Twostepcublog

    " Love Pains " was a club and radio hit for actress/singer Yvonne Elliman . Appearing on her album Yvonne , the song was produced by Steve Barri, who wrote it with Michael Price and Dan Walsh. On Billboard magazine's Disco Top-100 chart, the single peaked at #75 in 1980, while reaching the pop top-40 at #34. Later on, the song would become club hit remakes for Viola Wills, Hazell Dean, and Liza Minelli. (Click below to see the rest of the post)

    " It's Your Body " - Johnny Gill featuring Roger Troutman from the album Let's Get The Mood Right (1996) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #43 (two weeks)   This week's "robbed hit" comes from R&B singer Johnny Gill , whose third solo album, and first after his success joining New Edition as a replacement for Bobby Brown, was a big success, reaching the top ten on the Billboard 200 albums sales chart and spinning off three top-40 pop hits with " Rub You The Right Way ", " My, My, My ", and " Fairweather Friend " between 1990 and 1991, as well as a fourth single, "Wrap My Body Tight", that topped the magazine's R&B chart. He also landed top-40 pop hits guesting on singles from Shanice (" Silent Prayer ") and Shabba Ranks (" Slow and Sexy "). A year later in 1993, Gill followed up with another solo album, Provocative , which reached the top-20 on the albums sales chart and producing four...

    " Please Don't Go " - No Mercy from the album No Mercy (US) and My Promise (Worldwide) (1996) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #21 (two weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 8   Today's song of the day comes from the Latin pop/dance band No Mercy , who were transplanted from Miami to Germany under the wing of Frank Farian (yes, the Milli Vanilli guy) and ended up with a top ten pop smash in America with their single " Where Do You Go " in the fall of 1996.  The second American release from the trio would be the track "Please Don't Go", written by Farian (under his real name Franz Reuter probably to hide), Mary Applegate, Peter Bischoff-Fallenstein, and No Mercy lead singer Marty Cintron. As for the Hernández twins backing him up, I kind of believe they were Milli Vanilli'd in by Farian. The Latin spin on Eurodance struck gold again... "Please Don't Go" became No Mercy's second and final top-40 pop hit in the U.S. in March of 1997. Int...

    " Now That We Found Love " was a British pop hit and European club success for the Jamaican reggae band Third World . Appearing on their 1978 album Journey To Addis , the song was a remake of the O'Jay's pre-disco soul hit written by Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff. It was released on the disco 12" vinyl format, and was a favorite among more progressive DJ's, but didn't make Billboard magazine's disco chart, although the single peaked at #10 in the UK. (Click below to see the rest of the post)

    " Don't Cry For Me Argentina " - Madonna from the album Evita (Original Soundtrack) (1996) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #8 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 7 Today's song of the day is from Madonna , whose starring turn in the film adaptation of the Broadway musical Evita had gotta rave reviews and the best audience reception of any of her movies to date. The "new" song added to the work, " You Must Love Me ", which was released as the first single, had reached the top-20 on the American pop chart in the fall of 1996, as well as gifting the film with an Oscar and a Golden Globe for Best Original Song and soundtrack, respectively. To follow that up, Madonna released the most well-known song from the show, the climactic "Don't Cry For Me Argentina", written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice. Released as a CD and cassette single with remixes for the dancefloor, the sales for this were through the roof, with radio preferring the dance ...

    " Love's Theme " was a big radio and club hit for the Love Unlimited Orchestra, the studio group who backed up singer/songwriter/producer Barry White on most of his 1970's hits. Written and produced by White, the lush instrumental appeared on the act's 1974 debut album Rhapsody In White , as well as on the 1973 set from the vocal trio Love Unlimited, Under The Influence of...Love Unlimited . Since the single came out in the fall of 1973, it was way too early for Billboard magazine's disco charts, which didn't begin until much later in the following year. However the song topped the pop singles charts in America and Canada, and hit #10 on the R&B chart.    (Click below to see the rest of the post)  

    " Discotheque " - U2 from the album Pop (1997) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #10 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 4   Today's song of the day comes from Irish rock legends U2 , who had taken a break after the lukewarm reaction to their 1993 album Zooropa . That set was an international success, and went to #1 in America selling over 2 million records, but failed to spin off a top-40 pop hit at all (the track "Lemon" did go to #1 on Billboard 's Dance Club Play chart). In 1995, Bono, the Edge, Adam Clayton Jr., and Larry Mullen got back together to record a single for the Batman Forever soundtrack. The result, " Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me ", brought them a decent hit, reaching the top 40 here and #1 on the Alternative Rock radio chart. A year later, Mullen and Clayton revamped the theme from Mission Impossible for the Tom Cruise film adaptation that did even better, making the top 10 on the American pop chart at #2 at Dance.  With a wait...

    " Swearin' To God " was a big radio and club hit for singer and leader of the Four Seasons, Frankie Valli . Appearing on his album Closeup , the song was written by Bob Crewe and Denny Randell and produced by Charles Calello, and features Patti Austin ("Baby Come To Me") singing backup. On Record World magazine's  Disco File Top-20 chart, the single peaked at #4 in 1975, while reaching #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart.   

    Friday's here, and it's time to run down my top 100 "hit" tunes from the previous week. Harry Styles rises to #1 for a second time this year, while Gabby Barrett (pictured above) climbs three spots in the top ten. Songs from Michael Franti, My Morning Jacket, and Joel Corry/MNEK make some of the biggest jumps this week (moves of 10+ places highlighted in red ). And everything is Spotify playlisted below to give you over five hours of listening.  Make it stop!   This Week                        Song/Artist (last week's position in parentheses) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Watermelon Sugar - Harry Styles (3) 2. Honeybee - The Head and the Heart (4) 3. Rain On Me - Lady Gaga & Ariana Grande (1) 4. Break My Heart - Dua Lipa (2) 5. Roses (Imanbek Remix) - SAINt JHN (5) 6. I Hope - Gabby Barrett f/Charlie Puth (9) 7. Lost In Yester...

    " Da' Dip " - Freak Nasty from the album Controversee...That's Life...And That's The Way It Is (1996) Billboard Hot 100 peak; #15 (one week)  Weeks in the Top-40: 25   Today's song of the day comes from rapper Freak Nasty, who grew up as Eriq Timmons in New Orleans, Louisiana. Originally a DJ and producer, he released his self-titled debut album in 1994, which was locally successful. But it was his sophomore release, Controversee , that would grant Freak Nasty his biggest success. The lead single, "Da' Dip", was another in a string of "Miami Bass" style records that touted a special dance to go along, just like in the days of Chubby Checker and Dee Dee Sharp. Written and produced by Timmons, it took a whole year from its release in the summer of 1996 to catch on, but when it did, the record was everywhere ...     "Da' Dip" spent almost a half of a year in the American pop top-40, cresting in the top half of that list...

    " Knights In White Satin " was a club hit for Italian producer/musician Giorgio Moroder . Appearing on his album Knights In White Satin , the track is a cover of the Moody Blues' classic art-rock hit from 1967, written by the band's Justin Hayward. On Billboard magazine's National Disco Action Top-30 chart, the album was listed as a single entry, with "Knights In White Satin", "I Wanna Funk With You Tonight", and "Oh L'Amour" offered as key cuts. The record peaked at #10 there in 1976.  (Click below to see the rest of the post)

    " Things'll Never Change "/" Rappers Ball " - E-40 featuring Bo-Rock/Too Short & K-Ci from the album Tha Hall Of Game (1996) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #29 (two weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 4   Today's song(s) of the day come from rapper Earl Stevens, who records and performs under the nickname E-40. Coming from the Bay Area, he got his start as part of the group The Click with siblings D-Shot and Suga-T along with cousin B-Legit. After releasing an EP in 1990 with them and a solo EP year later that gave them some buzz, their label Sick Wit It was taken on by Jive Records for distribution, where they put out their first full-length album, Down And Dirty , two years later, which hit the R&B Albums Sales chart in Billboard magazine at #87. In 1993, E-40 released both an EP of material in The Mail Man and a full-length solo debut in Federal . The former contained a collaboration with the Click, " Captain Save A Hoe ", which scored their fi...

    "Viva America" was a European club nugget from the French studio act Banzaii, led by producer Bernard Estardy, and credited as featuring the singers (actually backup dancers) the Clodettes. Released as a stand-alone single in 1975, the song was written by Estardy (under the moniker "Subway") and Douglas Gylsbi. The track never made any radio or sales charts, but was an underground fave of Continental club DJs in the dawning of the disco era. The act's prior single " Chinese Kung Fu " was one of the first 12" singles ever released, and went to #7 on the American dance chart.   

    " Get It Together " - 702 from the album No Doubt (1996) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #10 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 17   Today's song of the day comes from the Las Vegas-based R&B trio 702, who landed their first lead-artist top-40 pop hit at the close of 1996 with their debut single " Steelo ". Sisters LeMisha and Irish Grinstead and Kameelah Williams followed up that success with "Get It Together", a downtempo jam about hanging on in a relationship written and produced by Donell Jones, who at the same time was getting his first taste of success as a recording artist in his own right with his cover of Steve Wonder's "Knocks Me Off My Feet". The song was embraced by R&B and then mainstream stations... "Get It Together" became 702's third top-40 pop hit and first to reach the top ten on official Hot 100 chart in Billboard magazine in March of 1997. The song spent five weeks at #3 on their R&B chart as well...

    " Life Is A Song Worth Singing " was a proto-disco soul hit for legendary vocalist Johnny Mathis . Appearing on his 1973 album, I'm Coming Home , the song was produced by the team of Kenneth Gamble and Thom Bell, with the latter writing it with Linda Creed. It was released as the second single from the album at the close of the year, becoming a hit on the Adult Contemporary (#8), pop (#54), and R&B (#65) charts in Billboard magazine in the spring of 1974, but months too early to place on their disco chart. The song would later be covered by disco great Teddy Pendergrass, who titled his 1978 album from the track. (Click below to see the rest of the post)

    " Watch Me Do My Thing " - Immature with Smooth & Ed from Good Burger from the album All That: The Album (Original TV Soundtrack) (1996) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #32 (two weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 4   Today's song of the day comes from the R&B trio Immature , whose third studio album We Got It had spun off two top-40 pop hits in 1996 with " We Got It " and " Please Don't Go ".  A year later, Marques Houston, Jerome Jones, and Kelton Kessee contributed a song to the children's comedy sketch show on the Nickelodeon channel, All That .  "Watch Me Do My Thing", written by rapper Juanita Carter Stokes (Smooth), producer Chris Stokes, and Claudio Cueni, the record features Smooth and actor Kel Mitchell, who plays "Ed", a cashier for the Good Burger joint on the show... "Watch Me Do My Thing" became Immature's fifth top-40 pop hit in February of 1997. The song also climbed to #16 on Billboard magazine...

    " I'm Not In Love/Girl You're In Love " was a club hit for singer and former member of the Supremes, Scherrie Payne . Released as a one-off single, the record mashed up the 10CC pop hit ballad penned by Graham Gouldman and Eric Stewart with an original written by producer Rick Gianatos. On Billboard magazine's Dance/Disco Top 80 chart, the single peaked at #35 in 1982. It also features backup vocals from fellow Supreme Mary Wilson as well as sister Freda Payne ("Band Of Gold").  (Click below to see the rest of the post)

    " Abuse Me " - Silverchair from the album Freak Show (1997) Billboard Hot 100 peak: ineligible to chart Billboard Hot 100 Airplay peak: 44 This week's "robbed hit" comes from the Australian post-grunge rock band Silverchair , who landed a top-40 pop radio hit in America in the fall of 1995 with their breakthrough single " Tomorrow ". In 1997, the trio of Daniel Johns, Ben Gillies, and Chris Joannou returned with their sophomore effort Freak Show . The first song from the set promoted to radio in the U.S. was "Abuse Me", written by Johns and produced by Nick Launay. Addressing the band's critics and "haters", the group ends up relishing and not caring about it... Since "Abuse Me" wasn't put out commercially as a "single" in the States, the song was unable to place on Billboard 's official pop Hot 100 chart. However the song got enough mainstream radio love to just miss the top 40 of the airplay ...

    " Lakini's Juice " - Live from the album Secret Samadhi (1997) Billboard Hot 100 peak: ineligible to chart Billboard Hot 100 Airplay peak: #35 (one week) Weeks in the Airplay Top-40: 5   Today's song of the day comes from the alternative rock band Live , whose second major-label studio album Throwing Copper went to #1 on the sales chart, and spun off three top-40 pop radio hits with " I Alone ", " Lightning Crashes ", and " All Over You ", as well as a #1 rock radio hit that almost made the Hot 100 top-40, " Selling The Drama ".  In 1997, singer/guitarist Ed Kowalczyk, lead guitar Chad Taylor, drummer Chad Gracey, and bassist Patrick Dahlheimer returned with their next effort, Secret Samadhi . Produced by the group with Jay Healy, the set's lead radio hit was the esoteric "Lakini's Juice", named for a Hindu/Buddhist deity who governs over the body's digestive realm, hence, the "juice". Wri...

    " Pleasure Island " was a DJ favorite from singer/songwriter/producer/actor Paul Jabara. Appearing on his album Keeping Time , the song was written by Paul and produced by Bob Esty. On Billboard magazine's National Disco Action Top-40 chart, the Keeping Time set was listed as a single entry, with "all cuts" marked as DJ hits. The record peaked there at #12 in 1978. Jabara, who wrote such classics as "Last Dance", "It's Raining Men", and "No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)", died of AIDS at the age of 44 in 1992.    (Click below to see the rest of the post)

    " What They Do " - The Roots from the album Illadelph Halflife (1996) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #34 (two weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 5   Today's song of the day comes from the groundbreaking hip-hop group the Roots , who came together in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the late 1980s. Led by Questlove (Ahmir Thompson) and Black Thought (Tariq Trotter), the group was notable for fully incorporating a live band to rap music, which had been tried in the jazz/hip-hop movement of the Digable Planets and Guru/Gang Starr, but with even a less reliance on samples. Moving to Europe where they released their first indie record Organix , the Roots accumulated buzz and fans to the point where they were signed by Geffen Records. It was there that the band recorded their second album Do You Want More? in 1995, which was preceded by the single " Distortion To Static ", which spent a week on Billboard magazine's R&B chart at #96. That was followed by " Proceed I...

    " I Want Your Love " was a big club and radio hit for the iconic disco band Chic. Appearing on their album C'est Chic , the song was written and produced by the group's Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards. On Billboard magazine's National Disco Action Top-40 chart, the C'est Chic album was listed as one entry, with " Le Freak ", "I Want Your Love", and " Chic Cheer " listed as key cuts. The record spent seven weeks at #1 there in 1978.  (Click below to see the rest of the post)