Throwing back to the week of January 31, 1976, we find Ohio Players stop the Billboard Hot 100 with ‘Love Rollercoaster,’ enjoying its first and only week at #1.
The R&B/funk band had made it to #1 a year earlier with ‘Fire.’ After this hit, they would never again reach the top ten, though later in 1976 they would hit #18 with ‘Who’d She Coo?’
Concluding a look at notable albums of 1996…
Regular readers know I struggle to enjoy most rap music. I’m not proud of that fact, knowing the musical, cultural, and societal relevance of the genre, but my ears like what they like.
One of the few exceptions is OutKast, the Atlanta-based duo who rank among the most acclaimed and successful hip-hop acts in history. I have enjoyed everything I’ve heard from them, including the two albums I know quite well — 2000’s Stankonia and 2004’s Album of the Year-winning Speakerboxxx/The Love Below.
Continuing a look at notable albums of 1996…
For U.S. listeners, the Swedish alt-rock band The Cardigans are a one-hit wonder. That hit was ‘Lovefool,’ a jaunty battle cry for desperate jilted lovers everywhere.
‘Lovefool’ reached the U.S. charts thanks to its inclusion on the soundtrack of Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet and earned critical praise as well as commercial success. But it first appeared on the band’s third album, titled First Band on the Moon.
Continuing a look at notable albums of 1996…
The hip-hop group Fugees released only two albums before splitting up, but the second release — 1996’s The Score — was a groundbreaking international smash. The album helped define the alternative hip-hop sound of the 90s.
Combining socially conscious rap with soulful R&B, the album skips between genres so deftly that it ended up creating a new one.
Continuing a look at some notable 1996 albums…
Through 17 1/2 years and 6,413 Songs of the Day, I’ve somehow managed to not feature the Spice Girls once. Well, this Decades dive into 1996 turns out to be the perfect occasion.
Formed via a classified ad placed by a management team seeking to create a girl group to compete with the era’s popular boy bands, the Spice Girls are one of pop music’s wildest success stories. The five women selected based on their voices, dance moves, and overall looks turned out to be the perfect fit. And as a bonus, they had songwriting chops, too.
Meet Me In Montauk 