Twostepcublog

    " Don't Play Me Raw " was a club hit for the duo Ecstasy. Released as a stand-alone single, the song was written and produced by the group's Duane Oats and Gary Wallace. On Billboard magazine's Dance Club Play chart, the single peaked at #14 in 1990.       

    " It Wasn't Me " - Shaggy featuring Ricardo "RikRok" Ducent from the album Hot Shot (2000) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #1 (two weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 23   Today's song comes from Jamaican-American reggae singer/toaster Shaggy (aka Orville Burrell), who after being an underground artist on the scene in the early 1990s broke through worldwide with his international hit two-for-one single " Boombastic " and "In The Summertime", which made the American pop top ten in the summer of 1995. A year later, Shaggy returned to the pop top-40 as a featured guest on Maxi Priest's single " That Girl ".  However when it came time for Virgin Records to release his next album, Midnite Lover , in 1997, the short-lived reggae boom was waning, and the lead single from the record, " Piece Of My Heart ", which interpolated the Erma Franklin soul classic made famous by Janis Joplin, stalled down at #72 on the pop Hot 100 chart in ...

    " Feel My Drums " was a club hit for DJ/producer Sal Dano. Released as the "B-Side" of the single "Hands Up (This Is The Police)" (which didn't chart), the song was written and produced by Dano. On Billboard magazine's Dance Club Play chart, the single peaked at #42 in 1999.   

    " I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me) " - Jay-Z from the album The Dynasty: Roc La Familia (2000) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #11 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 19   Today's song comes from rapper Jay-Z , who had scored a pair of top-40 crossover hits on Billboard magazine's pop Hot 100 chart from his #1 album Vol. 3...The Life & Times of S. Carter with " Jigga My N***a " and " Big Pimpin' ".  But his biggest exposure in 1999 came when he guested on Mariah Carey's single " Heartbreaker ", which topped the pop chart in America in the fall of that year. Jay-Z also contributed a track to the movie The Nutty Professor II: The Klumps , " Hey Papi " with Amil and Memphis Bleek, which made the Billboard R&B top-40 at #16 while getting to #76 on the Hot 100.  Jay-Z's next project the following year was originally going to be a collection of tracks from his label Roc-A-Fella, but instead morphed into his own fifth...

    "Work" was a club hit for the C & R Project. Released as a stand-alone single, the record features vocals from Antonio C. On Billboard magazine's Dance Club Play chart, the single peaked at #39 in 1999.      

    " He Loves U Not " - Dream from the album It Was All A Dream (2001) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #2 (two weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 21   Today's song of the day comes from the female teen vocal group Dream, who originally came together in Los Angeles in the late 1998's under manager Judith Fontaine. However, after being signed to Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs' Bad Boy label, Holly Blake-Arnstein, Melissa Schuman, and Ashley Poole along with new member Diana Ortiz dumped Fontaine to continue with Combs' direction (shady!). All between 13 and 15 years old, the foursome released their debut single "He Loves U Not", the lead single from their debut album It Was All A Dream , in the summer of 2000. Written by songwriting veterans Steven Kipner (who penned Olivia Newton-John's "Physical"), David Frank (one half of the "Don't Disturb This Groove" duo the System), and Pamela Sheyne (who co-wrote Christina Aguilera's ...

    " Cold World " was a club hit for DJ/producer Eddie Baez under the moniker Syren. Released as a stand-alone single, the song was written and produced by Baez, and featured vocals from Latrice Verrett. On Billboard magazine's Dance Club Play chart, the single peaked at #28 in 1998.  

    " Kiss This " - Aaron Tippin from the album People Like Us (2000) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #42   This week's "robbed hit" comes from country music singer Aaron Tippin, who was born in the Florida panhandle and grew up in South Carolina, before heading to Nashville to start a music career. He began as a writer, then was signed to RCA Records as a performer. Tippin's debut album was released in the beginning of 1991, with title track " You've Got To Stand For Something " as the lead single. Written by Tippin with Buddy Brock, the politically encouraging workingman's song climbed to #6 on Billboard magazine's Country Singles chart, while the You've Got To Stand For Something album hit #153 on the Billboard 200 sales tally and #23 on the Country Albums list, going on to sell over a half million copies.  A year later, Tippin returned with his sophomore effort Read Between The Lines , which would become his most successful album, ...

    " What's Your Fantasy " - Ludacris featuring Shawnna from the albums Incognegro and Back For The First Time (both 2000) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #21 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 15   Today's song comes from rapper/actor Chris Bridges, who performs under the moniker Ludacris . Bridges moved to Atlanta as a child, and it was there he established his hip-hop music career. Setting up his own label Disturbing The Peace after being a DJ at the local urban radio station, Ludacris self-released his debut album Incognegro in August of 2000. The first single from the set, " Ho ", only bubbled under the R&B Singles chart in Billboard magazine at #103 in the spring of that year, but Chris would gain much more traction with the follow-up single. "What's Your Fantasy", written by Ludacris with producer Shondrae "Bangladesh" Crawford, originally came out in July. The record features female rapper Shawnna , aka Rashawnna Guy, the daugh...

    " Dirty Cash (Money Talks) " was a big club and radio hit for the British dance act Adventures of Stevie V. Appearing on their debut album Adventures Of Stevie V , the song was produced by the group's namesake Stevie Vincent, who wrote the track with bandmate Mick Walsh and features singer Melodie Washington. On Billboard magazine's Dance Club Play chart, the single spent two weeks at #1 in 1990, while peaking at #25 on the pop Hot 100. In their native UK, the single made it to #2 on the British Singles Chart.      

    " If You're Gone " - Matchbox Twenty from the album Mad Season (2000) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #5 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 34   Today's song comes from the pop/rock group Matchbox Twenty , who landed their first (and only) Hot 100 #1 hit in the summer of 2000 with " Bent " coming off lead singer Rob Thomas' #1 smash with Santana "Smooth".  The second single pulled from their sophomore album Mad Season was the somber mid-tempo track "If You're Gone". Written by Thomas and produced by Matt Serletic, the song starts out slow, with Rob addresses his romantic partner about how unsure he is about the relationship. By the chorus, he's begging them to stay, and in the bridge a brass section comes in like it's a Chicago record from the 80's. However couplets like "And I think you're so mean, I think we should try" make little sense in all of this, but perhaps its the crazy thoughts going around his he...

    " The Only Way Is Up " was a big club and international hit for British singer Yazz & The Plastic Population. Appearing on her debut album Wanted , the song was an acid house remake of a soul single from 1980 from Otis Clay written by George Jackson and Johnny Henderson, and produced by the duo Coldcut (Matt Black and Jonathan More). On Billboard magazine's Dance Club Play chart, the single spent a week at #2 in 1988, while taking five weeks at #1 on the British Singles chart and becoming the second biggest hit of the year in the UK.  It also popped on to the American pop Hot 100 at #96.    (Click below to see the rest of the post)

    " Go On " - George Strait from the album George Strait (2000) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #40 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 1   Today's song comes from country music legend George Strait , who wrapped up his two decades of recording so far with his Latest Greatest Straitest Hits collection, which spun off a #1 country radio/ top-40 crossover hit in the spring of 2000 with " The Best Day ".  Later that year George returned with his self-titled twentieth studio album. The lead single from the record was the easygoing "Go On", written by Tony Martin and Mark Nesler, and produced by Tony Brown. In the song George is chatting up a woman who left her cheating partner, and in grand country pun tradition uses the "Go On" to both mean keep talking as well as move on with your life. It's a simple yet effective message that doesn't use the turn of phrase cornily, and Strait's paternal and easing voice gives some peace to the song about ...

    " Spy In The House Of Love " was a big club and radio hit for the group Was (Not Was). Appearing on their album What Up Dog? , the song was written by the act's David and Don Was and produced by Paul Staveley O'Duffy. On Billboard magazine's Dance Club Play chart, the single spent two weeks at #1 in 1988, while making it to #16 on the pop Hot 100 chart.  (Click below to see the rest of the post)

    Friday is here, and it's time to run down my top "hit" tunes from the previous week. Lizzo holds tight at #1 for a second week, while dance-rock act Bob Moses (pictured above) leap four notches in the top ten. Songs from Scotty McCreery, Chris Young/Mitchell Tenpenny, and Jake Owen make the biggest jumps (moves of 10+ places highlighted in red ), while former big hits from Train, the Head and the Heart, and 5 Seconds of Summer drop off my 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.    This Week          Song/Artist (last week's position in parentheses) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1.  About Damn Time - Lizzo (1) 2. As It Was - Harry Styles (2) 3. Love Brand New - Bob Moses (7) 4. My Love - Florence + The Machine (4) 5. Wild Child - The Black Keys (3) 6. Enem...

    " E.I. " - Nelly from the album Country Grammar (2000) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #15 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 17   Today's song comes from rapper Nelly , who brought St. Louis to the hip-hop game in a big way in the autumn of 2000 with his top ten debut single " (Hot Sh!t) Country Grammar ".  The second release from the album was "E.I", written by Nelly with producer Jay Epperson. Standing for "Eat It", a local phrase that's supposed to mean "bring it on", especially in the oral department, the record is a party track that calls out the ladies and their jealous boyfriends on behalf of Nelly and his crew the St. Lunatics. Name-checking popular acts like Busta Rhymes and Smash Mouth along with brand-name porn, it's not meant for anything but rump-shaking at the club, and that job it did. The fans approved, and while its raucous nature gave radio a more muted response that "Country Grammar", it still gave t...

    "B.Y.O.B. (Bring Your Own Body)" was a club hit for the group Take Five. Appearing on their self-titled debut album, the song was produced by the act's leader, Michael Zager (of "Let's All Chant" fame) and written by Alan Roy Scott, Dean Foster, and Ed Fox. On Billboard magazine's Disco Top-80 chart, the single peaked at #41 in 1981.       

    " The Little Girl " - John Michael Montgomery from the album Brand New Me (2000) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #35 (two weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 4   Today's song comes from John Michael Montgomery , who after dominating country music radio during the 1990's, finally landed a top-40 crossover hit (thanks to Billboard 's rule changes) in the beginning of 1999 with " Hold On To Me " from his fifth album Leave A Mark . In the spring of that year, John came back with his next record, Home To You , and title track " Home To You " just missed the pop top-40 as well at the close of the 1999.  Montgomery returned in the fall of 2000 with his seventh studio release Brand New Me . The lead single from the set was the morality parable of "The Little Girl". Written by bluegrass artist/writer Harley Allen, the song starts out on a high horse, with the first verse about how this little girl's parents were non-believers (either athiests, agnos...

    "Light Up My Heart" was a club hit for Angie St. Phillips, the anglicized moniker for Italian singer Angela San Filippo. Released as a stand-alone single, the song was written and produced by Theo Spagna and Larry Pignagnoli. On Billboard magazine's Dance/Disco Club Play chart, the single peaked at #50 in 1986.       

    " Who Let The Dogs Out " - Baha Men from the albums Who Let The Dogs Out and Rugrats In Paris: The Movie (Original Soundtrack) (both 2000) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #40 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 1   Today's song comes from the Bahamian group Baha Men , who came together in the largest island in the country, New Providence, in the 1970's, originally named High Voltage. Evolving from a disco outfit to a Caribbean-styled band, and renaming themselves the Baha Men, they were signed the Big Beat label at the start of the 1990's. Their first album there in 1992 was named for the style of music they specialized in, junkanoo , which was the local version of tropical music tied to the black population of the islands in the festivals of the same name between Christmas and New Years Day. That was followed two years later with Kalik , where the Baha Men covered the 70's pop hit " Dancing In The Moonlight ", which went to #18 on the New Zealand single...

    " Finger On It (Something About You Girl That I Like) " was a club hit for Robbie Rae, formerly of the husband-wife duo the Raes. Released as a stand-alone single, the song was written by Caj Hogberg and produced by Jack Richardson and John Driscoll, with a remix by Chris Barbosa and Nelson Cruz. On Billboard magazine's Dance/Disco Top-80, the single peaked at #29 in 1984.