Continuing a look at notable albums of 1996…
The hip-hop group Fugees released only two albums before splitting up, but the second release — 1996’s The Score — was a groundbreaking international smash. The album helped define the alternative hip-hop sound of the 90s.
Combining socially conscious rap with soulful R&B, the album skips between genres so deftly that it ended up creating a new one.
Continuing a look at some notable 1996 albums…
Through 17 1/2 years and 6,413 Songs of the Day, I’ve somehow managed to not feature the Spice Girls once. Well, this Decades dive into 1996 turns out to be the perfect occasion.
Formed via a classified ad placed by a management team seeking to create a girl group to compete with the era’s popular boy bands, the Spice Girls are one of pop music’s wildest success stories. The five women selected based on their voices, dance moves, and overall looks turned out to be the perfect fit. And as a bonus, they had songwriting chops, too.
This week I’ll write about a handful of critically acclaimed and/or commercially successful 1996 albums I’ve managed not to hear over the past 30 years.
First up is Weezer’s Pinkerton, the Los Angeles band’s second album and one that has grown a tremendous cult following over the years. This album was a follow-up to the band’s 1994 self-titled smash hit and was seen at the time as a letdown.
Throwing back to the week of January 25, 1966, we find The Beatles hanging on to the top spot of the Billboard Hot 100 with ‘We Can Work It Out,’ in its third week at #1. Nipping at their heels were The Beach Boys, whose ‘Barbara Ann’ jumped from #15 to #2 that week.
The Beatles fell from #1 the following week, but The Beach Boys weren’t able to capitalize and score their third #1 hit (that would happen later in the year). Instead, Petula Clark leapfrogged them with a song that will likely show up on a future Throwback Weekend.
Some familiar names topped the Billboard Hot 100 on the weekend of January 24, 1955: Dean Martin with ‘Memories Are Made of This,‘ The Platters with ‘The Great Pretender,’ and Tennessee Ernie Ford with ‘Sixteen Tons.’
At #4 that week, on its way to a 4-week stint at #1, was the novelty track ‘Rock and Roll Waltz’ by vocalist Kay Starr. The track, written by Shorty Allen and Roy Alfred, depicts the singer coming home to find her parents dancing (a waltz, naturally) to her rock and roll records.
Meet Me In Montauk 