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" I Love Music " was a big club and radio hit for the soul group the O'Jays . Appearing on their album Family Reunion , the song was written and produced by the team of Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff. On Record World magazine's Disco File Top-20 chart, the song spent a whopping eight weeks at #1, while also topping Billboard magazine's R&B list. (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. Post Malone remains on top for a fourth week, while Coldplay (pictured above) spend a fifth week at #8. A former big hit from Weezer drops off my list, while songs from Camelphat, Devon Gilfillian, and Arizona Zervas make the biggest jumps (moves of 10+ places highlighted in red ). Get the f-er out already! This Week         Song/Artist (last week's position in parentheses) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Circles - Post Malone (1) 2. Dance Monkey - Tones and I (2) 3. Don't Start Now - Dua Lipa (5) 4. Running Up That Hill - Meg Myers (4) 5. Good As Hell - Lizzo (3) 6. Heartache Medication - Jon Pardi (6) 7. Someone You Loved - Lewis Capaldi (7) 8. Orphans - Coldplay (8) 9. Might Be Right - White Reaper (11) 10. What If I Never Get Over You - Lady Antebellum (12) 11. Even...

" Diggin' On You " - TLC from the album CrazySexyCool (1994) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #5 (three weeks) Weeks in the top-40: 16 Today's song of the day comes from the R&B/Hip-Hop group TLC , whose Grammy-winning sophomore album CrazySexyCool had already spun off two #1 pop hits in " Creep " and " Waterfalls " as well as one (" Red Light Special ") that went to #2. While "Waterfalls" was lingering on pop radio, urban stations started playing the album cut " Kick Your Game " to the point that it showed up on the R&B Airplay chart for seven weeks in the late summer of 1995, peaking at #69. That fall, the trio released the fourth proper single from the album, the smooth midtempo jam "Diggin' On You". Written and produced by Babyface, the song continued their streak. A supposed "live mix" was used for the music video, though those vocals sure sound studio-done... "Diggin...

Spanish disco singer Antonia (Rodriguez) had a club hit in 1979 with a remake of the 60s Latin Rock classic " La Bamba ". Appearing on her debut album Dance With Me , the song climbed to #34 on Billboard magazine's National Disco Anthem chart. (Click below to see the rest of the post)

" You Remind Me Of Something " - R. Kelly from the album R. Kelly (1995) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #4 (two weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 11 Today's song of the day comes from R&B singer/songwriter/producer/ pedo R. Kelly , who's second record and first totally "solo" album 12 Play had scored a trio of top-40 pop hits with " Sex Me ", " Your Body's Callin' ", and the #1 " Bump & Grind ". He also was having big successes behind the scenes, like writing Michael Jackson's #1 hit "You Are Not Alone". Kelly returned in the fall of 1995 with his next record R. Kelly . The lead single, "You Remind Me Of Something", was a cruise-ready slow-funk ode to the things his woman reminds him of... "You Remind Me Of Something" sent Kelly back into the pop top-5 in November of 1995. The song became his fourth #1 R&B hit in Billboard magazine, spending a week at the top. Internation...

" Cafè " was a club hit for Italian/German disco act D.D. Sound (for "Disco Delivery"). Based in Munich, the group was a side project for Italo-disco stars the La Bionda brothers, and appeared on their third album Cafè . On Billboard magazine's Disco Top-80 chart, the single stopped at #41 in 1979. (Click below to see the rest of the post)

" Missing " - Everything But The Girl from the album Amplified Heart (1994) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #2 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 37 Today's song of the day comes from the British indie-pop duo Everything But The Girl , who were named for a sign at a furniture store where they went to college in the city of Hull. Tracey Thorn, who had been half of the Marine Girls, whose "Don't Come Back" went to #21 on the UK Indie chart, and Ben Watt released their first single, a remake of Cole Porter's vocal classic " Night and Day ", which scored their first minor hit at #92. Signed to the Blanco Y Negro label, the pair released their debut album Eden in 1984. The lead single, " Each and Every One ", landed them their first British top-40 hit at #28, while also going to #19 in both Ireland and the Netherlands. Six songs from the record were combined with extra songs to make their American debut set, Everything But The Girl , which ...

" Nice & Slow " was a disco hit for reggae performer Jesse Green. Born in Jamaica and once a member of Jimmy Cliff's band, the song was written by producer Ken Gibson and was the title track to his debut album in 1976. On Record World magazine's Disco File Top-20 chart, "Nice & Slow" peaked at #3. While it never made the pop or soul charts in Billboard , the track was a moderate success in England, cresting at #17. (Click below to see the rest of the post)

" Beautiful Life " - Ace Of Base from the album The Bridge (1995) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #15 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 13 Today's song of the day comes from the Swedish pop group Ace of Base , whose debut album in the U.S., The Sign , was a huge success, topping the American sales chart and spinning off four top-40 hits on the way to selling over nine million records in the U.S.: " All That She Wants ", " Don't Turn Around ", " Living In Danger ", and the #1 pop hit " The Sign ". Between the four of them they spent a collection 104 weeks in the top-40. So of course expectations were high for their second album. While the song "Lucky Love" was picked as the lead single internationally, in America the record company (ahem, Clive) insisted on the breakneck speed HI-NRG track "Beautiful Life" to kick off the album promotion at radio. Written by member Jonas Berggen with John Ballard, it was a tech...

"Set Me Free" was a club hit for the female vocal group the Three Degrees. Appearing on their album 3D , the song was written by Chris Bennett and Giorgio Moroder, the latter who was the producer of the album. On Billboard magazine's Disco Top-100 chart, the song climbed to #12 in 1981, spending over a half a year (27 weeks) on the chart... (Click below to see the rest of the post)

" Your Little Secret " - Melissa Etheridge from the album Your Little Secret (1995) Billboard Hot 100 peak: ineligible to chart Billboard Hot 100 Airplay peak: #47 This week's "robbed hit" comes from rock singer/songwriter Melissa Etheridge , who followed her coming out of the closet with the most successful album of her career, Yes I Am . That record spawned off three top-40 hits in " Come To My Window ", " If I Wanted To ", and the top ten " I'm The Only One ". In 1995, she returned with her next studio album, Your Little Secret , obviously a play on her coming out. And the lead single from the set was the title track, written by Melissa who co-produced it with Hugh Padgham. The music video features Melissa along with a horde of model bodies crawling over each other Walking Dead style . And with her clout, MTV did play it, to a point... "You're Little Secret" wasn't released as a commercial s...

" Bullet With Butterfly Wings " - Smashing Pumpkins from the album Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness (1995) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #22 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 12 Today's song of the day comes from the alternative rock band Smashing Pumpkins , who had reached the Top-40 on the Hot 100 Airplay chart with their cover of Fleetwood Mac's " Landslide " in at the close of 1994, but was unable to chart due to Billboard magazine rules requiring Hot 100 pop entries to be available commercially. The band went back into the studio to create their third studio set Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness , a sprawling opus that covers two CDs or three records. The lead single from the set was "Bullet With Butterfly Wings", a hard-driving expression of angst that lead singer/writer Billy Corgan was quite good at. Being released as a CD single, it became the band's first official pop hit proper... "Bullet With Butterfly Wings...

"Ain't Nuthin' But A She Thing" - Salt-N-Pepa from the album Ain't Nuthin' But A She Thing (Various Artists) (1995) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #38 (two weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 3 Today's song of the day comes from the female rap trio Salt-N-Pepa , who had just enjoyed the biggest album of their career in 1993 with Very Necessary , which spun off a pair of top ten pop hits with " Shoop " and " Whatta Man ", along with the song that won them their only Grammy, " None Of Your Business ". In 1995 Salt, Pepa, and DJ Spinderella contributed a track to the benefit album Ain't Nuthin' But A She Thing , which included songs from Annie Lennox, Melissa Etheridge, Vanessa Williams, and more. Their track, written by Salt, titled the album, and landed the group their most recent top-40 pop hit... "Ain't Nuthin' But A She Thing" reached the American pop top-40 in November of 1995. The song also climbe...

" I'll Be Around " was a big pre-disco radio hit for the R&B vocal group the Spinners. Appearing on their self-titled third album in 1973, the song, written by producer Thom Bell with Phil Hurtt, was one of the early hits that would pave the way for the disco era. Even though the classic came way too early for the Billboard Disco charts, it topped the R&B chart and landed at #3 on the pop Hot 100. It remains a favorite of club DJs and is one of my own personal favorite records of all time. (Click below to see the rest of the post)

" Ants Marching " - Dave Matthews Band from the album Under The Table And Dreaming (1994) Billboard Hot 100 peak: Ineligible to chart Billboard Hot 100 Airplay peak: #21 (one week) Weeks in the Hot 100 Airplay Top-40: 9 Today's song of the day comes from the rock act Dave Matthews Band , who had broke through to mainstream audiences with their radio hit from the summer of 1995, " What Would You Say ". The second song promoted from the album to radio would be "Ants Marching", a chunky bit of funk rock about people fading into the vast machine of humanity and losing touch with oneselves. It was thoughtful, and it was catchy, and it had the violin prominently as a rock instrument, perfect for the time of Friends and all... Like "What Would You Say", "Ants Marching" was not released as a commercial single in the U.S., and so wasn't able to chart on the official Billboard magazine Hot 100 pop tally. Nevertheless, th...

" Down To Love Town " was a club hit for the R&B vocal group the Originals. Mentored by Marvin Gaye, the Motown group included the song on both their albums Communique and Down To Love Town . On Billboard magazine's National Disco Action Top-40 chart, the song spent a week at #1 in 1976, and almost made the pop top-40 at #47. (Click below to see the rest of the post)

Friday is here, and it's time to run down my top 100 "hit" tunes from the previous week. Post Malone holds tight at #1 for a third week, while Dua Lipa (pictured above) climbs into the top five. Songs by Harry Styles and Camelphat make the biggest jumps (moves of 10+ places are highlighted in red ). ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ... This Week      Song/Artist (last week's position in parentheses) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Circles - Post Malone (1) 2. Dance Monkey - Tones and I (3) 3. Good As Hell - Lizzo (2) 4. Running Up That Hill - Meg Myers (5) 5. Don't Start Now - Dua Lipa (7) 6. Heartache Medication - Jon Pardi (4) 7. Someone You Loved - Lewis Capaldi (6) 8. Orphans - Coldplay (8) 9. Might Be Right - White Reaper (11) 10. Nice To Meet Ya - Niall Horan (10) 11. Even Though I'm Leaving - Luke Combs (9) 12. What If I Never Get Over You - Lady Antebellum (14) 13. Lover...

" A Girl Like You " - Edwyn Collins from the albums Gorgeous George (1994) and Empire Records (Original Soundtrack) (1995) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #32 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 3 Today's song of the day comes from Scottish post-punk artist Edwyn Collins , who comes from Edinburgh. Moving to Glasgow, Collins' formed the group Orange Juice, who released four studio albums in the early 1980's, and had a top ten hit in Britain in 1983 with " Rip It Up ". The next year, Collins' had a minor hit with Paul Quinn, the folkish " Pale Blue Eyes ", that was a minor hit in the UK at #72. That band broke up in 1985, and by the following year he started his solo career. He had a couple of minor British hits in 1987, including " Don't Shilly Shally " (UK #93), but after the label imploded it took until 1989 for his first full-length album, Hope and Despair . In 1994, Collins released a 4-song EP named Expressly , that inclu...

"Sweet Dynamite" was a club hit for Canadian singer Claudja Barry. Appearing as the title track of her debut album , the song was remixed for the clubs by the legendary Tom Moulton. On Billboard magazine's National Disco Action Top-40 chart, the song climbed to #6 in 1977, staying on the list for an impressive 21 weeks. (Click below to see the rest of the post)

" Lump " - The Presidents of the United States of America from the album The Presidents of the United States of America (1995) Billboard Hot 100 peak: ineligible to chart Billboard Hot 100 Airplay peak: #21 (one week) Weeks in the Hot 100 Airplay Top-40: 22 Today's song of the day comes from the pop-punk band The Presidents of the United States of America (or PUSA for short). Lead singer Chris Ballew, lead guitarist Dave Dederer, and drummer Jason Finn came together in the early 1990s in Seattle, where Chris and Dave were schoolmates. The trio release a couple of independent records locally before getting signed to label behemoth Columbia Records (most likely to have their own version of a Green Day). They released their self-titled major-label debut in 1995, with the single "Lump" promoted to radio as the first "single". Written by Ballew with the title referring to a (benign) tumor he had, and the visions he thought it caused, the punchy ...

" No Romance/Keep On Dancin' " was a club hit for Dutch singer Theo Vaness (anglicized from Van Es). Appearing on his second album Bad Bad Boy , the song was written and produced by the team of Michaele-Lana and Paul Sebastian. On Billboard magazine's Disco Top-80 chart, the Bad Bad Boy album charted as one entry, and climbed to #3 in 1979.

" Anything " - 3T from the album Brotherhood (1995) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #15 (two weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 29 Today's song of the day comes from the soul vocal group 3T , who were three sons of Jackson Five member Tito Jackson. Taj, Taryll, and T.J. were signed on uncle Michael's "boutique" label MJJ, and released their debut album Brotherhood in 1995. The record was full of "ringers" besides Michael, with soon to be mega-songwriting stars Max Martin and Deniz Pop onboard, as well as Robin Thicke, Gardner Cole, and Babyface. The first single from the record, "Anything", is credited to the brothers as writers and producers, although there is such a hint of Michael in there it seems shady. Nevertheless, the track was pleasant enough to gain radio and fan love, even despite what drama their uncle was going through at the time. You gotta hand it to whomever produced their harmonies, they are sweet as syrup... "Anyth...

" Love Injection " was a club hit for the studio band Trussel, best known for being the back-up group for Evelyn "Champagne" King at the end of the 1970s. Appearing as the title track of their sole album Love Injection , the song was written by member Hannon Lane and Ronald Smith. On Billboard magazine's Disco Top 100, the record just missed the top ten at #11, while spending a hefty 23 weeks on the chart.

" Dreaming Of You " - Selena from the album Dreaming Of You (1995) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #22 (two weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 13 Today's song of the day comes from the late "Queen of Tejano", Selena , who was on the cusp of reaching her dream of universal mainstream success when she was tragically murdered by a crazed fan and confidante in the spring of 1995. That fall, a cut from the album she was working on, " I Could Fall In Love ", climbed into the top ten of the American pop airplay chart, though since it wasn't released as a commercial single, the song didn't appear on the official Hot 100 pop chart. The second song from the album promoted to radio, title cut "Dreaming Of You", was , and therefore before the singer's sole Hot 100 pop hit. A ballad written by Franne Golde and Tom Snow, the middle-of-the-road track was a personal pick of Selena's for the upcoming album... "Dreaming Of You" reached...

" Law Of The Land " was a pre-disco era nightclub hit for the Motown giants The Temptations. Appearing on their album Masterpiece in 1973, the song was written and produced by Norman Whitfield. Released over a year before the appearance of any "disco" chart in either Billboard or Record World magazines, the single was only released commercially in Britain, where it just missed the top-40 at #41. The lead vocals were swapped between Dennis Edwards, Richard Street, and Damon Harris.

" Throw Your Set In The Air " - Cypress Hill from the album Cypress Hill III: Temples Of Boom (1995) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #45 This week's "robbed hit" belongs to California stoner-rap group Cypress Hill , who had landed their biggest hit (and sole top-40 pop single) in the fall of 1993 with " Insane In The Brain ". Two years later, rapper B-Real and Sen Dog along with DJ Muggs and just-hired drummer Eric Bobo released their third studio album Cypress Hill III: Temples Of Boom . The lead single was the track "Throw Your Set In The Air", which had the eerie samples and the gun references, but surely was more geared towards the stoner than the thug... While "Throw Your Set In The Air" climbed to #11 on the Rap Singles chart in Billboard magazine, and #60 on the R&B list, the single stopped just short of the pop top-40 in October of 1995. Internationally, the record was an even bigger success, hitting #7 in New Zea...

" Ice Cream " / " Incarcerated Scarfaces " - Chef Raekwon from the album Only Built 4 Cuban Linx (1995) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #37 (two weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 2 Today's song(s) of the day come from rapper Corey Woods, who records under the moniker Raekwon . Born in Brooklyn, he joined the seminal hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan in the early 1990s. In the summer of 1995, Raekwon released his debut solo album Only Built 4 Cuban Linx . The lead single, " Heaven and Hell ", had also been used in the movie Fresh and was on its soundtrack. Although it just missed the R&B chart by one notch ("bubbled under" at #101), the track went to #32 on Billboard 's Rap Singles chart. Next came " Criminology ", almost made the top-40 at #43, helped by radio airplay for the listed B-side, " Glaciers Of Ice ", which was the song played more on pop radio. The double-A-sided single peaked at #32 on Billboard magazine's R...