At #5 on the latest Billboard Hot 100 is Olivia Dean with her hit ‘Man I Need.’ This is the third single from the English singer-songwriter’s sophomore album, The Art of Loving, and the first to gain traction in the U.S.
Dean has been an emerging star for several years now and seems to be on the verge of a breakthrough. I’m writing this blog entry the morning of her Saturday Night Live debut as musical guest alongside host Glen Powell. I could see that appearance boosting her even more.
Its been a full six months since my last installment of ‘What the Kids are Listening To’ so I figured it’s due.
The long wait doesn’t necessarily mean I’ve missed out on a lot of chart-topping hits, however. Fewer songs than ever are cycling through the Billboard Hot 100. In fact, the issue has become so dire that Billboard just changed some of the guidelines for how long songs can stick around.
The week of November 16, 1965, found The Supremes atop the Billboard Hot 100 with ‘I Hear a Symphony,’ one of 12 #1 hits for the legendary girl group.
At #2 that week was Len Barry’s ‘1-2-3,’ a song that ended up embroiled in a copyright claim by those very same Supremes. Motown sued Barry and his co-writers, claiming that ‘1-2-3’ bore a strong resemblance to The Supremes’ ‘Ask Any Girl.‘ After two years in the courts, Motown’s Holland–Dozier–Holland writing team was awarded 15% of the royalties from this song.
Throwing back to the week of November 15, 1955, we find a couple of usual suspects atop the Billboard singles chart followed by Tennessee Ernie Jones at #3 with ‘Sixteen Tons.’ The song would ascend to #1 the following week and spend two months there.
This song was written and recorded by country singer Merle Travis a decade earlier. It is sung from the perspective of an Appalachian coal miner.
My final fictional artist is a band so renowned that it’s replacing Aerosmith as the musical accompaniment to Disney World’s Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster.
Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem made their debut on the pilot episode of The Muppet Show and found big-screen fame performing ‘Can You Picture That?’ in 1979’s The Muppet Movie. The sextet is fronted by Dr. Teeth on keyboard and vocals, with Floyd Pepper on bass, Janice on lead guitar, Zoot on saxophone, Lips on trumpet, and — of course — Animal on drums.
Meet Me In Montauk 