Twostepcublog

    " Everlasting Love " was a big radio and club hit for singer Carl Carlton. Written by Buzz Cason and Mac Guyden and originally a hit for soul singer Robert Knight, the remake appeared on Carl's album Everlasting Love . On Billboard magazine's Disco Action chart, the single peaked at #4 in 1974, while reaching #6 on the pop Hot 100.    (Click below to see the rest of the post)

    " Too Much " - Spice Girls from the album Spiceworld (1997) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #9 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 9   Today's song of the day comes from the Spice Girls , who came back big after their hugely successful debut album Spice with not only a big follow-up album, but a feature film as well. The lead single from Spiceworld , " Spice Up Your Life ", continued their #1 streak in their native England, while reaching the top-20 in America in the fall of 1997.  The next offering from the album/movie was the ballad "Too Much", written by the group with producers Andy Watkins and Paul Wilson (using the moniker "Absolute"). Trading off verses between Scary, Sporty, Ginger, Baby, and Posh, the song emulates the doo-wop vocal delivery of the 1950s and 60s, backed by a classy string section and acoustic guitars. The lyrics twist and turn on wordplay about romance, where there's either an abundance or dearth of involvement from t...

    "I Could Have Danced All Night" was a big club hit for the Biddu Orchestra, led by Indian producer Biddu Appaiah. Appearing on their eponymous debut album, the track is a mostly instrumental cover of the classic song from the Broadway show My Fair Lady written by Frederick Loewe and Alan Jay Lerner. On Record World magazine's  Disco File Top-20 chart, the single, including flip side "Jump For Joy", peaked at #5 in 1975.  (Click below to see the rest of the post)

    " Deja Vu (Uptown Baby) " - Lord Tariq & Peter Gunz from the album Make It Reign (1998) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #9 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 18   Today's song of the day comes from rappers Lord Tariq and Peter Gunz, who came together in the Bronx in the late 1990s. After working with such ends of the "hip-hop" spectrum as Jay-Z and Shaquille O'Neal, the pair were signed to label titan Columbia Records. Their debut single "Deja Vu (Uptown Baby)", starts with a shoutout to their hometown but quickly devolves in gangster porn, with guns and money and women through all along like props. But what made the mainstream pay attention was the unusual sample of yacht-rock stalwarts Steely Dan and their 1977 album cut "Black Cow" from their album Aja .  The upbeat jazzy instrumental part of the sample counteracts the hard lyrics, and is so overwhelming to the track that in order to use it the duo had to give up all songwriting royalti...

    " Deputy Of Love " was a huge club hit for native New Yorker Don Armando and his 2nd Ave Rhumba Band. Appearing on their sole album Don Armando's 2nd Ave Rhumba Band , the song was written by Ron Rogers and produced by August Darnell from Dr. Buzzards Original Savannah Band, which Armando was a part of . Fonda Rae sang on the track. On Billboard magazine's Disco Top 100 chart, the single spent two weeks at #1 in 1979.  

    Friday's here, and it's time to run down my top 100 "hit" tunes from the previous week. Dua Lipa holds tight at #1 for a seventh week, while Taylor Swift (pictured above) remains steady in the top ten. Former big hits from Morgan Wallen and Kygo/One Republic drop off my list, while songs from Toni Braxton/H.E.R., Glass Animals, and Brett Young make the biggest jumps (moves of 10+ places highlighted in red ). And below everything is Spotify playlisted for five and a half hours of listening. Happy Purim!   This Week      Song/Artist (last week's position in parentheses) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Levitating - Dua Lipa f/DaBaby (1) 2. Therefore I Am - Billie Eilish (2) 3. Kings & Queens - Ava Max (3) 4. Golden - Harry Styles (4) 5. Trouble's Coming - Royal Blood (7) 6. Hole In The Bottle - Kelsea Ballerini (6) 7. Fire For You - Cannons (5) 8. Willow - Taylor Swift (8) 9. Prisoner...

    " Make 'Em Say Uhh! " - Master P featuring Fiend, Silkk The Shocker, Mia X, and Mystikal from the album Ghetto D (1997) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #16 (two weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 25   Today's song of the day comes from rapper/label head Master P , who had crossed over to the pop charts in the fall of 1997 with the somber rap-ballad " I Miss My Homies ". The second single from his Ghetto D album would be more of a party anthem. "Make Em' Say Uhh!", produced by KLC (Craig Lawson), was an all hands on deck event for No Limit Records, for the rapper is joined by brother Silkk The Shocker along with Fiend, Mia X, and Mystikal (the latter later having a decent career of his own). With a truncated horn sample of Sugarhill Gang's "Apache" along with cribbed lyrics from an obscure indie rap record "Funkbox Party" from Masterdon Committee, which provides the title, the record is absolute chaos, with each getting a turn to...

    " You're Where I Belong " was a club hit for country singer Trisha Yearwood. Appearing on the soundtrack to the movie Stuart Little , the song was written by Diane Warren, originally produced by Keith Thomas, and remixed by the Soul Solution team. On Billboard magazine's Dance Club Play chart, the single peaked at #15 in 2000. The original ballad version also went to #71 on the Country Songs chart.     (Click below to see the rest of the post)

    " Love You Down " - INOJ from the albums So So Def Bass All-Stars Vol. II (1997) and Ready For The World (1999) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #25 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 10   Today's song of the day comes from singer INOJ , who grew up Ayanna Porter in Madison, Wisconsin. After a female vocal group she was in failed, she was mostly writing, until offered to sing on a demo for an upcoming compilation of "Miami bass" music on producer Jermaine Dupri's So So Def label. They ended up using her vocals on the final product, a remake of the top ten ballad from R&B group Ready For The World, " Love You Down ". Produced by Charles Roane, the record starts out slow, but then the frenetic Miami bass percussion kicks in, and thankfully INOJ (a reverse of her nickname), while she doesn't have a striking voice, keeps flow with the changing beat either way. INOJ's "Love You Down" got picked up on radio, just like the first volume of...

    " This Isn't Maybe " was a club hit for Austrian producer Klaus Waldeck. Appearing on his album The Night Garden , the song was written by Waldeck using a sample of Chet Baker's "This Is Always", written by Harry Warren and Mack Gordon. It features vocals from British singer Joy Malcolm. On Billboard magazine's Dance Club Play chart, the single peaked at #46 in 2001. (Click below to see the rest of the post)

    " Gone Till November " - Wyclef Jean from the album The Carnival (1997) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #7 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 18   Today's song of the day comes from Wyclef Jean , who had been a third of the seminal hip-hop group The Fugees. Their album The Score had scored three big hits with " Fu-Gee La " and their reinterpretations of Bob Marley's " No Woman No Cry " and Roberta Flack's " Killing Me Softly ".  However, the group fractured after the success of the record, though continuing to have ties with each other's work. In the spring of 1997, Wyclef reemerged with a his first solo lead single " We Trying To Stay Alive ", which featured fellow Fugee Pras as well as John Forte. The Bee Gees-sampling track just missed the pop top-40 at #45, while peaking at #14 on Billboard magazine's R&B chart. It also was a decent hit in the UK, climbing to #13. Releasing his first "solo" album The C...

    "Ooh La La" was a club hit for singer Valeria. Originally appearing on the soundtrack to the movie Legally Blonde , the song was produced by Giloh Morgan, who also co-wrote the track. On Billboard magazine's Dance Club Play chart, the single peaked at #18 in 2001.    (Click below to see the rest of the post)

    " What You Want " - Mase featuring Total from the album Harlem World (1997) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #6 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 20   Today's song of the day comes from rapper Mase, whose debut single as a lead artist, " Feel So Good ", reached the top five on the American pop chart at the end of 1997. Mason Betha's follow-up single was "What You Want". Featuring female R&B vocal group Total on the chorus hook, the song was written by Mase with mentor Sean Combs, Keisha Spivey, and producer Nashiem Myrick, and was laid on a foundation of Curtis Mayfield's 1973 soul nugget " Right On For The Darkness ", which give is the lowkey minor-key funky guitar goodness. As for the lyrics, Mase spends his time trying to impress a girl on what he can give her more than what he would make her feel, but hey, it's the late 90s... "What You Want" became Mase's second top ten pop hit in March of 1998. The song ended up...

    " Bounce " was a club hit from techno/big beat act Uberzone, the moniker of DJ/producer Tim Weiss. Appearing on his debut album Faith In The Future , the track was written by Weiss using a sample of rapper Jaru The Damaja's "Ya Playin' Yaself". On Billboard magazine's Dance Club Play chart, the single peaked at #45 in 2001.      

    " At The Beginning " - Richard Marx & Donna Lewis from the album Anastasia (Original Soundtrack) (1997) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #45 (one week)   This week's "robbed hit" comes from the animated movie Anastasia , which reimagined the story of the Grand Duchess Anastacia Nikolaevna, whose family were slaughtered during the Russian Revolution in 1917. There was a rumor going around (fake news, if you will) that Anastacia escaped the capture of the family, and this story held on for decades. A film was made from this starring Ingrid Bergman and Yul Brynner in 1956, and it's from this adaptation that the 1997 animated film draws from. Marketing itself like a Disney film (which a lot of studios did in the 80's and 90's), the new movie sported a soundtrack laid out like a musical (like Beauty and the Beast or Aladdin ). And of course there would be a "ringer" ballad that would anchor the credits and feature popular singers instead of t...

    " Swing My Way " - K.P. & Envyi from the albums Rhythm & Quad 166, Vol 1 and Can't Hardly Wait (Original Soundtrack) (both 1998) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #6 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 13   Today's song of the day comes from K.P. (Kia Phillips) & Envyi, (Susan Hedgepeth), two solo hip-hop artists that were put together by their record company for this one single. Their release, "Swing My Way", was a slice of Atlanta/Miami bass style dance/rap music that had been hugely popular with acts like Tag Team, 69 Boyz, and 95 South. However, this time it gave two women the spotlight here, which was quite a refreshing change in the genre. First included on a compilation and then put on the soundtrack to the teen comedy movie Can't Hardly Wait , "Swing My Way" grabbed ahold of both urban and mainstream radio programmers with its minor-key melodic hook in the chorus that elevated it a little above most of the Miami bass crowd (as oppo...

    " Tell Me Who " was a big club hit for R&B singer Tamia. Appearing on her second album A Nu Day as a ballad, the song was written by the artist with producer Shep Crawford. On Billboard magazine's Dance Club Play chart, the remixed single spent a week at #2 in 2001.       

    " Are U Still Down " / " They Don't Know " - Jon B. from the album Cool Relax (1997) Billboard Hot 100 peak for "Are U Still Down": #29 (three weeks) Billboard Hot 100 peak for "They Don't Know": #7 (one week) Total weeks in the Top-40: 18   Today's song(s) of the day come from R&B singer/songwriter Jon B. (the "B" for Buck), who had scored a top ten pop hit with his debut single, " Someone To Love ", and a top-40 follow-up with " Pretty Girl ", both reaching the top ten on Billboard magazine's R&B chart. Two years later in 1997, Jon returned with his sophomore album Cool Relax . The lead single from the record, " Don't Say ", was a modest hit on urban radio, peaking at #34 on the R&B chart, but stalling out at #68 on Billboard 's pop Hot 100. For the second single release from the project, Jon put two songs with different styles on one commercial release. The fi...

    " My Time " was a big club hit for Dutch-American DJ Jesse Houk, who usually records under the alias "The Scumfrog", but occasionally like this released under the moniker "Dutch". Featuring singer Crystal Waters, the song was written by the pair and released as a standalone single . On Billboard magazine's Dance Club Play chart, the single spent a week at #1 in 2003.      (Click below to see the rest of the post)

    " Father " - LL Cool J from the album Phenomenon (1997) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #18 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 8   Today's song of the day comes from rap artist LL Cool J , who had a very successful year in 1996, reaching Billboard magazine's pop top ten four times with his own " Hey Lover ", " Doin' It ", and " Loungin '", as well as a featured artist on Babyface's " This Is For The Lover In You ".  He also had two songs on movie soundtracks that got some attention, with " Ain't Nobody " from Beavis & Butthead Do America nearly making the US pop top-40 at #46, topping the British chart, and being nominated for a Grammy Award, and then as one of the all-star rappers on " Hit 'Em High " from Space Jam , which reached the top ten in the UK at the beginning of 1997. Later that year, LL (aka James Smith) returned with his seventh studio album Phenomenon . The track " Can...

    "Looking For Love" was a club hit for British singer Karen Ramirez. Appearing on her 1998 debut album Distant Dreams , the record is a cover version of a song from British indie pop-dance duo Everything But The Girl, originally titled " I Didn't Know I Was Looking For Love ", written by Tracey Thorn and Ben Watt.  On Billboard magazine's Dance Club Play chart, the single spent a week at #1 in 2001, while peaking at #8 on the British singles chart three years prior.  

    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 sixth week, while Cannons (pictured above) climb into the top five. Songs from Olivia Rodrigo, Kings Of Leon, and HVME/Travis Scott make the biggest jumps (moves of 10+ places highlighted in red ), while no former big hits drop out this week (a few small ones do). And at the end of the list everything is Spotify playlisted for over five hours of listening goodness. Climate change is real , my friends...   This Week        Song/Artist (last week's position in parentheses) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Levitating - Dua Lipa f/DaBaby (1) 2. Therefore I Am - Billie Eilish (2)  3. Kings & Queens - Ava Max (3) 4. Golden - Harry Styles (4) 5. Fire For You - Cannons (7) 6. Hole In The Bottle - Kelsea Ballerini (6) 7. Trouble's Coming - Royal Bl...