Billboard's Hot 100 Turns 55: Top Chart Acts of All Time

Still the reigning champions! Image from source, Billboard

This is a really interesting list (and there are several others on Billboard's site), compiling the top 100 acts of Billboard Hot 100, of all time. What's cool to me is seeing where modern acts, acts from my youth (1970s and 80s) and all-time greats stack up. The Beatles, no surprise, are still number one. But looky there, Madonna is number 2! And there are some real surprises in there. Would you have thought that Paula Abdul would make such a short list? Or Tony Orlando and Dawn? The Captain & Tenille? Yup!

Check it out: Billboard

 

Blast from the Past: Classic Songs and Their Remakes

Cover songs are nearly as old as their originals. In fact, back in the early days of the rock era, covers of hit songs would often come out almost simultaneously with their originals, sometimes with the "remake" doing better than the "original." Take for instance Twist and Shout. The original version (then called Shake it Up, Baby was by The Top Notes in 1961. It went nowhere. Then, it was remade by The Isley Brothers in 1962, and it went to #17. But The Beatles took it to #2 (#1 on the Cashbox chart).



Sometimes, a longer amount of time goes between version one and version two. But both become classics of their eras. Take You Keep Me Hangin' ON, which was huge in 1967 for Diana Ross and the Supremes. It was remade by Vanilla Fudge the same year, and went to #6, amazingly enough. But it was in 1987 that it went to number 1 again for Kim Wilde.



Straying into the (early) disco era, a song by LaBelle called Lady Marmalade went to #1 in the States. And though it was remade a couple of times, it took until 2001 to go to #1 again, this time for the movie Moulin Rouge by Pink, Christina Aguilera, Lil' Kim and Mýa.



But one of my favorite remakes is of Fred Astaire's 1946 Puttin' on the Ritz, itself not truly an original, but a remake itself of a 1929 tune. But aside from the treatment the song was given in Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein, the 1983 version by one-hit-wonder Taco (#4 on Billboard) is the one that sticks in many minds of my generation.



And that will do it for me for now, folks. Happy Monday!

25 Years Ago Today: Karma Chameleon by Culture Club

I'm painfully aware that this year is my 25th high school class reunion. Yes, I'm from the infamous class of 1984, a banner year for music, thanks to MTV. Most of the music of the day is painfully dated today--though not all--but it is recorded in great detail. 1984 may have been the first year that every hit song had a video. MTV (born in 1981) no longer had to take just every video handed to them, they could pick and choose.



And they made a lot of stars far bigger than they ever would have been otherwise. Many acts, like Duran Duran, Madonna, Cyndi Lauper, and Pat Benatar may never have been quite as big without music video. No group was powered by video more than Culture Club. Boy George's gender-bending antics hit at exactly the right time, and his group's colorful videos set the tone for many videos (and popular trends) for the middle of the decade.

George O'Dowd (Boy's real name) has fallen on hard times of late. So, it is nice to remember the happier days, in fact of exactly 25 years ago, when Boy George and Culture Club hit #1 on the Billboard charts with Karma Chameleon. It is not--in my opinion--the best of his or their songs, but it is likely the most remembered.

Please Don't Vote for a Republican (Billboard #2)

A couple of days ago, a wingnut with some advertising money took out a "Please Don't Vote for a Democrat" billboard, complete with September 11th imagery. It was incongruous given who was President at the time of the attack. And it was also self serving, as it seems the guy is trying to sell a CD of "patriotic music."

But I think this kind of billboard might be used to Democrats' advantage. And we don't have to misdirect or lie to do it, either. This is the second in a series of billboard ideas by yours truly, this time featuring every kid's favorite Senator, Mark Foley!

Please Don't Vote for a Republican (Billboard #1)

A couple of days ago, a wingnut with some advertising money took out a "Please Don't Vote for a Democrat" billboard, complete with September 11th imagery. It was incongruous given who was President at the time of the attack. And it was also self serving, as it seems the guy is trying to sell a CD of "patriotic music."

But I think this kind of billboard might be used to Democrats' advantage. And we don't have to misdirect or lie to do it, either. As I mentioned in a previous post, I haven't much time to blog tonight, but I did have time to whip this up. It was a quickie, so not as good as it could be. But I have a feeling I'll think of a few more. Enjoy!