Throwing back to the week of July 26, 2003, we find Beyoncé in the #1 spot with ‘Crazy in Love,’ her second single and first to top the Hot 100. I featured ‘Crazy in Love’ all the way back at Song of the Day #139, so sadly I can’t revisit it here.
That brings us to #2, where Lil’ Kim and 50 Cent pair up on ‘Magic Stick.’ The song spent a total of 24 weeks on the chart but never made it higher than the second slot, unable to best Beyoncé.
It’s the week of July 17, 1993, and apparently a very dire time for popular music.
In the #1 spot is ‘Weak,’ the tepid R&B song I featured three weeks ago when it was perched at #2.
And in the second slot is UB40’s take on the Elvis Presley classic ‘(I Can’t Help) Falling in Love with You,’ breaking my streak of 5,495 Songs of the Day without an appearance by the British reggae band. That’s a shame.
Throwing back to the week of July 16, 1983, we find The Police’s ‘Every Breath You Take’ in the #1 spot for the second straight week. As I featured that classic 14 years ago, I’m skipping it today to focus on that week’s #2 song.
In the second spot is the lone U.S. top ten hit by Guyanese-British artist Eddy Grant: ‘Electric Avenue.’ The reggae-tinged rock song spent five weeks at #2, held off from the top spot first by Irene Cara’s ‘Flashdance… What a Feeling‘ and then by the aforementioned ‘Every Breath You Take.’
The week of July 14, 1973, found Billy Preston on top of Billboard’s Hot 100 for the second week with his single ‘Will It Go Round in Circles.’ This was Preston’s second appearance at #1, having made it there as a featured artist on The Beatles’ ‘Get Back’ in 1969.
Preston would reach #1 one more time a year later, with ‘Nothing From Nothing,’ a song I know quite well. This one is new to me.
Throwing back to the week of July 13, 1963, we find the doo-wop group The Essex topping the Billboard Hot 100 with their song ‘Easier Said Than Done.’ I’ve never heard this particular song, but I’ve heard plenty like it, and it’s a sound I love.
The Essex is an interesting group, founded by two Marines while stationed in Okinawa, Japan. They recruited three other Marines back in the States, including lead singer Anita Humes, before dropping a member and performing as a quartet.
Meet Me In Montauk 