Twostepcublog

    " Walking On Sunshine " was a club hit for the Jah Boyz. Released as a stand-alone single, the record is a remake of a 1979 single from reggae star Eddy Grant that was already remade into a #1 dance hit in the US by Rockers' Revenge. This version was produced by Ian Starr and Charlie Casanova, and went to #13 on Billboard magazine's Dance Club Play chart in 1996.      

    " You Had Me From Hello " - Kenny Chesney from the album Everywhere We Go (1999) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #34 (two weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 5   Today's song comes from country music singer Kenny Chesney , who finally scored his first top-40 crossover hit on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 chart in the spring of 1999 with the lead single from his fifth studio album, " How Forever Feels ".  The second single from Everywhere We Go was the love ballad "You Had Me From Hello". Written by Chesney with Skip Ewing (an artist in his own right that had four top ten country hits in the late 1980's), the song cribs its title from one of the big catchphrases uttered by Tom Cruise in the 1996 movie Jerry Maguire . It's kind of weird that Cruise was saying these lines in the film to Renee Zellweger, who would (very briefly) become Chesney's wife. At least they didn't go with "Show Me The Money" or "You Complete Me", righ...

    " Always There " was a club hit for the British jazz-soul group Incognito featuring vocals from disco legend Jocelyn Brown. Appearing on their album Inside Life , the record was a remake of a jazz track from sax player Ronnie Laws and co-writer William Jeffery, which a year later was a club nugget from 1975 by the group Side Effect. On Billboard magazine's Dance Club Play chart, the song made the chart two different times, in 1991 and 1996, both times reaching #31. It also went to #6 on the British singles chart in 1991 and #29 in 1996. It remains one of my all-time favorite dance jams. (Click below to see the rest of the post)

    " All That I Can Say " - Mary J. Blige from the album Mary (1999) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #44   This week's "robbed hit' comes from Mary J. Blige , whose third studio album Share My World became her first to reach #1 on the Billboard 200 sales tally in 1997, spinning off two top-40 pop hits with " I Can Love You " and " Everything ". In the spring of 1999, Mary paired up with George Michael to remake the Stevie Wonder classic " As ". Their stellar version ended up going top ten in the UK, but as George just got arrested for soliticing in a public bathroom, the release was cut short in the States.    Blige's fourth studio effort Mary was released in the summer of that year. The lead single from the set was a composition from former Fugee and Grammy darling at the time, Lauryn Hill. "All That I Can Say", also produced by Hill, is a dreamy slice of adult neo-soul heavily influenced by jazz, with Mary's vocals ...

    " She's All I Ever Had " - Ricky Martin from the album Ricky Martin (1999) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #2 (two weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 12   Today's song is from Ricky Martin , who kicked off the "Latin Explosion" of 1999 in mainstream pop music with his #1 hit " Livin' La Vida Loca " in the spring of 1999.  His momentum was so great that his World Cup anthem from his previous album, " The Cup Of Life ", which also was in his English-language breakthrough album Ricky Martin , nearly made the top-40 as well. The second "single" from the record would slow things down for a bit with the lovelorn ballad "She's All I Ever Had". Written by 90's hitmaker Jon Secada along with Robi Rosa, Luis Gomez Escolar, and producer George Noriega, it definitely sounds like a Jon Secada record, with the minor chord progression and emotive singing on Martin's part, as he mourns a failed love affair. The prominent sitar...

    " Life (Everybody Needs Somebody To Love) " was a club hit for Trinidadian singer Haddaway. Appearing on his self-titled debut album , the song was written and produced by Junior Torello and Dee Dee Halligan. On Billboard magazine's Dance Club Play chart, the single peaked at #5 in 1994, while just missing the Hot 100 top-40 in America at #41. It also went to #1 in Sweden, Spain, and Finland, and made the top ten all across Europe.    (Click below to see the rest of the post)

    " Unpretty " - TLC from the album FanMail (1999) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #1 (three weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 24   Today's song comes from the R&B/hip-hop trio TLC , who had the most memorable single of their career with the #1 smash " No Scrubs " in the spring of 1999. At that time, another cut from the album, " I'm Good At Being Bad ", got enough airplay to make it to #38 on Billboard magazine's R&B Singles chart and "bubbled under" the pop Hot 100 at #117 without even being promoted. The second commercial single from the record would be "Unpretty", a "message" record in the same vein as "Waterfalls" was. Written by T-Boz Watkins with producer Dallas Austin, the group tackle the subject of self-image, which was a thing even before the social media age. It's definitely not didactic, as T-Boz sings about the struggle with herself, and wants the person she's singing to to understand...

    "Gonna Get Back To You" was a big club hit for the remixing/production group Masters At Work (billed as "MAW & Co." featuring singer Xaviera Gold. Released as a stand-alone single, the song was written by Derek Whitaker, Lem Springsteen, Louie Vega, and recording artist in her own right India. On Billboard magazine's Dance Club Play chart the single spent a week at #1 in 1993.      

    " Single White Female " - Chely Wright from the album Single White Female (1999) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #36 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 4   Today's song comes from Chely Wright , who grew up in Kansas as Richell Wright, before starting her country music career in Branson, Missouri before moving to Nashville to work for the tourist attraction Opryland USA. Signing with Polygram/Mercury Records' Polygram division in the early 1990s, Wright released her debut album Woman On The Moon in 1994. Her first single " He's A Good Ole Boy " was her first placing at #58 on Billboard magazine's Country Singles Chart. Two more singles from the album were also minor country radio hits, and Chely won the CMA Top New Female Vocalist award. Chely's sophomore effort, Right In The Middle Of It , also spun off a couple of minor country hits, with second try " The Love That We Lost " just missing the country top-40 at #41 in 1996. At this point W...

    " Don't You Want Me " was a big club hit for DJ/producer Francis Wright, who records under the moniker Felix, along with female vocal group Jomanda. Appearing on Felix's album #1 , the track was written by Felix using a sample of Jomanda's "Don't You Want My Love" written by the group's Cheri Williams with producers Dwayne Richardson and Derek Jenkins. On Billboard magazine's Dance Club Play chart, the single spent a week at #1 in 1993, while making the top ten on the singles charts in most of Europe.     (Click below to see the rest of the post)

    Friday's here, and it's time to run down my top 100 "hit" tunes from the previous week. This time out Elton John and Dua Lipa reign for a sixth week, while the Country Music Association Entertainer of the Year for 2021 Luke Combs (pictured above) climbs into the top five. Former big hits from Brandi Carlile, Scotty McCreery, and Travis Scott drop off my list, while songs from Chris Stapleton, Dillon Francis, and Lil Nas X makes some of the biggest jumps (moves of 10+ places highlighted in red ). And under the chart everything is Spotify playlisted for five and a half hours of the biggest in pop, rock, R&B, country, and dance music.  Let the Christmas season begin!   This Week                     Song/Artist (last week's position in parentheses) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Cold Heart (PNAU Remix) - Elton John & Dua Lipa ...

    " I Do (Cherish You) " - 98 Degrees from the album 98 Degrees and Rising (1998) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #13 (two weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 16   Today's song comes from the boy-band 98 Degrees , who's second album 98 Degrees and Rising had already scored a pair of top ten pop hits with " Because Of You " and " The Hardest Thing ".  The third single pulled from the record would be a pop remake of a song that was a country radio hit a year before for Mark Wills, who had a top-40 crossover hit himself in the spring of 1999 with " Wish You Were Here ". "I Do (Cherish You)" was written by Keith Stegall with Dan Hill, who had two top ten pop hits of his own with "Sometimes When We Touch" and "Can't We Try". But opposed to those blockbuster breakup songs, this was on the other schmaltzy side of the spectrum, with the greeting card lyrics promising a forever love that are written specifically to be played...

    " Groove of Love " was a club hit for the female R&B group Ebony Vibe Everlasting, or E.V.E.. Appearing on their debut (and only) album Good Life , the song was written by Philip Stewart and Thaddis Harrell Jr., and produced by Laney Stewart and Kirk Harrell, with a remix by David Morales that helped it rise to #14 on Billboard magazine's Dance Club Play chart in 1994. The single also went to #75 on their R&B Singles chart.    (Click below to see the rest of the post)

    " Black Balloon " - Goo Goo Dolls from the album Dizzy Up The Girl (1998) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #16 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 22   Today's song comes from the Goo Goo Dolls , who had fully transformed themselves from the protopunk band to a pop hitmaking machine by the end of the 1990's, landing a massive radio hit with " Iris " and a top ten follow-up in " Slide ", both from their 1998 album Dizzy Up The Girl . The third single from the record, " Dizzy ", probably was as close as to their original sound on the album, but while it was a decent hit at rock radio, making both the Alternative (#9) and Mainstream (#13) Rock radio charts in Billboard magazine, the single ran cold with mainstream pop stations, only "bubbling under" the pop Hot 100 at #108 in the spring of 1999.  The fourth offering from Dizzy Up The Girl was the one with the heaviest theme, "Black Balloon". Possibly based on real life, it...

    " Meet Her At The Love Parade " was a club hit for German DJ Frank Tomiczek, who records under the moniker Da Hool. Appearing on his debut album Here Comes Da Hool , the song was written by produced by Tomiczek. On Billboard magazine's Dance Club Play chart, the single peaked at #30 in 1998. It also was an international pop hit, topping the chart in Iceland, making the top ten in France, Germany, Belgium, Greece, and Ireland, and peaking at #15 in the UK. (Click below to see the rest of the post)

    " Smooth " - Santana featuring Rob Thomas from the album Supernatural (1999) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #1 (twelve weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 50 Today's song of the day comes from the rock fusion band Santana , led by guitarist Carlos Santana. The group's self-titled debut album came out in 1969, and they were a steady fixture on the rock radio scene throughout the 1970's. However after they reached the top-20 on Billboard magazine's pop Hot 100 in the fall of 1982 with " Hold On ", they had found a "dry" period in the rest of the decade. Their next studio album, Beyond Appearances in 1985, saw its lead single " Say It Again " stalled right under the pop top-40, although it did make it to #15 on the Mainstream Rock radio chart and #19 on the Dance Club Play chart. The album was their first to miss the top-40 on the Billboard 200 sales chart at #50. Two more albums for their label Columbia Records, Freedom in 1987 and Spiri...

    "Friends Forever"  was a club hit for the Canadian group Candi and the Backbeat. Appearing on their second album World Keep On Turning , the song was written by lead singer Candy Pennella with David Shaw and Reed Vertelnay, and produced by Robert Brown and Stephen Croes. On Billboard magazine's Dance Club Play chart, the single peaked at #38 in 1991. It also was a top-40 pop hit in Canada at #36.       

    " The Secret Of Life " - Faith Hill from the album Faith (1998) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #46    This week's "robbed hit" comes from country music singer Faith Hill , whose third album Faith broke her into the mainstream pop market, scoring a top ten hit with " This Kiss " as well as a top-40 follow-up on " Let Me Let Go ".  She also had a top-3 country radio hit with her husband Tim McGraw on " Just To Hear You Say You Love Me ", and the fourth single from the album, " Love Ain't Like That ", went to #12 on the Country Singles chart and #68 on the crossover Hot 100 in Billboard magazine.  The fifth and final single from the record was "The Secret Of Life", written by Gretchen Peters and produced by Hill with Byron Gallimore. The song has a conversational tone more associated with alternative rock in those days, and Peters is adept in telling a story, where a weathered bartender watches over a jaded set...

    " Smile " - Vitamin C featuring Lady Saw from the album Vitamin C (1999) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #18 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 5   Today's song comes from actress/singer Colleen Fitzpatrick, who grew up in the central New Jersey town of Old Bridge, before landing the role as Amber Van Tussle in John Waters' iconic movie Hairspray when she was sixteen years old. Graduating after that from New York University, Fitzpatrick and classmate Michael Kotch started the rock band Eve's Plum. They recorded two studio albums; the first, Envy , was released in 1993. A track from the record, " I Want It All ", popped on to Billboard magazine's Alternative Rock radio chart for a week at #30 in 1994.   After the Eve's Plum gig fizzled out Fitzpatrick went out solo under the recording moniker Vitamin C, and eventually was signed to Elektra Records. Her first single with the new name in the summer of 1999 was "Smile", which featured Jamaican...

    " Just Get Up And Dance " was a club hit for hip-hop pioneer Afrika Bambaataa. Appearing on his album 1990-2000 The Decade Of Darkness , the song was written by the Italian house music group DePoint (Sergio Portaluri, David Sion, and Fulvio Zafret), who produced the track with Andrea Gemolott. On Billboard magazine's Dance Club Play chart, the single peaked at #4 in 1991, while just missing the top-40 in the UK at #45.