Twostepcublog

    "I Just Can't Stop Dancing" was a club hit for Florida-born singer Jean Wells. Released as a stand-alone single , the song was written by Wells and produced by Gerald Smith and David Brown, was a remix from Wayne Geftman. On Billboard magazine's Disco Top-100, the single peaked at #88 in 1979.      

    " Give Me Just One Night (Una Noche) " - 98 Degrees from the album Revelation (2000) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #2 (two weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 13   Today's song comes from the "boy-band" male vocal group 98 Degrees , whose sophomore album 98 Degrees and Rising in 1998 had spun off three top-40 pop hits with " Because Of You ", " The Hardest Thing ", and " I Do (Cherish You) ". The following year, the foursome released a holiday album This Christmas , and the song " This Gift " nearly became a rare top-40 pop hit that Christmas. They celebrated the millennium with their first and only #1 as a featured guest with R&B singer Joe on Mariah Carey's Rainbow single " Thank God I Found You " in February of 2000.  Nick and Drew Lachey, Jeff Timmons, and Justin Jeffre returned later that year with their fourth studio album Revelation on Universal Records. The lead single from the record was the dance-pop

    " Full Speed Ahead " was a club hit for gospel-pop singer Tata Vega. Appearing on her debut album Full Speed Ahead , the song was written by Wade Brown Jr. and David Jones Jr. and produced by Winston Monseque. On Billboard magazine's National Disco Action Top-40, the single peaked at #18 in 1976, while getting to #90 on their R&B Singles chart.      

    " Whatever " - Ideal featuring Lil' Mo from the album Ideal (1999) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #47   This week's "robbed hit" comes from the R&B vocal group Ideal, who scored a top-40 pop/top ten R&B hit in the fall of 1999 with " Get Gone " from their self-titled debut album. After a second single " Creep Inn ", which sampled the Jacksons' "Heartbreak Hotel", became a minor R&B hit at #60, Virgin Records came in for the promotion of the third release from the record, "Whatever". Written by producers Eddie Berkeley and Keir "KayGee" Gist from Naughty by Nature along with R.L Huggar from the group Next, the song features singer/rapper Cynthia "Lil' Mo" Loving, who had appeared as a featured artist on Missy Elliott's top ten pop hit " Hot Boyz " in the beginning of 2000. Lil' Mo also sang on Next's top ten pop hit " Wifey ". In 1998, she was lead o

    " Just Be A Man About It " - Toni Braxton featuring Dr. Dre from the album The Heat (2000) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #32 (two weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 6   Today's song comes from R&B/pop singer Toni Braxton , whose album The Heat had already scored a #2 pop/#1 R&B hit in the spring of 2000 with " He Wasn't Man Enough ".  The second single from the record would be another emasculating throwdown in "Just Be A Man About It". Written by producer Teddy Bishop, the song had Toni getting dumped not only by phone, but by payphone , letting her know he won't be home because he "needs space". Rapper Dr. Dre fills the position as the guy on the other end, and Toni doesn't have time for his nonsense, and in the music video, she trashes the place all though his excuses. The production is kind of plodding along, and doesn't use Braxton for her strengths, and while it's not embarrassing, it's a little overkill after

    " Glasshouse " was a club hit for the iconic Motown vocal group the Temptations. Appearing on their album A Song For You , the song was written by the team of James Carmichael, Ronald Miller, and Kathy Wakefield, and featured all five members of the act on lead vocals. On Billboard magazine's Disco File Top-20 chart, the single peaked at #8 in 1975, while making it to #9 on the R&B chart and #37 on the pop Hot 100.  

    " Bounce With Me " - Lil Bow Wow featuring Xscape from the albums Big Momma's House (Original Soundtrack) & Beware Of Dog (both 2000) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #20 (four weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 12   Today's song comes from Lil Bow Wow , who grew up Shad Gregory Moss in Ohio, where he started to rap at just six years old. Discovered by hip-hop giant Snoop Dogg on a concert date in Los Angeles, Moss was christened "Lil Bow Wow" and appeared on Snoop's debut album Doggystyle in 1993. Five years later, producer/rapper Jermaine "JD" Dupri took Lil Bow Wow on at his So So Def record label, contributing a song to Will Smith's Wild Wild West movie before releasing his own debut solo album Beware Of Dog in 2000, at just thirteen years old. The lead single from the record, "Bounce With Me", paired him up with another So So Def act, female R&B group Xscape , who hadn't been heard since their pair of top ten pop hits i

    " Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood " was a club and radio hit for the studio act Santa Esmeralda featuring singer Leroy Gomez. Appearing on their debut album Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood , the record is a remake of the top ten pop hit from the Animals that was itself a remake of a Nina Simone swinger written by Bennie Benjamin, Sol Marcus, and Horace Ott. This version was produced by the group's svengalis Nicolas Skorsky and Jean Manuel de Scarano. On Billboard magazine's National Disco Action Top-40 chart, the single peaked at #4 in 1977, while reaching #15 on their pop Hot 100.  (Click below to see the rest of the post)

    " Come On Over Baby (All I Want Is You) " - Christina Aguilera from the album Christina Aguilera (1999) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #1 (four weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 16   Today's song comes from Christina Aguilera , whose debut album had already spun off three huge pop hits with " I Turn To You " and two #1 smashes with " Genie In A Bottle " and " What A Girl Wants ". For the fourth and final single from the record, producers Ron Fair and Johan Aberg overhauled the album track "Come On Over (All I Want Is You)", which originally was low-key filler to a brash dance number with the help of no less than seven co-writers including new co-producer Ron Fair, Chaka Blackmon, Ray Cham, Eric Dawkins, Shelly Peiken, and Guy Roche, as well as Aguilera herself. The added rap and bridge punched up the song enough to make radio notice, and it became another massive radio success. Most of the changes are in the sound of the record, though Ch

    " Life Is Music " was a club hit for the Ritchie Family. Appearing on their third album Life Is Music , the song was written by producers Jacques Morali and Richie Rome along with Max Gazzola, Henri Belolo, and Phil Hurtt. On Billboard magazine's National Disco Action Top-40, the whole Life Is Music album was listed as a single entry, with "Life Is Music", "Lady Luck", and "Disco Blues" put in as key DJ cuts. The record peaked at #8 there in 1977, while the "Life Is Music" single went to #74 on the R&B 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. We have a new #1 from the Black Keys, while Carly Pearce and Ashley McBryde (pictured above) hold tight in the top ten. Songs from Em Beihold, Kx5, and the Band CAMINO make the biggest jumps (moves of 10+ places highlighted in red ), while former big hits from Charlie Puth, Kygo/DNCE, Shinedown, Swedish House Mafia/The Weeknd, and LANY drop off the chart. 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. Go in peace, Fletch... This Week                  Song/Artist (last week's position in parentheses) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Wild Child - The Black Keys (3) 2. Enemy - Imagine Dragons f/JID (1) 3. Black Summer - Red Hot Chili Peppers (4) 4. That's What I Want - Lil Nas X (2) 5. Doin' This

    " Lucky " - Britney Spears from the album Oops!...I Did It Again (2000) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #23 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 6 Today's song comes from Britney Spears , whose sophomore album Oops!...I Did It Again had already spun off a top ten pop hit with the title track (it probably would've done better if it had the sales from being released as a commercial single) in the summer of 2000. Britney's follow-up was the mid-tempo pop nugget "Lucky", written by Swedish producers Max Martin and Rami Yacoub along with fellow countryman Alexander Kronlund. In it Spears sings about a Hollywood star that leads a lonely life, though many of her fans and the press associated with her own life in retrospect (after the Timberlake affair, that is). It's bouncy and uses Britney's cooing small gravel vocals to good effect, and it was received well with radio... "Lucky" became Britney's second top-40 pop hit from the album in Septemb

    "Eloise" was a club hit for the Paris Connection, a studio act concocted by producer/musician Alec R. Costandinos. Appearing on the act's self-titled sole album , the record is a disco remake of a song from 1968 written by Paul Ryan and sung by his twin brother Barry Ryan that was a huge European success and went to #2 on the British singles chart. On Billboard magazine's National Disco Action Top-40, the Paris Connection album was listed as a single entry, with "Eloise" noted as the sole DJ pick cut. It peaked at #31 there in 1978.      

    " Callin' Me " - Lil' Zane featuring 112 from the album Young World: The Future (2000) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #21 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 4   Today's song comes from rapper Lil' Zane , who grew up as Zane Copeland Jr. in Atlanta. Zane started his music path as a young child, at first as a part of a group that didn't go anywhere, then being discovered by local R&B group 112 , who had been successful nationally in the latter half of the 1990s. Billed as "Lil Z" at the time, he was featured on 112's single " Anywhere ", which made the pop top-20 in the spring of 1999, as he was opening for them on tour. That song also would appear as a bonus track on Lil' Zane's debut album Young World: The Future on the rap/dance-heavy Priority Records the following year, which also sported his contribution to the Next Friday soundtrack, " Money Stretch ", the B-side of Ice Cube's top-40 hit from the movie &qu

    "Tornado" was a club hit for the Broadway musical orchestra for The Wiz , credited to the "Original Cast Of The Wiz ". Originally appearing on the cast album for the show , the instrumental was written by Harold Wheeler and Timothy Graphenreed. On Record World magazine's Disco File Top-20 chart, the single peaked at #15 in 1975.       

    " Faded " - SoulDecision featuring Thrust from the album No One Does It Better (2000) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #22 (two weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 16   Today's song comes from the Canadian pop group SoulDecision, who came together in Vancouver in the mid-1990's. Before Trevor Guthrie, Gary Bowman, and Ken Lewko were signed to MCA Records, they released the single " Ooh It's Kinda Crazy " under the name Indecision, which almost made the top-40 in Canada at #45 in 1998. Renaming themselves after another act had that name, the rechristened SoulDecision released their first album No One Does It Better in 2000. Their first single on the label was the slick dance-pop of "Faded". Written by Guthrie who sings lead, the song has him playing the romance dance with a woman who is a friend but a possible friend with benefits. With lines like " Cause I like the way you're making it move, I like the way you're making me wait" that are

    "Dancing Is Dangerous" was a club hit for American singer Noel. Appearing on her sole album Is There More To Life Than Dancing? , the song was written and produced by Ron and Russell Mael from the duo Sparks. On Billboard magazine's Disco Top-100, the single peaked at #9 in 1979.      

    " Music " - Madonna from the album Music (2000) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #1 (four weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 22   Today's song is from Madonna , who after reviving her career with her "comeback" album Ray Of Light in 1998, spent the close of the millennium with contributions to movies, including Austin Powers with the trippy goodness of " Beautiful Stranger ", and for The Next Big Thing with the trippy horridness of her cover of "American Pie", both of which made the pop top-40 in America. In the fall of 2000 Madonna returned with her eighth studio release Music , produced by the icon with a bevy of up and coming dance music producers. The lead single from the set was the title track "Music", written and produced by Madonna with Mirwais Ahmadzi, a Swiss-born artist with Afghani heritage. It was his unique sound that drives "Music", with Madonna singing how music brings people of all types and genders and sexualiti

    " Bad Girl (Mala Femmena) " was a club hit for the studio group Manhattan Express. Released as a stand-alone single, the song was a remake of a 50's tune written by Ray Allen (aka Ray Albanese, the writer behind novelty hits "Dominick The Donkey" and "Pepino The Italian Mouse") and ToTo (actor Antonio Gagliardi) and produced by Lou Guarino and Randy Irwin, with a remix for the clubs from legendary mixer Tom Moulton. On Billboard magazine's National Disco Action Top-40 chart, the song peaked at #26 in 1977.    

    " Flowers On The Wall " - Eric Heatherly from the album Swimming In Champagne (2000) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #50   This week's "robbed hit" comes from singer/songwriter Eric Heatherly , who grew up in Chattanooga, Tennessee, playing in bands before heading to Nashville to kickstart his country music career. After some backup gigs, Heatherly was signed to Mercury Nashville Records, where he released his debut album Swimming In Champagne . Although he co-wrote ten of the eleven tracks on the album, it was the one he didn't that was released as the lead single. It was a cover of the country classic "Flowers On The Wall", which was a top ten hit on both the country and pop charts for the vocal group the Statler Brothers in 1966. That song was pretty ahead of its time back then, with its percussive rock cred on its sleeve, but Eric went to update the sound to get played on millennial Nashville radio, with the help of producer Keith Stegall, who w