Twostepcublog

    " Move Your Boogie Body " was a club hit for the funk band the Bar-Kays. Appearing on their album Injoy , the song was written by the band along with producer Allen Jones. On Billboard magazine's Disco Top-40 Chart, the single peaked at #90 in 1979. It also climbed to #3 on their R&B chart and #57 on the pop Hot 100 chart. (Click below to see the rest of the post)

    " I'll Think Of A Reason Later " - Lee Ann Womack from the album Some Things I Know (1998) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #38 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 2   Today's song comes from country singer Lee Ann Womack , who grew up in the East Texan city of Jacksonville, the daughter of a radio DJ who helped shape her love for music at a young age. Nevertheless, Womack didn't start her music career until she was in her thirties, signing with the Decca imprint of MCA Records, where she had been working behind the scenes. Lee Ann's self-titled debut album was released in 1997, with the first single " Never Again, Again " hitting a modest #23 on the Country Songs chart in Billboard magazine, but the retail single sold well enough that it "bubbled under" the pop Hot 100 list at #124. That set-up paid off as her next two single from her debut, " The Fool " and " You Got To Talk To Me ", both raced to #2 on the Country ...

    "Let Me Take You Dancing" was a club hit for a certain Canadian rocker (yes, THAT one). Released as a stand-alone single (and originally a rock arrangement that was remixed by John Luongo), the song was written and produced by Adams with longtime collaborator Jim Vallance. On Billboard magazine's Disco Top 100 chart, the single peaked at #22 in 1979, spending a hefty 23 weeks on the list. It also appeared on the Canadian singles chart at #90.  

    " The Hardest Thing " - 98 Degrees from the album 98 Degrees and Rising (1998) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #5 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 19   Today's song comes from "boy-band" 98 Degrees , who had scored their first top ten pop hit in the fall of 1998 with the lead single from their second album, " Because Of You ".  Their follow-up release was the ballad "The Hardest Thing". Written by Stephen Kipner and David Frank, the latter half of the System (of "Don't Disturb This Groove" fame), the midtempo song has lead singer Nick Lachey breaking up with his side piece because he wants to stay with the woman who "trusts him" (who clearly shouldn't ). That background is kind of creepy, especially when he explains that its the other woman who he's more in love with, but their spot-on harmonies and incredibly good looks probably helped the medicine go down quite easily. If it weren't for a subtle misogyny, th...

    " Kernfraft 400 " ("Nuclear Power 400") was a club and international hit for DJ/producer Florian Senfter, who records under the moniker Zombie Nation. Appearing on his debut album Leichenschmaus ("Funeral Feast"), the single was written by Senfter along with Emmanuel Gunther and David Whittaker. On Billboard magazine's Dance Club Play chart, the single peaked at #47 in 2000, while popping on to the Hot 100 pop tally at #99. It was a huge international hit, topping the singles chart in Greece and reaching #2 in the UK and Ireland.     (Click below to see the rest of the post)

    " Livin' La Vida Loca " - Ricky Martin from the album Ricky Martin (1999) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #1 (five weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 17   Today's song is from Ricky Martin , who grew up in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Martin started his music career as a member of the boyband Menudo. That group was massive internationally, in the 1980s, especially in Spanish-speaking world, but they also crossed over to the American mainstream a bit in 1985 with their single " Hold Me ", which went to #62 on the pop Hot 100 chart in Billboard magazine, while the self-titled album it came from reached #100 on the Billboard 200 sales tally. Ricky started with the group as a twelve-year-old in 1984 on their sixteenth album Evolucion , and left when he turned seventeen in 1989 after ten albums with the group.  Signing as a solo artist with Sony Discos, Ricky released his self-titled solo debut album in 1990. His first single, the ballad " Fuego Contra Fuego " (...

    " Phatt Bass " was a club hit collaboration between German groups Warp Brothers and Aquagen. Appearing on the Warp Brothers debut album Warp Factor , the record was written by Jurgen Dohr and Oliver Goedicke from the Warp Brothers, Gino Montesaro and Olaf Dieckmann from Aquagen, Dennis Bierbrodt, and Guido Kramer, all over an interpolation of New Order's 1983 classic "Confusion". On Billboard magazine's Dance Club Play chart, the single peaked at #39 in 2001. It was also a top ten hit in the UK at #9.  (Click below to see the rest of the post)

    " Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen) - The Speech Song " - Baz Luhrmann from the album Something For Everybody (1998) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #45   This week's "robbed hit" is credited to film director and jack-of-all-trades Baz Luhrmann . Born as Mark Luhrmann in Australia and nicknamed for his red hair, Baz became well known internationally in 1992 with his first directed film Strictly Ballroom . Four years later, Luhrmann filmed a reinterpretation of the Shakespeare classic Romeo + Juliet starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes which broke through big in America. Not only was the film a success, but the soundtrack was massive, going to #2 on the Billboard 200 sales chart in the weekly music industry trade bible, and scored a pair of radio hits with " #1 Crush " from Garbage and the top ten smash " Lovefool " from the Cardigans. In 1998, Luhrmann was compiling a music album under his own House of Iona label distributed by ...

    " Who Dat " - JT Money featuring Solé from the album Pimpin' On Wax (1999) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #5 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 12 Today's song of the day comes from rapper JT Money , who's moniker uses the initials for his name Jeffrey Thompkins. Hailing from Miami, JT was signed by Luke Campbell of the 2 Live Crew to his label Luke along with rapper Debonaire as the Poison Clan. That duo released their first album 2 Low Life Muthas in 1990, which climbed to #42 on the R&B Albums sales chart. With their act subtitled "The Baby 2 Live Crew", their single " Dance All Nite " rose to #51 on Billboard magazine's R&B chart in the beginning of 1991. Their third release, Ruff Town Behavior , made the R&B Albums chart at #12 and even reached #97 on the all-genre Billboard 200 sales tally. The record also scored a second minor R&B hit in 1993 with " Put Shit Pass No Ho ", written by JT. which peaked at #94. B...

    " Nothing But You " was a club hit for German DJ/producer Paul Van Dyk (aka Matthias Paul). Appearing on Paul's fourth album Reflections , the song is a retooling of the 2002 song " Arctic " by DJ/producer team Hemstock & Jennings, which is why they get the feature credit here. On Billboard magazine's Dance Club Play chart, the single peaked at #6 in 2003. It also went to #11 in Germany and #14 on the British singles chart.  (Click below to see the rest of the post)

    " Ordinary Life " - Chad Brock from the album Chad Brock (1998) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #39 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 2   Today's song comes from Chad Brock, who sidelined his country music career at first to join the WCW (World Championship Wrestling) network, where he was a wrestler for three years before being sidelined from injury. Signed to Warner Brothers Records (which he actually did before the WCW stint), Brock released his self-titled debut album in 1998. The lead single, " Evangeline ", was a fun line-dancing nugget that put his large voice to use. While it got some attention in the clubs and with fans, radio wasn't as keen and it stalled criminally at #51 on Billboard magazine's Country Singles chart. But with his second release, things turned around. "Ordinary Life", written by two women, Connie Harrington and Bonnie Baker, the ballad has Brock embodying a "working man" who is tired of the lowman's life ...

    " Beautiful Day " was a club and radio hit for Irish rock legends U2. Appearing on their album All That You Can't Leave Behind , the song was written by the group and originally produced by Daniel Lanois, Steve Lillywhite, and Brian Eno. On Billboard magazine's Dance Club Play chart, the single spent a week at #1 on 2001. It also topped the singles chart in the UK and peaked at #21 in the U.S..      

    " Anywhere " - 112 featuring Lil' Z from the album Room 112 (1998) and Young World: The Future (2000) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #15 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 18   Today's song comes from the R&B vocal group 112 , who had returned to the pop top-40 in the fall of 1998 with the lead single from their second album Room 112 , " Love Me ".  That record featured rapper Mase, who at the time was red-hot in the music world. For their follow-up, the quartet would also feature a rapper, but in this case a newcomer, a very young newcomer. Lil' Z , aka Zane Copeland Jr, grew up and started his career in Atlanta, Georgia, and was only sixteen years old when he appeared on "Anywhere", 112's second release from the Room 112 set. Written by the group's Daron Jones (who produced), Mike Keith, Marvin Scandrick, and Quinnes Parker, along with Copeland, Jason Boyd, and Lamont Maxwell, the song basically has them singing that they'll ...

    " Not Gonna Get Us " was a big club and international hit for Russian duo t.A.T.u.. Appearing on their first English-language album 200 km/h In The Wrong Lane , the song was written by Sergio Galoyan, Elena Kiper, Valery Polienko, and producer Trevor Horn. On Billboard magazine's Dance Club Play chart, the single spent a week at #1 in 2003, while going to #7 on the British Singles chart.  

    Friday's here, and it's time to run down my top "hit" tunes from the previous week. Olivia Rodrigo spends a second week on top, while Foo Fighters (pictured above) leap four notches into the runner-up position. Songs from Elton John/Dua Lipa, Maneskin, and Lil Nas X/Jack Harlow make the biggest jumps (moves of over 10+ places highlighted in red ), while former big hits from Maroon 5/Megan Thee Stallion, Anne-Marie/Niall Horan, and Giveon drop off my chart. And right under the list, I have everything Spotify-playlisted for five and a half hours of the biggest in pop, rock, R&B, country, and dance music. Let the pumpkin spice flow, it's autumn...   This Week         Song/Artist (last week's position in parentheses) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Good 4 U - Olivia Rodrigo (1) 2. Making A Fire - Foo Fighters (6) 3. Things A Man Oughta Know - Lainey Wilson (3) 4. Bad Habit...

    " My First Night With You " - Mya from the album Mya (1998) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #28 (two weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 2   Today's song is from R&B singer Mya , who in less than a year scored five top-40 pop hits between the top ten single " It's All About Me " and follow-up " Movin' On " from her self-titled debut album, two soundtrack cuts in " Ghetto Superstar " and " Take Me There ", and a featured stint on rapper Silkk The Shocker's double-sided hit " Somebody Like Me ".  The third release from Mya's debut was "My First Night With You". Written by Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds and Diane Warren and produced by Daryl Simmons, the song was first released as an album cut by Deborah Cox in 1995. Listening to it again, I can see why Cox left it as an album cut; for such powerhouse musical giants like Babyface and Warren, the song is rather soft and bland. It's not offensively b...

    " Played-A-Live (The Bongo Song) " was a club hit for Danish dance act Safri Duo. Appearing on their album Episode II (their sixth record), the song was written by the duo's Ulfe Savery and Morten Friis along with producer Michael Parsberg. On Billboard magazine's Dance Club Play chart, the single peaked at #7 in 2001. It was a huge success internationally, reaching the top ten on the singles charts in most of Europe, and going to #1 in their home country and Switerland and #6 in the UK.     (Click below to see the rest of the post)

    " Give It To You " - Jordan Knight from the album Jordan Knight (1999) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #10 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 13   Today's song comes from Jordan Knight, who was a member of the insanely popular boy-band New Kids On The Block in the late 1980's and early 1990's. Bandmate Joey McIntyre was the first to release a solo album, and his single " Stay The Same " made the pop top ten in America in the spring of 1999. While McIntyre's song was an adult-pop ballad, Knight's debut solo offering was more in tune to the music of the younger generation (albeit even a little dated in its subtle Miami Bass/freestyle influence). "Give It To You", written by Knight with producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis along with future SOTD artist Robin Thicke, is a bouncy if light dance-pop tune about propositioning a girl. It does go a bit far (probably the Thicke influence) with lyrics like this: Don't care who leads As long as we ...

    " Airwave " was a club hit for the Dutch duo Rank 1. Appearing on their first and only album Symsonic , the song was written by the act's Benno de Goeij and Piet Bervoets. On Billboard magazine's Dance Club Play chart, the single peaked at #25 in 2000.     (Click below to see the rest of the post)

    "One More Try" - Divine from the album Fairy Tales (1998) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #29 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 3   Today's song comes from the female R&B vocal trio Divine, who went straight to #1 on the pop chart in America in the autumn of 1998 with their debut single " Lately ".  Their second (and what would be their last) single was a cover of a #1 pop hit from exactly ten years prior. " One More Try ", written, produced, and sung by the late great George Michael, hit the top spot in May of 1988. Divine's version, produced by Josh Howcott and Donald Parks, is merely a karaoke copy of the song, neither bringing anything new to the table nor showing anything exciting beyond adequate harmonies from Kia Thornton, Nikki Bratcher and Tonia Tash, The production even sounds dated more than George's own work from a decade ago. The result is something that if anything influenced the caged singing on shows like American Idol , The Voi...

    " Dammit Janet " was a club hit for Pants & Corset, the moniker used by British DJ duo Chris B. and Paul King. Released as a standalone single , the track was written by the pair using samples of the Lemon Project's "Peppermint Lounge" and DJ Scot Project's "U". On Billboard magazine's Dance Club Play chart, the single peaked at #17 in 2000. (Click below to see the rest of the post)

    " Please Remember Me " - Tim McGraw from the album A Place In The Sun (1999) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #10 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 16   Today's song is from country music singer Tim McGraw , who made the Billboard magazine pop Hot 100 top-40 with the first single from his fourth album Everywhere , " It's Your Love " with wife Faith Hill, as well as the sixth single " For A Little While ". The former had massive sales that helped it into the top ten, while the latter benefited from Billboard changing its rules to allow non-retail singles to make the chart. In the spring of 1999, McGraw returned with the lead single from his upcoming fifth release, A Place In The Sun . "Please Remember Me" was originally released by Rodney Crowell, who wrote the song with Will Jennings. It was a minor hit on country radio, peaking at #69 in 1995.  McGraw's version, produced by Byron Gallimore and James Stroud, overcomes the sterility of t...