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" Parlez-Vous Francais? " was a European club and radio hit for the Spanish female duo Baccara. Appearing on their second album Light My Fire , the song was the entry for the country of Luxembourg at the 1978 Eurovision Song Contest . Written by Frank Dostal and Peter Zentner along with conductor Rolf Soja, it ended up in seventh place out of twenty countries. It never made the charts in America, but it was very successful in Continental Europe, reaching the top-40 in a handful of countries, and top ten in Belgium and Sweden. (Click below to see the rest of the post)

Friday's here again, and it's time to run down my top 100 "hit" tunes from the previous week. Dua Lipa tops the list for a third week, while brother band AJR (pictured above) leap into the top five. Former big hits from Scotty McCreery, Cage The Elephant, and Skip Marley/H.E.R. drop off my chart, while songs from KennyHoopla, Harry Styles, and Michael Kiwanuka make the biggest jumps (moves of 10+ places highlighted in red ). And everything is Spotify playlisted to check out below. Rest in Power, Mr. Lewis... This Week               Song/Artist (last week's position in parentheses) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1. Break My Heart - Dua Lipa (1) 2. Rain On Me - Lady Gaga & Ariana Grande (2) 3. Lost In Yesterday - Tame Impala (3) 4. Bang! - AJR (8) 5. Roses (Imanbek Remix) - SAINt JHN (5) 6. Level Of Concern - twenty-one pilots (4) 7. Daisies - K...

" Ooh Aah...Just A Little Bit " - Gina G from the album Fresh! (1997) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #12 (two weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 25 Today's song of the day comes from Australian-born singer Gina G (for Gardiner), who was a DJ and singer in her native country before moving to the UK in 1995. From there she entered the country's Song For Europe TV show, which at the time determined the selection that would complete for Britain in the annual Eurovision Song Contest . Performing the song live to millions of viewers around the world from Oslo, Norway in 1996, Gina did quite respectably in the show, placing in eighth place and continuing a streak of top ten finishes that the following year would see the country win with Katrina and the Waves' "Love Shine A Light". With the exposure, "Ooh Aah...Just A Little Bit", a frenetic dance-pop gem produced by Steve Rodway, aka remixer Motiv8, who wrote the track with Simon Tauber, became a worldwide succe...

" The Visitors " was a club hit for Canadian electro-disco artist Gino Soccio. Appearing on his debut album Outline , the song was written and produced by Soccio, and mixed by Robert Ouimet. On Billboard magazine's Disco Top-100 chart, the single peaked at #27 in 1980. It's not to be confused with the ABBA song from around the same time.

" You Were Meant For Me " / " Foolish Games " - Jewel from the albums Pieces Of You (1995) and Batman & Robin (Original Soundtrack) (1997) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #2 (two weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 60 Today's song(s) of the day come from folk singer/songwriter Jewel , who just missed the top ten on the American pop chart with her debut single " Who Will Save Your Soul? " in the summer of 1996. The second release from her first album was the love ballad "You Were Meant For Me". Written by Jewel with fellow northern folkie Canadian Steve Poltz, the song was much easier for radio for grab on to. Poltz also appears in the music video... "You Were Meant For Me" became Jewel's biggest hit, spending two weeks at the runner-up position on Billboard magazine's official pop Hot 100 chart in April of 1997. The song topped their Adult Top-40 format list for six weeks, while also taking a week atop their Adult Contemporary (or ...

" Fashion Pack " was a European club hit for singer/model/artist Amanda Lear . Appearing on her 1979 album Never Trust A Pretty Face , the song was produced by Anthony Monn, who co-wrote the track with Lear. The song never hit any charts in America, but was a top-40 success in a handful of continental European countries, getting to #13 in Sweden and #28 in her chosen country of France. (Click below to see the rest of the post)

" Fly Like An Eagle " - Seal from the album Space Jam (Original Soundtrack) (1996) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #10 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 9 Today's song of the day comes from Seal , whose 1994 album Seal had spun off three top-40 pop hits in America with " Prayer For The Dying ", " Don't Cry ", and the #1 Grammy-winning song from the Batman franchise movie, " Kiss From A Rose ". Two years later, the singer contributed a song to another mass-market movie, this time the half-animated basketball film Space Jam featuring Michael Jordan and Bugs Bunny. For this one, Seal covered a rock classic from 1976, "Fly Like An Eagle". Originally written, produced, and performed by Steve Miller, the space-rock masterpiece went to #2 on the American and Canadian charts... Seal's version of the song keeps the dreaminess of the production, but gives it a more soulful edge and stellar vocals that even Miller was a fan. It was the secon...

" Cosmic Wind " was a big club hit for the Mike Theodore Orchestra, named for the producer who put the act together. Appearing on their debut album Cosmic Wind , the song was written and produced by Theodore. On Billboard magazine's National Disco Action Top-40 chart, the Cosmic Wind album charted as a single entry, with "Cosmic Wind", "The Bull", and "Belly Boogie" listed as its key cuts. The record spent three weeks at #2 there in 1977. (Click below to see the rest of the post)

"The Grease Mega-Mix" - Olivia Newton-John & John Travolta from the album Pure Disco (1996) Billboard Hot 100 peak: ineligible to chart Billboard Hot 100 Airplay peak: #25 (one week) Weeks in the Airplay Top-40: 10 Today's song of the day is kind of special, in that it's a mix of three songs from the 1978 film adaptation of the musical Grease , starring Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta . Two of the tracks, "You're The One That I Want" and "Summer Lovin'", were big hits back then, with the former spending a week at #1 and the latter peaking at #5. In 1990, when Grease was released on video (VCR tape back then), the team of Phil Harding and Ian Curnow, who worked as remixers for the Stock Aitken Waterman production company that was massive at the time after successes from Kylie Minogue, Rick Astley, and Bananarama, took parts of both those songs as well as the movie's "Greased Lightning" (which missed the top-40 at...

" Dance Into The Light " - Phil Collins from the album Dance Into The Light (1996) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #45 (two weeks) This week's "robbed hit" comes from British singer/drummer/songwriter Phil Collins , who truly was one of the biggest pop stars of the 1980's decade, be it with his work with the band Genesis or his solo material. However, the musical shift in the early 1990's had already started to take a toll on his success, with his 1993 album Both Sides only managing to eke out two moderate top-40 pop hits with " Both Sides Of The Story " and " Everyday ". Normally Phil had oscillated between releasing a solo album and then a record with Genesis, but after the We Can't Dance album in 1991 he left the band, so his next project would again be a solo affair, and three years after Both Sides to boot. Dance Into The Light was an ambitious project where I think he attempted to pull of Paul Simon and incorporate African and...

" Come See Me " - 112 from the album 112 (1996) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #33 (three weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 6 Today's song of the day comes from the male R&B vocal group 112 , whose debut single " Only You " reached the pop top-20/R&B top-5 in the fall of 1996. Their second release was "Come See Me", which was put out on a single as a remix featuring rapper Mr. Cheeks , who was a member of the group Lost Boyz that scored a top-40 hit of their own with " Renee " in the spring of that same year. Written by producer Tim Kelley and Bob Robinson (as "Tim & Bob") with Cheeks' (Terrance Kelley) contribution, the song was a midtempo booty call that continued their success... "Come See Me" became 112's second top-40 pop hit in January of 1997. The song also climbed to #15 on Billboard magazine's R&B chart. (Click below to see the rest of the post)

" Found A Cure " was a big club and radio hit for the married soul legends Ashford & Simpson. Appearing on their album Stay Free , the song was written and produced by the duo. On Billboard magazine's Disco Top-80 chart, the Stay Free album charted as one entry, with "Found A Cure", "Stay Free", and "Nobody Knows" listed as key cuts. The record spent two weeks at #1 there in 1978, while taking three weeks at #2 on their R&B chart and reaching the pop top-40 at #36. Sadly, Nick Ashford died from cancer in 2011. (Click below to see the rest of the post)

" I Believe I Could Fly " - R. Kelly from the albums Space Jam (Original Soundtrack) (1996) and R. (1998) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #2 (four weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 31 Today's song of the day comes from R&B singer/producer/asshole R. Kelly , whose third album R. Kelly had landed his first #1 on the Billboard 200 sales chart. It also spun off three top-5 pop singles with " You Remind Me Of Something ", " Down Low (Nobody Has To Know) ", and " I Can't Sleep Baby (If I) ". While he was touring behind that album, at the close of 1996, Kelly contributed a song to the soundtrack of the semi-animated basketball movie starring Michael Jordan, Space Jam . "I Believe I Could Fly", written and produced by Kelly, the inspirational ballad was his most mainstream "pop" effort yet, and the song transcended the film itself to reach millions of new fans outside the R&B world... "I Believe I Can Fly" spent a mo...

" Hot Shot " was a club hit for Philadelphia native Karen Young. Appearing on her sole studio album Hot Shot , the song was written and produced by Andy Kahn and Kurt Barusiewicz. On Billboard magazine's National Disco Action Top-40 chart, the single spent two weeks at #1 in 1978, while getting to #67 on their Hot 100 pop chart. It was also a top-40 hit in the UK at #34. Sadly, Karen passed away in 1991 at the age of 39 from a bleeding ulcer. (Click below to see the rest of the post)

" Don't Speak " - No Doubt from the album Tragic Kingdom (1995) Billboard Hot 100 peak: ineligible to chart Billboard Hot 100 Airplay peak: #1 (16 weeks) Weeks in the Airplay Top-40: 52 Today's song of the day comes from the California pop/rock band No Doubt , whose 1995 breakthrough album Tragic Kingdom had slowly but surely spun off two decent radio hits with " Just A Girl " and " Spiderwebs ". But it was the third release that would take the band to another level altogether. "Don't Speak" was originally written by brother/sister members Eric and Gwen Stefani for the album, done as a breezy love song. However, as time went on and Gwen's relationship with bandmate/boyfriend Tony Kanal turned sour, the lyrics completely transformed into one of hurt and pain, as Gwen sings that she can tell the end of the story already. It became their biggest radio "hit", and the biggest song of the year (well, years , as it reached ...

"A Little Lovin' (Keeps The Doctor Away)" was a club hit for the British husband and wife duo the Raes. Appearing on their second album Dancing Up A Storm , the song was written by Dino Fekaris and Freddie Perren, the pair who wrote Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive", and produced by Harry Hinde. On Billboard magazine's National Disco Action Top-40 chart, the single peaked at #5 in 1978, while reaching #61 on the American pop chart, and #13 in Canada. The pair, who briefly had a TV show in Canada, ended up divorcing in 1982.

Friday's here, and it's time to run down my top 100 "hit" tunes from the previous week. Dua Lipa remains at #1 for a second week, while Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande (pictured above) leap just behind her at #2. Songs from Jawsh 685/Jason Derulo, Ray Lamontagne, and Milky Chance/Jack Johnson make the biggest jumps (moves of 10+ places highlighted in red ), while former big hits from Camila Cabello/DaBaby, Godsmack, Carly Pearce/Lee Brice, and lovelytheband drop off my list. And at the bottom the chart is Spotify playlisted so you can check out all 100 songs. Skunked again ????? This Week                Song/Artist (last week's position in parentheses) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1. Break My Heart - Dua Lipa (1) 2. Rain On Me - Lady Gaga & Ariana Grande (6) 3. Lost In Yesterday - Tame Impala (5) 4. Level Of Concern - twenty-one...

" Steelo " - 702 with Missy Elliott from the album No Doubt (1996) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #32 (two weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 6 Today's song of the day comes from the female R&B vocal group 702, who came together in that number's area code location of Las Vegas, Nevada in the early 1990s. Originally consisting of sisters Irish, LeMisha, and Orish Grinstead, along with Amelia Childs, the quartet were guided by New Edition member Michael Bivins, and their first job was a feature on soul group Subway's single " This Lil' Game We Play ", which made the top-20 on the pop chart/top-5 on the R&B chart in 1994. However, both Orish and Childs were booted before their first album, replaced by Kameelah Williams. The new trio released their debut album No Doubt in 1996, preceded by the single "Steelo". Written by Missy Elliot, who appears on the single, as well as Chad Elliott and George Pearson, and laid over a sample of the rock band the...