Twostepcublog

    " A Little Less Conversation " - Elvis Presley and Junkie XL from the albums ELV1S: 30 #1 Hits (2002) and Radio JXL: A Broadcast From The Computer Hell Cabin (2003) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #50    You know, in the years I've done either the Song Of The Day series or its Robbed Hits companion, I've never covered the biggest act in the entire rock era. That ends now.   This week's "robbed hit" comes from Elvis Presley , who was born in Tupelo, Mississippi on meager means in the 1930's and 40's. By his teenage years his family moved to Memphis, Tennessee, where by the end of high school Elvis immersed himself in country and R&B music. The legend story goes that Presley entered Sun Studio, run by Sam Phillips, to make a vinyl record for his mother.  Phillips liked his voice and the potential to translate R&B records through a "white filter" to make it more palatable to what was considered the "mainstream" of the day...

    " Move B***h " - Ludacris with Mystikal & Infamous 2.0 from the album Word Of Mouf (2001) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #10 (two weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 15   Today's song comes from rapper Chris " Ludacris " Bridges, whose second major-label album Word Of Mouf had already scored four top-40 crossover hits on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 with " Area Codes " with Nate Dogg, " Rollout (My Business) ", " Welcome To Atlanta " with Jermaine Dupri (a hidden track at the end of Ludacris' album), and " Saturday (Ooh Ooh!) " with Sleepy Brown.   The fifth and final single from the record would end up being its biggest success. "Move B***h" was written by producer Craig "KLC" Lawson with Ludacris and the single's two featured rappers. Mystikal (aka Michael Tyler) had just come off his third top-40 pop hit " Bouncin' Back (Bumpin' Me Against The Wall) " in the beginning of 20...

    Friday's here, and it's time to run down my top 100 "hit" tunes from the previous week. Luke Combs parks himself at #1 for a second week, while Dua Lipa (pictured above) rides the Barbie wave into the top ten. Songs from SZA, Rita Ora/Fatboy Slim, and Taylor Swift make the biggest jumps (moves of 10+ places highlighted in red ), while a former big hit from Scotty McCreery drops out. And under the chart everything is Spotify playlisted for 5 1/2 hours of the biggest in pop, rock, R&B, country, and dance music. Go in peace, Sinead...   This Week              Song/Artist (last week's position in parentheses) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Fast Car - Luke Combs (1) 2. Karma - Taylor Swift f/Ice Spice (2) 3. Rescued - Foo Fighters (3) 4. Sure Thing - Miguel (4) 5. Waffle House - Jonas Brothers (5) 6. Flowers - Miley Cyrus (6) 7. Dance The Night - Dua...

    " Camels " was a club hit for Italian DJ/producer Sante Pucello, who used the moniker Santos for this release. Appearing on his first album under the name Are You Shakadelic? , the song was written and produced by Pucello (using samples). On Billboard magazine's Dance Club Play chart, the single peaked at #34 in 2001, while making it all the way to #9 on the British Singles Chart.    (Click below to see the rest of the post)

    " Grindin' " - The Clipse from the album Lord Willin' (2002) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #30 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 5   Today's song comes from the hip-hop duo The Clipse. Brothers and rappers Terrance " Pusha T " and Gene "Malice" Thornton, who grew up in Virginia Beach, Virginia were discovered by producer/singer/rapper/musician Pharrell Williams there. In 1999 he helped produce what was supposed to be their debut album for Elektra Records, Exclusive Audio Footage , but lackluster reaction to the single " The Funeral " pulled from it led to the record not being released and the pair being let go from the label. Nevertheless, Pharrell stuck with the duo, and ended up signing the brothers to his own imprint on Arista Records, Star Trak. It was there that Pusha T and Malice released their first studio release, Lord Willin' , in 2002. The lead single from the record was "Grindin'", written by the pair with P...

    " Golden Boys " was a club hit for Philadelphian singer Res (pronounced "reese"). Appearing on her debut album How I Do , the song was written by Santi White (aka "Santigold") and producer Martin "Doc" Kinney. On Billboard magazine's Dance Club Play chart, the single peaked at #30 in 2002. (Click below to see the rest of the post)

    " By The Way " - Red Hot Chili Peppers from the album By The Way (2002) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #34 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 6   Today's song comes from the alternative rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers , whose seventh studio release Californication had spun off two top-40 crossover hits on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 with " Scar Tissue " and " Otherside ". In the summer of 2002, the group, including lead singer Anthony Kiedis, bassist Michael "Flea" Balzary, drummer Chad Smith, and the rehabilitated and reunited guitarist John Frusciante returned with their next album By The Way . The title track, written by the band and produced by Rick Rubin, was put out as the lead single. While the beginning of the song hearkens to the melodic rock they delved in on their last album, it quickly devolves into the funk-rock frenetic energy of their past, with Kiedis spitting out stream-of-consciousness verses lightly tied to being at a sh...

    "Troy (The Phoenix From The Flame)" was a club hit for Irish alternative rock icon Sinead O'Connor, who sadly departed this world today. Originally appearing on her debut album The Lion And The Cobra and re-released as a stand-alone single , the song was written and produced by Sinead. On Billboard magazine's Dance Club Play chart, the single peaked at #3 in 2002, while also making the top-40 on the Irish Singles chart at #37.    (Click below to see the rest of the post)

    " Gangsta Lovin '" - Eve featuring Alicia Keys from the album Eve-Olution (2002) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #2 (four weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 19   Today's song comes from female rapper Eve , whose sophomore album Scorpion brought her to an entire new audience courtesy of her collaborative single with No Doubt's Gwen Stefani on the Grammy-winning " Let Me Blow Your Mind " which made the top ten on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 in the summer of 2001.  At the beginning of the following year, Eve was a featured rapper on R&B group City High's single " Caramel ", which made the top-20.  But Eve and her record company Ruff Ryders didn't release a follow-up single from Scorpion to capitalize on the success of "Let Me Blow Your Mind" (perhaps there wasn't a radio friendly enough cut in there I forget). So it was a risk waiting a whole year for the release of the rapper's next album, Eve-Olution , in 2002. To c...

    " Surrender " was a big club hit for Italian pop singer Laura Pausini. Appearing on her album From The Inside , her first in English, the song was written by Anthony Anderson, Dane Deviller, and, Sean Hosein, Steven Smith, and produced by Pausini with Alfredo Cerruti and Dado Parisini. With remixes from Mike Rizzo and Eric Kupper among others, the single spent a week at #1 on Billboard magazine's Dance Club Play chart in 2003. It also made the singles top ten in her Italian homeland at #7.      

    " The One " - Gary Allan from the album Alright Guy (2001) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #37 (three weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 5   Today's song comes from singer/songwriter/guitarist Gary Allan , who grew up in the suburbs of Los Angeles, where he started performing country music as a child with his musician father. He later fronted his own band before getting discovered and moved out to Nashville to try to kickstart his career. Gary eventually was signed to Decca Records, where he released his debut album Used Heart For Sale in 1996. The lead single from the set, " Her Man ", was traditional love-ballad country, and moseyed up the Country Airplay chart in Billboard magazine to #7 (and #9 on the Canadian Country chart). The album made the Billboard 200 sales tally at #136, and #20 on the Country Albums list and selling a half million copies, but the three follow-up singles from the album all just missed the country top-40 by a handful of notches each...

    "Melancholy Rose" was a club hit for the dance act Operatica featuring vocals from Maureen O'Flynn. Appearing on their album " O Volume 1 " , the song was helmed by producer/musician "Lord Vanger" and remixed by Richie Santana, with interspersed samples from Pope John Paul II. On Billboard magazine's Dance Club Play chart, the single peaked at #31 in 2001.       

    " My Heart Is Lost To You " - Brooks & Dunn from the album Steers & Stripes (2001) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #48   This week's "robbed hit" comes from the country music duo Brooks & Dunn , whose seventh studio album Steers & Stripes had already spun off three #1 country radio hits that also crossed over to Billboard magazine's all-genre Hot 100's top-40 with " Ain't Nothing 'Bout You ", " Only In America ", and " The Long Goodbye " (the latter my personal favorite of the pair).  The song, with a production soaked in Mexican music influences, has lyrics about an infatuation with a seemingly passing encounter with a woman south of the border, and is notable for starting the chorus with the Spanish " Mi Corazon Perdido En Ti". The production by the duo with Mark Wright is simple and not pandering to the culture, but appropriately dramatic (to go with Dunn's vocals), and even features ...

    " Just Like A Pill " - Pink from the album Missundaztood (2001) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #8 (three weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 17   Today's song comes from P!nk , whose sophomore album Missundaztood had already spun off two top ten hits with " Get The Party Started " and " Don't Let Me Get Me ", The third offering from the record had the singer drift even more from the R&B posturing of her debut.  "Just Like A Pill" was a rock-styled emotional track, but it was produced and co-written by Pink with Dallas Austin, who worked with L.A. Reid and Babyface and was known at the time more for his work with TLC and Boyz II Men. The lyrics frame her previous troubles with drugs and the psychological issues that led to and were caused by addiction, but cached in imagery of a more romantic relationship. But there's no questioning what the original intent was here. It's an intensely powerful song for an offering to pop radio, but Aus...

    Friday's here, and it's time to run down my top 100 "hit" tunes from the previous week. Luke Combs takes his cover of Tracy Chapman to #1, while Miley Cyrus (pictured above) leaps into the top ten to now have two songs in that level. Former hit songs from Dan + Shay and Megan Moroney drop off my list, while songs from SZA, Kylie Minogue, and Dua Lipa make the biggest jumps (moves of 10+ places highlighted in red ). And under the chart everything is Spotify playlisted to bring you 5 1/2 hours of the biggest in pop, rock, R&B, country, and dance music. Post-vacation blues is REAL!   This Week           Song/Artist (last week's position in parentheses) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1. Fast Car - Luke Combs (2) 2. Karma - Taylor Swift f/Ice Spice (3) 3. Rescued - Foo Fighters (1) 4. Sure Thing - Miguel (4) 5. Waffle House - Jonas Brothers (7) 6. Flowers - Mile...