Twostepcublog

While " Don't Leave This Way " is best known from the classic disco anthem from Thelma Houston , the original version of the song was actually recorded by early genre kings Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes, with the late Teddy Pendergrass providing lead vocals. Appearing on the band's album Wake Up Everybody in 1975, the song written by the production team of Gamble and Huff with Cary Gilbert wasn't promoted as a single in the States, but two years later, helped by the remix from Tom Moulton, it went to #5 in the UK singles chart. The song was a part of the label compilation Philadelphia Classics , which managed to chart on Billboard magazine's Disco/Dance Tracks list for a week at #34. It's personally my favorite version of the song, and one of the best disco tracks ever.

" Stand Up " is the new single from the British doo-wop group the Overtones , who were discovered working as interior decorators in London in 2010, the quintet of Lachie Chapman, Mike Crawshaw, Darren Everest, Mark Franks, and Timmy Matley scored four consecutive top ten albums with their first four releases. After a Christmas record in 2015, during their subsequent tour Matley had to bow out for health reasons, eventually returning to the group's shows, and as they started to record their next album. However, tragedy claimed his life from a fall in the spring of 2018 under horrible circumstances, which paralyzed the group for a bit, but they regrouped to re-record the set they were working on together (save one track with Jimmy's vocals on it). The Overtones came out this past October and continues their stellar vocal work now reimagined as a four-piece. "Stand Up" is one of the two originals from the record, which also includes a delicious cover of the ...

" Six Feet Deep " - Geto Boys from the album Till Death Do Us Part (1993) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #40 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 1 Today's song of the day comes from the rap trio Geto Boys , who had taken their rough-edge street-level gangsta rap and had enough reaction to reach the mainstream, scoring a top-40 pop hit at the start of 1992 with their horrorcore throwdown " Mind Playing Tricks On Me ". However despite the success, member Willie D parted ways to concentrate on a solo career, leaving the remaining pair of  Bushwick Bill and Scarface to recruit Big Mike for their next album, Till Death Do Us Part . Released in 1993, the first single, " Crooked Officer ", was a nod to their hardcore fans that crave their hard looks on the street, and while it only made it to #70 on Billboard magazine's R&B chart (and "bubbled under" the pop Hot 100 at #111), it set the tone of the album for their longstanding audience. But t...

" Look For Love " was a track from French disco icon (Marc) Cerrone 's 1978 album Cerrone IV: The Golden Touch . Paired with another track from the record, " Je Suis Music " the song climbed to #7 on Billboard magazine's Dance/Disco Tracks chart.

" The Edge Of America " was a "deep cut" on New Romantic kings Duran Duran 's 1988 album Big Thing . 30 years after its release, the track is reborn with a new music video created by visual artist David Medina that puts the reflective track into an entirely brand new light. Using stock images of birds as well as new clips of immigrants, it juxtaposes the fates of the billions of birds killed in aircraft collisions with the throngs of refugees and migrants that are seeking and pleading for a new life without violence only to be turned away by the likes of ICE. Using government facts and figures to coolen the hard images of the dead fowl is like a wake up call to this country who very existence was based on being a sanctuary, for people and for wildlife. And the scrambled faces of people serve to illustrate that we as America are truly just a mixture of the people inside of it. Simply beautiful. The mantra of "Purity is Impossible" and "Mo...

" Tell Me What You Dream " - Restless Heart featuring Warren Hill from the album Big Iron Horses (re-release) (1993) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #43 This week's "robbed hit" comes from the country crossover band Restless Heart , who had been one of the very few bands (well, just Alabama mostly) that were able to get played by mainstream radio and make the pop charts in a significant way, scoring their first top-40 hit in the summer of 1987 with " I'll Still Be Loving You ", and then returned in the beginning of 1993 with " When She Cries ". But by the time of that second success, lead singer Larry Stewart had already left the group, with keyboardist Dave Innis departing soon after it. The remaining members - drummer John Dittrich, guitarist Greg Jennings, and bass player Paul Gregg - continued on, and while they were still promoting songs to country radio from their 1992 album Big Iron Horses (with also had Innis), the trio recorded ...

" Whoomp! (There It Is) " - Tag Team from the album Whoomp! (There It Is) - The Album (1993) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #2 (seven weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 41 Today's song of the day comes from Tag Team, a rap duo that came together in the early 1990s. Cecil Glenn and Steve Gibson met in Denver, then after moving to Atlanta, where Glenn was a DJ at a strip club, got the act together. Going under the monikers "DC the Brain Supreme" and "Steve Rollin" respectively, the pair released their first and by far their biggest success in the spring of 1993. "Whoomp! (There It Is)" laid rhymes over a sample of early electro-pop classic " I'm Ready " by Kano, which went to #8 on Billboard magazine's Dance/Disco chart in 1980. However, the concept was quite dubious, as at the same time (well, a couple months before ), another bass rap act, 95 South from Florida, had released a local single called " Whoot, There It Is "...