Throwing back to the week of September 27, 2003, we find Nelly, P. Diddy and Murphy Lee hanging on to the top spot of the Billboard Hot 100 with ‘Shake Ya Tailfeather,’ covered on the blog three weeks ago.
In second place is a song that was on its way to a nine-week run at #1 — Beyoncé’s ‘Baby Boy.’ This collaboration with Jamaican rapper Sean Paul was the second single from Bey’s debut solo album, Dangerously in Love. Her first solo single, ‘Crazy in Love,’ also made it to the top spot.
The week of September 18, 1993, saw a few repeats at the top of the Billboard Hot 100, as it has on almost every Throwback Weekend from the decade. Mariah Carey held on to the top spot with ‘Dreamlover,’ Tag Team claimed #2 with ‘Whoomp! (There It Is),’ and UB40 sat at #3 with ‘Can’t Help Falling in Love.’ Oh my god, the 90s sucked!
In the #4 spot we have Janet Jackson with ‘If,’ the second single from her album Janet. You might recall that first single ‘That’s the Way Love Goes‘ spent two full months at #1, longer than any song by her brother Michael.
Throwing back to the week of September 17, 1983, we have Michael Sembello hanging on to the top spot with ‘Maniac’ from the Flashdance soundtrack. Right behind him at #2 is Billy Joel, whose ‘Tell Her About It’ would take over the top spot the following week.
‘Tell Her About It’ was the first of six singles from Joel’s An Innocent Man album, and the only one to hit #1. Even ‘Uptown Girl‘ couldn’t make it higher than #3. In fact, this song is one of only three #1 hits in Joel’s entire career. Bonus points to anybody who can name the other two in the comments (without cheating).
Today’s Throwback Weekend song comes from the week of September 15, 1973, when Helen Reddy’s ‘Delta Dawn’ topped the Hot 100 for a single week as part of its eight-week run in the top ten.
The song had previously been recorded by Bette Midler and Tanya Tucker, with the latter scoring a top ten hit on the Country chart. But Reddy, adding choir-like background vocals, was the first to score a major crossover hit with the track.
Throwing back to the week of September 14, 1963, we find The Angels on top of the Billboard Hot 100 with their only top ten hit, ‘My Boyfriend’s Back.’
This simple tale of promised revenge was inspired by a conversation overheard by co-writer Bob Feldman. A teenaged girl was rejecting the advances of an unwanted suitor, unaware that her dismissal would result in a massive hit. I wonder how many women of the era believed they might have been that girl.
