Twostepcublog

"In My Dreams" - The Party from the album In the Meantime, In Between Time (1991) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #34 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 2 Today's song of the day comes from the pop-dance group The Party , who were fabricated from members of The New Mickey Mouse Club in the late 1980s. With actor/singers DeeDee Magno, Tiffani Hale, Albert Fields, Chase Hampton, and Damon Pampolina, they were put together by Disney and signed as the first act to their newly-christened Hollywood Records label. Their debut album was released in the summer of 1990, and from it the aptly-titled rap-lite of " Summer Vacation " and its Young MC-style kitsch became their first minor pop hit, reaching #72 on the Billboard Hot 100, but did moderately better in the dance clubs, climbing to #21 on their Dance Club Play charts Then came the island-flavored dance-pop single " I Found Love ", which checked in at #79. The third release from the set, " That's W...

" Hearts Don't Think (They Feel) " - Natural Selection from the album Natural Selection (1991) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #28 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 4 Today's song of the day comes from the dance-pop group Natural Selection, who found themselves with a huge hit in the fall of 1991 with the Prince-esque bop of " Do Anything ". The second single from their self-titled debut would be the mid-tempo "Hearts Don't Think (They Feel)!", written by bandmates Elliot Erickson and Frederick Thomas , with the latter singing lead. I guess the exclamation point was there to give "excitement"... "Hearts Don't Think" became Natuaral Selection's second and final top-40 hit in February of 1992. Thomas tried to continue and released an EP under the moniker, and still performs. (Click below to see the rest of the post)

" Good For Me " - Amy Grant from the album Heart In Motion (1991) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #8 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 17 Today's song of the day comes from Christian music singer turned pop star Amy Grant , whose full-throttle drive into the mainstream, her Heart In Motion album, had scored her three top ten pop hits so far with " That's What Love Is For ", " Every Heartbeat ", and the #1 sweetness of " Baby Baby ". As religious music stations sent her album cut "Ask Me" to #1 on that format, the fourth single released from the record to pop stations would be "Good For Me". Written by Grant along with Tom Snow, Wayne Kirkpatrick, and Jay Gruska, the track would be the most "rock" inflected of the bunch, with electric guitars providing the right access to her good-girl fun times on the lyrics... "Good For Me" became the fourth top ten single from the album in March of 1992, and ...

" Just A Touch Of Love (Everyday) " - C&C Music Factory from the album Gonna Make You Sweat (1990) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #50 This week's "robbed hit" comes from the dance act C&C Music Factory, lead by remixers/producers Rob Clivilles and David Cole. They landed three huge multi-format hits in 1991 with the massive club anthem " Gonna Make You Sweat ", which hit #1 on the pop chart, as well as the top-5 follow-ups " Here We Go " and " Things That Make You Go Hmmm... ".  The fourth release from the record was "Just A Touch Of Love", an interpolation of the same-named R&B jam from the band Slave in 1979. The track, again featuring Zelma Davis singing, had the same energy of their other hits, seeming to be a sure-fire path to the top-10 again for this group... While "Just A Touch Of Love" became the C&C Music Factory's fourth consecutive #1 Dance hit, the single stopped short rig...

" To Be With You " - Mr. Big from the album Lean Into It (1991) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #1 (three weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 17 Today's song of the day comes from the heavy metal band Mr. Big , who came together in the late 1980s when bass player Billy Sheehan quit ex-Van Halen singer David Lee Roth's band. He hired singer Eric Martin, who had both a minor rock hit with "The Eric Martin Band" in " Sucker For A Pretty Face " (#42 Mainstream Rock, 1983), and a minor pop one solo with " Information " (#87, 1985). Joined by drummer Pat Torpley and guitar player Paul Gilbert, and dubbing themselves "Mr. Big", they released their self-titled debut album in 1988. One single from the record, " Addicted To That Rush ", slipped on to the Mainstream Rock radio chart at #39, and also reached the top-40 in Japan. The album itself did respectably, peaking just under the top-40 (#46). Two years later, the group put out th...

" I Can't Make You Love Me " - Bonnie Raitt from the album Luck Of The Draw (1991) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #18 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 10 Today's song of the day comes from blues-rock queen Bonnie Raitt , who parlayed her Grammy-winning comeback from the album Nick Of Time into her first top-40 pop hit in the fall of 1991 with " Something To Talk About ". While that song would be the highest-charting single of her career, the follow-up track is arguably her best-loved and remembered. "I Can't Make You Love Me", written by football hero turned country singer Mike Reid along with songwriter Allen Shamblin, was a delicate and painful take on unrequited love delivered with the exact amount of emotion by Bonnie as piano riffs drift beneath. It was an often-tackled subject offered with true realism and resolve that resonated with many people like myself dealing with that exact issue at that moment... "I Can't Make You ...

" Uhh Ahh " - Boyz II Men from the album Cooleyhighharmony (1991) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #16 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 14 Today's song of the day comes from the Philly-soul vocal group Boyz II Men , who made their grand entrance with their debut album Cooleyhighharmony already scoring two top-5 pop hits with " Motownphilly " and " It's So Hard To Say Goodbye To Yesterday ". The third single released from the record brought the boyz to the bedroom in "Uhh Ahh". Written by the group's Nathan and Wanya Morris along with their mentor Michael Bivins (from New Edition/Bell Biv Devoe), the song was mostly acappella, using the strength of their harmonies with a little background music to convey the rhythm of a couple in the heat of passion. The music video amplified that mood, with the guys in just as sexy an outfit as the ladies (solidifying my Wanya crush), and when Michael McCary comes in with his spoken interlude (perhaps...