the American pop chart in February of 1993.The single took a week at #3 on Billboard 's R&B chart, while the dance remixes on the single helped it rise to #30 on their Dance Club Play list. Internationally, the single was a rare R&B top-40 hit in the ...

In 1982, Donna Summer 's classic disco hit " I Feel Love " was re-released with new remixes done by HI-NRG legend Patrick Cowley (Sylvester's producer). This new rework, an epic 15-minute long mix, climbed to #21 on the British singles chart. It's my favorite version of the track. The original peaked at #3 on Billboard 's Disco/Dance Tracks chart in 1977, while spending three weeks at #1 on the list as part of her I Remember Yesterday album that same year.

" Body Talks " is the refurbished second single from the as-yet-to-be-named sophomore album from British glam rockers the Struts . Pop princess Kesha is featured on the new version with is 100% better than the original. The band had two top ten hits on Billboard 's Alternative Rock chart from their first album Everybody Wants , with "Could Have Been Me" going as high as #5 in 2014. Pure, bouncy pleasure made for rocking out in the car.

" Never A Time " - Genesis from the album We Can't Dance (1991) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #21 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 9 Today's song of the day comes from the progressive rock band turned pop hitmakers Genesis , whose We Can't Dance album had already spun off four pop hits in America with " Jesus He Knows Me ", " Hold On My Heart ", " No Son Of Mine ", and the top ten " I Can't Dance ". The fifth and final physical single from the record was the midtempo ballad "Never A Time". Written by the band of Phil Collins, Mike Rutherford, and Tony Banks, who all produced it with Nick Davis, it was given a limited release, with not even a music video to promote it in America - nevertheless the quality of the song placed it nicely on radio... "Never A Time" became Genesis' seventeenth and so far last top-40 pop hit in America in January of 1993. The song was especially big on "easy ...

Mike Theodore, who co-produced Gallery's 70s bubble-gum hit " Nice To Be With You ", had a big disco hit in 1977 with three cuts from his Mike Theodore Orchestra's Cosmic Wind album, which spent three weeks at #2 on Billboard 's Disco/Dance Singles chart. Two years later, he released his second disco album, High On Mad Mountain ; from it "Disco People" went to #8, but it was the title track here that became an underground classic of the genre.

" He's Got His Mother's Hips " is a new track from singer/songwriter John Grant 's upcoming fourth album Love Is Magic . His last record, Grey Tickles, Black Pressure , peaked at #5 on the British albums chart in 2015. It sounds like Nitzer Ebb on antidepressants, no?

" Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses " - U2 from the album Achtung Baby (1991) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #35 (two weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 5 Today's song of the day comes from Irish rock legends U2 , whose album Achtung Baby had already landed them three big hits in America with " Even Better Than The Real Thing " and two top-ten pop hits in " Mysterious Ways " and " One ". The fifth release from the record (lead single "The Fly" stopped at #61) was the epic "Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses". With words by lead Bono and music from the band, the track was mixed from the original demo, with a haunting and reverberating sound to the production, singing about an elusive and mysterious girl... "Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses" became the fourth and final top-40 pop hit from Achtung Baby in America in December of 1992. The song spent a week at #2 on Billboard 's Mainstream Rock radio ...

The Fantastic Four were an R&B group that originally got together in Detroit in the late 1960s as a Motown-style band, but reunited in the late 1970s as a disco act. " Got To Have Your Love ", the title track from their second album for Westbound Records , spent three weeks at #2 on Billboard 's Disco/Dance chart in 1977.

" High Hopes " is the third single from Pray For The Wicked , the sixth album from power-pop band Panic! At The Disco .

" Deeper and Deeper " - Madonna from the album Erotica (1992) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #7 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 13 Today's song of the day comes from newly-christened sexagenarian Madonna , who had taken her risque single " Erotica " into the top three on the American pop chart mostly through sheer force of her fame (and talent) in the fall of 1992.  As experimental and lascivious as that track was, the follow-up was just as accessible and straightforward. "Deeper and Deeper", written by the same team that did "Erotica" (Madonna, producer/remixer Shep Pettibone, and Andy Shimkin) was a by the books house music throwdown, with a sing-along melody with an undeniable hook in its chorus. The song even lifts a couple lines from her other house classic, "Vogue". With a video that presumably continues the plot from the previous single, with German actor Udo Kier making a repeat appearance, the clip otherwise seemed like a...

" Take A Chance " was the first and biggest club hit for Gloria Brooks, who recorded under the moniker Queen Samantha for TK Disco, once the big Miami disco label home of KC & The Sunshine Band. The song reached #14 on Billboard 's Disco/Dance chart in 1979.

" Chains Around Your Heart " - Richard Marx from the album Rush Street (1991) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #44 This week's "robbed hit" comes from singer/songwriter Richard Marx , whose introspective third album Rush Street had already spun off three big pop hits with " Take This Heart ", " Keep Coming Back ", and the top ten single " Hazard ". The fourth and final release from the set would be the ballad "Chains Around My Heart". Written by Marx with Fee Waybill of the new wave group the Tubes, the song would continue his success with "easy listening" radio stations... Although "Chains Around My Heart" climbed all the way to #9 on Billboard 's Adult Contemporary (or "easy listening") radio chart, the song stalled right under the American pop Top-40, spending three weeks at #44 in November of 1992. Internationally, the single made it to #17 in Canada, and #29 in the UK. (Click b...

Not for the weak-hearted, " Girly " is the new single from singer/songwriter John Duff , who is serving up Mariah Carey in "Heartbreaker" realness in this campy video featuring Willam and Bianca Del Rio from Rupaul's Drag Race .

" When She Cries " - Restless Heart from the album Big Iron Horses (1992) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #11 (two weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 13 Today's song of the day comes from the country band Restless Heart , who was one of the first acts after Alabama to be able to cross over into pop radio, landing a top-40 hit in the summer of 1987 with " I'll Still Be Loving You ".  Two more songs from the album it came from, Wheels , also reached Billboard 's Adult Contemporary (or "easy listening") radio chart: " Why Does It Have To Be (Wrong Or Right) " (#11) and " New York (Hold Her Tight) " (#23). The following year, the group released their next album, Big Dreams In A Small Town , and even though they landed four top-5 country hits from the set, including two #1's in " The Bluest Eyes In Texas " and " A Tender Lie ", nothing clicked on pop radio, which had by then eschewed country music altogether. Af...

An unavoidable ad for the local gym/hostel/hook-up joint, " Y.M.C.A. " was released by the Village People in the fall of 1978, where it went to two weeks at #2 on Billboard 's Disco/Dance chart. It also reached #2 on the pop chart, and ended up in the top ten for the year of 1979 (#8). The album it came from, Cruisin' , also made it to #3 on the Albums chart in America. You can hang out with all the boys, you know.

" Idol " is the first single from the K-pop kings' just-released album Love Yourself: Answer . BTS hit the American pop top ten earlier this year with " Fake Love ".

" Faithful " - Go West from the album Indian Summer (1992) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #14 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 13 Today's song of the day comes from the British pop duo Go West , who had landed the biggest hit of their career in the summer of 1990 when their " King Of Wishful Thinking " from the soundtrack to the Richard Gere/Julia Roberts film Pretty Woman hit the American pop top ten. That song would also eventually find its way onto Peter Cox and Richard Drummie's third studio album Indian Summer two years later. Released in the fall of 1992, it was promoted by the second single from the set, the brassy upbeat pop of "Faithful". Written by the pair with writer Martin Page (co-writer of Starship's "We Built This City"), the track would almost match the success of the previous hit... "Faithful" became Go West's third and final top-40 pop hit in the U.S. in January of 1993. The song spent two week...

" It Only Takes A Minute " from the disco group Tavares spent five weeks at #2 on Billboard 's Disco/Dance chart in 1975. The single topped the R&B chart for a week, and peaked at #10 on the American pop chart for the band of brothers whose parents came from the Cape Verde Islands in the Atlantic Ocean, who gained independence from Portugal that same year.

" 1950 " is the lead single from King Princess, the moniker of Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter Mikaela Straus . It's already a top-40 hit in Australia, and comes from her EP Make My Bed .

" The Last Song " - Elton John from the album The One (1992) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #23 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 9 Today's song of the day is from Elton John , who had returned to the American pop top ten in the fall of 1992 with the title track from his album The One . The second single from the record would be one of Elton's most personal and emotional songs, based on inspiration from a young person in his life. That person was Ryan White, who had contracted the HIV virus from a transfusion, and had subsequently succumbed to AIDS in 1990. Also, the death of Freddie Mercury was fresh when Bernie Taupin wrote the lyrics about a father losing a son, which Elton then set to music. The result was a guaranteed tearjerker that was released as a benefit for his Elton John AIDS Foundation... "The Last Song" became the second American pop top-40 hit from The One in December of 1992. The song spent two weeks at #2 on Billboard 's Adult Cont...

"Hit N' Run Lover " was the first and biggest hit for Carol Jiani , a singer born in Nigeria and living in Canada. The HI-NRG classic went to #4 on Billboard 's Dance Club Play chart in 1981.

" Shoot Me Straight " is the first single from Port Saint Joe , the second album from country duo the Brothers Osborne . They went to #2 on the country airplay chart in 2016 with "Stay A Little Longer".

Friday's here, and it's time to run down my top 100 tunes from the previous week. the Backstreet Boys take over at the top, while newcomer Lauv (pictured above) slips into the top five. Songs from twenty-one pilots, Imagine Dragons, and Halestorm make the biggest jumps (moves of 10+ places highlighted in red ), while former big hits from Beck, Charlie Puth/Kehlani, Sabrina Carpenter/Jonas Blue, and Two Feet drop out. Hump gotten over... This Week                  Song/Artist (last week's position in parentheses) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1. Don't Go Breaking My Heart - Backstreet Boys (2) 2. Boo'd Up - Ella Mai (4) 3. Say Amen (Saturday Night) - Panic! At The Disco (1) 4. I Like Me Better - Lauv (6) 5. In My Blood - Shawn Mendes (5) 6. Girls Like You - Maroon 5 f/Cardi B (10) 7. Whatever You Want - Pink (9) 8...

" Drive " - R.E.M. from the album Automatic For The People (1992) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #28 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 8 Today's song of the day comes from the alternative rock band R.E.M. , whose first album of the 1990s, Out Of Time , had been their most successful to date, scoring two top ten pop hits in America with " Losing My Religion " and " Shiny Happy People ". At the start of 1992, the band contributed a song to a tribute album to Canadian singer/songwriter Leonard Cohen, and the result, " First We Take Manhattan ", climbed to #11 on Billboard 's Modern Rock chart. They then set out to record their eighth studio album, originally titled Star . Meant to be a harder-rocking affair, by the time the set was finished it would be their most brooding and intricately arranged record yet, and the one many fans and critics consider the group's best. Rechristened Automatic For The People , the album's lead single wo...

The USA European Connection, a disco trio put together by producer and Russian defector Boris Midney, took their album Come Into My Heart all the way to #1 on Billboard 's Disco chart for two weeks in 1978. Here is side one from the set, the title track and "Good Lovin'". Leza Holmes, Rennie Johnson, and Sharon Williams sing on this record.

" Girls Go Wild " is the announced first single from the upcoming fifth album for singer/songwriter Laura Pergolizzi, aka LP . The lesbian songstress has topped the French music charts twice so far, with " Lost On You " and a duet with Mylene Farmer, " N'Oublie Pas ".

" Gangsta " - Bell Biv Devoe from the album Greatest Hits (2000) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #21 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 8 Today's song of the day comes from the break-off group from New Edition, Bell Biv Devoe , who after scoring a trio of top-40 pop hits from their debut album Poison , landed a track from their remix album WBBD-Bootcity , " Word To The Mutha ", that reached the top-40 on the pop airplay chart (it was never issued as a physical single, therefore unable to chart on Billboard 's Hot 100). They also appeared as a guest on the top ten single from Luther Vandross and Janet Jackson, " The Best Things In Life Are Free ". In the beginning of 1993, the group released a single that presumably was meant to preview their upcoming second album. "Gangsta" was written by producer Elliot Straite, aka "Dr. Freeze", and even though their momentum was up, the harder nature of the single, if only by the song title, t...

This underground nugget from "Jocko Henderson" had the nascent rapper flow rhymes over the instrumental for McFadden & Whitehead's "Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now". It failed to make the dance chart. He would go on to run for Congress, but died in 2000 after fighting cancer. But this record from 1979 was one of the first non-New York based records in the new rap scene.

Australian singer Peter Wilson , who has worked with some of the people behind the Stock Aitken Waterman sound (which explains his production style) returns with a same-sex cover of the best song from the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest that was criminally dropped in the semi-finals. " Verona ", featuring British singer Sean Smith , who used to be in the duo Same Difference that placed third on UK X Factor and had a top-20 hit with "We R One", is taken from Wilson's album The Passion and the Flame , which seems taken straight from the 1988 PWL factory. The original was Estonia's Eurovision entry for Koit Toome and Laura Poldvere. Yes it's cheesy, but it's so much fun. It's a worthy throwback to the HI-NRG days when records would be a hit in the clubs based on their worth, not their record companies.

" In The Still Of The Nite (I'll Remember) " - Boyz II Men from the albums The Jacksons: An American Dream (Original Soundtrack) (1992) and Cooleyhighharmony (1993 re-issue, Boyz II Men) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #3 (three weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 17 Today's song of the day comes from the soulful vocal group Boyz II Men , who had previously just set a record for the longest stay at #1 on Billboard 's pop Hot 100 chart in the summer and early fall of 1992 with " End Of The Road " from the movie Boomerang . However, it didn't take long for that feat to be surpassed, this time from Whitney Houston's version of "I Will Always Love You" from The Bodyguard . The Boyz' next single also came from a movie, this time a TV miniseries about the Jackson Five, which broadcast on ABC in November of 1992. Starring Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs (Washington on Welcome Back Kotter ) and Angela Bassett as the Joe and Katherine Jackson, parents of t...

One of the biggest hits of the disco era, " Stayin' Alive " from the Bee Gees spent a month at #1 on the pop chart, but only peaked at #3 on Billboard 's Disco chart in 1978.

" Shame " is the first single from the sophomore album for blues-rock artist (and daughter of actor Rob Schneider and model London King) Elle King . Her breakout single "Ex's and Oh's" reached the Billboard pop top ten in 2015.

" I Will Always Love You " - Whitney Houston from the album The Bodyguard (Original Soundtrack) (1992) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #1 (fourteen weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 24 Today's song of the day is from Whitney Houston , whose third album, I'm Your Baby Tonight , spun off four big pop hits with " My Name Is Not Susan ", " Miracle ", and two #1's with " I'm Your Baby Tonight " and " All The Man That I Need ", yet still was regarded by many to be a "letdown" from the massive achievements in sales and awards for her first two records. In the summer of 1992, Whitney married pop star Bobby Brown, and was filming what would be her debut cinematic role in The Bodyguard . Starring as the singer Rachel Marron with Kevin Costner as her titular protector, the film was not only a huge success commercially (despite horrid and possibly racist reviews), but groundbreaking in its treatment of an interracial budding ...

Donna Summer 's " Dim All The Lights " was in my opinion the apex of her dramatic disco classics, and nowadays a traditional club-closing throwdown. But although the song spent two weeks at #2 on the American pop chart, and peaked at #13 R&B, it stalled all the way down at #54 on Billboard 's Disco/Dance songs chart in 1980. Incredible.

" Right Now " - Al B. Sure! from the album Sexy Versus (1992) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #47 This week's "robbed hit" comes from smooth soul singer Al B. Sure! (aka Al Brown), who had landed a top ten pop hit in the summer of 1988 with his debut single " Nite and Day ". Two years later, he returned with his sophomore album, Private Times and the Whole 9 , which produced the single " Missunderstanding ", which stopped just short of the pop top-40, but did top Billboard 's R&B singles chart. In 1992, Sure! was back with his third and what would be final album with Warner Brothers Records, Sexy Versus . A quiet storm booty call affair, the lead track would be the lush and sensuous "Right Now". Written by producer Kyle West, it would again be huge on urban radio.... While "Right Now" would end up spending a week at #1 on Billboard 's R&B chart, the single stalled right under the pop top-40 in Novem...