Category Archives: throwback weekends

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Song of the Day #5,720: ‘She Loves You’ – The Beatles

A few weeks ago, I featured The Beatles’ ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand,’ the band’s first #1 hit in the U.S. It was still atop the chart the week of February 29, 1964, but just below it was the band’s soon-to-be second #1 hit, ‘She Loves You.’

This single had been a huge hit in the UK the summer before, but a U.S. release was largely ignored by radio and failed to crack the Hot 100. Imagine that!

When the British Invasion finally arrived in early 1964, ‘She Loves You’ came back with a vengeance, rocketing to the top of the chart.

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Song of the Day #5,719: ‘Make Love to Me’ – Jo Stafford

Throwing back to the weekend of February 27, 1954, Doris Day held on to Billboard’s top spot with ‘Secret Love.’ At #2 was a song that had been moving up the chart for about a month, Jo Stafford’s ‘Make Love to Me.’

This song would reach #1 the following week and alternate in the top spot with ‘Secret Love’ for more than a month.

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Song of the Day #5,713: ‘Me, Myself and I’ – Beyoncé

The week of February 21, 2004, saw a few repeats at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart: ‘Slow Jamz,’ by Twista feat. Kanye West & Jamie Foxx; ‘Yeah!‘ by Usher feat. Lil Jon and Ludacris; and ‘The Way You Move‘ by Outkast.

In the fourth spot that week was a rising star named Beyoncé, with the third single from her debut album Dangerously in Love. While the first two singles (‘Crazy in Love’ and ‘Baby Boy’) reached #1, ‘Me, Myself and I’ stalled at #4.

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Song of the Day #5,712: ‘The Power of Love’ – Celine Dion

Throwing back to the week of February 19, 1994, we find Celine Dion atop the Billboard Hot 100 with ‘The Power of Love,’ a cover of Jennifer Rush’s hit from a decade before.

Rush co-wrote the song and released it on her eponymous 1984 debut. It was a minor hit in the U.S. but tore up the charts in the UK, becoming that regions biggest single of the year and ninth-biggest of the decade.

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Song of the Day #5,706: ‘Jump’ – Van Halen

Throwing back to the week of February 18, 1984, we find Culture Club atop the Billboard Hot 100 with ‘Karma Chameleon.’

At #2, and on its way to a five-week stint at #1, was Van Halen’s ‘Jump.’ This was the rock band’s only #1 single, and the only top ten single of the David Lee Roth era. The Sammy Hagar incarnation would reach the top five twice over the next several years.

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