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Song of the Day #5,505: ‘You Cause as Much Sorrow’ – Sinéad O’Connor

Three years after her debut, Sinéad O’Connor was catapulted to a level of success she never expected or wanted. Her sophomore album, I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got, went multi-platinum on the strength of hit single ‘Nothing Compares 2 U.’

That song, a cover of a Prince tune written for his side project The Family, spent four weeks at #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 and made O’Connor a household name. Her gorgeous rendition, accompanied by an inescapable video depicting her beautiful, crying face against a black background, was the top song in the world through the winter of 1990.

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Song of the Day #5,504: ‘Drink Before the War’ – Sinéad O’Connor

Irish singer-songwriter Sinéad O’Connor passed away last week, ending a chaotic, troubled life and robbing us of one of popular music’s most distinctive and beautiful voices.

I’ve given O’Connor a decent amount of coverage on the blog in the past, but now is a sadly appropriate time to give her a proper deep dive, featuring songs from each of her 10 studio albums. Consider the next two weeks my tribute to a unique and special talent we lost way too soon.

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Song of the Day #5,503: ‘Treasure’ – Bruno Mars

I’m developing a theory that the Hot 100 over the last two decades has been a lot more stagnant than in previous years. In other words, fewer songs are spending a longer amount of time in the upper echelons of the chart.

I’m basing this admittedly half-baked idea on the fact that the 2013 edition of Throwback Thursdays has produced the most repeats by far. Just take a look at the chart on the week of July 27, 2013.

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Song of the Day #5,502: ‘Magic Stick’ – Lil’ Kim feat. 50 Cent

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.

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Song of the Day #5,501: ‘Day-O (Banana Boat Song)’ – Harry Belafonte

In addition to inducting artists into the Performers category, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame honors musical acts under the Musical Excellence and Early Influences banners. I’m not sure what differentiates Musical Excellence inductees from Performers.

The definitions on the Rock Hall’s site say that the former group “have had a dramatic impact on music” while the latter have “changed the course of rock & roll,” but I don’t think every “Performer” in the Hall satisfies that lofty criteria.

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