Category Archives: throwback weekends

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Song of the Day #5,446: ‘It’s My Party’ – Lesley Gore

Today we throw back to the week of June 1, 1963, when Lesley Gore topped Billboard’s Hot 100 with ‘It’s My Party,’ the lead single from her debut album I’ll Cry if I Want To. The song spent two weeks at #1 and 13 total weeks on chart. Gore’s next three singles reached the top five, but this track was her last to reach #1.

‘It’s My Party’ was first recorded by British singer Helen Shapiro, but it wasn’t released until her album came out in October, months after Gore’s success with the song. Her version is a little slower and her voice is a little deeper, giving the illusion that you’re listening to the more popular version at a reduced speed.

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Song of the Day #5,440: ‘Can’t Hold Us’ – Macklemore & Ryan Lewis

Throwing back to the dog days of 2013, specifically the week of May 25, we find Macklemore & Ryan Lewis occupying the top spot of the Hot 100 with ‘Can’t Hold Us.’

I find with both Throwback Weekends and the Decades series that the closer I get to present day, the less I like the music. Give me the hits of the 60s, 70s and 80s all day every day, but once we get into the 90s, 00s and god forbid the 10s, it’s a minefield.

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Song of the Day #5,439: ‘Get Busy’ – Sean Paul

Today we throw back to the week of May 24, 2003, when the Billboard Hot 100 was topped by Jamaican reggae rapper Sean Paul and his party song ‘Get Busy.’

‘Get Busy’ spent three weeks in the top spot, the first of two Sean Paul solo tracks to reach #1. The second, ‘Temperature,’ came two years later, so we might see it on a future Throwback Weekend.

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Song of the Day #5,433: ‘That’s the Way Love Goes’ – Janet Jackson

It’s a family affair this weekend. A decade after Michael Jackson’s ‘Beat It’ topped the Hot 100, his sister Janet did the same with ‘That’s the Way Love Goes.’ We’re throwing back to the week of May 15, 1993, when the lead single of Janet Jackson’s album Janet dominated the charts.

‘That’s the Way Love Goes’ and Janet shifted Jackson’s image in a sultry, sexually provocative new direction. The song’s video found her dancing slinkily in a sleeveless half-shirt surrounded by her backup dancers (one of whom is a then unknown Jennifer Lopez).

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Song of the Day #5,432: ‘Beat It’ – Michael Jackson

Today we throw back 40 years to the week of May 14, 1983, when a song called ‘Beat It’ by little-known pop singer Michael Jackson topped the Billboard Hot 100.

I was surprised to see I hadn’t featured ‘Beat It’ on the blog through 5,432 Songs of the Day. The closest I’ve come is a Random Weekend feature of ‘Beat It 2008,’ a bonus track on the 25th anniversary re-release of Thriller that remixed the song and added vocals by Fergie. Exhibit A of why Throwback Weekends are already better than Random Weekends.

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