MUSICAL MUSINGS
by Josh Hosler
November 30, 2004
THE FIVE-YEAR CYCLE, REVISITED
Several months ago, I wrote about my odd little hobby of revisiting the past by listening to a number of "countdowns" each week. I listen through the top 40 songs from this week 30 years ago, 25 years ago, 20 years ago ... as far as I have time to go in a given week. Sometimes I even manage to revisit 1999. So what's been happening on those time-warped charts lately?
1974 ... Quick turnover is the order of the day. Just a while back, Barry White's "Can't Get Enough of Your Love, Babe" hit #1 but spent only 12 total weeks on the Hot 100. Billy Preston's "Nothing from Nothing" slipped ... er, plunged ... from #1 to #15, then #39, then off. This is probably a sign of an inaccurate chart climate. But just now, Billy Swan's "I Can Help" managed to eek out two weeks at #1 before being replaced by Carl Douglas's "Kung Fu Fighting," which will also score a second week. Gems I've discovered in the thirty-year-old haze include "My Melody of Love" by Bobby Vinton, "Promised Land" by Elvis Presley, and "After the Goldrush" by Prelude. Oddity of the time: the Pointer Sisters doing a country song called "Fairytale." And a song that terrified me as a kid is about to go to #1: "Angie Baby" by Helen Reddy, about an insane girl who traps the neighbor boy in her radio.
1979 ... The decade shift is becoming more obvious. Styx sits at #1 with "Babe." Prince is charting for the very first time, at #40 with "I Wanna Be Your Lover," and the Buggles are about to debut with "Video Killed the Radio Star." John Cougar has introduced himself with "I Need a Lover." Also on the horizon is "Rapper's Delight" by the Sugar Hill Gang. But still hanging around the chart are K.C. & the Sunshine Band, Pablo Cruise, Kenny Rogers, Crystal Gayle, Barry Manilow, and the Little River Band. We're heading into that in-between time, when disco was dead, but the old guard held off the new sounds of the '80s for a long time ... arguably, until about 1982. Gems: "If You Remember Me" by Chris Thompson & Night, "Tusk" by Fleetwood Mac, and "Damned If I Do" by the Alan Parsons Project.
1984 ... In actual history, this is right about where I checked in. Daryl Hall & John Oates have kicked off a new album, Big Bam Boom, with a #1 smash, "Out of Touch." Wham!, New Edition, Julian Lennon, and U2 are enjoying their first Top 40 success. Bruce Springsteen's anthem "Born in the U.S.A." and Huey Lewis's "Walking on a Thin Line" are both speaking out for Vietnam vets. Madonna is roaring up the chart with "Like a Virgin," establishing herself as a star on her way to superstardom. Gems include "The Wild Boys" by Duran Duran, "Centipede" by Rebbie Jackson, "Hello Again" by the Cars, and "Loverboy" by Billy Ocean.
1989 ... Here's the second of our three decade shifts. Billy Joel is revisiting history himself with his current #1 hit, "We Didn't Start the Fire." The 2 Live Crew are annoying Tipper Gore with "Me So Horny." Milli Vanilli has just scored a third consecutive #1, "Blame It on the Rain"; in another year, we won't find out who they really are. The new jack swing sound of the early '90s is evident in "Back to Life" by Soul II Soul, "Don't Make Me Over" by Sybil, and "Rhythm Nation" by Janet Jackson. But there's still room for a good power ballad: Bon Jovi's "Living in Sin," for instance, or "Don't Close Your Eyes" by Kix. New Kids on the Block are between albums, but they're keeping things sappy with a Christmas song, "This One's for the Children." And Phil Collins is also setting a somber mood for the holidays with the next #1 song, "Another Day in Paradise." Mining for gems again: "Just Like Jesse James" by Cher, "Don't Shut Me Out" by Kevin Paige, "Oh Father" by Madonna, and "The Angel Song" by Great White.
1994 ... Popular music has changed drastically in the last five years, in part because of technological advances in measuring the relative popularity of underdog genres. In other words, hip hop has taken over! Take another glance at 1989's offerings, and then compare them sonically to "Tootsee Roll" by 69 Boyz and "Thuggish Ruggish Bone" by Bone Thugs-N-Harmony. But it'll still be awhile before hip hop hits customarily hit #1. Occupying that slot right now is "On Bended Knee" by Boyz II Men, which dethroned another Boyz II Men smash, "I'll Make Love to You." All told, the Boyz have been at #1 for 16 consecutive weeks. Train wrecks are the order of the day: 20 Fingers between Nirvana and the Cranberries; the Smashing Pumpkins next to Da Brat. And the gems include "Interstate Love Song" by Stone Temple Pilots, "New Age Girl" by Deadeye Dick, and "Flava in Ya Ear" by Craig Mack.
1999 ... The unlikeliest feature of this chart is that the #1 song is by '70s rock band Santana: "Smooth" has been there for eight weeks and will manage four more! Brian McKnight is patiently waiting at #2 with "Back at One," but he'll never get his chance. Another important feature is the presence of Britney Spears with "(You Drive Me) Crazy," Christina Aguilera with "What a Girl Wants," LFO with "Girl on TV," and Jessica Simpson with "I Wanna Love You Forever." It's the late '90s teeny bop trend, accompanied by the late '90s Latin trend: "I Need to Know" by Marc Anthony and "Shake Your Bon-Bon" by Ricky Martin are both on the Top 40. But perhaps the truest sign of the times is Will Smith's "Will 2K," an ode to the new millennium. Around New Year's, he will be joined on the chart by Kenny G, who will hit #6 with a medley of audio drops over the sax strains of "Auld Lang Syne." Gems of the fading century: "Mambo No. 5" by Lou Bega, "Learn to Fly" by Foo Fighters, "Steal My Sunshine" by Len, and "Hanginaround" by Counting Crows.
2004 ... Well, we really should carry it up to the present day, right? Usher and Alicia Keys seem unshakeable as "My Boo" scores a sixth week at #1. But Snoop Dogg's "Drop It Like It's Hot" and Nelly's "Over and Over" are making great strides. (Speaking of Nelly, could you ever have predicted a duet with Tim McGraw?) Ten years ago, hip hop was becoming widely accepted; today, it's the rule among teenagers, and everything else is the exception. Still, a good ballad will help to get people on board: think of the Nelly song, and also check out "Lovers and Friends" by Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz. Rockers on the chart include U2 with "Vertigo," Seether with "Broken," and Gavin DeGraw with "I Don't Want to Be." Indispensable gems: "Daughters" by John Mayer, "1985" by Bowling for Soup, and "Diary" by Alicia Keys. Am I showing my age by not including Chingy on that list?
What was the #1 song on the day you were born? Click here to find out.