Twostepcublog

    " K.I.S.S.I.N.G. " was a big club hit for singer/songwriter Siedah Garrett. Appeaing on her album Kiss Of Life , the song was written by Dana Merino and Guy Babylon, and produced by Rod Temperton and Dick Rudolph. On Billboard magazine's Dance Club Play chart, the single spent a week at #1 in 1988. It also climbed to #16 on their R&B chart and #97 on the pop Hot 100.     (Click below to see the rest of the post)

    " Amazed " - Lonestar from the album Lonely Grill (1999) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #1 (two weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 43   Today's song comes from the country music band Lonestar , five Texans who came together in Nashville in the early 1990s. Originally called Texassee, the newly dubbed Lonestar originally featured two members who sung lead with guitarist Richie McDonald and bassist John Rich. Signed to the BNA record label under the Sony umbrella, the band released their eponymous debut album in 1995. First single " Tequila Talkin '" made it on to the Country Singles top ten in Billboard magazine at #8, followed by the comical break-up song " No News ", which went all the way to the top of that list for three weeks. Both songs were put together on a retail single, and the pair "bubbled under" the crossover Hot 100 at #122. The Lonestar album just missed the top ten on the Billboard Country Albums chart at #11, while peaking at #...

    " Axel F " was a big radio and club hit for German producer/keyboardist/songwriter Harold Faltermeyer. Appearing on the soundtrack to the movie Beverly Hills Cop , the song was written and produced by the artist, and given a special remix by John Morales and Sergio Munzibai. On Billboard magazine's Hot Dance/Disco Club Play chart, the album was listed as a single entry, with "Axel F" and Patti LaBelle's "New Attitude" listed as key cuts. The record spent two weeks at #1 in 1985, while going to #3 on the pop Hot 100.      

    " Beautiful Stranger " - Madonna from the album Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (Original Soundtrack) (1999) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #19 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 9   Today's song is from Madonna , whose seventh album Ray Of Light was a renaissance in her career both professionally and musically, winning three Grammy Awards and spinning off three top-40 pop hits with " Frozen ", " Ray Of Light ", and " The Power Of Good-bye ", with the latter just missing joining the other two in the top ten in the autumn of 1998. The following year, the pop icon contributed a song to the soundtrack to the sequel to Mike Myers' hit movie Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me . "Beautiful Stranger", written and produced by Madonna with William Orbit, straddled the gap between being retro-psuedo-psychedelic 60's pastiche and electronica from the end of the millennium. The lyrics harken back to the simple love language of pop...

    Friday's here, and it's time to run down my top 100 "hit" tunes from the previous week. Elton John and Dua hold tight at #1, while Lil Nas X (pictured above) climbs a notch in the top ten. Former big hits from Olivia Rodrigo, Galantis/David Guetta/Little Mix, Dan + Shay, and Girl In Red drop off my chart, while songs from Coldplay/BTS, the Jonas Brothers, and the Zac Brown Band make the biggest jumps (moves of 10+ places highlighted in red ). And under the list, everything is Spotify playlisted for 5 1/2 hours of the biggest in pop, rock, R&B, country, and dance music for your listening pleasure. Not a good Halloween this year... This Week               Song/Artist (last week's position in parentheses) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Cold Heart - Elton John & Dua Lipa (1) 2. Shivers - Ed Sheeran (6) 3. Sa...

    " No Pigeons " - Sporty Thievz featuring Mr. Wood$ from the album Street Cinema (1998) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #12 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 6   Today's song comes from the hip-hop trio Sporty Thievz , who came together in New York in the 1990s. Mentored by New York radio DJ Funkmaster Flex and signed to the Roc-A-Blok sublabel of Columbia's Ruffhouse label, the group released their debut album Street Cinema in 1998. Lead single " Cheapskate (You Ain't Gettin' Nada) ", a diss on golddiggers, climbed to #49 on Billboard magazine's R&B Singles chart, and "bubbled under" the pop Hot 100 at #107. The following year, R&B trio TLC scored a #1 hit with the single " No Scrubs ", which poked fun at guys with no class or cash who try to get with them. In response, New York DJ Rhude and rapper Mr. Wood$ put together an "answer record" giving the man's point of view as "No Vultures", which th...

    " I Strip You " was a club hit for the Italian disco act Easy Going, named for a gay bar in Rome.  Appearing on their second album Fear , the song was written, produced, and arranged by Giancarlo Meo and Claudio Simonetti. On Billboard magazine's Disco Top-100 chart, "I Strip You" was listed along with the single's "B-side" "Fear", and peaked at #29 in 1980. (Click below to see the rest of the post)

    " Last Kiss " - Pearl Jam from the album No Boundaries: A Benefit for the Kosovar Refugees (1999) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #2 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 15   Today's song is from the grunge rock band Pearl Jam , whose fifth studio album Yield had yielded a top-40 crossover pop hit with " Given To Fly " in the beginning of 1998. While touring behind the album, original drummer Jack Irons left, to be replaced by Matt Cameron (formerly of fellow grunge giants Soundgarden). Later that year, the band started to perform a song in concert that would eventually end up their biggest "pop" hit. Lead singer Eddie Vedder, who found the 7 inch single of "Last Kiss" at a consignment store, convinced his bandmates to take it on.  "Last Kiss" was a "one-hit-wonder" for J. Frank Wilson and the Cavaliers. Written by soul singer Wayne Cochran, who originally released it as a single on various labels between 1962 and 1963, but didn...

    " Animal " was a club hit from Canadian singer (Lisa) Dalbello. Appearing on her album Whomanfoursays , the song was written by Dalbello, who co-produced it with Mick Ronson (of David Bowie's Spiders From Mars band). On Billboard magazine's Hot Dance/Disco chart, the single peaked at #51 in 1985.      

    " Whatever You Say " - Martina McBride from the album Evolution (1997) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #37 (three weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 5   Today's song comes from country music singer Martina McBride , whose fourth album Evolution had spun off four hit country singles (including " Valentine ", which made my "robbed hit" series), finally landed her first top-40 crossover hit on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 chart in the beginning of 1999 with " Wrong Again ". The fifth and final release from the album was another emotional ballad that took advantage of McBride's powerful voice, "Whatever You Say". Written by Ed Hill and Tony Martin, and produced by Martina with Paul Worley, the song casts her as a woman in a neglectful relationship, where her feelings aren't heard and love isn't expressed. In the typical country music pun lexicon, "Whatever You Say" is transformed from a phrase a submissive wife/girlfr...

    " Don't Quit " was a club hit for blue-eyed soul singer Bobby Caldwell. Appearing on the workout VHS video of Body By Jake by Jake Steinfield, the song was written by Frankie Miller with producers Richard Feldman and Rick Kelly. On Billboard magazine's Hot Dance/Disco chart, the single peaked at #53 in 1985. (Click below to see the rest of the post)

    " Tell Me It's Real " - K-Ci & JoJo from the album It's Real (1999) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #2 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 16   Today's song comes from R&B brother duo K-Ci & JoJo , whose first album after leaving the group Jodeci, Love Always , scored a top-40 hit with " You Bring Me Up ", before going all the way to #1 on the American pop chart in the spring of 1998 with " All My Life ". At the beginning of the following year, the siblings returned with a contribution to the soundtrack to the Eddie Murphy movie Life . " Life ", written by R. Kelly, rose to #15 on Billboard magazine's R&B chart, spending 25 weeks on the list, but stalled down at #60 on Billboard 's Hot 100 pop tally (it was honestly better than the track that did do well, Maxwell's "Fortunate"). Nevertheless, the song would appear on the pair's second album It's Real . That spring, they released the second sin...

    " Dial My Number " was a club hit for the Italo-disco act the Back Bag. Released as a stand-alone single, the song was written by Italian Graziano Pegoraro and American Naimy Hackett, and produced by Anthony Monn, with vocals from Ziad Assassa. On Billboard magazine's Dance/Disco Club Play chart, the song was listed along with the "B-side" instrumental "Tender". The single peaked at #43 in 1986.    (Click below to see the rest of the post)

    " With You " - Lila McCann from the album Something In The Air (1999) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #41 (three weeks)   This week's "robbed hit" comes from singer Lila McCann , who grew up in the outer suburbs of Seattle, Washington, where she began her country music career singing with her father as a child. Signed to Asylum Records in Nashville, McCann released her debut album Lila in 1997, when she was just sixteen years old. Lead single " Down Came A Blackbird " was a moderate hit at country radio at #28, but the stellar debut gave Lila momentum for her second release " I Wanna Fall In Love ". That song became her biggest success on the format, spending three weeks at #3 on Billboard magazine's Country Singles chart. The Lila album went to #86 on the Billboard 200 sales tally, and #8 on the Country Albums list, going on to sell over a million copies.    In 1999, McCann returned with her sophomore set, Something In The Air . With b...

    " I Will Remember You (Live) " - Sarah McLachlan from the album Mirrorball (1999) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #14 (two weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 15   Today's song comes from Canadian singer/songwriter Sarah McLachlan , who after years of underground minor successes broke big in 1997 with her fourth studio album Surfacing , which spun off four top-40 pop hits in the U.S. with " Building A Mystery ",  " Sweet Surrender ", and two top ten singles in " Adia " and " Angel ". Sarah embarked on a successful tour behind the album, and it resulted in her next release, the live album Mirrorball . Of course, all four of those aforementioned songs were in the album (which was actually just a little more than half the concert), as well as fan favorites of her past. One of those was a song originally not from one of her first three albums, but from the soundtrack to the low-budget turned critical darling movie The Brothers McMullen . "I ...

    " God Must Have Spent A Little More Time On You " - Alabama with 'NSYNC from the album Twentieth Century (1999) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #29 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 11   Today's song comes from the country music band Alabama , who were last on this series a full eight years ago with their top-40 crossover hit from 1983, " The Closer You Get ". At that time, they had already racked up with that song ten #1 hits on Billboard magazine's Country Singles chart, and had one more from the album with " Lady Down On Love ", which also climbed to #18 on the Adult Contemporary (or "easy listening") radio chart and #76 on the pop Hot 100.  The group's next release, Roll On in 1984, was their first set to score four #1 country radio hits with " Roll On (Eighteen Wheeler) ", " If You're Gonna Play In Texas (You've Gotta Have A Fiddle In The Band) ", " (There's A) Fire In The Night ", an...