Throwing back to the week of October 18, 2003, we find two repeats in the top spot of Billboard’s Hot 100. At #1 is Beyoncé’s ‘Baby Boy,’ which spent a total of nine weeks in that position. And in the second spot was ‘Shake Ya Tailfeather,’ a collaboration by Nelly, P. Diddy, and Murphy Lee.
That brings us to #3, and another ode to shaking one’s ass: ‘Get Low,’ the debut single by Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz. This pioneering crunk track eventually made it to #2 on the chart.
I featured a song by R&B trio SWV back in July — their sole #1 hit, ‘Weak’ — and at the time I mentioned that they had three top ten songs in the early 90s. Well, here’s another of them.
In the week of October 9, 1993, the top spot of the Billboard Hot 100 belonged to Mariah Carey, whose ‘Dreamlover’ was in the middle of eight consecutive weeks at #1. Carey kept SWV from nabbing their second #1 with ‘Right Here (Human Nature).’
Throwing back to the week of October 8, 1983, we discover what a glorious time that was to be alive.
In the #1 spot on that week’s Billboard Hot 100, you have Bonnie Tyler’s ‘Total Eclipse of the Heart’ (already covered on the blog), in the middle of a four-week stint at the top spot. At #2 is today’s SOTD, Air Supply’s ‘Making Love Out of Nothing At All,’ which I’ll get to in a moment.
Rounding out the top five are The Police, with ‘King of Pain,’ Spandau Ballet with ‘True,’ and Stray Cats with ‘(She’s) Sexy & 17,’ making for one hell of a varied and enjoyable playlist.
In the #1 spot on Billboard’s Hot 100 the week of October 6, 1973, is a throwback weekend selection that has not aged well. The song is ‘Half-Breed,’ Cher’s second of four career #1 hits, and it’s about as cringeworthy as its title suggests.
To be fair, the lyrics paint a sympathetic portrait of a woman with a white father and Cherokee mother, decrying the racism that mixed-race children face from both sides. But should a pop song about this topic have been written and performed by people without a drop of Native American blood?
Throwing back to the week of October 7, 1963, we find Bobby Vinton in the top spot of the Billboard Hot 100 with his recording of ‘Blue Velvet.’
This classic song was written in 1950 by Bernie Wayne and was first recorded by Tony Bennett a year later. Bennett’s version reached #16 on the chart that pre-dated the Hot 100 (charmingly named “Records Most Played by Disc Jockeys”). The song was covered by The Clovers and The Statues, among others, in subsequent years.
Meet Me In Montauk 