Twostepcublog

    "Spiller From Rio (Do It Easy)" was a club hit for Laguna, the moniker used by Italian DJ/producers Cristiano Spiller and Tommy Vee.  Released as a stand-alone single, the song was written and produced by Spiller. On Billboard magazine's Dance Club Play chart, the single peaked at #6 in 1998. It also rose to #40 on the British singles chart.  

    "Party Up (Up In Here)" - DMX from the album ...And Then There Was X (1999) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #27 (five weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 11   Today's song comes from rapper Earl Simmons, who records under the moniker DMX , who broke into the crossover top-40 in the spring of 1998 with the single " Get At Me Dog ", from his multi-million selling debut album It's Dark and Hell is Hot . The year wasn't even done and DMX released a second record, Flesh of My Flesh, Blood Of My Blood . Although the set again topped the Billboard 200 sales tally for three weeks (his only album to spend multiple weeks at #1), radio wasn't playing along in America, with lead single " Slippin '" stalling down at #60 on Billboard magazine's R&B singles chart, not even coming close to making the pop Hot 100. It was surprising, since the song was a much more measured and introspective turn that seemed more radio-friendly, though over in the UK it g...

    "Here Comes The Hotstepper" was a club and radio hit for Jamaican reggae singer Ini Kamoze. Appearing on the soundtrack to the movie Pret A Porter (Ready To Wear) , the song was written by Kamoze with producer Salaam Remi using a plethora of samples. On Billboard magazine's Dance Club Play chart, the single peaked at #22 in 1994, while topping the pop Hot 100 chart.       

    "Higher" - Creed from the album Human Clay (1999) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #7 (two weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 30   Today's song comes from the rock band Creed, who came together in the Florida Panhandle city of Tallahassee with college mates Scott Stapp and Mark Tremonti . The singer and guitarist recruited drummer Scott Phillips, bass player Brian Marshall, and second guitarist Brian Basher to form the group, which was originally pointed in the "Christian Rock" vein. Basher left them early, leaving the quartet to release their debut album My Own Prison independently in 1997 on the "Blue Collar" label. With its local success in Florida, the band and the album was picked up by the bigger indie Wind-Up Records, which had the power of the BMG distribution arm behind it. The lead single from the record, title track post-grunge anthem " My Own Prison ", became a big hit on rock radio in 1997, spending ten weeks at #2 on Billboard magazine...

    "You Make Me Happy" was a club hit for the Darryl James and David Anthony Project. Appearing on their album Project 1 , the song was written by Anthony with Fay Victor, who sings on the track, and produced by James and Anthony. On Billboard magazine's Dance Club Play chart, the single peaked at #10 in 1993.   

    "Try Again" - Aaliyah from the album Romeo Must Die (Original Soundtrack) (2000) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #1 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 29   Today's song comes from the late R&B singer Aaliyah , who was just on this series not too long ago with her top-40 pop hit " I Don't Wanna " which was from the soundtrack to the movie Next Friday .  That song also appeared a year later in her own movie Romeo Must Die , where she plays the daughter of a gang boss that falls for a Chinese gang member played by Jet Li. Four of the eighteen tracks were from Aaliyah, including the next single "Try Again". Written by producer Tim "Timbaland" Mosley and Stephan "Static Major" Garrett, the song picks up where her last big hit, "Are You That Somebody", left off, with Timbaland's skittish beats providing a foundation for her vocals to ride on, flirting with a prospective love as she tries to keep it casual yet scoping the ...

    " Tell Me Something " was a club and radio hit for the Australian group Indecent Obsession. Appearing on their debut album Indecent Obsession , the song was written by their lead singer David Dixon and keyboardist Michael Szumowski, with the latter producing the track with Ross Inglis. On Billboard magazine's Dance Club Play chart, the single peaked at #39 in 1990, while reaching #31 on the pop Hot 100 in America and #17 in their home country.       

    "Love's The Only House" - Martina McBride from the album Emotion (1999) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #42 (two weeks)   This week's "robbed hit" comes from country singer Martina McBride , whose Emotion album had already scored a top-40 crossover hit with the sickly sweet song from the Runaway Bride movie, " I Love You ", in the fall of 1999. The second release from the record returned the singer to the dramatic belters that let her shine, "Love's The Only House". Written by Tom Douglas and Buzz Cason, the song has the energy of her past winners like "Independence Day" and "Whatever You Say", although it may come off a little more preachy with a litany of problems with no thoughts on how to solve them, although there's a tag at the end of helping a woman again at the supermarket (as Martina a cashier in the music video)...    While "Love's The Only House" spent two weeks at #3 on Billboard maga...

    "Otherside" - Red Hot Chili Peppers from the album Californication (1999) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #14 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 15   Today's song comes from the Red Hot Chili Peppers , who returned to the pop top ten for a second time in the autumn of 1999 with " Scar Tissue ", the lead single from their seventh album Californication , which brought guitarist John Frusciante back into the group.  The second release from the record, " Around The World ", was a decent rock radio hit, reaching both the Alternative (#7) and Mainstream (#16) Rock radio charts in Billboard magazine, but the aggressive guitar fuzz feedback and rapped lyrics probably hindered it at "mainstream" stations, and it only "bubbled under" the Hot 100 at #108 at the close of the year.  The third offering was a bit more serious, dealing with issues with addiction, something the band has been fighting themselves since original bandmate Hilel Slovek died ...

    "Stinkin' Thinkin'" was a big club hit for the British alternative rock band Happy Mondays. Appearing on their fourth album Yes Please! , the song was written by the group and produced by Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth of Talking Heads and Tom Tom Club fame. On Billboard magazine's Dance Club Play chart, the single spent two weeks at #1 in 1992, while peaking at #21 on their Modern Rock radio chart in America and #31 on the British singles chart.      (Click below to see the rest of the post)

    "The Best Day" - George Strait from the album Latest Greatest Straitest Hits (2000) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #31 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 8   Today's song comes from country music icon George Strait , whose nineteenth (!) studio album Always Never The Same had finally landed the singer his first two top-40 crossover hits on the Billboard Hot 100 chart with " Meanwhile " and " Write This Down ". Even though they weren't his "biggest" hits going back to the start of his long career that began in the 1980's, Billboard magazine's rule change allowing album cuts to reach the chart on radio airplay meant a lot more representation from big country radio hits.   Going into the new millennium, George released another hits collection, Latest Greatest Straitest Hits , his fifth compilation including a four-disc box set from 1995 that made the top quarter of the Billboard 200 sales chart and sold millions. This new set had cla...

    "Give It Up" was a big club hit for the Dutch duo the Goodmen. Released as a stand-alone single , the song was written and produced by the act's Gaston Skeenskist and René ter Horst, who also record under the moniker Chocolate Puma. On Billboard magazine's Dance Club Play chart, the single spent a week at #1 in 1993, while reaching #5 on the British singles chart and #6 on the pop list of their home country the Netherlands. (Click below to see the rest of the post)

    "You Sang To Me" - Marc Anthony from the album Marc Anthony (1999) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #2 (two weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 27   Today's song comes from Marc Anthony , who after years of going from a Latin freestyle dance artist to a steady career in the Spanish-language music world, crossed over to the mainstream in the "Latin Explosion" of 1999 that also brought us Ricky Martin, Enrique Iglesias, and future wife Jennifer Lopez with his top ten pop hit " I Need To Know ".  Marc's follow-up would be the mid-tempo adult pop of "You Sang To Me". Like his breakthrough single this song was written and produced by Anthony with Cory Rooney, and was supposedly was going to be recorded by Lopez, who at the time was not his wife (that was former Miss Universe Dayanara Torres), so that's kind of awkward to start with. The lyrics are the sappy lyrics like...   Girl, I live for how you make me feel So I question all this being real ...

    " Shout To The Top " was a big club hit for Fire Island, one of the monikers used by the collaboration of  Pete Heller and Terry Farley. Released as a stand-alone single, the record is a club remake of the sophisti-pop nugget from the British group the Style Council written by Paul Weller, and featured vocals from disco legend Loleatta Holloway. On Billboard magazine's Dance Club Play chart, the single spent a week at #1 in 1998, while peaking at #23 on the British singles chart. (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. Lil Nas X remains on top for a third week, while Glass Animals (pictured above) climb a notch in the top ten after over a year on my chart. A former big hit from Spoon drops out, while songs from Luke Combs, Cannons, and Elle King/Miranda Lambert make some of the biggest jumps (moves of 10+ places highlighted in red ). And under the list everything is Spotify playlisted for over 5 1/2 hours of the biggest in pop rock R&B country and dance music. All hail the third spring of this Pandemilovato!   This Week                     Song/Artist (last week's position in parentheses) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. That's What I Want - Lil Nas X (1) 2. One Right Now - Post Malone & The Weeknd (2) 3. To Be Loved By You - Parker McCollum (5) 4. Eas...

    "Goodbye Earl" - (Dixie) Chicks from the album Fly (1999) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #19 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 9   Today's song comes from the (Dixie) Chicks , whose follow-up album after their mainstream breakthrough, Fly , had already scored two big hits with " Ready To Run " from the movie Runaway Bride and " Cowboy Take Me Away ", which became one of their signature songs. But after fans flooded radio station's phones with requests for another cut from the album, the song unexpectedly became their third single from the set. "Goodbye Earl" wasn't written by of the three women in the group, but rather songwriter Dennis Linde, was a raucous parable about domestic violence and revenge produced by Paul Worley and Blake Chancey. The song tells a clear story about two schoolmates who take different paths in life, with one setting out for a big career on the coast, while the other stays in town and marries the titular Earl....

    "Heaven Is A Place On Earth" was a club hit for French DJ Francesco Secci, under the moniker Eclipse. Originally a #1 pop hit by Belinda Carlile written by Ellen Shipley and Rick Nowels, this Eurodance version was released as a stand-alone single. On Billboard magazine's Dance Club Play chart, the single spent two weeks at #50 in 1996.      

    "How Do You Like Me Now?!" - Toby Keith from the album How Do You Like Me Now?! (1999) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #31 (two weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 8 Today's song comes from Toby Keith (Covel), who grew up in Oklahoma, where he worked in the oil drilling business as well as a semi-semi-pro football player (coincidentally in that sham of a league called the USFL that Mango Mussolini was involved in) while he was trying to gain momentum with a music career with a band called Easy Money. Eventually Toby moved to Nashville, and was signed to Mercury Nashville in the early 1990s. There he recorded his self-titled debut album which came out in 1993. The lead single from the set, " Should've Been A Cowboy ", made him a star instantly, going all the way to #1 on Billboard magazine's Country Singles chart on his first try, as well as popping on to the "pop" Hot 100 chart at #93. Including that one, four of the album's cuts reached the top 5 ...

    " Moment Of My Life " was a club hit for DJ/producer Bobby D'Ambrosio, with vocals from singer Michelle Weeks. Appearing on his album Here I Am:A Collection , the song was written by James Calloway and Sonny Davenport. On Billboard magazine's Dance Club Play chart, the single peaked at #27 in 1997.     (Click below to see the rest of the post)