American Top 40: The Shadoe Stevens era: 1990
Mar 4, 2018 12:38:14 GMT -5
woolebull and OnWithTheCountdown like this
Post by Hervard on Mar 4, 2018 12:38:14 GMT -5
Over the past few months, I have been posting chart critiques for the Shadoe Stevens years, since we all know that we likely won't be hearing those on the radio. However, I feel that the Shadoe era contained many great hits that should not be ignored, so I decided to post a collective commentary of all of the songs that debuted, putting each year in a separate thread. Each song is listed in order of appearance on the chart. The number after each song represents its debut position on American Top 40. For songs that charted in 1990 but debuted in 1989, check out this topic.
JANUARY
OPPOSITES ATTRACT – PAULA ABDUL w/THE WILD PAIR (32) – She had a great 1989 and looked to be off to a great start for 1990, although this was her only hit that year. However, it was one of her biggest hits, spending three weeks at #1, just like “Straight Up”. This song wasn't bad, but it was definitely not one of her best songs IMO.
PRINCIPAL'S OFFICE – YOUNG MC (35) – I liked this song, because I could kind of relate, being in high school at the time. The story he told in this song, about being sent to the office for being late, skipping class to “shoot some ball”, and writing love notes in class, never got old. Too bad this wasn't as big as “Bust A Move”.
KICKSTART MY HEART – MOTLEY CRUE (37) – This was pretty decent, though I preferred the other three Dr. Feelgood singles.
STEAMY WINDOWS – TINA TURNER (39) – This song looked promising at first, moving 48-39 in only its seventh week on the Hot 100, but it hit a brick wall and dropped out the following week. I don't even remember how it goes, as this was the only time I remember ever hearing it.
DANGEROUS – ROXETTE (40) – This song sounded a lot like “Dressed For Success” - only difference is, I liked it a lot better for some reason (kind of like Hall & Oates two 1981 #1's). Apparently, the general Top 40 audience agreed, as it hit #2 on the charts.
HERE WE ARE – GLORIA ESTEFAN (37) – The third hit from her first solo album Cuts Both Ways. It was also the final single to hit the Top 40, though two other singles, “Oye Mi Canto” and the title track were released and peaked in the 40s on the Hot 100. This is another song that was just there when it was on the charts, but I've grown to like it a lot more since then.
WE CAN'T GO WRONG – THE COVER GIRLS (38) – They finally had their first Top Ten with this song. It was a great song IMO – one of my favorites from them.
ALL OR NOTHING – MILLI VANILLI (39) – This was their last Top 40 hit – actually, it was their last hit period, since before they could release their next album, it was found out that they didn't really sing on any of their songs (resulting in being stripped of their Grammy Award for Best New Artist). Then after that, of course, nobody cared about any of their further releases. As for this song, it wasn't bad – sounded a lot like “Spinning Wheel” by Blood, Sweat & Tears. Was their ever a plagiarism suit involving that, or did the lip synching scandal overshadow it?
I WANT YOU – SHANA (40) – Another one-week wonder, just like “Steamy Windows” The only difference is, it had been on the chart for more than twice as long, and I remember hearing this one on B96 quite a lot during the preceding fall. It was a pretty good song, IMO.
PRICE OF LOVE – BAD ENGLISH (35) – Their second Top 40 hit. It didn't quite make it to #1, like “When I See You Smile”, but it did peak at #5, which was great as well. I seem to remember that I liked this song a lot at first, but it wore out kinda fast.
NO MORE LIES – MICHEL'LE (36) – A song produced by rappers Dr. Dre & Easy-E, like her two other Top 40 hits. I believe they did the rapping in this song as well, but I'm not sure (artist credits back then didn't list every single person heard in the song). As for the song, it wasn't bad, but nothing special either.
ESCAPADE – JANET JACKSON (37) – This song sounded a lot like “Miss You Much”, and it did almost as well, hitting #1 for three weeks. On the R&R chart, it looked like it would be the #1 song of 1990 and that would have been really something, the same artist topping the chart for two weeks in a row, but it was not to be. Anyway, I really liked this song - one of my favorites from Rhythm Nation 1814.
ROAM – THE B-52'S (38) – Their second Top 40 hit peaked at #3, like their first, “Love Shack”, the latter of which was a little more memorable, though this song sometimes pops up on oldies stations that specialize in 80s music.
NOTHIN' TO HIDE – POCO (39) – For three weeks in a row, there were one-week wonders on AT40, and this was the third. I felt it was a shame that this song didn't do any better and that it was way underrated. It was a small consolation that this song, written and produced by Richard Marx, did hit the Top Ten on the AC chart. The song reminds me a lot of “Take It To The Limit”, which is no coincidence since, of course, Randy Meisner sang lead on both songs.
I GO TO EXTREMES – BILLY JOEL (36) – His second single from The Bridge returned to his usual music style, rather than a random list of events that happened in his lifetime. It was a decent song, but I preferred many others from him, including a few others from the same album.
C'MON AND GET MY LOVE – D'MOB f/CATHY DENNIS (37) – Cathy Dennis would chart solo the following year, but her first chart appearance was as a guest singer on this song by British house music producer D'Mob. This was one of those songs that I could take or leave.
WOMAN IN CHAINS – TEARS FOR FEARS (39) – This song, the second from Tears For Fears' Seeds Of Love album, featured Oleta Adams, who herself would chart in 1991, like Cathy Dennis. I liked this about the same as “Sowing The Seeds Of Love”, but neither song held a candle to the third single, “Advice For The Young At Heart”, which only got to #91 on the Hot 100, but did rather well at AC radio.
TOO LATE TO SAY GOODBYE – RICHARD MARX (40) – This song would break his Top Ten streak, since it peaked at #12, but kept it alive on the R&R chart, since it managed to climb to #10 there. This song was so/so at first, but I finally warmed up to it around the time it hit the Top Ten. A great song indeed!
FEBRUARY
SOMETIMES SHE CRIES – WARRANT (35) – Another power ballad from them, like their last Top 40 hit “Heaven”. It didn't do quite as well as that song, however, but it did peak at #20, which isn't half bad either. This was my favorite of their Dirty Filthy Stinking Rich singles.
NO MYTH – MICHAEL PENN (38) – The only Top 40 for the older brother of actors Sean and Chris Penn. It was a great song and another song that I felt was underrated.
BLACK VELVET – ALANNAH MYLES (39) – A tribute to Elvis Presley, and a great one at that. The song was a little overplayed, but that definitely didn't tarnish it at all.
LOVE WILL LEAD YOU BACK – TAYLOR DAYNE (40) – The second hit from Dayne's sophomore album Heart Of Stone became her very first (and only) number one hit, and there were no other songs of hers more deserving of the top spot than this one, IMO. One of my favorite songs of the entire year.
JUST A FRIEND – BIZ MARKIE (29) – Blegh! How in the world did this song make the chart – let alone the TOP TEN?? The guy's voice is very grating and off-key. The rap is the only tolerable part about the song. Mario's 2002 cover was much better.
SACRIFICE – ELTON JOHN (35) – His second single from Sleeping With The Past. This one was a little maudlin for my liking. I much preferred the other singles from the album.
HERE AND NOW – LUTHER VANDROSS (36) – He had been hitting the charts here and there throughout the 1980s, but finally had his first Top Ten in the 1990s. This was a nice song and became rather popular in the LDD department, as well as an ideal wedding song.
PERSONAL JESUS – DEPECHE MODE (38) – I still wasn't a big fan of them at this point (though that would change a little later on in the year, when they had two of their biggest hits ever). This song never did anything for me.
GET UP (BEFORE THE NIGHT IS OVER) – TECHNOTRONIC f/YA KID K (30) – Their second Top 40 hit as well as their first of two to feature Ya Kid K. Considering that I wasn't a huge rap fan, I actually liked this song a lot.
I WISH IT WOULD RAIN DOWN – PHIL COLLINS (31) – The second hit from ...But Seriously and definitely my favorite of the five singles that charted, as well as one of my favorite Phil Collins songs of all time! A great song indeed!
KEEP IT TOGETHER – MADONNA (34) – Her Like A Prayer album had just about run its course, and this was the fifth and final single from it. She did recover from her brief slump, presumably caused by the subject matter of “Oh Father”, as this song put her back into the Top Ten. It was a good song, though I prefer many others from her.
THE DEEPER THE LOVE – WHITESNAKE (39) – Back to power ballads, but they'd pretty much had their day in the sun at this point, as this turned out to be their final Top 40 hit. I thought it was pretty good – reminded me a little of Poco's “Call It Love”, from the previous fall.
SUMMER RAIN – BELINDA CARLISLE (40) – This song looked like it might do as well as “Leave The Light On”, if not better, as it hit the Top 40 in its fifth week on, but it hit a brick wall two weeks later, peaking at #30. That was too bad, as I thought it was a great song – I heard it fairly often on U93 back in the day.
ALL AROUND THE WORLD – LISA STANSFIELD (31) – Her first hit from her debut album Affection became a worldwide smash, hitting #1 in many countries. It did well here in the states as well, peaking at #3 and achieving platinum status. I thought it was a great song.
ALL MY LIFE – LINDA RONSTADT f/AARON NEVILLE (34) – Their second duet from Ronstadt's Cry Like A Rainstorm, Howl Like The Wind, and the last to make the Top 40 (the third one, “When Something Is Wrong With My Baby” petered out at #78, but was a Top Five AC hit in the early summer). Back in the day, this was my favorite of their two Top 40 duets by a fair margin, now I like them about the same – both are great love songs!
FOREVER – KISS (36) – They had nine Top 40 hits, but only two of them made the top ten – both of them slow songs. This power ballad, co-written by Michael Bolton, was a great song, though I slightly preferred their other Top Ten hit, “Beth”, from 1976.
ANYTHING I WANT – KEVIN PAIGE (37) – His first hit, “Don't Shut Me Out” did rather well, peaking at #18 and spending nearly half a year on the Hot 100, but this one came and went rather quickly. It sounded somewhat similar to his first hit, which I slightly preferred as well.
I'LL BE YOUR EVERYTHING – TOMMY PAGE (38) – Back-to-back pa(i)ges on the chart here! According to Fred Bronson's Billboard Book Of Number One Hits, this song just barely hit #1 by the skin of its teeth, as it was in a horse race with several other Top Five hits at the time, especially “Don't Want To Fall In Love” by Jane Child (more on that song in a moment) and Sire label's vice-president Howard Klein was tracking its progress on the chart as radio stations were reporting their playlist and record stores were submitting their final sales tallies. As it was looking like Jane Child would be #1 in the end, the last report made the difference and this song came out on top, much to Tommy's relief. I'm thinking that the fact that three of the New Kids On The Block sang back-up on this song was instrumental in its success. This was a great song, but I preferred his first, “A Shoulder To Cry On”.
WHOLE WIDE WORLD – A'ME LORAIN (39) – Pretty much your run-of-the-mill early-90s freestyle dance music. Nothing I'd go out of my way to hear.
MARCH
DON'T WANT TO FALL IN LOVE – JANE CHILD (37) – This was the song I mentioned earlier that almost prevented Tommy Page from the top spot. That obviously meant this song was #2, and, with a four place jump, it seemed to be a cinch to hit #1 the following week, but another song leapfrogged over it, so that was double frustration for Jane Child. This song did, however, top the R&R chart for a pair of weeks, including the week Tommy Page was #1 on the Hot 100 (so it was apparently a record store report that made the difference), so all was not lost. Good thing, as this was her only hit. It was a great song – one of many that I associate with the spring of my senior year in HS.
DIRTY DEEDS – JOAN JETT (39) – This song was originally by AC/DC as “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap”, a popular cut from their album of the same name back in 1981, but it was Joan Jett, without her trademark band the Blackhearts, who finally brought it to the charts. This was Jett's only solo hit. I preferred the original, but this version is good as well.
LOVE ME FOR LIFE – STEVIE B (35) – He seems to have gone the ballad way at this point, since, other than the title-track from his next album Love And Emotion, the only songs he charted with were slow songs. This one was very likely my favorite of those. I was disappointed that it peaked so low (#29), but was glad that this was the one that finally put him on the R&R chart (as the first two didn't quite make it, though I hear that “Let Me Be The One” just barely missed). The song fared quite well on my personal Top 30, spending seven weeks at #1 and ranked second for all of 1990, behind James Ingram, whose song we'll be getting to a little later on.
I WANNA BE RICH – CALLOWAY (37) – Something that most people can only dream about (but since money is the root of all evil, being loaded isn't the bed of roses that many people make it out to be). This is a song that I did not like at all when it first came out, but it eventually grew on me. Still, I don't think I'd want to hear this on a regular basis.
A GIRL LIKE YOU – THE SMITHEREENS (39) – I had to hop on over to YouTube to take another listen to it, since, for the life of me, I could not remember how this song went. It was a pretty good song, but I preferred their 1992 hit “Too Much Passion”.
WITHOUT YOU – MOTLEY CRUE (33) – The opening guitar lick reminds me a little of Lynyrd Skynyrd's “Free Bird”. It is the band's second and final Top Ten hit. I thought it was a pretty good song.
HOW CAN WE BE LOVERS – MICHAEL BOLTON (36) – Soul Provider was indeed setting up to be his biggest singles album ever, as this was his third release from this album (as The Hunger had only yielded two Top 40 hits). This, on the other hand, was the second Top Ten from the album. I liked this song, but it was my least favorite of his Top Tens from Soul Provider.
HEARTBEAT – SEDUCTION (37) – Their third of four Top 40 hits, and like the last two, it was an upbeat dance song (I'm sure all three were big American Dance Traxx hits, but seeing that I no longer had access to that show, I have no idea how high they got). Anyway, their last two hits were mediocre, but I actually kind of liked this one.
WHIP APPEAL – BABYFACE (39) – His first two hits of his own were upbeat, but he slowed the tempo for his third. This was my favorite song from him up to this point, but I always thought that this song could use a sax played here and there throughout, to make a great song even better.
YOU'RE THE ONLY WOMAN – THE BRAT PACK (40) – Of course, this was the a cover of Ambrosia's hit from 1980, which used “You And I” as a subtitle. I seem to recall that this was a dance remake of the song that was pretty good, but the original was far better.
NOTHING COMPARES 2 U – SINEAD O'CONNOR (33) – This song came out of left field and rocketed up the chart. Generally, that happens to established artists instead of brand-new ones, but this song apparently scored on the chart on its own merits. I couldn't stand the song at first (and the fact that the woman who sang it was practically bald sure didn't help!), but it was one of those songs that had to catch on. This ended up as AT40's #1 song of 1990, the first time a debut single topped its year end chart since 1977, when Andy Gibb ruled for the year with “I Just Want To Be Your Everything”.
HEART OF STONE – CHER (36) – The first of two chart hits during 1990 with this song title. This was the final hit from the album of the same name. Though it didn't hold a candle to “Just Like Jesse James”, it was a great song nevertheless and I am surprised it didn't hit the Top Ten as the other Heart Of Stone singles.
IF U WERE MINE – THE U-KREW (39) – Meh, this was basically a mediocre song from a faceless R&B/hip-hop act.
THE HEART OF THE MATTER – DON HENLEY (40) – Of the singles from “End Of The Innocence”, this is the one that seemed to get the most airplay (probably because it was huge at AC radio, which I often listened to back in the day). It was OK, but definitely far from being my favorite song from him.
WHAT IT TAKES – AEROSMITH (34) – This would be their Top Ten on the Hot 100 until over ten years later. Of course, I'm thinking they would have had more had the Hot 100 been compiled with the old method past late 1991, since all four singles from Get A Grip, their next singles album, all made the Top Ten on the R&R chart.
SENDING ALL MY LOVE – LINEAR (35) – They were pretty much second-rate New Kids On The Block, IMO. This was their first and biggest hit. I could take it or leave it.
WILD WOMEN DO – NATALIE COLE (37) – The Richard Gere/Julia Roberts film Pretty Woman had just started in theaters the previous weekend and this was the first of three new singles from it. It may have been released a little prematurely, as, while the other two singles from it were big Top Ten hits, this one only got as high as #34. It wasn't bad, but I preferred many of her songs over this.
LOVE CHILD – SWEET SENSATION (38) – In my 1989 commentary, I mentioned how I got Sweet Sensation and Seduction confused, due to their similar music styles. This was when I REALLY started getting them mixed up, as they had songs climbing the chart at the same time! This, of course, was a remake of this Supremes classic and it didn't sound all that different. I liked both versions about the same.
TRUE BLUE LOVE – LOU GRAMM (40) – Now THIS song was truly underrated! This was a “one-week wonder” on AT40, as it fell out the following week. A great song indeed!
APRIL
ROOM AT THE TOP – ADAM ANT (32) – This London native had a Top 40 hit “Goody Two Shoes” at the height of the short-lived rockabilly comeback of 1982/83 and returned with a more modern sound. The song, though not quite as successful as his debut hit, did make it to #17. It was a good song, but my favorite of his three Top 40 hits was “Wonderful”, which charted in 1995.
HOLD ON – WILSON PHILLIPS (33) – Their parents were members of the Beach Boys and the Mamas and Papas, and they had a successful career as well. This was their first hit, and it went to #1 in June. Though it was Billboard's biggest hit of 1990, AT40 used their own figuring system, computing a song's entire chart life (as Billboard returned to their system of figuring each song's chart run within the survey period) and the song got fifth place there, which isn't bad either. I liked the song, but it sure was overplayed!
THIS OLD HEART OF MINE – ROD STEWART w/RONALD ISLEY (38) – Of course, both artists had many hits of their own, Rod solo and Ronald as part of the Isley Brothers. They teamed up in 1990 for a one-time pairing on an old Isley Brothers song that Rod himself had recorded in 1976 but it only got as high as #83. In 1989, both Rod and Ron re-recorded the version and it peaked at #10. It was a pretty good one.
THE SECRET GARDEN (SWEET SEDUCTION SUITE) – QUINCY JONES f/AL B. SURE, JAMES INGRAM, EL DEBARGE & BARRY WHITE (40) – Wow, if I were listening to the song, it might have taken half of it to type all that in! This song was an old-school slow jam, which was not bad, but I preferred other songs by many of the artists involved.
ALL I WANNA DO IS MAKE LOVE TO YOU – HEART (26) – This song raised quite a few eyebrows, since it was about a woman who was married to a man who could not naturally father children, so she found a guy hitchhiking, took him to a hotel to have sex, and then, as he slept, she left him with a note telling him not to make any attempts to find her. Since she is familiar with the hotel (as it was “a place (she) knew well”), that sort of implies that she has done this before and this might not be her first child. Anyway, despite the depraved concept, it is melodically a good song, and was by far Heart's biggest hit from their Brigade album.
ALRIGHT – JANET JACKSON (30) – The fourth hit from her Rhythm Nation album, and one of only three that did not hit #1. On AT40, this was her lowest peaking song, hitting #4. Like the title cut, I didn't like this song, as it also had annoying whoops heard throughout the entire song.
THE HUMPTY DANCE – DIGITAL UNDERGROUND (33) – This song was banned on many stations, due to several sex references in the lyrics, and only an abbreviated version was heard on AT40, with instructions that stations could edit out what was left of the song (which many did). It was so/so, but this was when rap was becoming more and more obnoxious IMO.
YOUR BABY NEVER LOOKED GOOD IN BLUE – EXPOSE (37) – The fourth and final hit from What You Don't Know, and by far the best. In fact, this song spent seven weeks at #1 on my Personal Top 30, good enough to become the fifth biggest hit of that year. I still love the song – I even have it on one of my YouTube playlists!
POISON – BELL BIV DEVOE (38) – One of several side projects from the R&B band New Edition. They had a very successful chart career, with many hits on the R&B charts and they even had several Pop hits, this one being their biggest, peaking at #3 for a month. It wasn't bad, but I'm not a huge rap fan (as we know all too well).
VOGUE – MADONNA (39) – As her Like A Prayer album had pretty much run its course, with the last single “Keep It Together” having recently fallen off the Hot 100, her next album, I'm Breathless, music from and inspired by the upcoming Dick Tracy film, which would be coming out in mid-June. The album came out nearly a month earlier and a month before that came this first song, which was heavily promoted upon release and, of course, burned up the charts all the way to #1. I didn't really like the song much at first, but now I like it – definitely a 90s mix show essential!
IT MUST HAVE BEEN LOVE – ROXETTE (34) – Another huge film song, in this case, Pretty Woman, which was mentioned earlier. “Wild Women Do” may not have been a very successful hit, but this certainly was, hitting #1 in mid-June. According to the Gavin Report, which had an airplay chart similar to R&R, this was the top song of 1990. Here on AT40, it ranked fourth, which wasn't too shabby either. I liked the song, but I preferred many other songs by Roxette.
EXPRESSION – SALT-N-PEPA (36) – Meh, this was more of a gimmick than anything.
A LITTLE LOVE – COREY HART (39) – I actually had to hop on over to YouTube to listen to this song, since I had forgotten how it goes. It wasn't bad, but I generally preferred his mid-80s hits. Apparently, the general public felt the same as this song only got two spots higher and was Corey's final Top 40 hit.
HOUSE OF PAIN – FASTER PU$$YCAT (40) – Sorry, the censors wouldn't allow the word without the dollar signs. Anyway, I had also forgotten how this song goes and I expected it to be an annoying rap song, but that's because I was thinking of the rap group House Of Pain, who had a hit on AT40 in 1992 called “Jump Around”. It was a pleasant surprise to find out I was wrong. This song, though by a hard rock group, had sort of a bluesy feel, reminiscent of the Jeff Healey Band. Not bad.
U CAN'T TOUCH THIS – MC HAMMER (27) – I had been hearing this song on the radio for about a month now, but they held off on releasing this as a single for awhile (presumably to cause more sales for Hammer's recently released album Please Hammer, Don't Hurt 'Em). This song, of course, sampled “Super Freak” by Rick James for its bassline, and became Hammer's signature song. I liked the song, as overrated as it was.
SAVE ME – FLEETWOOD MAC (35) – The first single from Behind The Mask, which was definitely not one of their more successful albums, to say the least. Many music critics said that the fact that Lindsey Buckingham had since departed from Fleetwood Mac after their last album, Tango In The Night was "a severe blow" for them. This was their only Top 40 hit from the album, and it only got two spots higher on the Hot 100 (though the song, as well as the follow-up “Skies The Limit” were both Top Ten hits on the AC chart). As for my opinion of the song, it wasn't bad, but definitely not one of my favorite songs from them.
READY OR NOT – AFTER 7 (36) – The first Top 40 hit for this R&B act that contains two brothers of Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds, who himself was in the midst of a hit streak from his second studio album Tender Lover. Though this was pretty much your typcial R&B slow jam, I really liked it a lot.
OOH LA LA – PERFECT GENTLEMEN (38) – Blegh! What the hell is this? There's enough whine in this song to serve all of France! Thank God this was their only hit!
MAY
BABY IT'S TONIGHT – JUDE COLE (36) – The first of four singles from Cole's sophomore album A View From Third Street, two of which made the Top 40, this being the most successful, peaking at #16. It was a really good song – one I definitely associate with the spring/early summer of 1990.
I'LL SEE YOU IN MY DREAMS – GIANT (37) – They didn't quite live up to their name, as this was their only hit, but a great song it was!
DO YOU REMEMBER – PHIL COLLINS (39) – This song was mediocre at best, IMO. It just never really did anything for me, for some reason.
TIME AFTER TIME – TIMMY T (40) – LOL @ Pee Wee Herman's movie quote “I'M TRYING TO USE THE PHONE” at the beginning of the 12-inch mix of this song, which was Timmy T's first hit, which only lasted a week on AT40. The song was pretty good, but I preferred his other Top 40 hit, which charted a year later.
TURTLE POWER! – PARTNERS IN KRYME (30) – The only song for this rap duo from the Big Apple. This song, of course, was featured on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie soundtrack, and heard in the film's closing credits. It was OK, but nothing I'd go out of my way to listen to.
HOLD ON – EN VOGUE (32) – As Wilson Phillips' song of the same title was racing up the charts, this Oakland-based R&B vocal group hit the charts with this commonplace song title, which was also used by artists like Santana, Ian Gomm, Triumph, and Kansas, to name a few. This was their first of many Pop hits and, though it wasn't bad, I preferred the Wilson Phillips song.
CHILDREN OF THE NIGHT – RICHARD MARX (38) – This song, named after an organization established in 1979 to rescue children and young people from prostitution, an issue mentioned in this song, was the last of five songs from Repeat Offender As I've said before, I liked most of the singles from the album, though of those, this song fared best on my Personal Top 30, peaking at #1 for six weeks. On the AT40 chart, it made the Top 20.
CRUISING FOR BRUISING – BASIA (40) – The second Top 40 hit for this Poland native and, IMO the best (though the first one, “Time And Tide” was a good song as well).
I'LL BE YOUR SHELTER – TAYLOR DAYNE (34) – After a dance hit and a ballad from her second album, Taylor put out this mid-tempo song. It was a good song, but it didn't hold a candle to “Love Will Lead You Back”.
GETTIN' AWAY WITH IT – ELECTRONIC (38) – Their only Top 40 hit. When I first heard this song, my first thought was that they reminded me of New Order, which was no coincidence, as New Order's lead singer Bernard Sumner was one of the artists who formed the band. As for the song, I thought it was pretty good.
ALWAYS AND FOREVER – WHISTLE (39) – Another one-hit wonder here. This song, a cover of the old Heatwave classic from 1978, was the first song since the summer of 1979 to hit the Top 40, drop out, and return. I thought it was pretty good, but I preferred the original.
DEADBEAT CLUB – THE B-52'S (40) – Third Single Syndrome definitely applied here, as their first two hits from Cosmic Thing peaked at #3, yet this song barely made it into the Top 30. That may be why I like the song slightly better than said #3 songs, since it wasn't as overplayed.
STEP BY STEP – NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK (27) – I never did like this song! Probably because New Kids mania was becoming more and more annoying. Thank God this song had a fast-rise, fast-fall chart run and then it was all but forgotten.
ENJOY THE SILENCE – DEPECHE MODE (34) – I mentioned that this band never really did anything for me in the beginning, but when I heard this song, I was like, wow, they're not so bad after all! This was possibly my all-time favorite song by them. A great song indeed!
RUB YOU THE RIGHT WAY – JOHNNY GILL (35) – One of several members of New Edition that had solo hits in 1990. This was the first of three Top 40 hits for Gill. It wasn't bad, but I wasn't much for R&B dance music.
SITTIN' IN THE LAP OF LUXURY – LOUIE LOUIE (37) – The only Top 40 hit for this man whose real name was Louie Cordero, featuring Dizzy Gillespie on trumpet. It was a good song.
SHE AIN'T WORTH IT – GLENN MEDEIROS w/BOBBY BROWN (38) – Of course, Glenn had first charted three years before with the ballad “Nothing's Gonna Change My Love For You”, and now, featuring another former New Edition member, returns with an upbeat song that pretty much depicts a relationship that I had with a girl about ten years ago, but that's another story for another time. The song was OK, but it was definitely way overplayed.
NICETY – MICHEL'LE (40) – Ah, nicety – a blend of being nice and nasty (the e is silent in that context). Not a bad song, but not one of my personal faves either.
JUNE
CRADLE OF LOVE – BILLY IDOL (31) – I was never a huge Billy Idol fan, but this was actually a song by him that I liked – and it ended up being one of his biggest hits ever, peaking at #2 behind “Vision Of Love” by Mariah Carey. I actually won Idol's album Charmed Life on U93 (WNDU, South Bend) when I was attending college for identifying an “opening lines” contest, but ended up selling it (for five bucks) to one of the guys in my dorm so I'd have a little more spending money. I don't regret it, however, as I didn't have a CD player (not even at home), and after all, I got it for free.
UP ALL NIGHT – SLAUGHTER (35) – One of three songs that this hard rock band from Las Vegas charted on AT40 with (yet none of those songs ever made the R&R chart). This song was pretty good, but a little loud.
GIRLS NITE OUT – TYLER COLLINS (39) – Surprisingly, as big as this song was, she was a one-hit wonder (though her follow-up “Second Chance” did make a two-week appearance on the R&R chart). This song was pretty much your typical dance/pop songs of the time. Nothing special, IMO.
THE POWER – SNAP (40) – Sounds like He-Man getting hit in the groin with a bolt of lightning. But the song's not really too bad.
NOTICE ME – NIKKI (34) – The only Top 40 hit by this Japanese/American singer whom I was surprised to find out was a man, based on the name and the fact that he sounded like a female singing this song, which I thought was a really good song. Too bad it only got as high as #21.
DARE TO FALL IN LOVE – BRENT BOURGEOIS (36) – Half of the duo Bourgeois Tagg, who charted in 1987 with “I Don't Mind At All”, he did have a solo hit, which I remember hearing from time to time back in 1990. I really liked the song at first, but it wore out kinda fast. I preferred said Bourgeois Tagg song.
WHEN I'M BACK ON MY FEET AGAIN – MICHAEL BOLTON (37) – The fourth single from Soul Provider, and like the previous two, it sailed into the Top Ten. This song had almost a theatrical sound to it, as though it was a Jim Steinman production, but it was not. It was a great song IMO.
CLUB AT THE END OF THE STREET – ELTON JOHN (39) – Now THIS was one of his more underrated songs ever! It did well on the AC chart, spending four weeks at #2 (not sure what song or songs kept it out of the top spot), but it only got as high as #28 on the Hot 100. I remember hearing it quite a lot on Sunny 101.5 back in the summer and fall of 1990 – I even have it on a mix tape I made, mainly of songs played on that station when I was in college. I need to break out that tape and give it a listen sometime.
MENTIROSA – MELLOW MAN ACE (40) – A song (or rather rapped) in Spanglish that sampled two old Santana songs (“Evil Ways” and “No One To Depend On”). Not a bad song, considering how I felt about rap.
THE BALLAD OF JAYNE – L.A. GUNS (34) – Now this song charted for four weeks on AT40, which I listened to on a weekly basis back then, but for the life of me, I don't remember ever hearing it. Maybe it just didn't make much of an impression on me. The only song by them I ever remember hearing on the countdowns was “It's Over Now”, from two years later. I took a listen to the song on YouTube and it's actually a good song.
YOU CAN'T DENY IT – LISA STANSFIELD (37) – This was pretty much “All Around The World, Part 2”. It was a pretty good song, but I preferred the first song.
VISION OF LOVE – MARIAH CAREY (38) – This was the song that started it all off for her, and for a debut single, it did remarkably well, spending four weeks at #1 in August and ranking on the year-ender at #2. It was R&R's #1 song of 1990, marking the first time since 1977 that a debut single was the top song of the year. The song was pretty good, but I sort of held a grudge for the song preventing Janet Jackson from having the #1 song of the year two years in a row.
LOVE IS – ALANNAH MYLES (40) – This was one of those artists who were pretty much only good for one big hit. This song, which obviously rode the coattails of the her recent #1, only got as high as #36 and Alannah never charted again. The song wasn't anything exceptional to me either – I definitely preferred “Black Velvet”.
KING OF WISHFUL THINKING – GO WEST (38) – They had a minor hit in 1987 with “Don't Look Down”, but this was anything but minor. The song, the third and final new hit from Pretty Woman, was their first and so far only Hot 100 Top Ten (though I seem to recall that their song “Faithful” was a Top Ten hit on AT40, but that charted long after American Top 40 had abandoned the Hot 100). It was a pretty good song, but I preferred most of their other songs.
BAD OF THE HEART – GEORGE LAMOND (40) – I remember him more for his duet with Brenda K. Starr called “No Matter What”, which peaked at #49 in early 1991, but was one of my Personal Top 30 #1 songs, as well as his minor hit “Baby I Believe In You” from about two years later. This song was OK, but nothing special.
MAKE YOU SWEAT – KEITH SWEAT (34) – This R&B artist first hit the pop chart in early 1988 with “I Want Her” and he was coming back for a second wave of popularity. I always got this song confused with “Rub You The Right Way” (since both are new jack swing type songs with similar chord progressions). This was another one of those songs that were just there, though I've found myself liking it a little more over the years.
DON'T GO AWAY MAD (JUST GO AWAY) – MOTLEY CRUE (37) – Another one of their power ballads, though this one was mid-tempo. I really liked it and feel that it was somewhat underrated.
KISS THIS THING GOODBYE – DEL AMITRI (38) – Most people remember them for their big 1995 hit “Roll To Me”, but they did have other Top 40 hits before that, including their debut hit. It was one of those songs that I loved at first, but then grew tired of it somewhat quickly. This song sounded a little like a late-70s song, which might be the reason it only got as high as #35 on the charts.
HANKY PANKY – MADONNA (40) – While her song “Vogue” lasted awhile on the charts and still gets recurrent airplay, this one kinda just came and went. Though it peaked at #10, it spent only seven weeks on the chart. I was never a huge fan of the song myself.
JULY
IF WISHES CAME TRUE – SWEET SENSATION (33) – Well, they saved the best for last! As their final Top 40 hit, they went with a slow song, and it indeed worked, as, not only did it become their first Top Ten hit, but it went all the way to the top! It is also my favorite song from them by far.
COULD THIS BE LOVE – SEDUCTION (36) – And look at this! Another band with similar music style as Sweet Sensation, as I've pointed out before and they were debuting the same week with their fourth hit – and it was a ballad as well. Only thing is, it did not quite hit the Top Ten, and it wasn't even their biggest hit. It was, however, my favorite of their four songs and I was disappointed that the song just missed the Top Ten (it did, however, peak at #6 on the R&R chart).
PURE – LIGHTNING SEEDS (39) – The only song for this British Alternative band, headed up by Ian Broudie and named after a misheard lyric from “Raspberry Beret” by Prince (“Thunder drowns out what the lightning sees”). It was a rather interesting song, but I can kind of see why it didn't do any better than it did.
COME BACK TO ME – JANET JACKSON (30) – The first and only slow jam released from Rhythm Nation. This song just missed hitting #1, which would have put her in a tie with brother Michael for most #1 hits from a single album (the song did, however, hit #1 on the R&R charts, making the record a reality there). I liked this song at first, but it was one of those songs that wore out kind of fast (likely due to overplay). I do like it now, and was delighted to find the single version of it (well, sort of) on YouTube – previously, the only ones that were available was the album version – the one that starts out with Janet humming the melody of the chorus.
EPIC – FAITH NO MORE (31) – The title of this song was never mentioned in the song (although I always thought that you could hear it in the chorus, but they were just saying, “yeah, yeah”). I believe the song is so titled because it contains several types of music – rap intermingled with heavy metal, and then it ends sounding like a piano concerto. It was a great song, and, on AT40, it became the first song since 1976 that a song hit the Top Ten, dropped out and re-entered. This one, however, surpassed its peak by hitting #9 in its re-entry. Not sure when the last time a song did that before then was.
JERK OUT – THE TIME (32) – Sort of a risque sounding title. This song charted when I was going to college and a few people told me is that the “jerk out” was when a man picks up a woman, takes her to a hotel and, right in the middle of foreplay when things were getting hot, he bails on the woman, leaving her to pay for the hotel room. Or something like that – it's been nearly 30 years since then, so my memory might be playing tricks on me.
UNSKINNY BOP – POISON (36) – A song about doing the naughty with a fat woman? Well, whatever it was, it was a good song, and it became their first song to hit the Top Ten in R&R without going to #1 (as their other songs had been near-misses). Of course, on AT40, they'd had several Top Ten hits by now.
POSSESSION – BAD ENGLISH (37) – The peak diversity between this song on R&R and the Hot 100 reminded me of 1982, as it hit #10 on the former while it only got as high as #21 on the latter. Even in Gavin Magazine, on which rock hits like this tended to peak higher than on the other two publications, it peaked at #11. I guess R&R had just enough reporters that had this record in their Top Ten. Anyhoo, it was a great song – my favorite of their three Top 40 hits.
I DIDN'T WANT TO NEED YOU – HEART (40) – After the success of the first hit from Brigade, I expected this song to at least hit the Top 20, but it petered out at #23, which I thought was a shame, as this was a great song – possibly my favorite of their three 1990 hits.
DO ME! - BELL BIV DEVOE (29) – I'm surprised that this song, about a guy asking a woman to have sex with him, wasn't banned from the radio, especially after “I Want Your Sex” by George Michael was. I don't even think that radio stations were given directions to edit this song out of the countdown. Anyway, this was another new jack swing number like several other songs on the chart around this time. I rather liked this one.
HAVE YOU SEEN HER – MC HAMMER (31) - An interesting remake of the old Chi-Lites hit (one of two that charted in the summer of 1990). The lyrics were sort of changed - in the original, the singer was looking for an old lover that had "left and gone away". In this song, he’s actually looking for any girl to call his own. I actually preferred this version over the original – one that takes me back to my days of working at the pizza joint the summer before heading off for college!
ACROSS THE RIVER – BRUCE HORNSBY & THE RANGE (37) – Another song that takes me back! I associate this song more with college, since it was played on the AC stations that I listened to well into the fall! I was kind of surprised that this one missed the Top Ten at Pop radio, but Bruce had already had his day in the sun back in the 1980s. He had two more Top 40 hits after this, both of which failed to hit the Top 30. He did continue to do well at AC radio, where this song peaked at #8.
THE OTHER SIDE – AEROSMITH (38) – The last of the four Pump singles. This song didn't do quite as well as the other three, since most fans had the album by now. As a result of lack of sales, this song ran out of gas at #22. The song wasn't bad, but I preferred many others from them.
RELEASE ME – WILSON PHILLIPS (39) – Their second Top 40 hit and, since it sounded so much like “Hold On”, I got sick of this song quickly and hated it so much that I'm surprised that I'm not still burned out on it, but now I actually like it (the fact that it takes me back, like many other songs around this time, might have something to do with it).
MY KINDA GIRL – BABYFACE (40) – Back in the day, this was one of those songs that was just there, but when I heard it on a retro-Rick show a year or so ago, I was like, wow, this was a great song! I can't believe I didn't like it! Too bad it didn't get any higher than #30.
BLAZE OF GLORY – JON BON JOVI (36) – The first of two Top 40 hits from the Young Guns II soundtrack. It sounds a lot like his 1987 hit with his band, “Wanted Dead Or Alive”, and that's no coincidence – Emilio Estevez wanted to use that song on the soundtrack, but Jon didn't feel the lyrics were appropriate, so he wrote a new song, keeping the melody very similar to “Wanted Dead Or Alive”. This song did better than that one, hitting #1 in early September. I liked this song, but preferred his other song from the soundtrack.
LOVE AND EMOTION – STEVIE B (39) – The first of three Top 40 hits from the album of the same name. It was a good song, but I preferred the other two hits from Love And Emotion.
AUGUST
BANNED IN THE USA – LUKE f/THE 2 LIVE CREW (27) – This song, which was fueled almost exclusively by sales, was a reference to the decision in a court case that the 2 Live Crew album As Nasty As They Wanna Be was obscene (a decision that would later be overturned on appeal). The melody of the song was based on Springsteen's signature hit “Born In The USA” and the song itself was the title-track to the 2 Live Crew's fourth album.
TONIGHT – NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK (37) - This one had a retro feel to it - sounded kind of a cross between the Beatles (especially in the verses) and the Bee Gees (in the choruses). It was a great song, but it sure came and went, even faster than “Step By Step”, which goes to show that they were beginning to fade away. Around this time, two members of the band were featured in duets that got radio airplay through the summer. Donny Walhberg teamed up with a woman known simply as Seiko with “The Right Combination”, which peaked at #54 a few weeks back. The other song, “Angel Of Love” was a duet between Jordan Knight and another artist known only by her first name, Ana. That song did not chart on the Hot 100, but it might not have been released as a single, which would account for that. Regardless, it did get sporadic airplay, including Chicago's WTYZ (Z95), where it hit #10 on their radio playlist the week before, and WBBM (B96). Both were great songs, IMO. This song, by the way, would be their last Top 40 hit until early 1992.
TIC TAC TOE – KYPER (40) – Ah, talking about the adult version of the popular kids' game! This one samples "Owner Of A Lonely Heart", as well as some other song that I think is also sampled in "Beverly Hills" by Weezer. This song was a big sales hit, but I think some stations banned it due to its lyrical content (I think U93 did this for its last few weeks on AT40); it was a Top Ten sales hit, but didn't hit the Top 30 on the airplay chart.
(CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT YOUR) LOVE AND AFFECTION – NELSON (32) – Twin sons Matthew And Gunnar Nelson, sons of the great Ricky Nelson, decided to follow in their dad's footsteps and go into the music business. They looked to be off to a promising start, as their first hit went all the way to the top! I liked this song, but preferred their next three hits, all of which came from their debut album After The Rain.
THE GIRL I USED TO KNOW – BROTHER BEYOND (36) – The first and only US hit for this boyband from England. It was OK, but nothing exceptional.
WE'RE ALL IN THE SAME GANG – WEST COAST RAP ALL-STARS (37) – An anti-violence anthem from this assembly of hip-hop stars from the West Coast, produced by Dr. Dre. I don't remember hearing this song, even though I did listen to AT40 on a weekly basis back then. It must not have made much of an impression on me. Of course, I spent much of August gearing up to go off to college, so that might have had some hand in how this song got lost in the shuffle.
CLOSE TO YOU – MAXI PRIEST (39) – Exactly 20 years before, the Carpenters were on top of the US charts with a song of the same title. This, of course, sounded nothing like that song; it was a reggae-flavored song from this artist's fifth album, even though it was his second Top 40 hit. This song went to #1 in early October and remains his biggest hit to this date. Although I'm not generally a huge fan of his, this song was actually pretty good.
THIEVES IN THE TEMPLE – PRINCE (40) – The first of two Top 40 hits from soundtrack to the film Graffiti Bridge, in which Prince himself starred. This song was mediocre at best. Prince had many songs that were better than this, IMO.
CAN'T STOP FALLING INTO LOVE – CHEAP TRICK (36) – They had made one of the more successful comebacks of the 1980s and looked to be trying to make another one. However, this turned out to be their final Top 40 hit. It was a great song – one of my favorites from them!
SOMETHING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO HEAVEN – PHIL COLLINS (37) – The fourth single from Collins' multi-platinum album ...But Seriously. Though I did prefer it over the mediocre “Do You Remember”, it is not my favorite song by him by any means.
MY, MY, MY – JOHNNY GILL (38) – This was Gill's second Top 40 hit. Though not quite as successful as “Rub You The Right Way”, it did hit the Top Ten. It was pretty much your run-of-the-mill early 90s slow jam. I thought it was pretty good.
OH GIRL – PAUL YOUNG (39) – This was the other Chi-Lites remake that charted in 1990. The song hit the Top Ten on the Hot 100, but made an even bigger splash on the AC chart, hitting #1 and ruling for the entire year (on R&R, anyway). I did like this song better than the original, but preferred the other Chi-Lites remake, mentioned earlier.
HEART OF STONE – TAYLOR DAYNE (40) – Her fourth and final hit from Can't Fight Fate. It was a pleasant, mellow song, though somewhat bland. Didn't hold a candle to “Love Will Lead You Back”, IMO.
CAN'T STOP – AFTER 7 (38) – Back in the day, I didn't really like this song, but now that radio stations pretty much ignore it, I think it's a great song – as long as it's the original version instead of the One World remix, which I remember hearing on some of the countdowns.
DIRTY CASH (MONEY TALKS) – THE ADVENTURES OF STEVIE V (40) – The first and only hit for this dance music act from Bedfordshire, England. Although I wasn't a big fan of this type of music, I rather liked this song.
SEPTEMBER
POLICY OF TRUTH – DEPECHE MODE (32) – The follow-up to their only Top Ten hit (though this song did sneak a week in the Top Ten on R&R). I did prefer this song over two of their previous Top 40 hits (“People Are People” and “Personal Jesus”) - by a fair margin, might I add, but my favorite song from them was said Top Ten “Enjoy The Silence”.
ROMEO – DINO (33) – He had a pair of Top 40 hits in 1989 and was back with what became his highest-peaking hit. It was so/so, but pretty much blended in with all the other Top 40 dance hits of the early 1990s.
EVERYBODY EVERYBODY – BLACK BOX (34) – My opinion on this song depends on which version it is. Of course, all dance hits like this have a number of remixes, but there are two that I've heard on the radio. The one I like is the Love Unlimited remix, since that doesn't have all the annoying grunts heard throughout the regular version of it, which was the one that most countdown shows played. The only time I ever heard the Love Unlimited mix was on U93, since that was the one they played.
TELL ME SOMETHING – INDECENT OBSESSION (37) – The only Top 40 song from this Aussie band that may have done better on the chart two years earlier, when there were many bands from down under on the charts, especially during the first half of 1988. The song, which peaked at #31, was not bad, but a song I could take or leave.
PRAYING FOR TIME – GEORGE MICHAEL (23) – Based on its super-high debut, it was clear this song was on its way to #1. However, this song only logged ten weeks on the chart, an unusually short term for a #1 hit (as most chart toppers in 1990 averaged about 14 Top 40 weeks). That was too bad, as this was a great song (at least it made it to the top).
THIS IS THE RIGHT TIME – LISA STANSFIELD (35) - Definitely one of the most successful new artists of 1990 here! After two mid-tempo songs (that sounded somewhat alike), she released a fast number for her third single. This one didn’t quite match the success of her debut single "All Around The World", just missing the Top 20. As for my opinion of it, it’s pretty good, though nothing special.
I DON'T HAVE THE HEART – JAMES INGRAM (36) – I'd been hearing this song since early July, since I listened to more AC radio than pop that summer. Since this was a little late hitting the Pop charts, I wasn't sure that this would do well on the charts, but, in fact, it made it all the way to the top! Good, as this was one of his best songs (in fact, on my Personal Top 30 chart, it was THE biggest hit of 1990).
UNCHAINED MELODY – THE RIGHTEOUS BROTHERS (VERVE) (37) – The Jerry Zucker movie Ghost, which was the highest-grossing film of 1990, was responsible in reviving this quarter-century old recording, which initially, sounded quite out of place for 1990, but eventually fit in, as it was played regularly on the radio. A great song indeed!
CRAZY – THE BOYS (38) – They had a Top 40 hit in 1989 with “Dial My Heart”, and now, nearly two years later, the Boys, who now ranged in age from 11-17, were back with their second Top 40 hit, which was the first from their second album, which was self-titled. I actually preferred this song. Even though it was typical R&B music, there was something about this song that I liked.
GIVING YOU THE BENEFIT – PEBBLES (40) – Wow, a week after Dino debuted, another character from the Flintstones hit the charts! Now, if only Bam-Bam's hit hadn't just barely fallen short... But seriously, this is another artist who was at the beginning of another wave of popularity, as she had a pair of Top 40 hits in 1988. This song, a Babyface/L.A. Reid production, sounded a little like her first hit, which was produced by the same team. This song was OK, but nothing out of the ordinary.
BLACK CAT – JANET JACKSON (37) – Now this was a huge departure from her usual dance/pop music style! She went with a hard rock feel for this song, but it apparently worked, as the song, which was reminiscent of Joan Jett's “I Hate Myself For Loving You”, hit #1 – appropriately enough, on the weekend before Halloween. I wonder if it was rigged?
SAY A PRAYER – BREATHE (39) – They may have been huge in 1988, with their first album spawning three Top Ten hits, but they didn't fare so well with their sophomore album Peace Of Mind, as neither of the two singles even made the Top 20. This one came close, however, peaking at #21. Shame that it didn't do any better, as it was my favorite of their charted hits.
ICE ICE BABY – VANILLA ICE (23) – This song, which sampled the bassline from the Queen/David Bowie song “Under Pressure”, matched the super-high debut of “Praying For Time” and, like that song, it went to #1. However, right about as it was hitting the top, EMI discontinued pressing of the single, in effort to boost sales of the album To The Extreme, (which proved to be successful), and if not for that, the song might have spent the entire month of November at #1 on the Hot 100, based on the fact that the song was number one on R&R for the two weeks after its sole week at the top of the Billboard chart. I'm glad that it didn't have a lengthy run on top; even though I liked the song at first, it quickly got old.
SUICIDE BLONDE – INXS (33) – Earlier, I mentioned how Aussie acts abounded on the charts in 1988. This was the most successful of those, as throughout that year, they placed four hits on the chart, each of which hit the Top Ten. This was their first hit since then, and it also hit the Top Ten. The song wasn't bad, but it was definitely not their best hit ever.
FLY TO THE ANGELS – SLAUGHTER (36) – Their second Top 40 hit. Their first hit rocked out, and for their second release, they decided to go with a power ballad. It became their biggest hit, peaking at #19, and it was also my favorite of their songs – a great one indeed!
ALL I'M MISSING IS YOU – GLENN MEDEIROS w/RAY PARKER, JR. (37) – Three of his hits from his 1990 self-titled album were duets with R&B acts and all of those were released as singles. This song had sort of a jazz feel to it (I'm thinking that Parker had a hand in producing the song). I preferred it over his duet with Bobby Brown. Not sure about the third single, “Me-U=Blue”, a collaboration with the Stylistics, as it fizzled out at #78 in November.
FEELS GOOD – TONY! TONI! TONE! (38) – Well, as the saying goes, third time is a charm, as they'd had two Hot 100 singles that just missed the Top 40, but this one made it (and hit the Top Ten, no less). It was a pretty good song, IMO.
TIME FOR LETTING GO – JUDE COLE (40) – This may have been his last Top 40 hit of his own, but he would become successful as a producer with some of Lifehouse's biggest hits. This song was pretty good, but I preferred the follow-up “House Full Of Reasons”. Too bad that didn't hit the Top 40.
LOVE TAKES TIME – MARIAH CAREY (36) – This is the song that made me especially glad that singles sales of “Ice Ice Baby” had been discontinued. Had it not been for that, Mariah might not have had her #1 streak (well, except for on R&R). This was possibly my favorite of Mariah's songs and I'm glad that it went to #1.
CHERRY PIE – WARRANT (39) – Ah, I remember the days of having a delicious slice of cherry pie for lunch dessert at the dining hall at college on Sundays! As for this song, it was their only Top 20 hit that was not a power ballad. The guitar solo near the beginning always reminded me of “Cult Of Personality” by Living Colour from the previous year.
MORE THAN WORDS CAN SAY – ALIAS (40) – The first of two Top 40 hits by two Sheriffs with a lot of Heart. It was also my favorite of the two – reminded me a little of Sheriff's #1 hit “When I'm With You”, only quite a lot better! The song came close to hitting #1, but not quite (at least the song that it lost out to was one of my favorite songs of 1990!)
OCTOBER
GEORGIA ON MY MIND – MICHAEL BOLTON (36) – He went with his cover of the Ray Charles classic as the final single from Soul Provider. With Kenny G on sax, it's no surprise that this song did well at AC radio, peaking at #6. However, on the Hot 100, this was actually all the higher the song got. I liked this song, but preferred the original.
PRAY – MC HAMMER (37) – I found it weird that three songs about praying hit the charts in the fall of 1990, considering the fact that I was attending a Christian college at the time. I liked the other two songs, but this one, which heavily samples “When Doves Cry” by Prince, was kinda mediocre. This was the third of four singles released from Please Hammer, Don't Hurt 'Em and the last to hit the Top 40 (as “Here Comes The Hammer” stalled out at #54 in early 1991)
JOEY – CONCRETE BLONDE (39) – The only Top 40 hit from this alternative rock band that originated in L.A. It was a really good song – definitely one that I associate with college.
UNCHAINED MELODY – RIGHTEOUS BROTHERS (CURB) (30) – The original version of this had hit the chart a few weeks earlier, but they recorded a new version of the song, as the original one was only available as a 45 RPM single and sales were minimal. As a result, the new version was the one that got the sales points while the original was the one that received a vast majority of airplay. The lack of both figures for either single were an impediment to their performance on the Hot 100 and, as a result, neither of them made the Top Ten; the original peaked at #13 and the re-recording hit #19. For the Top 100 of 1990 countdown, Shadoe combined the point totals of both versions of the songs and it came in at #39, about where it would have ranked had the original been released as a cassette single, which, back then, was the popular mode of single (although CD singles were becoming increasingly popular as well). During this song's chart run, there were a few weeks where both versions were close together on the charts, so Shadoe played one and not the other. I seem to recall that on one of those weeks, he replaced the version he decided to skip with a medley of all the versions that made the chart. Not sure what he did in place of the other week or two that he skipped; possibly not editing as many songs as usual.
KNOCKIN' BOOTS – CANDYMAN (31) – We went for fourteen years without any songs re-entering the Top Ten during a single chart run and now we had two within a few months. This song peaked at #9 in November, dropped back to #11 and made an encore appearance in the top ten in the anchor position (so, unlike “Epic”, it didn't best its previous peak position). As for the song, though I'm not much of a rap fan, I actually liked this song.
LIES – EN VOGUE (38) – Well, their first hit peaked at #2, but this song, on the other hand, only spent a single week on the charts. I forget exactly how it goes, but I seem to remember that their #1 song “My Lovin (You're Never Gonna Get It)” sounded a little like it.
OOOPS UP – SNAP (40) – And look here – another follow-up to a debut song that peaked at #2 (and both songs were of the same genre) This one did a little better than the En Vogue song – moved up to #35 the following week and then dropped off. Like “Lies”, I only vaguely remember this song and that I preferred it over “The Power”, though not by much.
SOMETHING TO BELIEVE IN – POISON (32) – Just like they did in “Every Rose Has Its Thorn”, they slowed down the tempo in this song – and it worked, as the song became one of their biggest hits, peaking at #4. It was a great song – possibly my favorite song from them of all time (as it is their highest ranked song on my Top 2500 song of the 20th Century list).
GROOVE IS IN THE HEART – DEEE-LITE (33) – The only Top 40 hit from this dance trio from the Big Apple. As repetitive as this song is, I actually like it a lot. One of many songs that take me back to my college days!
SO CLOSE – DARYL HALL & JOHN OATES (34) – This song sort of lived up to its title, as it just barely missed hitting the Top Ten, peaking at #11 in early December (the song did, however, manage three weeks in the Top Ten on the R&R chart, where it got as high as #9). This turned out to be their final Top 40 hit (as the follow-up, “Don't Hold Back Your Love”, peaked at #41 in early 1991).
HIPPYCHICK – SOHO (36) – Another one-hit wonder – in this case, an English pop trio that is the namesake of where they originated. This song would have been really good if it weren't as off-key as it is. It's still not bad, though.
STRANDED – HEART (37) – Their third and final Top 40 hit from Brigade (the fourth, “Secret” peaked at #68 in early 1991). The title of this song might describe the man that Ann Wilson met in “All I Wanna Do Is Make Love To You” had not stopped to pick him up. But seriously, this song was pretty good, though somewhat of a watered-down version of “I Didn't Want To Need You”.
FROM A DISTANCE – BETTE MIDLER (40) – This is one of the songs that seemed to get an airplay boost from the crisis that was going on over in Kuwait at the time – the crisis that ultimately led to the Persian Gulf War, which started the following January. It was a really nice song – one of my favorites from her!
I'M YOUR BABY TONIGHT – WHITNEY HOUSTON (29) – She was back after an absence of over two years from the chart with her third album, which would be released in November. Surprisingly, this album, from which this song was the title-track, did not go to #1; it peaked at #3, which is still great. As for the song, well, it wasn't one of my favorite songs from her by any means. I liked a lot of her upbeat music, but there's something about this song that I didn't like.
THE WAY YOU DO THE THINGS YOU DO – UB40 (35) – Oddly enough, this is the most successful version of this song – as well as the only one to hit the Top Ten. The original version by the Temptations peaked at #11 in 1964 and the remakes by Rita Coolidge and Hall & Oates and company both peaked at #20. This reggae interpretation of the song made it to #6. It was a good song – not sure which of the above versions I prefer.
LYIN' TO MYSELF – DAVID CASSIDY (36) – The comeback for a man whose first wave of popularity came in the early 1970s as lead singer of the Partridge Family, as well as with a few solo hits. His comeback, however, only lasted with this song, which peaked at #27. Sadly, Cassidy passed away this past November.
BECAUSE I LOVE YOU (THE POSTMAN SONG) – After a few mid-charters, Stevie B finally had his first Top Ten hit. It didn't stop there, though; the song went all the way to #1 and ruled for four weeks, tying Sinead O'Connor and Mariah Carey for the longest-running #1 song within the year 1990. I thought it was a great song at first, but then overplay sort of tarnished it for me. I still liked it though and, now that I seldom hear it, it's a great song!
IMPULSIVE – WILSON PHILLIPS (39) – After two slow songs, they picked up the tempo for this one. I actually preferred this over those two songs, which sound so much alike (sort of like Rick Astley's first two songs were identical to each other). This was definitely my favorite of their five Top 40 hits from their self-titled debut album.
NOVEMBER
HIGH ENOUGH – D@MN YANKEES (35) – A supergroup, consisting of Ted Nugent, Jack Blades of Night Ranger, Tommy Shaw of Styx, and Michael Cartellone, who was a drummer that worked with a number of other bands. Their debut single, “Coming Of Age” didn't quite make the Top 40, but this song certainly did, peaking at #3 the following January. It was a great song, but not quite as good as their 1993 “Silence Is Broken”.
HEART LIKE A WHEEL – HUMAN LEAGUE (37) – They may have been big in the 1980s, but just didn't have what it took in the 1990s, as this song only got as high as #32. I thought it was a good song though. The beginning reminds me of music used for top-of-the-hour newscasts that radio stations used to have back around the time this song charted.
TOM'S DINER – DNA f/SUZANNE VEGA (38) – This song used to drive me nuts, especially the annoying “do do do do” in each refrain. It also depicted a boring story about a woman having a cup of coffee at the local diner on a rainy morning before catching a train to work. This was actually a remix of a song that originally appeared on Vega's 1987 album Solitude Standing, which was a capella and didn't have the “do do do do” part until the very end, and that came right at the fade. Needless to say, I preferred that version over the remix.
FREEDOM '90 – GEORGE MICHAEL (39) – When I first saw the title of this song, I thought that he had done a cover of his song with Wham!, but, in fact, this was a different song entirely. I wasn't a huge fan of it, though. I definitely preferred said Wham! song, which peaked at #3 in 1985. This song got as high as #8.
MY LOVE IS A FIRE – DONNY OSMOND (40) – Another early-70s idol, like David Cassidy, who had actually made his comeback the year before with songs like “Soldier Of Love” and “Sacred Emotion”. I preferred those songs over this one quite significantly; this song just didn't do anything for me.
WIGGLE IT – 2 IN A ROOM (30) – Another dance group from the New York area, like Deee-Lite, with their only Top 40 hit. I liked this song, but certainly wouldn't want to hear it on a regular basis (I seem to recall that the stations I listened to back in late 1990 didn't play it – at least not regularly).
MIRACLE – JON BON JOVI (35) – The second of two Top 40 hits from the Young Guns II soundtrack, and my favorite of the two by a considerable margin. Possibly my favorite song from Jon Bon Jovi, both solo and with his band. I associate this song more with a train trip I took to California back in October, 1997, since this song was part of a mix tape that I listened to a lot on the train.
B.B.D. (I THOUGHT IT WAS ME)? (37) – Their third and final Top 40 hit from the Poison album. Since this song seemed to be a little more mellow than their two previous hits, as well as the fact that it wasn't as overplayed (since it only got as high as #26 – a perfect example of “Third Single Syndrome”), I actually kind of liked this song.
THINK – INFORMATION SOCIETY (40) – Their first album, which was self-titled, was pretty successful, attaining Gold status and spawning four singles (although only two of those made the Top 40), but their new album, Hack, was a commercial disappointment. Its only Top 40 hit only got as high as #28. The song wasn't bad, but nothing special.
SENSITIVITY – RALPH TRESVANT (34) – LOL, I have him listed as “Ralph Tresman” on the chart I wrote down the week the song debuted (I seem to recall I was on the phone with my Mom at the time I was listening to the show). Anyway, he was featured on the aforementioned Luther/Janet song and, of course, he was the lead singer of New Edition, which was on hiatus (from the charts, anyway) at the time. He also had two solo Top 40 hits and this was the first. I thought it was a pretty decent song.
MILES AWAY – WINGER (38) – Their third and final Top 40 hit (though the follow-up, “Easy Come, Easy Go” just narrowly missed the Top 40 in March, peaking at #41). Though my favorite song from them was their Summer '89 hit “Headed For A Heartbreak”, this would be a relatively close second. It is a great song IMO.
ONE AND ONLY MAN – STEVE WINWOOD (39) – This song always reminded me of his 1986 hit “Freedom Overspill”. This song, one of four songs by Winwood that topped the album rock charts, turned out to be his final Top 40 hit. It was a pretty good song, but I preferred several others from him.
JUSTIFY MY LOVE – MADONNA (36) – Of course, the big story about this song was the video, which was deemed too sexually graphic for MTV. Madonna eventually released a video single of the song, which became the highest selling video single of all time, being certified four times platinum by the RIAA. As for the song, I rather liked it, despite the fact that I was attending a Christian college and the lyrics weren't really in harmony with the Missionary religion. I just listened to it on the radio at a low-tone level.
FAIRWEATHER FRIEND – JOHNNY GILL (38) – Here's a case of third-single syndrome, as this song petered out at #28 after two Top Ten hits from his self-titled album. I preferred this one over the other two, since I liked the melody. It was my favorite of his charted hits.
AND SO IT GOES – BILLY JOEL (39) – He'd been absent from the chart since April, since his third and fourth singles from Storm Front “The Downeaster Alexa” and “That's Not Her Style”, respectively, didn't quite make the Top 40, but he returned to the Top 40 with the fifth and final song from the album. The song was a piano-driven ballad that I'd been hearing on the radio since August, since it was a huge AC hit, and it did manage to hit the Top 40, though it only got as high as #37 on the Pop charts. I liked this song a lot.
THE FIRST TIME – SURFACE (40) – Third time was a charm here, as their third Top 40 hit went all the way to #1. As big a hit as this song was, I'm kind of surprised that it didn't become a popular LDD request (in fact, as far as I know, it was never requested for that purpose). Anyway, this was a great song – by far my favorite of their charted hits.
DECEMBER
LOVE WILL NEVER DO (WITHOUT YOU) – JANET JACKSON (31) – This song became a record-setting seventh single from Rhythm Nation 1814. Yes, there had been several other albums that spawned seven hits, but this was the first time that a solo female did it. It was also the first time that all seven songs from a single album hit the Top Five, as well as the first time that a seventh single hit #1. That goes to show just how hot the Rhythm Nation album was. This was definitely one of my favorite songs from the album.
AFTER THE RAIN – NELSON (35) – The second single from the Nelson twins (who would host AT40 in late January, so they got to intro this song, when it was at #8). This was possibly my second favorite of their singles from the album to which this is the title-track, behind “Only Time Will Tell”.
FOR YOU – THE OUTFIELD (39) – The first and only single from their final album to make the Billboard 200, Diamond Days. I liked this song, but preferred the two Play Deep Top 40 hits.
JUST ANOTHER DREAM – CATHY DENNIS (34) – She'd charted earlier in the year as a guest vocalist on D'Mob's “C'Mon And Get Your Love” and was now trying it on her own – and she did quite well, with three Top 40 hits, all of which made the Top Ten over the next year. This song had a back-up singer that many people thought was Rick Astley, but it was not. As for this song, it was pretty good, but my favorite song from Cathy's Move To This album was “Too Many Walls”, which charted the following summer.
HANG IN LONG ENOUGH – PHIL COLLINS (36) – The first four singles from ...But Seriously hit the Top Ten, but this song only managed to climb up to #23. Too bad, as this was a great song – my second favorite from the album behind “I Wish It Would Rain Down”.
ON THE WAY UP – ELISA FIORELLO (38) – Like Cathy Dennis, her first chart hit was as a featured artist – in this case, Jellybean and the song “Who Found Who”. The only difference is, she wasn't as successful as Cathy Dennis – this song, which was co-written by Prince, was Fiorello's only solo Top 40 hit.
I'M NOT IN LOVE – WILL TO POWER (39) – Their second Top 40 hit and, like the first, it was a cover of a song from the 1970s – 10cc's debut hit from 1975. This version of the song does not include the “Be quiet, big boys don't cry” whispers – instead, after the second verse, the remake goes into a saxophone solo. At the beginning of the song, you can hear “be quiet” whispered twice, but other than that... Anyway, this was my favorite of the two versions of the song.
GONNA MAKE YOU SWEAT (EVERYBODY DANCE NOW) – C&C MUSIC FACTORY (30) – The first of a handful of hits for this Clivilles & Cole-led dance outfit, and the song that they're most famous for, featuring former Weather Girls member Martha Wash (whom, of course, was the one singing, "EVERYBODY DANCE NOW!" This song seemed to be a favorite of someone on Rick Dees' staff, as it seemed to be on most of their all-request specials, and I seem to remember that it was chosen on more than one occasion as a “replacement” of a song that Rick opted to skip over. Indeed, this song was quite overplayed and, to this day, I'm still burned out on it (not that it was one of my favorite songs in the first place).
ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE – DEBBIE GIBSON (35) – At this point, she was definitely passe, as this was the only single released here in the states from her album of the same title, and its performance on the chart was less than stellar, getting no higher than #26. I myself was never a huge fan of this song.
PLAY THAT FUNKY MUSIC – VANILLA ICE (37) – No. Just no.
DO THE BARTMAN – BART SIMPSON (airplay) – One of three album cuts that charted on the Airplay chart before AT40 switched to the Top 40 Radio Monitor as a basis. This novelty song from possibly THE most successful animated series ever peaked at #11 in January, 1991 and I'm actually surprised that it didn't get any higher than that, seeing as the song was played out on the stations I listened to (and the airplay chart was now being figured by actual airplay figures). It was a pretty good song – one that only a Simpsons fan would be able to appreciate.
YOU'RE AMAZING – ROBERT PALMER (33) – The first of two Top 40 hits from Palmer's Don't Explain album. It wasn't bad, but I preferred the next release, a medley of two great Marvin Gaye's classics.
GENTLE – DINO (34) – He was generally known for his upbeat dance numbers, but he did do a few slow songs, like this one, featuring Delona Tanner as a guest vocalist. This was probably my favorite song from him – a great song indeed!
I'LL GIVE ALL MY LOVE TO YOU – KEITH SWEAT (36) – Another R&B ballad from a man who had only hit the Top 40 with dance songs. And, like the Dino song, this was one of my favorites from Keith Sweat, who had a few high-charting ballads later in the 1990s that I also liked.
DISAPPEAR – INXS (39) – Bringing up the rear for the year 1990 is a band whose heyday was definitely 1988. But 1990 was a decent year for them, as they had a Top Ten hit earlier in the year and this follow-up would also hit the Top Ten. Of their two Top 40 hits from X (“Bitter Tears” didn't quite make it), this would be my favorite by a considerable margin. It was one of my favorite songs from them.
JANUARY
OPPOSITES ATTRACT – PAULA ABDUL w/THE WILD PAIR (32) – She had a great 1989 and looked to be off to a great start for 1990, although this was her only hit that year. However, it was one of her biggest hits, spending three weeks at #1, just like “Straight Up”. This song wasn't bad, but it was definitely not one of her best songs IMO.
PRINCIPAL'S OFFICE – YOUNG MC (35) – I liked this song, because I could kind of relate, being in high school at the time. The story he told in this song, about being sent to the office for being late, skipping class to “shoot some ball”, and writing love notes in class, never got old. Too bad this wasn't as big as “Bust A Move”.
KICKSTART MY HEART – MOTLEY CRUE (37) – This was pretty decent, though I preferred the other three Dr. Feelgood singles.
STEAMY WINDOWS – TINA TURNER (39) – This song looked promising at first, moving 48-39 in only its seventh week on the Hot 100, but it hit a brick wall and dropped out the following week. I don't even remember how it goes, as this was the only time I remember ever hearing it.
DANGEROUS – ROXETTE (40) – This song sounded a lot like “Dressed For Success” - only difference is, I liked it a lot better for some reason (kind of like Hall & Oates two 1981 #1's). Apparently, the general Top 40 audience agreed, as it hit #2 on the charts.
HERE WE ARE – GLORIA ESTEFAN (37) – The third hit from her first solo album Cuts Both Ways. It was also the final single to hit the Top 40, though two other singles, “Oye Mi Canto” and the title track were released and peaked in the 40s on the Hot 100. This is another song that was just there when it was on the charts, but I've grown to like it a lot more since then.
WE CAN'T GO WRONG – THE COVER GIRLS (38) – They finally had their first Top Ten with this song. It was a great song IMO – one of my favorites from them.
ALL OR NOTHING – MILLI VANILLI (39) – This was their last Top 40 hit – actually, it was their last hit period, since before they could release their next album, it was found out that they didn't really sing on any of their songs (resulting in being stripped of their Grammy Award for Best New Artist). Then after that, of course, nobody cared about any of their further releases. As for this song, it wasn't bad – sounded a lot like “Spinning Wheel” by Blood, Sweat & Tears. Was their ever a plagiarism suit involving that, or did the lip synching scandal overshadow it?
I WANT YOU – SHANA (40) – Another one-week wonder, just like “Steamy Windows” The only difference is, it had been on the chart for more than twice as long, and I remember hearing this one on B96 quite a lot during the preceding fall. It was a pretty good song, IMO.
PRICE OF LOVE – BAD ENGLISH (35) – Their second Top 40 hit. It didn't quite make it to #1, like “When I See You Smile”, but it did peak at #5, which was great as well. I seem to remember that I liked this song a lot at first, but it wore out kinda fast.
NO MORE LIES – MICHEL'LE (36) – A song produced by rappers Dr. Dre & Easy-E, like her two other Top 40 hits. I believe they did the rapping in this song as well, but I'm not sure (artist credits back then didn't list every single person heard in the song). As for the song, it wasn't bad, but nothing special either.
ESCAPADE – JANET JACKSON (37) – This song sounded a lot like “Miss You Much”, and it did almost as well, hitting #1 for three weeks. On the R&R chart, it looked like it would be the #1 song of 1990 and that would have been really something, the same artist topping the chart for two weeks in a row, but it was not to be. Anyway, I really liked this song - one of my favorites from Rhythm Nation 1814.
ROAM – THE B-52'S (38) – Their second Top 40 hit peaked at #3, like their first, “Love Shack”, the latter of which was a little more memorable, though this song sometimes pops up on oldies stations that specialize in 80s music.
NOTHIN' TO HIDE – POCO (39) – For three weeks in a row, there were one-week wonders on AT40, and this was the third. I felt it was a shame that this song didn't do any better and that it was way underrated. It was a small consolation that this song, written and produced by Richard Marx, did hit the Top Ten on the AC chart. The song reminds me a lot of “Take It To The Limit”, which is no coincidence since, of course, Randy Meisner sang lead on both songs.
I GO TO EXTREMES – BILLY JOEL (36) – His second single from The Bridge returned to his usual music style, rather than a random list of events that happened in his lifetime. It was a decent song, but I preferred many others from him, including a few others from the same album.
C'MON AND GET MY LOVE – D'MOB f/CATHY DENNIS (37) – Cathy Dennis would chart solo the following year, but her first chart appearance was as a guest singer on this song by British house music producer D'Mob. This was one of those songs that I could take or leave.
WOMAN IN CHAINS – TEARS FOR FEARS (39) – This song, the second from Tears For Fears' Seeds Of Love album, featured Oleta Adams, who herself would chart in 1991, like Cathy Dennis. I liked this about the same as “Sowing The Seeds Of Love”, but neither song held a candle to the third single, “Advice For The Young At Heart”, which only got to #91 on the Hot 100, but did rather well at AC radio.
TOO LATE TO SAY GOODBYE – RICHARD MARX (40) – This song would break his Top Ten streak, since it peaked at #12, but kept it alive on the R&R chart, since it managed to climb to #10 there. This song was so/so at first, but I finally warmed up to it around the time it hit the Top Ten. A great song indeed!
FEBRUARY
SOMETIMES SHE CRIES – WARRANT (35) – Another power ballad from them, like their last Top 40 hit “Heaven”. It didn't do quite as well as that song, however, but it did peak at #20, which isn't half bad either. This was my favorite of their Dirty Filthy Stinking Rich singles.
NO MYTH – MICHAEL PENN (38) – The only Top 40 for the older brother of actors Sean and Chris Penn. It was a great song and another song that I felt was underrated.
BLACK VELVET – ALANNAH MYLES (39) – A tribute to Elvis Presley, and a great one at that. The song was a little overplayed, but that definitely didn't tarnish it at all.
LOVE WILL LEAD YOU BACK – TAYLOR DAYNE (40) – The second hit from Dayne's sophomore album Heart Of Stone became her very first (and only) number one hit, and there were no other songs of hers more deserving of the top spot than this one, IMO. One of my favorite songs of the entire year.
JUST A FRIEND – BIZ MARKIE (29) – Blegh! How in the world did this song make the chart – let alone the TOP TEN?? The guy's voice is very grating and off-key. The rap is the only tolerable part about the song. Mario's 2002 cover was much better.
SACRIFICE – ELTON JOHN (35) – His second single from Sleeping With The Past. This one was a little maudlin for my liking. I much preferred the other singles from the album.
HERE AND NOW – LUTHER VANDROSS (36) – He had been hitting the charts here and there throughout the 1980s, but finally had his first Top Ten in the 1990s. This was a nice song and became rather popular in the LDD department, as well as an ideal wedding song.
PERSONAL JESUS – DEPECHE MODE (38) – I still wasn't a big fan of them at this point (though that would change a little later on in the year, when they had two of their biggest hits ever). This song never did anything for me.
GET UP (BEFORE THE NIGHT IS OVER) – TECHNOTRONIC f/YA KID K (30) – Their second Top 40 hit as well as their first of two to feature Ya Kid K. Considering that I wasn't a huge rap fan, I actually liked this song a lot.
I WISH IT WOULD RAIN DOWN – PHIL COLLINS (31) – The second hit from ...But Seriously and definitely my favorite of the five singles that charted, as well as one of my favorite Phil Collins songs of all time! A great song indeed!
KEEP IT TOGETHER – MADONNA (34) – Her Like A Prayer album had just about run its course, and this was the fifth and final single from it. She did recover from her brief slump, presumably caused by the subject matter of “Oh Father”, as this song put her back into the Top Ten. It was a good song, though I prefer many others from her.
THE DEEPER THE LOVE – WHITESNAKE (39) – Back to power ballads, but they'd pretty much had their day in the sun at this point, as this turned out to be their final Top 40 hit. I thought it was pretty good – reminded me a little of Poco's “Call It Love”, from the previous fall.
SUMMER RAIN – BELINDA CARLISLE (40) – This song looked like it might do as well as “Leave The Light On”, if not better, as it hit the Top 40 in its fifth week on, but it hit a brick wall two weeks later, peaking at #30. That was too bad, as I thought it was a great song – I heard it fairly often on U93 back in the day.
ALL AROUND THE WORLD – LISA STANSFIELD (31) – Her first hit from her debut album Affection became a worldwide smash, hitting #1 in many countries. It did well here in the states as well, peaking at #3 and achieving platinum status. I thought it was a great song.
ALL MY LIFE – LINDA RONSTADT f/AARON NEVILLE (34) – Their second duet from Ronstadt's Cry Like A Rainstorm, Howl Like The Wind, and the last to make the Top 40 (the third one, “When Something Is Wrong With My Baby” petered out at #78, but was a Top Five AC hit in the early summer). Back in the day, this was my favorite of their two Top 40 duets by a fair margin, now I like them about the same – both are great love songs!
FOREVER – KISS (36) – They had nine Top 40 hits, but only two of them made the top ten – both of them slow songs. This power ballad, co-written by Michael Bolton, was a great song, though I slightly preferred their other Top Ten hit, “Beth”, from 1976.
ANYTHING I WANT – KEVIN PAIGE (37) – His first hit, “Don't Shut Me Out” did rather well, peaking at #18 and spending nearly half a year on the Hot 100, but this one came and went rather quickly. It sounded somewhat similar to his first hit, which I slightly preferred as well.
I'LL BE YOUR EVERYTHING – TOMMY PAGE (38) – Back-to-back pa(i)ges on the chart here! According to Fred Bronson's Billboard Book Of Number One Hits, this song just barely hit #1 by the skin of its teeth, as it was in a horse race with several other Top Five hits at the time, especially “Don't Want To Fall In Love” by Jane Child (more on that song in a moment) and Sire label's vice-president Howard Klein was tracking its progress on the chart as radio stations were reporting their playlist and record stores were submitting their final sales tallies. As it was looking like Jane Child would be #1 in the end, the last report made the difference and this song came out on top, much to Tommy's relief. I'm thinking that the fact that three of the New Kids On The Block sang back-up on this song was instrumental in its success. This was a great song, but I preferred his first, “A Shoulder To Cry On”.
WHOLE WIDE WORLD – A'ME LORAIN (39) – Pretty much your run-of-the-mill early-90s freestyle dance music. Nothing I'd go out of my way to hear.
MARCH
DON'T WANT TO FALL IN LOVE – JANE CHILD (37) – This was the song I mentioned earlier that almost prevented Tommy Page from the top spot. That obviously meant this song was #2, and, with a four place jump, it seemed to be a cinch to hit #1 the following week, but another song leapfrogged over it, so that was double frustration for Jane Child. This song did, however, top the R&R chart for a pair of weeks, including the week Tommy Page was #1 on the Hot 100 (so it was apparently a record store report that made the difference), so all was not lost. Good thing, as this was her only hit. It was a great song – one of many that I associate with the spring of my senior year in HS.
DIRTY DEEDS – JOAN JETT (39) – This song was originally by AC/DC as “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap”, a popular cut from their album of the same name back in 1981, but it was Joan Jett, without her trademark band the Blackhearts, who finally brought it to the charts. This was Jett's only solo hit. I preferred the original, but this version is good as well.
LOVE ME FOR LIFE – STEVIE B (35) – He seems to have gone the ballad way at this point, since, other than the title-track from his next album Love And Emotion, the only songs he charted with were slow songs. This one was very likely my favorite of those. I was disappointed that it peaked so low (#29), but was glad that this was the one that finally put him on the R&R chart (as the first two didn't quite make it, though I hear that “Let Me Be The One” just barely missed). The song fared quite well on my personal Top 30, spending seven weeks at #1 and ranked second for all of 1990, behind James Ingram, whose song we'll be getting to a little later on.
I WANNA BE RICH – CALLOWAY (37) – Something that most people can only dream about (but since money is the root of all evil, being loaded isn't the bed of roses that many people make it out to be). This is a song that I did not like at all when it first came out, but it eventually grew on me. Still, I don't think I'd want to hear this on a regular basis.
A GIRL LIKE YOU – THE SMITHEREENS (39) – I had to hop on over to YouTube to take another listen to it, since, for the life of me, I could not remember how this song went. It was a pretty good song, but I preferred their 1992 hit “Too Much Passion”.
WITHOUT YOU – MOTLEY CRUE (33) – The opening guitar lick reminds me a little of Lynyrd Skynyrd's “Free Bird”. It is the band's second and final Top Ten hit. I thought it was a pretty good song.
HOW CAN WE BE LOVERS – MICHAEL BOLTON (36) – Soul Provider was indeed setting up to be his biggest singles album ever, as this was his third release from this album (as The Hunger had only yielded two Top 40 hits). This, on the other hand, was the second Top Ten from the album. I liked this song, but it was my least favorite of his Top Tens from Soul Provider.
HEARTBEAT – SEDUCTION (37) – Their third of four Top 40 hits, and like the last two, it was an upbeat dance song (I'm sure all three were big American Dance Traxx hits, but seeing that I no longer had access to that show, I have no idea how high they got). Anyway, their last two hits were mediocre, but I actually kind of liked this one.
WHIP APPEAL – BABYFACE (39) – His first two hits of his own were upbeat, but he slowed the tempo for his third. This was my favorite song from him up to this point, but I always thought that this song could use a sax played here and there throughout, to make a great song even better.
YOU'RE THE ONLY WOMAN – THE BRAT PACK (40) – Of course, this was the a cover of Ambrosia's hit from 1980, which used “You And I” as a subtitle. I seem to recall that this was a dance remake of the song that was pretty good, but the original was far better.
NOTHING COMPARES 2 U – SINEAD O'CONNOR (33) – This song came out of left field and rocketed up the chart. Generally, that happens to established artists instead of brand-new ones, but this song apparently scored on the chart on its own merits. I couldn't stand the song at first (and the fact that the woman who sang it was practically bald sure didn't help!), but it was one of those songs that had to catch on. This ended up as AT40's #1 song of 1990, the first time a debut single topped its year end chart since 1977, when Andy Gibb ruled for the year with “I Just Want To Be Your Everything”.
HEART OF STONE – CHER (36) – The first of two chart hits during 1990 with this song title. This was the final hit from the album of the same name. Though it didn't hold a candle to “Just Like Jesse James”, it was a great song nevertheless and I am surprised it didn't hit the Top Ten as the other Heart Of Stone singles.
IF U WERE MINE – THE U-KREW (39) – Meh, this was basically a mediocre song from a faceless R&B/hip-hop act.
THE HEART OF THE MATTER – DON HENLEY (40) – Of the singles from “End Of The Innocence”, this is the one that seemed to get the most airplay (probably because it was huge at AC radio, which I often listened to back in the day). It was OK, but definitely far from being my favorite song from him.
WHAT IT TAKES – AEROSMITH (34) – This would be their Top Ten on the Hot 100 until over ten years later. Of course, I'm thinking they would have had more had the Hot 100 been compiled with the old method past late 1991, since all four singles from Get A Grip, their next singles album, all made the Top Ten on the R&R chart.
SENDING ALL MY LOVE – LINEAR (35) – They were pretty much second-rate New Kids On The Block, IMO. This was their first and biggest hit. I could take it or leave it.
WILD WOMEN DO – NATALIE COLE (37) – The Richard Gere/Julia Roberts film Pretty Woman had just started in theaters the previous weekend and this was the first of three new singles from it. It may have been released a little prematurely, as, while the other two singles from it were big Top Ten hits, this one only got as high as #34. It wasn't bad, but I preferred many of her songs over this.
LOVE CHILD – SWEET SENSATION (38) – In my 1989 commentary, I mentioned how I got Sweet Sensation and Seduction confused, due to their similar music styles. This was when I REALLY started getting them mixed up, as they had songs climbing the chart at the same time! This, of course, was a remake of this Supremes classic and it didn't sound all that different. I liked both versions about the same.
TRUE BLUE LOVE – LOU GRAMM (40) – Now THIS song was truly underrated! This was a “one-week wonder” on AT40, as it fell out the following week. A great song indeed!
APRIL
ROOM AT THE TOP – ADAM ANT (32) – This London native had a Top 40 hit “Goody Two Shoes” at the height of the short-lived rockabilly comeback of 1982/83 and returned with a more modern sound. The song, though not quite as successful as his debut hit, did make it to #17. It was a good song, but my favorite of his three Top 40 hits was “Wonderful”, which charted in 1995.
HOLD ON – WILSON PHILLIPS (33) – Their parents were members of the Beach Boys and the Mamas and Papas, and they had a successful career as well. This was their first hit, and it went to #1 in June. Though it was Billboard's biggest hit of 1990, AT40 used their own figuring system, computing a song's entire chart life (as Billboard returned to their system of figuring each song's chart run within the survey period) and the song got fifth place there, which isn't bad either. I liked the song, but it sure was overplayed!
THIS OLD HEART OF MINE – ROD STEWART w/RONALD ISLEY (38) – Of course, both artists had many hits of their own, Rod solo and Ronald as part of the Isley Brothers. They teamed up in 1990 for a one-time pairing on an old Isley Brothers song that Rod himself had recorded in 1976 but it only got as high as #83. In 1989, both Rod and Ron re-recorded the version and it peaked at #10. It was a pretty good one.
THE SECRET GARDEN (SWEET SEDUCTION SUITE) – QUINCY JONES f/AL B. SURE, JAMES INGRAM, EL DEBARGE & BARRY WHITE (40) – Wow, if I were listening to the song, it might have taken half of it to type all that in! This song was an old-school slow jam, which was not bad, but I preferred other songs by many of the artists involved.
ALL I WANNA DO IS MAKE LOVE TO YOU – HEART (26) – This song raised quite a few eyebrows, since it was about a woman who was married to a man who could not naturally father children, so she found a guy hitchhiking, took him to a hotel to have sex, and then, as he slept, she left him with a note telling him not to make any attempts to find her. Since she is familiar with the hotel (as it was “a place (she) knew well”), that sort of implies that she has done this before and this might not be her first child. Anyway, despite the depraved concept, it is melodically a good song, and was by far Heart's biggest hit from their Brigade album.
ALRIGHT – JANET JACKSON (30) – The fourth hit from her Rhythm Nation album, and one of only three that did not hit #1. On AT40, this was her lowest peaking song, hitting #4. Like the title cut, I didn't like this song, as it also had annoying whoops heard throughout the entire song.
THE HUMPTY DANCE – DIGITAL UNDERGROUND (33) – This song was banned on many stations, due to several sex references in the lyrics, and only an abbreviated version was heard on AT40, with instructions that stations could edit out what was left of the song (which many did). It was so/so, but this was when rap was becoming more and more obnoxious IMO.
YOUR BABY NEVER LOOKED GOOD IN BLUE – EXPOSE (37) – The fourth and final hit from What You Don't Know, and by far the best. In fact, this song spent seven weeks at #1 on my Personal Top 30, good enough to become the fifth biggest hit of that year. I still love the song – I even have it on one of my YouTube playlists!
POISON – BELL BIV DEVOE (38) – One of several side projects from the R&B band New Edition. They had a very successful chart career, with many hits on the R&B charts and they even had several Pop hits, this one being their biggest, peaking at #3 for a month. It wasn't bad, but I'm not a huge rap fan (as we know all too well).
VOGUE – MADONNA (39) – As her Like A Prayer album had pretty much run its course, with the last single “Keep It Together” having recently fallen off the Hot 100, her next album, I'm Breathless, music from and inspired by the upcoming Dick Tracy film, which would be coming out in mid-June. The album came out nearly a month earlier and a month before that came this first song, which was heavily promoted upon release and, of course, burned up the charts all the way to #1. I didn't really like the song much at first, but now I like it – definitely a 90s mix show essential!
IT MUST HAVE BEEN LOVE – ROXETTE (34) – Another huge film song, in this case, Pretty Woman, which was mentioned earlier. “Wild Women Do” may not have been a very successful hit, but this certainly was, hitting #1 in mid-June. According to the Gavin Report, which had an airplay chart similar to R&R, this was the top song of 1990. Here on AT40, it ranked fourth, which wasn't too shabby either. I liked the song, but I preferred many other songs by Roxette.
EXPRESSION – SALT-N-PEPA (36) – Meh, this was more of a gimmick than anything.
A LITTLE LOVE – COREY HART (39) – I actually had to hop on over to YouTube to listen to this song, since I had forgotten how it goes. It wasn't bad, but I generally preferred his mid-80s hits. Apparently, the general public felt the same as this song only got two spots higher and was Corey's final Top 40 hit.
HOUSE OF PAIN – FASTER PU$$YCAT (40) – Sorry, the censors wouldn't allow the word without the dollar signs. Anyway, I had also forgotten how this song goes and I expected it to be an annoying rap song, but that's because I was thinking of the rap group House Of Pain, who had a hit on AT40 in 1992 called “Jump Around”. It was a pleasant surprise to find out I was wrong. This song, though by a hard rock group, had sort of a bluesy feel, reminiscent of the Jeff Healey Band. Not bad.
U CAN'T TOUCH THIS – MC HAMMER (27) – I had been hearing this song on the radio for about a month now, but they held off on releasing this as a single for awhile (presumably to cause more sales for Hammer's recently released album Please Hammer, Don't Hurt 'Em). This song, of course, sampled “Super Freak” by Rick James for its bassline, and became Hammer's signature song. I liked the song, as overrated as it was.
SAVE ME – FLEETWOOD MAC (35) – The first single from Behind The Mask, which was definitely not one of their more successful albums, to say the least. Many music critics said that the fact that Lindsey Buckingham had since departed from Fleetwood Mac after their last album, Tango In The Night was "a severe blow" for them. This was their only Top 40 hit from the album, and it only got two spots higher on the Hot 100 (though the song, as well as the follow-up “Skies The Limit” were both Top Ten hits on the AC chart). As for my opinion of the song, it wasn't bad, but definitely not one of my favorite songs from them.
READY OR NOT – AFTER 7 (36) – The first Top 40 hit for this R&B act that contains two brothers of Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds, who himself was in the midst of a hit streak from his second studio album Tender Lover. Though this was pretty much your typcial R&B slow jam, I really liked it a lot.
OOH LA LA – PERFECT GENTLEMEN (38) – Blegh! What the hell is this? There's enough whine in this song to serve all of France! Thank God this was their only hit!
MAY
BABY IT'S TONIGHT – JUDE COLE (36) – The first of four singles from Cole's sophomore album A View From Third Street, two of which made the Top 40, this being the most successful, peaking at #16. It was a really good song – one I definitely associate with the spring/early summer of 1990.
I'LL SEE YOU IN MY DREAMS – GIANT (37) – They didn't quite live up to their name, as this was their only hit, but a great song it was!
DO YOU REMEMBER – PHIL COLLINS (39) – This song was mediocre at best, IMO. It just never really did anything for me, for some reason.
TIME AFTER TIME – TIMMY T (40) – LOL @ Pee Wee Herman's movie quote “I'M TRYING TO USE THE PHONE” at the beginning of the 12-inch mix of this song, which was Timmy T's first hit, which only lasted a week on AT40. The song was pretty good, but I preferred his other Top 40 hit, which charted a year later.
TURTLE POWER! – PARTNERS IN KRYME (30) – The only song for this rap duo from the Big Apple. This song, of course, was featured on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie soundtrack, and heard in the film's closing credits. It was OK, but nothing I'd go out of my way to listen to.
HOLD ON – EN VOGUE (32) – As Wilson Phillips' song of the same title was racing up the charts, this Oakland-based R&B vocal group hit the charts with this commonplace song title, which was also used by artists like Santana, Ian Gomm, Triumph, and Kansas, to name a few. This was their first of many Pop hits and, though it wasn't bad, I preferred the Wilson Phillips song.
CHILDREN OF THE NIGHT – RICHARD MARX (38) – This song, named after an organization established in 1979 to rescue children and young people from prostitution, an issue mentioned in this song, was the last of five songs from Repeat Offender As I've said before, I liked most of the singles from the album, though of those, this song fared best on my Personal Top 30, peaking at #1 for six weeks. On the AT40 chart, it made the Top 20.
CRUISING FOR BRUISING – BASIA (40) – The second Top 40 hit for this Poland native and, IMO the best (though the first one, “Time And Tide” was a good song as well).
I'LL BE YOUR SHELTER – TAYLOR DAYNE (34) – After a dance hit and a ballad from her second album, Taylor put out this mid-tempo song. It was a good song, but it didn't hold a candle to “Love Will Lead You Back”.
GETTIN' AWAY WITH IT – ELECTRONIC (38) – Their only Top 40 hit. When I first heard this song, my first thought was that they reminded me of New Order, which was no coincidence, as New Order's lead singer Bernard Sumner was one of the artists who formed the band. As for the song, I thought it was pretty good.
ALWAYS AND FOREVER – WHISTLE (39) – Another one-hit wonder here. This song, a cover of the old Heatwave classic from 1978, was the first song since the summer of 1979 to hit the Top 40, drop out, and return. I thought it was pretty good, but I preferred the original.
DEADBEAT CLUB – THE B-52'S (40) – Third Single Syndrome definitely applied here, as their first two hits from Cosmic Thing peaked at #3, yet this song barely made it into the Top 30. That may be why I like the song slightly better than said #3 songs, since it wasn't as overplayed.
STEP BY STEP – NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK (27) – I never did like this song! Probably because New Kids mania was becoming more and more annoying. Thank God this song had a fast-rise, fast-fall chart run and then it was all but forgotten.
ENJOY THE SILENCE – DEPECHE MODE (34) – I mentioned that this band never really did anything for me in the beginning, but when I heard this song, I was like, wow, they're not so bad after all! This was possibly my all-time favorite song by them. A great song indeed!
RUB YOU THE RIGHT WAY – JOHNNY GILL (35) – One of several members of New Edition that had solo hits in 1990. This was the first of three Top 40 hits for Gill. It wasn't bad, but I wasn't much for R&B dance music.
SITTIN' IN THE LAP OF LUXURY – LOUIE LOUIE (37) – The only Top 40 hit for this man whose real name was Louie Cordero, featuring Dizzy Gillespie on trumpet. It was a good song.
SHE AIN'T WORTH IT – GLENN MEDEIROS w/BOBBY BROWN (38) – Of course, Glenn had first charted three years before with the ballad “Nothing's Gonna Change My Love For You”, and now, featuring another former New Edition member, returns with an upbeat song that pretty much depicts a relationship that I had with a girl about ten years ago, but that's another story for another time. The song was OK, but it was definitely way overplayed.
NICETY – MICHEL'LE (40) – Ah, nicety – a blend of being nice and nasty (the e is silent in that context). Not a bad song, but not one of my personal faves either.
JUNE
CRADLE OF LOVE – BILLY IDOL (31) – I was never a huge Billy Idol fan, but this was actually a song by him that I liked – and it ended up being one of his biggest hits ever, peaking at #2 behind “Vision Of Love” by Mariah Carey. I actually won Idol's album Charmed Life on U93 (WNDU, South Bend) when I was attending college for identifying an “opening lines” contest, but ended up selling it (for five bucks) to one of the guys in my dorm so I'd have a little more spending money. I don't regret it, however, as I didn't have a CD player (not even at home), and after all, I got it for free.
UP ALL NIGHT – SLAUGHTER (35) – One of three songs that this hard rock band from Las Vegas charted on AT40 with (yet none of those songs ever made the R&R chart). This song was pretty good, but a little loud.
GIRLS NITE OUT – TYLER COLLINS (39) – Surprisingly, as big as this song was, she was a one-hit wonder (though her follow-up “Second Chance” did make a two-week appearance on the R&R chart). This song was pretty much your typical dance/pop songs of the time. Nothing special, IMO.
THE POWER – SNAP (40) – Sounds like He-Man getting hit in the groin with a bolt of lightning. But the song's not really too bad.
NOTICE ME – NIKKI (34) – The only Top 40 hit by this Japanese/American singer whom I was surprised to find out was a man, based on the name and the fact that he sounded like a female singing this song, which I thought was a really good song. Too bad it only got as high as #21.
DARE TO FALL IN LOVE – BRENT BOURGEOIS (36) – Half of the duo Bourgeois Tagg, who charted in 1987 with “I Don't Mind At All”, he did have a solo hit, which I remember hearing from time to time back in 1990. I really liked the song at first, but it wore out kinda fast. I preferred said Bourgeois Tagg song.
WHEN I'M BACK ON MY FEET AGAIN – MICHAEL BOLTON (37) – The fourth single from Soul Provider, and like the previous two, it sailed into the Top Ten. This song had almost a theatrical sound to it, as though it was a Jim Steinman production, but it was not. It was a great song IMO.
CLUB AT THE END OF THE STREET – ELTON JOHN (39) – Now THIS was one of his more underrated songs ever! It did well on the AC chart, spending four weeks at #2 (not sure what song or songs kept it out of the top spot), but it only got as high as #28 on the Hot 100. I remember hearing it quite a lot on Sunny 101.5 back in the summer and fall of 1990 – I even have it on a mix tape I made, mainly of songs played on that station when I was in college. I need to break out that tape and give it a listen sometime.
MENTIROSA – MELLOW MAN ACE (40) – A song (or rather rapped) in Spanglish that sampled two old Santana songs (“Evil Ways” and “No One To Depend On”). Not a bad song, considering how I felt about rap.
THE BALLAD OF JAYNE – L.A. GUNS (34) – Now this song charted for four weeks on AT40, which I listened to on a weekly basis back then, but for the life of me, I don't remember ever hearing it. Maybe it just didn't make much of an impression on me. The only song by them I ever remember hearing on the countdowns was “It's Over Now”, from two years later. I took a listen to the song on YouTube and it's actually a good song.
YOU CAN'T DENY IT – LISA STANSFIELD (37) – This was pretty much “All Around The World, Part 2”. It was a pretty good song, but I preferred the first song.
VISION OF LOVE – MARIAH CAREY (38) – This was the song that started it all off for her, and for a debut single, it did remarkably well, spending four weeks at #1 in August and ranking on the year-ender at #2. It was R&R's #1 song of 1990, marking the first time since 1977 that a debut single was the top song of the year. The song was pretty good, but I sort of held a grudge for the song preventing Janet Jackson from having the #1 song of the year two years in a row.
LOVE IS – ALANNAH MYLES (40) – This was one of those artists who were pretty much only good for one big hit. This song, which obviously rode the coattails of the her recent #1, only got as high as #36 and Alannah never charted again. The song wasn't anything exceptional to me either – I definitely preferred “Black Velvet”.
KING OF WISHFUL THINKING – GO WEST (38) – They had a minor hit in 1987 with “Don't Look Down”, but this was anything but minor. The song, the third and final new hit from Pretty Woman, was their first and so far only Hot 100 Top Ten (though I seem to recall that their song “Faithful” was a Top Ten hit on AT40, but that charted long after American Top 40 had abandoned the Hot 100). It was a pretty good song, but I preferred most of their other songs.
BAD OF THE HEART – GEORGE LAMOND (40) – I remember him more for his duet with Brenda K. Starr called “No Matter What”, which peaked at #49 in early 1991, but was one of my Personal Top 30 #1 songs, as well as his minor hit “Baby I Believe In You” from about two years later. This song was OK, but nothing special.
MAKE YOU SWEAT – KEITH SWEAT (34) – This R&B artist first hit the pop chart in early 1988 with “I Want Her” and he was coming back for a second wave of popularity. I always got this song confused with “Rub You The Right Way” (since both are new jack swing type songs with similar chord progressions). This was another one of those songs that were just there, though I've found myself liking it a little more over the years.
DON'T GO AWAY MAD (JUST GO AWAY) – MOTLEY CRUE (37) – Another one of their power ballads, though this one was mid-tempo. I really liked it and feel that it was somewhat underrated.
KISS THIS THING GOODBYE – DEL AMITRI (38) – Most people remember them for their big 1995 hit “Roll To Me”, but they did have other Top 40 hits before that, including their debut hit. It was one of those songs that I loved at first, but then grew tired of it somewhat quickly. This song sounded a little like a late-70s song, which might be the reason it only got as high as #35 on the charts.
HANKY PANKY – MADONNA (40) – While her song “Vogue” lasted awhile on the charts and still gets recurrent airplay, this one kinda just came and went. Though it peaked at #10, it spent only seven weeks on the chart. I was never a huge fan of the song myself.
JULY
IF WISHES CAME TRUE – SWEET SENSATION (33) – Well, they saved the best for last! As their final Top 40 hit, they went with a slow song, and it indeed worked, as, not only did it become their first Top Ten hit, but it went all the way to the top! It is also my favorite song from them by far.
COULD THIS BE LOVE – SEDUCTION (36) – And look at this! Another band with similar music style as Sweet Sensation, as I've pointed out before and they were debuting the same week with their fourth hit – and it was a ballad as well. Only thing is, it did not quite hit the Top Ten, and it wasn't even their biggest hit. It was, however, my favorite of their four songs and I was disappointed that the song just missed the Top Ten (it did, however, peak at #6 on the R&R chart).
PURE – LIGHTNING SEEDS (39) – The only song for this British Alternative band, headed up by Ian Broudie and named after a misheard lyric from “Raspberry Beret” by Prince (“Thunder drowns out what the lightning sees”). It was a rather interesting song, but I can kind of see why it didn't do any better than it did.
COME BACK TO ME – JANET JACKSON (30) – The first and only slow jam released from Rhythm Nation. This song just missed hitting #1, which would have put her in a tie with brother Michael for most #1 hits from a single album (the song did, however, hit #1 on the R&R charts, making the record a reality there). I liked this song at first, but it was one of those songs that wore out kind of fast (likely due to overplay). I do like it now, and was delighted to find the single version of it (well, sort of) on YouTube – previously, the only ones that were available was the album version – the one that starts out with Janet humming the melody of the chorus.
EPIC – FAITH NO MORE (31) – The title of this song was never mentioned in the song (although I always thought that you could hear it in the chorus, but they were just saying, “yeah, yeah”). I believe the song is so titled because it contains several types of music – rap intermingled with heavy metal, and then it ends sounding like a piano concerto. It was a great song, and, on AT40, it became the first song since 1976 that a song hit the Top Ten, dropped out and re-entered. This one, however, surpassed its peak by hitting #9 in its re-entry. Not sure when the last time a song did that before then was.
JERK OUT – THE TIME (32) – Sort of a risque sounding title. This song charted when I was going to college and a few people told me is that the “jerk out” was when a man picks up a woman, takes her to a hotel and, right in the middle of foreplay when things were getting hot, he bails on the woman, leaving her to pay for the hotel room. Or something like that – it's been nearly 30 years since then, so my memory might be playing tricks on me.
UNSKINNY BOP – POISON (36) – A song about doing the naughty with a fat woman? Well, whatever it was, it was a good song, and it became their first song to hit the Top Ten in R&R without going to #1 (as their other songs had been near-misses). Of course, on AT40, they'd had several Top Ten hits by now.
POSSESSION – BAD ENGLISH (37) – The peak diversity between this song on R&R and the Hot 100 reminded me of 1982, as it hit #10 on the former while it only got as high as #21 on the latter. Even in Gavin Magazine, on which rock hits like this tended to peak higher than on the other two publications, it peaked at #11. I guess R&R had just enough reporters that had this record in their Top Ten. Anyhoo, it was a great song – my favorite of their three Top 40 hits.
I DIDN'T WANT TO NEED YOU – HEART (40) – After the success of the first hit from Brigade, I expected this song to at least hit the Top 20, but it petered out at #23, which I thought was a shame, as this was a great song – possibly my favorite of their three 1990 hits.
DO ME! - BELL BIV DEVOE (29) – I'm surprised that this song, about a guy asking a woman to have sex with him, wasn't banned from the radio, especially after “I Want Your Sex” by George Michael was. I don't even think that radio stations were given directions to edit this song out of the countdown. Anyway, this was another new jack swing number like several other songs on the chart around this time. I rather liked this one.
HAVE YOU SEEN HER – MC HAMMER (31) - An interesting remake of the old Chi-Lites hit (one of two that charted in the summer of 1990). The lyrics were sort of changed - in the original, the singer was looking for an old lover that had "left and gone away". In this song, he’s actually looking for any girl to call his own. I actually preferred this version over the original – one that takes me back to my days of working at the pizza joint the summer before heading off for college!
ACROSS THE RIVER – BRUCE HORNSBY & THE RANGE (37) – Another song that takes me back! I associate this song more with college, since it was played on the AC stations that I listened to well into the fall! I was kind of surprised that this one missed the Top Ten at Pop radio, but Bruce had already had his day in the sun back in the 1980s. He had two more Top 40 hits after this, both of which failed to hit the Top 30. He did continue to do well at AC radio, where this song peaked at #8.
THE OTHER SIDE – AEROSMITH (38) – The last of the four Pump singles. This song didn't do quite as well as the other three, since most fans had the album by now. As a result of lack of sales, this song ran out of gas at #22. The song wasn't bad, but I preferred many others from them.
RELEASE ME – WILSON PHILLIPS (39) – Their second Top 40 hit and, since it sounded so much like “Hold On”, I got sick of this song quickly and hated it so much that I'm surprised that I'm not still burned out on it, but now I actually like it (the fact that it takes me back, like many other songs around this time, might have something to do with it).
MY KINDA GIRL – BABYFACE (40) – Back in the day, this was one of those songs that was just there, but when I heard it on a retro-Rick show a year or so ago, I was like, wow, this was a great song! I can't believe I didn't like it! Too bad it didn't get any higher than #30.
BLAZE OF GLORY – JON BON JOVI (36) – The first of two Top 40 hits from the Young Guns II soundtrack. It sounds a lot like his 1987 hit with his band, “Wanted Dead Or Alive”, and that's no coincidence – Emilio Estevez wanted to use that song on the soundtrack, but Jon didn't feel the lyrics were appropriate, so he wrote a new song, keeping the melody very similar to “Wanted Dead Or Alive”. This song did better than that one, hitting #1 in early September. I liked this song, but preferred his other song from the soundtrack.
LOVE AND EMOTION – STEVIE B (39) – The first of three Top 40 hits from the album of the same name. It was a good song, but I preferred the other two hits from Love And Emotion.
AUGUST
BANNED IN THE USA – LUKE f/THE 2 LIVE CREW (27) – This song, which was fueled almost exclusively by sales, was a reference to the decision in a court case that the 2 Live Crew album As Nasty As They Wanna Be was obscene (a decision that would later be overturned on appeal). The melody of the song was based on Springsteen's signature hit “Born In The USA” and the song itself was the title-track to the 2 Live Crew's fourth album.
TONIGHT – NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK (37) - This one had a retro feel to it - sounded kind of a cross between the Beatles (especially in the verses) and the Bee Gees (in the choruses). It was a great song, but it sure came and went, even faster than “Step By Step”, which goes to show that they were beginning to fade away. Around this time, two members of the band were featured in duets that got radio airplay through the summer. Donny Walhberg teamed up with a woman known simply as Seiko with “The Right Combination”, which peaked at #54 a few weeks back. The other song, “Angel Of Love” was a duet between Jordan Knight and another artist known only by her first name, Ana. That song did not chart on the Hot 100, but it might not have been released as a single, which would account for that. Regardless, it did get sporadic airplay, including Chicago's WTYZ (Z95), where it hit #10 on their radio playlist the week before, and WBBM (B96). Both were great songs, IMO. This song, by the way, would be their last Top 40 hit until early 1992.
TIC TAC TOE – KYPER (40) – Ah, talking about the adult version of the popular kids' game! This one samples "Owner Of A Lonely Heart", as well as some other song that I think is also sampled in "Beverly Hills" by Weezer. This song was a big sales hit, but I think some stations banned it due to its lyrical content (I think U93 did this for its last few weeks on AT40); it was a Top Ten sales hit, but didn't hit the Top 30 on the airplay chart.
(CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT YOUR) LOVE AND AFFECTION – NELSON (32) – Twin sons Matthew And Gunnar Nelson, sons of the great Ricky Nelson, decided to follow in their dad's footsteps and go into the music business. They looked to be off to a promising start, as their first hit went all the way to the top! I liked this song, but preferred their next three hits, all of which came from their debut album After The Rain.
THE GIRL I USED TO KNOW – BROTHER BEYOND (36) – The first and only US hit for this boyband from England. It was OK, but nothing exceptional.
WE'RE ALL IN THE SAME GANG – WEST COAST RAP ALL-STARS (37) – An anti-violence anthem from this assembly of hip-hop stars from the West Coast, produced by Dr. Dre. I don't remember hearing this song, even though I did listen to AT40 on a weekly basis back then. It must not have made much of an impression on me. Of course, I spent much of August gearing up to go off to college, so that might have had some hand in how this song got lost in the shuffle.
CLOSE TO YOU – MAXI PRIEST (39) – Exactly 20 years before, the Carpenters were on top of the US charts with a song of the same title. This, of course, sounded nothing like that song; it was a reggae-flavored song from this artist's fifth album, even though it was his second Top 40 hit. This song went to #1 in early October and remains his biggest hit to this date. Although I'm not generally a huge fan of his, this song was actually pretty good.
THIEVES IN THE TEMPLE – PRINCE (40) – The first of two Top 40 hits from soundtrack to the film Graffiti Bridge, in which Prince himself starred. This song was mediocre at best. Prince had many songs that were better than this, IMO.
CAN'T STOP FALLING INTO LOVE – CHEAP TRICK (36) – They had made one of the more successful comebacks of the 1980s and looked to be trying to make another one. However, this turned out to be their final Top 40 hit. It was a great song – one of my favorites from them!
SOMETHING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO HEAVEN – PHIL COLLINS (37) – The fourth single from Collins' multi-platinum album ...But Seriously. Though I did prefer it over the mediocre “Do You Remember”, it is not my favorite song by him by any means.
MY, MY, MY – JOHNNY GILL (38) – This was Gill's second Top 40 hit. Though not quite as successful as “Rub You The Right Way”, it did hit the Top Ten. It was pretty much your run-of-the-mill early 90s slow jam. I thought it was pretty good.
OH GIRL – PAUL YOUNG (39) – This was the other Chi-Lites remake that charted in 1990. The song hit the Top Ten on the Hot 100, but made an even bigger splash on the AC chart, hitting #1 and ruling for the entire year (on R&R, anyway). I did like this song better than the original, but preferred the other Chi-Lites remake, mentioned earlier.
HEART OF STONE – TAYLOR DAYNE (40) – Her fourth and final hit from Can't Fight Fate. It was a pleasant, mellow song, though somewhat bland. Didn't hold a candle to “Love Will Lead You Back”, IMO.
CAN'T STOP – AFTER 7 (38) – Back in the day, I didn't really like this song, but now that radio stations pretty much ignore it, I think it's a great song – as long as it's the original version instead of the One World remix, which I remember hearing on some of the countdowns.
DIRTY CASH (MONEY TALKS) – THE ADVENTURES OF STEVIE V (40) – The first and only hit for this dance music act from Bedfordshire, England. Although I wasn't a big fan of this type of music, I rather liked this song.
SEPTEMBER
POLICY OF TRUTH – DEPECHE MODE (32) – The follow-up to their only Top Ten hit (though this song did sneak a week in the Top Ten on R&R). I did prefer this song over two of their previous Top 40 hits (“People Are People” and “Personal Jesus”) - by a fair margin, might I add, but my favorite song from them was said Top Ten “Enjoy The Silence”.
ROMEO – DINO (33) – He had a pair of Top 40 hits in 1989 and was back with what became his highest-peaking hit. It was so/so, but pretty much blended in with all the other Top 40 dance hits of the early 1990s.
EVERYBODY EVERYBODY – BLACK BOX (34) – My opinion on this song depends on which version it is. Of course, all dance hits like this have a number of remixes, but there are two that I've heard on the radio. The one I like is the Love Unlimited remix, since that doesn't have all the annoying grunts heard throughout the regular version of it, which was the one that most countdown shows played. The only time I ever heard the Love Unlimited mix was on U93, since that was the one they played.
TELL ME SOMETHING – INDECENT OBSESSION (37) – The only Top 40 song from this Aussie band that may have done better on the chart two years earlier, when there were many bands from down under on the charts, especially during the first half of 1988. The song, which peaked at #31, was not bad, but a song I could take or leave.
PRAYING FOR TIME – GEORGE MICHAEL (23) – Based on its super-high debut, it was clear this song was on its way to #1. However, this song only logged ten weeks on the chart, an unusually short term for a #1 hit (as most chart toppers in 1990 averaged about 14 Top 40 weeks). That was too bad, as this was a great song (at least it made it to the top).
THIS IS THE RIGHT TIME – LISA STANSFIELD (35) - Definitely one of the most successful new artists of 1990 here! After two mid-tempo songs (that sounded somewhat alike), she released a fast number for her third single. This one didn’t quite match the success of her debut single "All Around The World", just missing the Top 20. As for my opinion of it, it’s pretty good, though nothing special.
I DON'T HAVE THE HEART – JAMES INGRAM (36) – I'd been hearing this song since early July, since I listened to more AC radio than pop that summer. Since this was a little late hitting the Pop charts, I wasn't sure that this would do well on the charts, but, in fact, it made it all the way to the top! Good, as this was one of his best songs (in fact, on my Personal Top 30 chart, it was THE biggest hit of 1990).
UNCHAINED MELODY – THE RIGHTEOUS BROTHERS (VERVE) (37) – The Jerry Zucker movie Ghost, which was the highest-grossing film of 1990, was responsible in reviving this quarter-century old recording, which initially, sounded quite out of place for 1990, but eventually fit in, as it was played regularly on the radio. A great song indeed!
CRAZY – THE BOYS (38) – They had a Top 40 hit in 1989 with “Dial My Heart”, and now, nearly two years later, the Boys, who now ranged in age from 11-17, were back with their second Top 40 hit, which was the first from their second album, which was self-titled. I actually preferred this song. Even though it was typical R&B music, there was something about this song that I liked.
GIVING YOU THE BENEFIT – PEBBLES (40) – Wow, a week after Dino debuted, another character from the Flintstones hit the charts! Now, if only Bam-Bam's hit hadn't just barely fallen short... But seriously, this is another artist who was at the beginning of another wave of popularity, as she had a pair of Top 40 hits in 1988. This song, a Babyface/L.A. Reid production, sounded a little like her first hit, which was produced by the same team. This song was OK, but nothing out of the ordinary.
BLACK CAT – JANET JACKSON (37) – Now this was a huge departure from her usual dance/pop music style! She went with a hard rock feel for this song, but it apparently worked, as the song, which was reminiscent of Joan Jett's “I Hate Myself For Loving You”, hit #1 – appropriately enough, on the weekend before Halloween. I wonder if it was rigged?
SAY A PRAYER – BREATHE (39) – They may have been huge in 1988, with their first album spawning three Top Ten hits, but they didn't fare so well with their sophomore album Peace Of Mind, as neither of the two singles even made the Top 20. This one came close, however, peaking at #21. Shame that it didn't do any better, as it was my favorite of their charted hits.
ICE ICE BABY – VANILLA ICE (23) – This song, which sampled the bassline from the Queen/David Bowie song “Under Pressure”, matched the super-high debut of “Praying For Time” and, like that song, it went to #1. However, right about as it was hitting the top, EMI discontinued pressing of the single, in effort to boost sales of the album To The Extreme, (which proved to be successful), and if not for that, the song might have spent the entire month of November at #1 on the Hot 100, based on the fact that the song was number one on R&R for the two weeks after its sole week at the top of the Billboard chart. I'm glad that it didn't have a lengthy run on top; even though I liked the song at first, it quickly got old.
SUICIDE BLONDE – INXS (33) – Earlier, I mentioned how Aussie acts abounded on the charts in 1988. This was the most successful of those, as throughout that year, they placed four hits on the chart, each of which hit the Top Ten. This was their first hit since then, and it also hit the Top Ten. The song wasn't bad, but it was definitely not their best hit ever.
FLY TO THE ANGELS – SLAUGHTER (36) – Their second Top 40 hit. Their first hit rocked out, and for their second release, they decided to go with a power ballad. It became their biggest hit, peaking at #19, and it was also my favorite of their songs – a great one indeed!
ALL I'M MISSING IS YOU – GLENN MEDEIROS w/RAY PARKER, JR. (37) – Three of his hits from his 1990 self-titled album were duets with R&B acts and all of those were released as singles. This song had sort of a jazz feel to it (I'm thinking that Parker had a hand in producing the song). I preferred it over his duet with Bobby Brown. Not sure about the third single, “Me-U=Blue”, a collaboration with the Stylistics, as it fizzled out at #78 in November.
FEELS GOOD – TONY! TONI! TONE! (38) – Well, as the saying goes, third time is a charm, as they'd had two Hot 100 singles that just missed the Top 40, but this one made it (and hit the Top Ten, no less). It was a pretty good song, IMO.
TIME FOR LETTING GO – JUDE COLE (40) – This may have been his last Top 40 hit of his own, but he would become successful as a producer with some of Lifehouse's biggest hits. This song was pretty good, but I preferred the follow-up “House Full Of Reasons”. Too bad that didn't hit the Top 40.
LOVE TAKES TIME – MARIAH CAREY (36) – This is the song that made me especially glad that singles sales of “Ice Ice Baby” had been discontinued. Had it not been for that, Mariah might not have had her #1 streak (well, except for on R&R). This was possibly my favorite of Mariah's songs and I'm glad that it went to #1.
CHERRY PIE – WARRANT (39) – Ah, I remember the days of having a delicious slice of cherry pie for lunch dessert at the dining hall at college on Sundays! As for this song, it was their only Top 20 hit that was not a power ballad. The guitar solo near the beginning always reminded me of “Cult Of Personality” by Living Colour from the previous year.
MORE THAN WORDS CAN SAY – ALIAS (40) – The first of two Top 40 hits by two Sheriffs with a lot of Heart. It was also my favorite of the two – reminded me a little of Sheriff's #1 hit “When I'm With You”, only quite a lot better! The song came close to hitting #1, but not quite (at least the song that it lost out to was one of my favorite songs of 1990!)
OCTOBER
GEORGIA ON MY MIND – MICHAEL BOLTON (36) – He went with his cover of the Ray Charles classic as the final single from Soul Provider. With Kenny G on sax, it's no surprise that this song did well at AC radio, peaking at #6. However, on the Hot 100, this was actually all the higher the song got. I liked this song, but preferred the original.
PRAY – MC HAMMER (37) – I found it weird that three songs about praying hit the charts in the fall of 1990, considering the fact that I was attending a Christian college at the time. I liked the other two songs, but this one, which heavily samples “When Doves Cry” by Prince, was kinda mediocre. This was the third of four singles released from Please Hammer, Don't Hurt 'Em and the last to hit the Top 40 (as “Here Comes The Hammer” stalled out at #54 in early 1991)
JOEY – CONCRETE BLONDE (39) – The only Top 40 hit from this alternative rock band that originated in L.A. It was a really good song – definitely one that I associate with college.
UNCHAINED MELODY – RIGHTEOUS BROTHERS (CURB) (30) – The original version of this had hit the chart a few weeks earlier, but they recorded a new version of the song, as the original one was only available as a 45 RPM single and sales were minimal. As a result, the new version was the one that got the sales points while the original was the one that received a vast majority of airplay. The lack of both figures for either single were an impediment to their performance on the Hot 100 and, as a result, neither of them made the Top Ten; the original peaked at #13 and the re-recording hit #19. For the Top 100 of 1990 countdown, Shadoe combined the point totals of both versions of the songs and it came in at #39, about where it would have ranked had the original been released as a cassette single, which, back then, was the popular mode of single (although CD singles were becoming increasingly popular as well). During this song's chart run, there were a few weeks where both versions were close together on the charts, so Shadoe played one and not the other. I seem to recall that on one of those weeks, he replaced the version he decided to skip with a medley of all the versions that made the chart. Not sure what he did in place of the other week or two that he skipped; possibly not editing as many songs as usual.
KNOCKIN' BOOTS – CANDYMAN (31) – We went for fourteen years without any songs re-entering the Top Ten during a single chart run and now we had two within a few months. This song peaked at #9 in November, dropped back to #11 and made an encore appearance in the top ten in the anchor position (so, unlike “Epic”, it didn't best its previous peak position). As for the song, though I'm not much of a rap fan, I actually liked this song.
LIES – EN VOGUE (38) – Well, their first hit peaked at #2, but this song, on the other hand, only spent a single week on the charts. I forget exactly how it goes, but I seem to remember that their #1 song “My Lovin (You're Never Gonna Get It)” sounded a little like it.
OOOPS UP – SNAP (40) – And look here – another follow-up to a debut song that peaked at #2 (and both songs were of the same genre) This one did a little better than the En Vogue song – moved up to #35 the following week and then dropped off. Like “Lies”, I only vaguely remember this song and that I preferred it over “The Power”, though not by much.
SOMETHING TO BELIEVE IN – POISON (32) – Just like they did in “Every Rose Has Its Thorn”, they slowed down the tempo in this song – and it worked, as the song became one of their biggest hits, peaking at #4. It was a great song – possibly my favorite song from them of all time (as it is their highest ranked song on my Top 2500 song of the 20th Century list).
GROOVE IS IN THE HEART – DEEE-LITE (33) – The only Top 40 hit from this dance trio from the Big Apple. As repetitive as this song is, I actually like it a lot. One of many songs that take me back to my college days!
SO CLOSE – DARYL HALL & JOHN OATES (34) – This song sort of lived up to its title, as it just barely missed hitting the Top Ten, peaking at #11 in early December (the song did, however, manage three weeks in the Top Ten on the R&R chart, where it got as high as #9). This turned out to be their final Top 40 hit (as the follow-up, “Don't Hold Back Your Love”, peaked at #41 in early 1991).
HIPPYCHICK – SOHO (36) – Another one-hit wonder – in this case, an English pop trio that is the namesake of where they originated. This song would have been really good if it weren't as off-key as it is. It's still not bad, though.
STRANDED – HEART (37) – Their third and final Top 40 hit from Brigade (the fourth, “Secret” peaked at #68 in early 1991). The title of this song might describe the man that Ann Wilson met in “All I Wanna Do Is Make Love To You” had not stopped to pick him up. But seriously, this song was pretty good, though somewhat of a watered-down version of “I Didn't Want To Need You”.
FROM A DISTANCE – BETTE MIDLER (40) – This is one of the songs that seemed to get an airplay boost from the crisis that was going on over in Kuwait at the time – the crisis that ultimately led to the Persian Gulf War, which started the following January. It was a really nice song – one of my favorites from her!
I'M YOUR BABY TONIGHT – WHITNEY HOUSTON (29) – She was back after an absence of over two years from the chart with her third album, which would be released in November. Surprisingly, this album, from which this song was the title-track, did not go to #1; it peaked at #3, which is still great. As for the song, well, it wasn't one of my favorite songs from her by any means. I liked a lot of her upbeat music, but there's something about this song that I didn't like.
THE WAY YOU DO THE THINGS YOU DO – UB40 (35) – Oddly enough, this is the most successful version of this song – as well as the only one to hit the Top Ten. The original version by the Temptations peaked at #11 in 1964 and the remakes by Rita Coolidge and Hall & Oates and company both peaked at #20. This reggae interpretation of the song made it to #6. It was a good song – not sure which of the above versions I prefer.
LYIN' TO MYSELF – DAVID CASSIDY (36) – The comeback for a man whose first wave of popularity came in the early 1970s as lead singer of the Partridge Family, as well as with a few solo hits. His comeback, however, only lasted with this song, which peaked at #27. Sadly, Cassidy passed away this past November.
BECAUSE I LOVE YOU (THE POSTMAN SONG) – After a few mid-charters, Stevie B finally had his first Top Ten hit. It didn't stop there, though; the song went all the way to #1 and ruled for four weeks, tying Sinead O'Connor and Mariah Carey for the longest-running #1 song within the year 1990. I thought it was a great song at first, but then overplay sort of tarnished it for me. I still liked it though and, now that I seldom hear it, it's a great song!
IMPULSIVE – WILSON PHILLIPS (39) – After two slow songs, they picked up the tempo for this one. I actually preferred this over those two songs, which sound so much alike (sort of like Rick Astley's first two songs were identical to each other). This was definitely my favorite of their five Top 40 hits from their self-titled debut album.
NOVEMBER
HIGH ENOUGH – D@MN YANKEES (35) – A supergroup, consisting of Ted Nugent, Jack Blades of Night Ranger, Tommy Shaw of Styx, and Michael Cartellone, who was a drummer that worked with a number of other bands. Their debut single, “Coming Of Age” didn't quite make the Top 40, but this song certainly did, peaking at #3 the following January. It was a great song, but not quite as good as their 1993 “Silence Is Broken”.
HEART LIKE A WHEEL – HUMAN LEAGUE (37) – They may have been big in the 1980s, but just didn't have what it took in the 1990s, as this song only got as high as #32. I thought it was a good song though. The beginning reminds me of music used for top-of-the-hour newscasts that radio stations used to have back around the time this song charted.
TOM'S DINER – DNA f/SUZANNE VEGA (38) – This song used to drive me nuts, especially the annoying “do do do do” in each refrain. It also depicted a boring story about a woman having a cup of coffee at the local diner on a rainy morning before catching a train to work. This was actually a remix of a song that originally appeared on Vega's 1987 album Solitude Standing, which was a capella and didn't have the “do do do do” part until the very end, and that came right at the fade. Needless to say, I preferred that version over the remix.
FREEDOM '90 – GEORGE MICHAEL (39) – When I first saw the title of this song, I thought that he had done a cover of his song with Wham!, but, in fact, this was a different song entirely. I wasn't a huge fan of it, though. I definitely preferred said Wham! song, which peaked at #3 in 1985. This song got as high as #8.
MY LOVE IS A FIRE – DONNY OSMOND (40) – Another early-70s idol, like David Cassidy, who had actually made his comeback the year before with songs like “Soldier Of Love” and “Sacred Emotion”. I preferred those songs over this one quite significantly; this song just didn't do anything for me.
WIGGLE IT – 2 IN A ROOM (30) – Another dance group from the New York area, like Deee-Lite, with their only Top 40 hit. I liked this song, but certainly wouldn't want to hear it on a regular basis (I seem to recall that the stations I listened to back in late 1990 didn't play it – at least not regularly).
MIRACLE – JON BON JOVI (35) – The second of two Top 40 hits from the Young Guns II soundtrack, and my favorite of the two by a considerable margin. Possibly my favorite song from Jon Bon Jovi, both solo and with his band. I associate this song more with a train trip I took to California back in October, 1997, since this song was part of a mix tape that I listened to a lot on the train.
B.B.D. (I THOUGHT IT WAS ME)? (37) – Their third and final Top 40 hit from the Poison album. Since this song seemed to be a little more mellow than their two previous hits, as well as the fact that it wasn't as overplayed (since it only got as high as #26 – a perfect example of “Third Single Syndrome”), I actually kind of liked this song.
THINK – INFORMATION SOCIETY (40) – Their first album, which was self-titled, was pretty successful, attaining Gold status and spawning four singles (although only two of those made the Top 40), but their new album, Hack, was a commercial disappointment. Its only Top 40 hit only got as high as #28. The song wasn't bad, but nothing special.
SENSITIVITY – RALPH TRESVANT (34) – LOL, I have him listed as “Ralph Tresman” on the chart I wrote down the week the song debuted (I seem to recall I was on the phone with my Mom at the time I was listening to the show). Anyway, he was featured on the aforementioned Luther/Janet song and, of course, he was the lead singer of New Edition, which was on hiatus (from the charts, anyway) at the time. He also had two solo Top 40 hits and this was the first. I thought it was a pretty decent song.
MILES AWAY – WINGER (38) – Their third and final Top 40 hit (though the follow-up, “Easy Come, Easy Go” just narrowly missed the Top 40 in March, peaking at #41). Though my favorite song from them was their Summer '89 hit “Headed For A Heartbreak”, this would be a relatively close second. It is a great song IMO.
ONE AND ONLY MAN – STEVE WINWOOD (39) – This song always reminded me of his 1986 hit “Freedom Overspill”. This song, one of four songs by Winwood that topped the album rock charts, turned out to be his final Top 40 hit. It was a pretty good song, but I preferred several others from him.
JUSTIFY MY LOVE – MADONNA (36) – Of course, the big story about this song was the video, which was deemed too sexually graphic for MTV. Madonna eventually released a video single of the song, which became the highest selling video single of all time, being certified four times platinum by the RIAA. As for the song, I rather liked it, despite the fact that I was attending a Christian college and the lyrics weren't really in harmony with the Missionary religion. I just listened to it on the radio at a low-tone level.
FAIRWEATHER FRIEND – JOHNNY GILL (38) – Here's a case of third-single syndrome, as this song petered out at #28 after two Top Ten hits from his self-titled album. I preferred this one over the other two, since I liked the melody. It was my favorite of his charted hits.
AND SO IT GOES – BILLY JOEL (39) – He'd been absent from the chart since April, since his third and fourth singles from Storm Front “The Downeaster Alexa” and “That's Not Her Style”, respectively, didn't quite make the Top 40, but he returned to the Top 40 with the fifth and final song from the album. The song was a piano-driven ballad that I'd been hearing on the radio since August, since it was a huge AC hit, and it did manage to hit the Top 40, though it only got as high as #37 on the Pop charts. I liked this song a lot.
THE FIRST TIME – SURFACE (40) – Third time was a charm here, as their third Top 40 hit went all the way to #1. As big a hit as this song was, I'm kind of surprised that it didn't become a popular LDD request (in fact, as far as I know, it was never requested for that purpose). Anyway, this was a great song – by far my favorite of their charted hits.
DECEMBER
LOVE WILL NEVER DO (WITHOUT YOU) – JANET JACKSON (31) – This song became a record-setting seventh single from Rhythm Nation 1814. Yes, there had been several other albums that spawned seven hits, but this was the first time that a solo female did it. It was also the first time that all seven songs from a single album hit the Top Five, as well as the first time that a seventh single hit #1. That goes to show just how hot the Rhythm Nation album was. This was definitely one of my favorite songs from the album.
AFTER THE RAIN – NELSON (35) – The second single from the Nelson twins (who would host AT40 in late January, so they got to intro this song, when it was at #8). This was possibly my second favorite of their singles from the album to which this is the title-track, behind “Only Time Will Tell”.
FOR YOU – THE OUTFIELD (39) – The first and only single from their final album to make the Billboard 200, Diamond Days. I liked this song, but preferred the two Play Deep Top 40 hits.
JUST ANOTHER DREAM – CATHY DENNIS (34) – She'd charted earlier in the year as a guest vocalist on D'Mob's “C'Mon And Get Your Love” and was now trying it on her own – and she did quite well, with three Top 40 hits, all of which made the Top Ten over the next year. This song had a back-up singer that many people thought was Rick Astley, but it was not. As for this song, it was pretty good, but my favorite song from Cathy's Move To This album was “Too Many Walls”, which charted the following summer.
HANG IN LONG ENOUGH – PHIL COLLINS (36) – The first four singles from ...But Seriously hit the Top Ten, but this song only managed to climb up to #23. Too bad, as this was a great song – my second favorite from the album behind “I Wish It Would Rain Down”.
ON THE WAY UP – ELISA FIORELLO (38) – Like Cathy Dennis, her first chart hit was as a featured artist – in this case, Jellybean and the song “Who Found Who”. The only difference is, she wasn't as successful as Cathy Dennis – this song, which was co-written by Prince, was Fiorello's only solo Top 40 hit.
I'M NOT IN LOVE – WILL TO POWER (39) – Their second Top 40 hit and, like the first, it was a cover of a song from the 1970s – 10cc's debut hit from 1975. This version of the song does not include the “Be quiet, big boys don't cry” whispers – instead, after the second verse, the remake goes into a saxophone solo. At the beginning of the song, you can hear “be quiet” whispered twice, but other than that... Anyway, this was my favorite of the two versions of the song.
GONNA MAKE YOU SWEAT (EVERYBODY DANCE NOW) – C&C MUSIC FACTORY (30) – The first of a handful of hits for this Clivilles & Cole-led dance outfit, and the song that they're most famous for, featuring former Weather Girls member Martha Wash (whom, of course, was the one singing, "EVERYBODY DANCE NOW!" This song seemed to be a favorite of someone on Rick Dees' staff, as it seemed to be on most of their all-request specials, and I seem to remember that it was chosen on more than one occasion as a “replacement” of a song that Rick opted to skip over. Indeed, this song was quite overplayed and, to this day, I'm still burned out on it (not that it was one of my favorite songs in the first place).
ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE – DEBBIE GIBSON (35) – At this point, she was definitely passe, as this was the only single released here in the states from her album of the same title, and its performance on the chart was less than stellar, getting no higher than #26. I myself was never a huge fan of this song.
PLAY THAT FUNKY MUSIC – VANILLA ICE (37) – No. Just no.
DO THE BARTMAN – BART SIMPSON (airplay) – One of three album cuts that charted on the Airplay chart before AT40 switched to the Top 40 Radio Monitor as a basis. This novelty song from possibly THE most successful animated series ever peaked at #11 in January, 1991 and I'm actually surprised that it didn't get any higher than that, seeing as the song was played out on the stations I listened to (and the airplay chart was now being figured by actual airplay figures). It was a pretty good song – one that only a Simpsons fan would be able to appreciate.
YOU'RE AMAZING – ROBERT PALMER (33) – The first of two Top 40 hits from Palmer's Don't Explain album. It wasn't bad, but I preferred the next release, a medley of two great Marvin Gaye's classics.
GENTLE – DINO (34) – He was generally known for his upbeat dance numbers, but he did do a few slow songs, like this one, featuring Delona Tanner as a guest vocalist. This was probably my favorite song from him – a great song indeed!
I'LL GIVE ALL MY LOVE TO YOU – KEITH SWEAT (36) – Another R&B ballad from a man who had only hit the Top 40 with dance songs. And, like the Dino song, this was one of my favorites from Keith Sweat, who had a few high-charting ballads later in the 1990s that I also liked.
DISAPPEAR – INXS (39) – Bringing up the rear for the year 1990 is a band whose heyday was definitely 1988. But 1990 was a decent year for them, as they had a Top Ten hit earlier in the year and this follow-up would also hit the Top Ten. Of their two Top 40 hits from X (“Bitter Tears” didn't quite make it), this would be my favorite by a considerable margin. It was one of my favorite songs from them.