By Roger Nead
June 8, 2004
HEY MONY! I THINK WE’RE ALONE NOW:
Here’s a belated farewell to songwriter/producer RITCHIE CORDELL, who died in April of pancreatic cancer.
Cordell was the man behind many well-known pop hits of the past three decades, including: “Indian Giver” by 1910 FRUITGUM COMPANY (1969), “I Love Rock & Roll” by JOAN JETT & THE BLACKHEARTS (1982), “Psycho Therapy” by THE RAMONES (1983), “Gimme Gimme Good Lovin’” by CRAZY ELEPHANT (1969), “I Want Candy” by BOW WOW WOW (1982), and many others.
Cordell also scored a rare accomplishment on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1987, when a cover version of a hit he co-wrote for TOMMY JAMES & THE SHONDELLS, called “Mony Mony” defeated a cover version of another hit he wrote for James, called “I Think We’re Alone Now,” in the #1 spot. The new versions were performed by BILLY IDOL and TIFFANY, respectively.
U.S. Singles Chart:
Here are this week’s Top 10 singles:
1) Burn by USHER
2) I Don’t Wanna Know by MARIO WINANS Featuring ENYA & P. DIDDY
3) Naughty Girl by BEYONCE
4) Yeah! by USHER Featuring LIL JON & LUDACRIS
5) The Reason by HOOBASTANK
6) Overnight Celebrity by TWISTA
7) This Love by MAROON5
8) Confessions Part II by USHER
9) If I Ain’t Got You by ALICIA KEYS
10) Roses by OUTKAST
U.S. Album Chart:
Here are this week’s Top 10 albums:
1) Under My Skin by AVRIL LAVIGNE
2) Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses) by SLIPKNOT
3) Confessions by USHER
4) Here For The Party by GRETCHEN WILSON
5) Tical 0: The Prequel by METHOD MAN
6) The Reason by HOOBASTANK
7) D12 World by D12
8) Musicology by PRINCE
9) Shrek 2 – ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK
10) Catalyst by NEW FOUND GLORY
Top 10 Most Downloaded Tracks:
Here is this week’s Top 10 Hot Digital Tracks:
1) The Reason by HOOBASTANK
2) Roses by OUTKAST
3) Burn by USHER
4) Don’t Tell Me by AVRIL LAVIGNE
5) This Love by MAROON5
6) Naughty Girl by BEYONCE
7) Everytime by BRITNEY SPEARS
8) Hey Ya! by OUTKAST
9) Hey Mama by BLACK EYED PEAS
10) Ocean Avenue by YELLOWCARD
Modern Rock Tracks:
Here are this week’s Top 10 Modern Rock tracks:
1) Lying From You by LINKIN PARK
2) Ch-Check It Out by BEASTIE BOYS
3) Cold Hard Bitch by JET
4) The Reason by HOOBASTANK
5) Slither by VELVET REVOLVER
6) Float On by MODEST MOUSE
7) Talk Shows On Mute by INCUBUS
8) (Can’t Get My) Head Around You by THE OFFSPRING
9) Broken by SEETHER Featuring AMY LEE
10) Time Is Running Out by MUSE
My Own Personal Top 30 Chart:
1) California Songs by LOCAL H
2) Am I The Same Girl by KING RADIO
3) The Reasons by THE WEAKERTHANS
4) Passing By by ZERO 7
5) The Road Leads Where It’s Led by SECRET MACHINES
6) The One You Want by THE GET UP KIDS
7) Trouble by DJ ME DJ YOU
8) Wake Up by THE VANISHED
9) Don’t Forget To Breathe by BEULAH
10) Better by COWBOY MOUTH
11) Madness by DELTRON 3030
12) It’s All The Same by REVERIE SOUND REVUE
13) Looks Like They Were Right by LIT
14) Homewrecker by HELLOGOODBYE
15) Spitting Games by SNOW PATROL
16) Assessment by THE BETA BAND
17) Check Your Messages by THE MELIGROVE BAND
18) Hello Tomorrow by ZEBRAHEAD
19) Somebody Told Me by THE KILLERS
20) Walking Around Waiting Downtown by REVERIE SOUND MACHINE
21) Hold Me Up by YEAR OF THE RABBIT
22) Stakeout by FREEZEPOP
23) Primitive (The Way I Treat You) by AMBULANCE LTD
24) Make Up by ELEFANT
25) Solitary Man by HIM
26) You’re Gone by MARILLION
27) Breathe by SECRET MACHINES
28) Take Your Mama Out by SCISSOR SISTERS
29) The Saddest Story Ever Told by MAGNETIC FIELDS
30) Catherine Was My June by FROM BUBBLEGUM TO SKY
FUN & GAMES:
LISTEN TO THE MUSIC:
Check out my radio show
This week: Hear the official weekly Billboard Top 50 chart from 16 years ago, June 8TH, 1988!
THE LOST ‘90S
I know it wasn’t that long ago, but many excellent songs from the last decade have become M.I.A.
Click here and catch up on some long lost classics by artists such as: THE MURMURS, BOOM CRASH OPERA, THAT PETROL EMOTION, FUN LOVIN’ CRIMINALS, INSPIRAL CARPETS, STAKKA BO, THE WONDERSTUFF, DREAD ZEPPELIN, and many, many more!
I’ll up date this one every couple of weeks.
TOP O’ THE CHARTS:
Let’s go through time and see what was at #1 this week on the various popular music charts!
#1 Song on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Chart, June 8, 1995:
December by COLLECTIVE SOUL
#1 Song on Billboard’s Modern Rock Chart, June 8, 1990:
Way Down Now by WORLD PARTY
#1 Song on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary Chart, June 8, 1985:
Axel F by HAROLD FALTERMEYER
#1 Song on the UK Chart, June 8, 1980:
Theme From M*A*S*H (Suicide Is Painless) by MASH
#1 Song on Billboard’s R&B Chart, June 8, 1975:
Rockin’ Chair by GWEN McCRAE
#1 Album on Billboard’s Top 200 Chart, June 8, 1970:
Let It Be by THE BEATLES (Soundtrack)
#1 Song on Billboard’s Hot 100 Chart, June 8, 1965:
Back In My Arms Again by THE SUPREMES
#1 Song on Billboard’s Country & Western Chart, June 8, 1960:
Please Help Me, I’m Falling by HANK LOCKLIN
REMEMBER THESE?:
Here are the official Top Ten Charts, 6, 16, 26, and 36 years ago this week:
JUNE 8, 1998:
1) The Boy Is Mine by BRANDY & MONICA
2) Too Close by NEXT
3) You’re Still The One by SHANIA TWAIN
4) My All by MARIAH CAREY
5) I Get Lonely by JANET (Featuring BLACKSTREET)
6) Everybody (Backstreet’s Back) by BACKSTREET BOYS
7) All My Life by K-CI & JOJO
8) Truly Madly Deeply by SAVAGE GARDEN
9) The Arms Of The One Who Loves You by XSCAPE
10) Sex And Candy by MARCY PLAYGROUND
JUNE 8, 1988:
1) One More Try by GEORGE MICHAEL
2) Together Forever by RICK ASTLEY
3) Everything Your Heart Desires by DARYL HALL & JOHN OATES
4) Shattered Dreams by JOHNNY HATES JAZZ
5) Naughty Girls (Need Love Too) by SAMANTHA FOX
6) Foolish Beat by DEBBIE GIBSON
7) Make It Real by THE JETS
8) Dirty Diana by MICHAEL JACKSON
9) Circle In The Sand by BELINDA CARLISLE
10) The Valley Road by BRUCE HORNSBY & THE RANGE
JUNE 8, 1978:
1) You’re The One That I Want by JOHN TRAVOLTA & OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN
2) Shadow Dancing by ANDY GIBB
3) Too Much, Too Little, Too Late by JOHNNY MATHIS & DENIECE WILLIAMS
4) Feels So Good by CHUCK MANGIONE
5) Baker Street by GERRY RAFFERTY
6) It’s A Heartache by BONNIE TYLER
7) On Broadway by GEORGE BENSON
8) Take A Chance On Me by ABBA
9) With A Little Luck by WINGS
10) This Time I’m In It For Love by PLAYER
JUNE 8, 1968:
1) Mrs. Robinson by SIMON & GARFUNKEL
2) Tighten Up by ARCHIE BELL & THE DRELLS
3) This Guy’s In Love With You by HERB ALPERT
4) The Good, The Bad And The Ugly by HUGO MONTENEGRO
5) Mony Mony by TOMMY JAMES & THE SHONDELLS
6) Yummy Yummy Yummy by THE OHIO EXPRESS
7) MacArthur Park by RICHARD HARRIS
8) A Beautiful Morning by THE RASCALS
9) Think by ARETHA FRANKLIN
10) Honey by BOBBY GOLDSBORO
ROCK & ROLL TRIVIA QUESTION:
LAST WEEK’S QUESTION:
Below I’ve listed six Top artists of the 1980s. Re-arrange the list by when they first reached the Top 40 on the Billboard Pop Singles Chart (oldest to newest.)
1) A FLOCK OF SEAGULLS
2) INXS
3) MADONNA
4) PRINCE
5) RICK SPRINGFIELD
6) TOMMY TUTONE
THE ANSWER:
Former heartthrob RICK SPRINGFIELD was the first of these artist to crack the Top 40, when “Speak To The Sky” peaked all the up to #14, way back in 1972. Nine years before he released his biggest hit “Jessie’s Girl.”)
The “mega-talented” PRINCE was next up. His second chart hit “I Wanna Be Your Lover” broke him into Billboard’s Top 40 in December of 1979. It eventually made it to #11.
In third place was the short-lived rock band from San Francisco TOMMY TUTONE, named for lead singer Tommy Heath. T.T.’s first Top 40 hit came in 1980 and was titled “Angel Say No.” Their second and final chart hit was also their biggest, “867-5309/Jenny” was a major success in the spring of ’82.
Liverpool quartet A FLOCK OF SEAGULLS finishes fourth on the list, cracking the Top 40 in September 1982, with: “I Ran (So Far Away).” Their final Top 40 hit: “Wishing,” happened only 8 months later, giving them the shortest span of Top 40 hits of any artist on the list.
Australian rock band INXS had their first shot in the Top 40 in May of 1983, putting them fifth on the list. “The One Thing” only peaked at #30, but INXS eventually reached the #1 spot, nearly five years later with: “Need You Tonight.”
That leaves the material girl MADONNA as the last artist on the list to reach the Top 40. “Holiday” broke the Top 40 in December of 1983, a full year after the release of her first single “Everybody.” However, she does have the longest charting career, and is the most likely of the six artists to have a future Top 40 hit. But, I wouldn’t count PRINCE out yet!
THIS WEEKS QUESTION:
Below I’ve listed six songs that reached #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart. Five of these songs share another distinction. Which one doesn’t belong on the list!
1) Miami Vice Theme by JAN HAMMER
2) Dominique by THE SINGING NUN
3) How Do You Talk To An Angel by THE HEIGHTS
4) Disco Duck by RICK DEES & HIS CAST OF IDIOTS
5) In The Year 2525 (Exordium & Terminus) by ZAGER & EVANS
6) Pop Muzik by M
Answer next week!
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