Twostepcublog

" Come Get To This " was a track from Marvin Gaye's classic Let's Get It On album, and one of the proto-types that would evolved into the classic disco genre. The song climbed to #3 on Billboard magazine's R&B chart and #21 on the pop Hot 100 in 1973, a year before the first Disco chart. (Click below to see the rest of the post)

" Queen Of The Night " - Whitney Houston from the album The Bodyguard (Original Soundtrack) (1992) Billboard Hot 100 peak: did not chart (no single released) Billboard Hot 100 Airplay peak: #36  (one week) Weeks in the Hot 100 Airplay Top-40: 1 Today's song of the day is from Whitney Houston , whose starring turn in the movie The Bodyguard movie had also provided her with her biggest album success with the soundtrack, which generated four top-40 pop singles in America with " Run To You ", " I Have Nothing ", " I'm Every Woman ", and the #1 record-breaking smash " I Will Always Love You ". Instead of releasing a fifth single in the States (to goose the sales of the album), the record company Arista promoted the album track "Queen Of The Night" to radio, with dance remixes on promos going to clubs and dance music stations. Written by Whitney with producers Babyface and L.A. Reid along with Daryl Simmons, the ...

" Shake Your Body (Down To The Ground) " was a club hit for the Jacksons , who had moved from Motown over to Epic Records by then. Written by Michael and Randy Jackson, the song appeared on their album Destiny . That set charted as one entry on the Disco/Dance Tracks chart in Billboard magazine (with this song listed with " Blame It On The Boogie ", climbing to #20 in the beginning of 1979, though it stayed on the chart for 25 weeks. The "special disco version" remix is miles above the original, good as it is.. (Click below to see the rest of the post)

" Bump N' Grind " - R. Kelly from the album 12 Play (1993) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #1 (four weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 23 Today's song of the day comes from the 90s R&B star that now has become one of the most controversial people in music today, R. Kelly , who had led off his sophomore album 12 Play (his first without backup act Public Announcement) with the salacious single " Sex Me ", which reached the top 20 on the pop chart and top ten on the R&B chart at the end of 1993. Also during that time his remake of the Spinners' soul classic " Sadie " from the album had gotten enough airplay to make #56 on the R&B Airplay chart and spend four months on the list.  But it was the second proper release from the album that would become the singer/songwriter/producer's biggest hit of his career. "Bump N' Grind" basically finished off where "Sex Me" began, in the bedroom... "Bump N' Grind...

" Let The Music Play " was a massive club hit for freestyle dance music singer Shannon. Appearing on her debut album Let The Music Play , the song was written by producer Chris Barbosa along with Ed Chisolm. The track spent six weeks at #1 on the Disco/Dance Tracks chart in Billboard magazine in 1983, and was a sound that eventually dominated New York radio for most of the 1980s. (Click below to see the rest of the post)

Friday's here, and it's time to run down my top 100 "hit" tunes from the previous week. We have a new #1 as country bear Luke Combs climbs to the top, while beardalicious Jordan Davis (pictured above) holds within the top ten. Former big hits from George Ezra, Dustin Lynch, Ghost, and Glorious Sons drop off my chart, while songs from the Jonas Brothers, Imagine Dragons, and SHAED make some of the biggest jumps (moves of 10+ places highlighted in red ). *checks phone - still working*... This Week             Song/Artist (last week's position in parentheses) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Beautiful Crazy - Luke Combs (3) 2. Without Me - Halsey (1) 3. High Hopes - Panic At The Disco (2) 4. Happier - Marshmello & Bastille (4) 5. Sweet But Psycho - Ava Max (5) 6. Take It From Me - Jordan Davis (6) 7. Burn Out - Midland (8) 8. Eastside - Benny ...

" Gin & Juice " - Snoop Doggy Dogg from the album Doggystyle (1993) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #8 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 15 Today's song of the day comes from rapper Calvin Broadus, who began his career as " Snoop Doggy Dogg " when he released his debut solo album Doggystyle in 1993. His first single (besides his work with Dr. Dre), " What's My Name? ", landed him in the pop top ten in the beginning of 1994. His second release would be an ode to liquid pleasure, "Gin & Juice". Riding on top of a slowed-down interpolation of disco group Slave's single " Watching You " (a #6 R&B hit from 1980), the smooth ode to living the "high life", was even catchier than his debut... "Gin & Juice" became Snoop's second top ten pop hit in March of 1994. The song actually didn't do as well on the R&B chart in Billboard magazine, stopping at #13. Internationally, the single...

The disco group Players Association released their cover of the classic hit from Saturday Night Fever , " Disco Inferno " (originally done by the Trammps). Appearing on the New York band's debut album Born To Dance , the track never made the Disco chart in Billboard magazine, but remains an underground favorite for those liking a bit more jazz in their boogie, with a spacey, eerie sound...

" Will You Be There (In The Morning) " - Heart from the album Desire Walks On (1993) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #39 (two weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 2 Today's song of the day comes from the classic rock band Heart , who had started the 1990s with their Brigade album, which spun off three top-40 pop hits in America with " Stranded ", " I Didn't Want To Need You ", and the #2 smash " All I Want To Do Is Make Love To You ". After touring behind the record, they released a concert album, Rock The House Live! , and landed a #20 hit on the Mainstream Rock radio chart with their cover of John Farnham's " You're The Voice ". Also during this break, Ann and Nancy Wilson put together the Lovemongers, a more unplugged version of themselves. So by the time of their next Heart studio album, it was a three year stretch where, like yesterday's SOTD artist Phil Collins, the mainstream music scene had shifted dramatically away ...

"Concert From The Stars" was the title track from the 1978 album from Argentinian producer and musician Bebu Silvetti. The song, remixed by Roy Thode, never made the Disco/Dance Tracks chart in Billboard magazine, but remains an essential slice of the genre, with its flawless integration of orchestral sounds with synthesizers in the disco milieu at that time. Bebu passed away in Florida in 2003 from cancer after a long career of scoring movies and TV shows.

" Everyday " - Phil Collins from the album Both Sides (1993) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #24 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 13 Today's song of the day comes from Phil Collins , whose fifth album Both Sides had landed him another top-40 hit in the fall of 1993 with " Both Sides Of The Story ". But with that single not even making the top-20 in the U.S., coming off of a massive record like But Seriously with four top ten hits (let alone his We Can't Dance album with Genesis which landed three top-20 hits), this seemed like a big letdown (although in the UK it made it to #7). The second release from the record would be the soft ballad "Everyday". Written and produced by Phil, the song takes you on an emotional rollercoaster of love and pain that I'm still not quite sure where it stopped... "Everyday" became the second top-40 pop hit from Both Sides in America in March of 1994. The song was much biggest on "easy listeni...

" My Love Is Free " was a club hit for the Philadelphia-based disco band Double Exposure. Appearing on their debut album Ten Percent , the song was written by Allan Felder and T.G. Conway, the men who wrote their biggest success, " Ten Percent ". "My Love Is Free" climbed to #15 on the Disco/Dance Tracks chart in Billboard magazine in 1977. (Click below to see the rest of the post)

" Having A Party (Live Unplugged) " - Rod Stewart with Ronnie Wood from the album Unplugged...And Seated (1993) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #36 (two weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 3 Today's song of the day comes from Scottish rock legend Rod Stewart , whose stint on MTV's Unplugged program produced a live album that had already spun off two big pop hits with covers of Van Morrison's " Have I Told You Lately " and Tim Hardin's " Reason To Believe ". Also, Rod had returned to #1 on the American pop chart with his collaboration with Bryan Adams and Sting with " All For Love " from the movie The Three Musketeers . While his native Britain was served up an acoustic live version of "People Get Ready", which climbed to #45 in the UK, in the US Rod released the soulful classic " Having A Party " as the third single. Written by the man who originally released it and is indelibly connected to it, Sam Cooke, the swingi...

" Feed The Flame " was a club hit for soul/gospel singer Lorraine Johnson (no, she's not the blonde on the cover). Appearing on her disco album Learning To Dance All Over Again , that record charted as one entry, with the title track and this number listed on the chart. The set climbed to #11 on the Disco/Dance Tracks chart in Billboard magazine in 1979.

" Award Tour " - A Tribe Called Quest from the album Midnight Marauders (1993) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #47 This week's "robbed hit" comes from the alternative-hip-hop group A Tribe Called Quest , who came together in Queens, New York with rappers Q-Tip (Kamaal Fareed), Phife Dawg (Malik Taylor), and Jarobi White along with DJ/producer Ali Shaheed Muhammad. After being featured by rap group the Jungle Brothers ("I'll House You") on their album, the foursome eventually found themselves on Jive Records to record their debut album People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths Of Rhythm . With a sound unlike anything else in hip-hop at that time, with samples coming from records as well as from real life, the set was slow to catch the attention of urban radio, even though fans were sending it up to the top half of the album sales charts. Debut single " I Left My Wallet In El Segundo ", a comical story-song that rolled out like a movie...

" (Lay Your Head On My) Pillow " - Tony! Toni! Toné! from their album Sons Of Soul (1993) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #31 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 6 Today's song of the day comes from the neo-soul group Tony! Toni! Toné! , whose third album Sons Of Soul had scored them a pair of top ten pop hits in 1993 with " If I Had No Loot " and " Anniversary ". The third single from the albums would be the sensual slow jam of "(Lay Your Head On My) Pillow". Written and produced by the group (Raphael Saadiq, Dwayne Wiggins, and Tim Riley), the song was pretty straightforward in its intentions, and to provide balance from all the MTV fodder featuring female flesh, amped the male nudity in the clip (which still was forced to be edited, with an "X-rated" version available on VHS)... "Pillow" became the third top-40 pop hit from Sons Of Soul in March of 1994. The song did much better in the urban market, climbing to #4 ...

" It's Serious " was a club hit for the funk band from New York City, Cameo . Appearing on their second album We All Know Who We Are , the song was written by lead singer Larry Blackmon and keyboardist Doc Johnson. "It's Serious" peaked at #29 in the Disco/Dance Tracks chart in Billboard magazine, while also making it to #21 on their R&B chart as well.

" Without You "/" Never Forget You " - Mariah Carey from the album Music Box (1993) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #3 (six weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 21 Today's song of the day comes from Mariah Carey , whose third album Music Box had already scored a pair of #1 pop hits with " Dreamlover " and " Hero ". The third single from the record would be a remake of a remake from a band that was short-lived but critically heralded. Badfinger, the rock band who recorded for the Beatles' label Apple, originally released the song on their No Dice album. Written by members Pete Ham and Tom Evans, who each contributed the verses and the chorus to the song, the track was not released as a single, seeming too bombastically depressing... But the man who made this song an pop classic was singer/songwriter/Lennon pal Harry Nilsson, who placed it on his Nilsson Schmilsson album in 1972; the release of the single would prove to be a huge success, w...

" Can You Handle It " was a club hit for New York-based disco singer Sharon Redd. Appearing on her album Sharon Redd , the song charted along with it's "B-side" " You Got My Love ", and climbed to #5 on the Disco/Dance Tracks chart in Billboard magazine. It also made it to #57 on the R&B chart, and was a top-40 hit in the UK at #31. Sadly, Sharon died from complications from AIDS in 1992. (Click below to see the rest of the post)

" Stay " - Eternal from the album Always & Forever (1993) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #19 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 11 Today's song of the day comes from the British pop female vocal group Eternal, who were put together in the early 1990's to resemble American acts like En Vogue. With sisters Easther and Vernie Bennett joined by Louise Nurding and friend Kelle Bryan, the women released their debut single "Stay" in the UK in the fall of 1993, two months before the arrival of their debut album Always & Forever . The song climbed to #4 on the British singles chart, and was actually a remake of an American soul hit for singer Glenn Jones, who took the record to #6 on the R&B chart in Billboard magazine in 1990... With Eternal, they took the lite new jack swing vibe from the track written by Mark Stevens and Bobby Khozouri and flushed it out with their harmonies produced by Nigel Lowis... "Stay" became Eternal's fir...

" Beat Of The Night " was a big club hit for disco band Fever from Ohio, featuring lead singer Clydene Jackson. Appearing on their self-titled debut album in 1979, the song, charting with "B-side" " Pump It Up ", spent one week at #1 on the Disco/Dance Tracks chart in Billboard magazine. It also slipped on to the R&B chart at #93. The jam was written by bandmates Dale Reed, Joseph Bomback, and Dennis Wadlington, with Reed producing... (Click below to see the rest of the post)

Friday's here, and it's time to run down my 100 top "hit" songs from the past week. Halsey surprisingly makes it week #5 at #1, while newcomer Ava Max (pictured above) brings her Gaga redux into the top five. Songs from Pink, SHAED, and Cage The Elephant make the biggest jumps this week (moves of 10+ places highlighted in red ). Wine up! This Week               Song/Artist (last week's position in parentheses) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Without Me - Halsey (1) 2. High Hopes - Panic At The Disco (2) 3. Beautiful Crazy - Luke Combs (5) 4. Happier - Marshmello & Bastille (3) 5. Sweet But Psycho - Ava Max (9) 6. Take It From Me - Jordan Davis (11) 7. Nothing Broken But My Heart - Mark Ronson f/Miley Cyrus (7) 8. Burn Out - Midland (10) 9. Eastside - Benny Blanco f/Halsey & Khalid (17) 10. A Million Dreams - Pink (6) ...

" Dancing's Not A Crime " is the new single and video from modern rock act Panic! At The Disco . Led by Brendan Urie, the track's clip continues the puppet plot started with "Hey Look Ma, I Made It!". It will serve as the fourth single from their Pray For The Wicked album...

" Rock and Roll Dreams Come Through " - Meat Loaf from the album Bat Out Of Hell II: Back Into Hell (1993) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #13 (two weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 13 Today's song of the day comes from rock singer/actor Meat Loaf , who pulled off one of the biggest "comebacks" of pop music in the fall of 1993 with his #1 hit " I'd Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That " from his album Bat Out Of Hell II: Back Into Hell . While that song was dominating mainstream radio, rock stations were also playing another album cut, " Life Is A Lemon And I Want My Money Back ", which ended up climbing to #17 on the Mainstream Rock radio chart in Billboard magazine. The second physical single from the project would be another epic story-song, "Rock and Roll Dreams Come Through". Written by his collaborator and producer Jim Steinman, the song originally was intended to be on Meat Loaf's next album after Bat Out Of Hell...

" Oh What A Night " was a club hit from producer and disco legend Giorgio Moroder . Appearing on his E=MC2 album, the entire album charted as one on Billboard magazine's Disco chart, peaking at #4 in 1979 and spending 22 weeks on the chart. The song was written by Moroder with Harold Faltermeyer and Keith Forsey.

" Now And Forever " - Richard Marx from the album Paid Vacation (1994) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #7 (three weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 23 Today's song of the day comes from pop singer/songwriter Richard Marx , who we last saw with his deep and nuanced album Rush Street , which spun off three big pop hits with " Keep Coming Back ", " Take This Heart ", and the top ten story-song " Hazard ". Three years later, Marx re-emerged with his fourth studio album, Paid Vacation . In the span of time between the release of his self-titled debut in 1987 to this set, the musical landscape in America had changed tremendously, as MOR pop music had been outshined by hard rock/grunge and hip-hop/rap music. But instead of trying to change with the times, Marx kept on doing what he did best, which is make squishy love songs for (mostly) women and wedding DJs. That's most obvious in the ready-for-the-aisle-walk first single "Now And Forever"....