The week of August 28, 1993, saw two songs I’ve already covered in the #1 and #2 spots of the Billboard Hot 100: UB40’s ‘Can’t Help Falling in Love’ and Tag Team’s ‘Whoomp! (There it Is),’ respectively.
That brings us to #3, where Mariah Carey’s ‘Dreamlover’ sat on its way to a #1 berth the following week. This pop/R&B confection would be Carey’s seventh to top the charts, and ended up spending eight consecutive weeks at #1.
Throwing back to the week of August 27, 1983, we find two songs dominating the top of the chart that basically occupied that space all summer — The Police’s ‘Every Breath You Take’ and Eurythmics’ ‘Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This).’
In the third spot was the second single from the Flashdance soundtrack. A couple of months earlier, the movie’s title track topped the charts, and now Michael Sembello’s ‘Maniac’ was on its way to the same accomplishment.
Throwing back to the week of August 25, 1973, we find the New York rock band Stories topping the Billboard Hot 100 with their cover of the song ‘Brother Louie,’ a slinky jam about an interracial couple.
This song was originally recorded by a British band called Hot Chocolate. Their funkier version, complete with spoken-word interludes by the racist parents of the song’s protagoinsts, reached #7 on the UK charts.
Throwing back to the week of August 24, 1963, we find a pre-teen Stevie Wonder (then billed as Little Stevie Wonder) atop the Billboard Hot 100 with ‘Fingertips – Pt 2,’ the B-side of the first single from his album The 12 Year Old Genius – Recorded Live.
The full ‘Fingertips’ is an instrumental jazz track that was split across two sides for release. It was the second half of the performance, when Wonder was called back onstage for an encore after a rousing bit of harmonica playing, that rocketed up the charts, giving Wonder his first #1 hit.
Throwing back to the week of August 17, 2013, we’re once again going deep into the top ten before finding a song I haven’t featured.
The top five that week were, in order, Robin Thicke’s ‘Blurred Lines,’ Miley Cyrus’ ‘We Can’t Stop,’ Imagine Dragons’ ‘Radioactive,’ and Daft Punk’s ‘Get Lucky.’ Those tracks were competing for Song of the Summer status for months that year.
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