Mel's Top 100 Hits of 2023

 

Mel’s Top 100 Hits of 2023.

The following chart was compiled from data pulled from my Current Top 20 weekly lists that are posted to M4B Charts, my website and on this blog.

"Angry" by The Rolling Stones was a surprise 2023 entry for me when it debut in early September. From that point on it was the battle of senior bands for the latter quarter of 2023. The Rolling Stones took "Angry" to #1 for 9 weeks. That was good enough to crown the Grammy nominated song as the #1 track of the year.

The Beatles followed next with their last ever song, "Now And Then" which is well known for using A.I. for removing background noise on the original John Lennon cassette recording.  

"Now And Then" became a #1 song for 5 weeks. The Rolling Stones then reclaimed the #1 spot for the last two weeks of 2023 with "Mess It Up".

Taylor Swift placed several records in the Top 100 including two #1 songs: The Grammy nominated "Anti-Hero" is #3 for the year after holding on to #1 for 5 weeks at the end of 2022 and into 2023. The song was on the chart for 25 weeks.

Swift's second #1 song of 2023 was a track called "Karma". Both songs were taken from one of three incarnations of Taylor Swift's Midnights album.

The Linda Lindas hit #1 with "Resolution/Revolution" for three weeks in late summer. 

Rapper Tom MacDonald broke out of his rap genre and greeted 2023 with an ode to his girl friend Nova Rockafeller titled "Ghost". The song is an unexpected thing of beauty that held the #1 spot on the Current Top 20 for 7 non-consecutive weeks, good enough to end up at #2 for the year.

The rest of the Top 100 follow below. 

No.	Song Title	Artist	Peak	WAP	WO
1	Angry	The Rolling Stones	1	9	16
2	Ghost	Tom MacDonald	1	7	21
3	Anti-Hero	Taylor Swift	1	5	23
4	Now And Then	The Beatles	1	5	8
5	Resolution/Revolution	The Linda Lindas	1	3	15
6	Pointless	Lewis Capaldi	1	2	16
7	When I Die	Fanny Lumsden	1	2	15
8	Wish You The Best	Lewis Capaldi	1	2	15
9	I Feel Like Dancing	Jason Mraz	1	2	14
10	Karma / Karma (featuring Ice Spice)	Taylor Swift	1	2	13
11	Flowers	Miley Cyrus	1	2	13
12	End of the World	Tom MacDonald featuring John Rich	1	2	10
13	Try That In A Small Town	Jason Aldean	1	2	10
14	Love Again	The Kid LAROI	1	2	10
15	Mess It Up	The Rolling Stones	1	2	9
16	Lux Æterna	Metallica	1	2	9
17	Heavenly Kind of State of Mind	Lewis Capaldi	1	1	14
18	Curtains	Ed Sheeran	1	1	14
19	Lost	Linkin Park	1	1	14
20	Eyes Closed	Ed Sheeran	1	1	12
21	Rich Men North of Richmond	Oliver Anthony Music	2	4	13
22	Need A Favor	Jelly Roll	2	2	16
23	Blind For Love	American Authors	2	3	14
24	Be More	Stephen Sanchez	2	2	16
25	Get Her Back	Michael Ray	1	1	9
26	I Can See You (Taylor's Version)	Taylor Swift	2	2	10
27	Atomic City	U2	2	1	12
28	I'll Be Seeing You	Iam Tongi	2	1	9
29	Houdini	Dua Lipa	2	1	4
30	Evangeline	Stephen Sanchez	3	2	13
31	Sweet Sounds of Heaven	The Rolling Stones	3	1	12
32	Bejeweled	Taylor Swift	3	1	12
33	Trustfall	P!nk	3	1	11
34	Lavendar Haze	Taylor Swift	3	1	11
35	I'm Feelin' Good (Steve Miller Band)	King Calaway	3	1	11
36	Do I Love You (Indeed I Do)	Bruce Springsteen	3	1	9
37	How I'm Feeling Now	Lewis Capaldi	3	1	9
38	Paradise (Universal Sound Version)	Stick Figure	4	4	9
39	Seasons	Bebe Rexha & Dolly Parton	3	1	8
40	Fast Car	Luke Combs	4	2	18
41	Night Owl	The Dollyrots	4	2	10
42	Vampire	Olivia Rodrigo	4	2	10
43	Thank God	Kane & Katelyn Brown	4	1	27
44	Calm Down (featuring Selena Gomez)	Rema	4	1	14
45	Bad Idea Right?	Olivia Rodrigo	4	2	8
46	Until I Found You (Em Beihold Version)	Stephen Sanchez & Em Beihold	4	1	13
47	Giddy Up!	Shania Twain	4	1	12
48	I'm Good (Blue)	David Guetta & Bebe Rexha	4	1	11
49	Billy	The Shang Hi Los	5	2	12
50	Jolene	Olivia Newton-John & Dolly Parton	4	1	7
51	No Bad Days (featuring Collett)	Macklemore	5	2	8
52	Desire	Cannons	5	1	10
53	Dirty Money	Tom MacDonald	5	1	10
54	Cruel Summer	Taylor Swift	5	1	9
55	One More Time	Blink-182	5	1	7
56	Is It Over Now? (Taylor's Version)	Taylor Swift	5	1	6
57	Thunder Rumbles	The Cat Empire	6	2	11
58	Why Kiki?	Iam Tongi	6	2	10
59	If the Loneliness Don't Kill Me	Whitehorse	6	1	11
60	Made You Look	Meghan Trainor	6	2	9
61	American Town	Ed Sheeran	6	1	9
62	Hey Girl / I Touch Myself	The Dollyrots	6	1	8
63	Until I Found You	Stephen Sanchez	7	2	22
64	Save Me (with Lainey Wilson)	Jelly Roll	7	1	9
65	Loving You	Cannons	8	2	13
66	Too Many Things	The Linda Lindas	7	1	8
67	Boom Boom	The Cat Empire	7	1	8
68	Dreamin' All The Time	Trevor Beid Jimenez	8	2	10
69	Silver Fish	Dengue Fever	8	1	8
70	TQG (featuring Shakira)	KAROL G	8	1	8
71	Your America	Tom MacDonald	8	1	6
72	Mother	Meghan Trainor	8	1	6
73	American Flags (with Adam Calhoun)	Tom MacDonald	8	1	5
74	Songbird (Orchestral Version)	Christine McVie	9	1	10
75	Thank God I Do	Lauren Daigle	9	1	10
76	Everyone and Everything	Ringo Starr	9	1	7
77	I Remember Everything (w/ Kacey Musgraves)	Zach Bryan	9	1	6
78	Get Him Back!	Olivia Rodrigo	9	1	6
79	Hold On	The Strumbellas	9	1	6
80	Island in the Sun (featuring American Authors)	Smallpools	10	3	9
81	Monsters	Courtney Hadwin	10	2	10
82	I Like The Rain	Tiffany	10	2	7
83	Single Soon	Selena Gomez	10	2	5
84	I Won't Back Down	The Goo Goo Dolls + O.A.R.	10	1	7
85	What's Up (featuring Linda Perry)	Dolly Parton	10	1	7
86	Pepper	Panic at the Disco	10	1	6
87	Padam Padam	Kylie Minogue	10	1	6
88	The American Dream is Killing Me	Green Day	10	1	6
89	Groovy Christmas	The Linda Lindas	10	1	5
90	Catalonia (Live at the Sydney Opera House)	Vance Joy	11	2	5
91	Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree	Brenda Lee	10	1	2
92	The News	Paramore	11	1	8
93	Save Me The Trouble	Dan + Shay	11	1	6
94	Your Side of Town	The Killers	11	1	6
95	Gonna Be You	Dolly Parton, Belinda Carlisle, Cyndi Lauper, Gloria Estefan, Debbie Harry	11	1	5
96	Better Days (from Trolls Band Together)	*NSYNC	11	1	4
97	That Girl Don't Live Here	Courtney Hadwin	12	2	7
98	74-'75 (2023 Remaster)	The Connells	12	2	6
99	Let It Be (with Paul McCartney & Ringo Starr)	Dolly Parton	12	2	6
100	Life Goes On	Ed Sheeran & Luke Combs	12	1	6

WAP = Weeks at Peak | WO = Total Weeks on Chart

---

The Mel’s Top 100 of 2023 Hits on Spotify

Best of 2023: A #1 Song 65 Years After Release

 Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree Went to #1

I'm happy that BRENDA LEE made it to #1 with her 65 year old holiday hit, "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree". The song came out in 1958 and has shown up on every Billboard Hot 100 chart since Christmas music was regularly listed during the holiday season. 

The song also charted on the 1960 and 1961 Hot 100s. "Rockin Around the Christmas Tree" has never been a number one record until the Billboard Hot 100 was released on December 5, 2023. 

UPDATE: Billboard announced that "Rockin Around the Christmas Tree" will top the Hot 100 for a second week in a row! Congratulations Brenda Lee (December 11).

With that accomplishment, Brenda Lee became the oldest person to hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, eclipsing a record Louis Armstrong had since 1964's "Hello Dolly" when he was 64. Today (December 11) Brenda Lee turned 79.

In 1960 she had two #1 songs... "I'm Sorry" and "I Want To Be Wanted" both ballads in a lush, country crooning style. Most of her early records were produced by Owen Bradley, who also produced country music records for Patsy Cline and Loretta Lynn.

My favorite Brenda Lee song is "Sweet Nothins'" a rock n roll track reached #4 on the Hot 100 in 1959. That track along with "I'm Sorry" and several others appeared on her great 1960 album release, Brenda Lee. We had that record in our family's collection since the 1960s. The whispering intro of "ah ha honey, alright..." grabbed it for me on "Sweet Nothins'".

This year a new video was produced for "Rockin Around the Christmas Tree" which appears in the link below (YouTube). She also sang the song at the Grand Ole' Opry on December 2023 telecast shown on NBC TV.

Best of 2023: The Beatles Now And Then

 

The Last Song by The Beatles

"Now And Then", the song recorded by The Beatles was released on November 2. The song written by John Lennon was given to Paul McCartney by Yoko Ono, John's widow in 1994 along with the songs "Free As A Bird" and "Real Love".

In 1994 George Harrison, Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney worked on the three songs releasing two of them on the Anthology I and Anthology II albums that came out in 1995 and 1996. "Now And Then" laid on the back burner for more than 25 years due to technical reasons. You can learn more about "Now And Then" by watching the short video documentary below:

"Now And Then" made its debut on my Current Top 20 chart at #3 on November 3. By the next week it jumped to #1, replacing "Angry" by The Rolling Stones at that position. "Now And Then" has been the #1 song on my Current Top 20 for the four weeks now. The latest chart as of December 1 is shown below.

"Now And Then" is one of my favorite songs of 2023 and we'll see where it ends up in my end of the year Top 100 for 2023.

Best of 2023: Mel’s Spotify Wrap

 Spotify Wrap 2023

I became a paid Spotify subscriber after using the service off and on in the free ad supported tier since 2011. What prompted me to subscribe to Spotify is the fact that they have a very deep and up to date library of more than 90 million songs, many of which I will never listen to.

I love the fact that I can create as many custom playlists as I want to on Spotify and share them with anyone with the link or an embed to a website. I have more than 250 playlists that cover many music genres and eras. Check them out at my Spotify Profile page.

Like last year, Spotify issued their annual "Spotify Wrap" which is a compilation of the most played tracks from their library to my username macprohawaii. For 2023 my top 5 artists were 1. The Beatles 2. Ed Sheeran 3. Lewis Capaldi 4. The Rolling Stones and 5. Taylor Swift. "Angry" by The Rolling Stones was my most played song on Spotify.

Here for your listening pleasure is my Spotify Wrap playlist and brief stats.

Spotify Wrap playlist for 2023:

The Rolling Stones Angry Comeback

 

The Rolling Stones Are Not Angry

They are happy for “Angry”... the first single off their new, upcoming album Hackney Diamonds, scheduled for release this coming Friday, October 20.

The Rolling Stones hit song “Angry”, the first single off Hackney Diamonds, is holding the #1 position for the sixth consecutive week on Mel’s Current Top 20 chart. It shows no signs of slowing down.

It’s worth noting that “Angry” made an impressive debut at #1 six weeks ago and has maintained its top spot ever since. This achievement is particularly noteworthy because no other song has ever debuted at #1 on the Current Top 20, except for The Rolling Stones’ 2020 hit “Living in a Ghost Town.” At that time, the chart was reset after a few years of inactivity.

This week’s Current Top 20 features an impressive lineup of rock tracks, with five of them claiming spots in the Top 5. Alongside “Angry” at #1, we have The Linda Lindas “Resolution/Revolution” at #2, Stephen Sanchez’s “Be More” at #3, U2’s “Atomic City” at #4, and The Dollyrots’ “Night Owl” at #5. This abundance of rock hits in the top 5 is a rare occurrence for the chart.

In addition to “Angry”, The Rolling Stones also placed the second single, “Sweet Sounds of Heaven” on the chart last week, debuting at #18. This week the song moved up to #14. Accompanied by Lady Gaga on additional vocals and Stevie Wonder on keyboards, “Sweet Sounds of Heaven” is destined for the Top 10 on Mel’s Current Top 20 chart.

Some fresh additions to the Current Top 20 include *NSYNC’s “Better Place” debuting at #19 and Lauren Daigle’s “These Are The Days” entering at #20. These new singles bring a fresh dynamic to the chart and offer listeners a diverse range of musical styles.

Overall, The Rolling Stones’ “Angry” continues to reign supreme on Mel’s Current Top 20 playlist, showcasing the band’s enduring popularity. With a strong presence of rock hits in the top 5, this week’s chart reflects the diverse musical landscape and the ongoing evolution of the chart.

In the meantime the wait is almost over for their new Hackney Diamonds album.

Mel’s Current Top 20 Chart

As of October 13, 2023.

TW	Title	Artist	LW
1	Angry (6th Week @ #1)	The Rolling Stones	1
2	Resolution/Revolution	The Linda Lindas	2
3	Be More	Stephen Sanchez	3
4	Atomic City	U2	10
5	Night Owl	The Dollyrots	7
6	Rich Men North of Richmond	Oliver Anthony Music	4
7	One More Time	Blink-182	12
8	Desire	Cannons	5
9	Calm Down (with Selena Gomez)	Rema	11
10	Need A Favor	Jelly Roll	6
11	Why Kiki	Iam Tongi	13
12	Let It Be (with Paul McCartney & Ringo Starr)	Dolly Parton	14
13	Your Side of Town	The Killers	15
14	Sweet Sounds of Heaven	The Rolling Stones	18
15	Bad Idea Right	Olivia Rodrigo	8
16	I Remember Everything (w/ Kacy Musgraves)	Zach Bryan	9
17	What's Up? (featuring Linda Perry)	Dolly Parton	19
18	Monsters	Courtney Hadwin	20
19	Better Place	*NSYNC	NEW
20	These Are The Days	Lauren Daigle	NEW

Keep up with the latest version of Mel’s Current Top 20 at these links: Mel’s Current Top 20 Page | Mel’s Current Top 20 Chart

Mel’s Current Top 20 also streams on Spotify. | LINK

Check this interview out on CBS Sunday Morning for October 15.

#TBT - Mel's Top 100 Hits of 1968

 

THE BEATLES TOP MY 1968 TOP 100 HITS CHART

Unlike the Billboard Top 100 Hits of 1968, my chart differs in that a lot of songs listed there are not listed here. As a long time Beatles fan, this chart contains several Beatles tracks that are acknowledged as part of their greatest hits ever. The Billboard year end chart lists only three songs. This chart expands on that, and features several other rock tracks that The Beatles recorded that did not make the official year end chart for various reasons. On this chart, The Beatles have placed seven tracks.

1968 was also a big year for instrumentals, with 5 of them listed on the chart.

The Rolling Stones managed to put two tracks on this chart, as did The Doors. Aretha Franklin bested them with three as did The Rascals. One of their tracks, "My Hawaii" is an album only track that was a huge hit in the 50th state in 1968. The song has endured over the decades, especially for "Baby Boomers".

The entire Top 100 list appears below and you can listen to the whole thing on my new Spotify Playlist "Top 100 Hits of 1968." Subscribe and enjoy!

TOP 100 HITS OF 1968

Rank	Title	Artist
1	Hey Jude / Revolution	The Beatles
2	Jumpin' Jack Flash	The Rolling Stones
3	Revolution	The Beatles
4	Born to Be Wild	Steppenwolf
5	Hurdy Gurdy Man	Donovan
6	People Got to Be Free	The Rascals
7	While My Guitar Gently Weeps	The Beatles
8	(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay	Otis Redding
9	Hello, I Love You / Love Street	The Doors
10	Love Child	The Supremes
11	Magic Carpet Ride	Steppenwolf
12	Lady Madonna	The Beatles
13	I Love You	People
14	Back in the U.S.S.R.	The Beatles
15	Those Were the Days	Mary Hopkin
16	Tuesday Afternoon	The Moody Blues
17	Birthday	The Beatles
18	Mrs. Robinson	Simon & Garfunkel
19	The Good, the Bad and the Ugly	Hugo Montenegro
20	My Hawaii	The Rascals
21	Young Girl	Gary Puckett & The Union Gap
22	A Beautiful Morning	The Rascals
23	Angel of the Morning	Merrilee Rush
24	I've Gotta Get a Message to You	The Bee Gees
25	I Wish It Would Rain	The Temptations
26	Midnight Confessions	The Grass Roots
27	Tighten Up	Archie Bell & the Drells
28	Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing	Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell
29	Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da	The Beatles
30	Do It Again	The Beach Boys
31	A Hazy Shade of Winter	Simon & Garfunkel
32	Sky Pilot	The Animals
33	Time Has Come Today	The Chambers Brothers
34	Mony Mony	Tommy James and the Shondells
35	Cry Like a Baby	The Box Tops
36	Street Fighting Man	The Rolling Stones
37	White Room	Cream
38	Harper Valley PTA	Jeannie C. Riley
39	Spooky	Classics IV
40	MacArthur Park	Richard Harris
41	Jennifer Eccles	The Hollies
42	Dance to the Music	Sly and the Family Stone
43	All Along The Watchtower	Jimi Hendrix
44	Grazing in the Grass	Hugh Masekela
45	Do You Know the Way to San Jose	Dionne Warwick
46	Judy in Disguise (With Glasses)	John Fred & His Playboy Band
47	Lady Willpower	Gary Puckett & The Union Gap
48	Think	Aretha Franklin
49	Piece of My Heart	Big Brother and the Holding Company
50	Valleri	The Monkees
51	Fire	The Crazy World of Arthur Brown
52	The Mighty Quinn	Manfred Mann
53	Woman, Woman	Gary Puckett & The Union Gap
54	You're All I Need to Get By	Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell
55	La-La (Means I Love You)	The Delfonics
56	For Once in My Life	Stevie Wonder
57	I Say a Little Prayer	Aretha Franklin
58	The Horse	Cliff Nobles
59	Simon Says	1910 Fruitgum Company
60	Reach Out of the Darkness	Friend & Lover
61	Elenore	The Turtles
62	Bend Me, Shape Me	The American Breed
63	This Guy's in Love with You	Herb Alpert
64	Green Tambourine	The Lemon Pipers
65	Sunshine of Your Love	Cream
66	I Thank You	Sam & Dave
67	Girl Watcher	The O'Kaysions
68	It's Wonderful	The Rascals
69	Pictures of Matchstick Men	Status Quo
70	Suzie Q.	Creedence Clearwater Revival
71	Love is Blue	Paul Mauriat
72	Jennifer Juniper	Donovan
73	Hold Me Tight	Johnny Nash
74	Master Jack	Four Jacks & A Jill
75	Honey	Bobby Goldsboro
76	You Keep Me Hangin' On	Vanilla Fudge
77	Love Is All Around	The Troggs
78	I Wonder What She's Doing Tonight	Tommy Boyce & Bobby Hart
79	The Fool on the Hill	Sérgio Mendes
80	Classical Gas	Mason Williams
81	Sweet Inspiration	The Sweet Inspirations
82	Send Me A Postcard	The Shocking Blue
83	Stoned Soul Picnic	The 5th Dimension
84	Light My Fire	José Feliciano
85	Yummy Yummy Yummy	Ohio Express
86	Indian Lake	The Cowsills
87	Little Green Apples	O. C. Smith
88	(Sweet Sweet Baby) Since You've Been Gone	Aretha Franklin
89	If I Were A Carpenter	The Four Tops
90	Slip Away	Clarence Carter
91	Nobody but Me	The Human Beinz
92	The Look of Love	Sérgio Mendes
93	The Ballad of Bonnie and Clyde	Georgie Fame
94	Sealed with a Kiss	Gary Lewis & the Playboys
95	The Unicorn	The Irish Rovers
96	Bottle of Wine	The Fireballs
97	Delilah	Tom Jones
98	The Unknown Soldier	The Doors
99	Summertime Blues	Blue Cheer
100	In A Gadda Da Vida	Iron Butterfly

* "Revolution" by The Beatles is listed twice, once as a double sided single with "Hey Jude" and again as a standalone. Same song, two different rankings. It's my chart.

 Songs listed with a / indicate a double sided single with the B side listed after the slash.

#TBT - Mel's Top 100 Hits of 1991

 

1991: A Year of Transition

In 1991, I shifted from mainstream top 40 music to more alternative rock music. This was the year that pop music transitioned to more rap and hip hop songs, hence the transition to alternative rock. 

The songs on my Top 100 Hits of 1991 were all popular for different reasons. 

Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" was a cultural phenomenon that helped define the grunge movement and  generation. It turned out to be the band's first and only #1 hit and became their signature song.

"Valerie Loves Me" by Material Issue was a catchy power pop song that started the band's foray into titles named after women. R.E.M.'s "Losing My Religion" was a more thoughtful and introspective song that resonated with many people in 1991. 

Prince and the New Power Generation's "Cream" was a danceable and funky rock track that was perfect for parties. "Caribbean Blue" by Enya was a beautiful and ethereal ballad that transported listeners to another world. 

Seal's "Crazy" was a soulful and passionate love song that was sure to stir emotions, while EMF's "Unbelievable" was a quirky and experimental track that was ahead of its time. 

"Justified and Ancient" by The KLF and Tammy Wynette was a strange and unexpected collaboration that merged dance, funk and country into an unexpected but memorable hit. 

Sting's "All This Time" was a moving and heartfelt ballad about love and loss.

Yes, 1991 was a year of great musical transition. The rise of grunge and alternative rock challenged the dominance of synth-pop and hair metal, while hip hop and R&B continued to evolve. Meanwhile, genres like electronica and world music were also gaining ground.

THE TOP 100 HITS OF 1991

No.	Title	Artist(s)
1	Smells Like Teen Spirit	Nirvana
2	Valerie Loves Me	Material Issue
3	Losing My Religion	R.E.M.
4	Crazy	Seal
5	Wicked Game	Chris Isaak
6	Caribbean Blue	Enya
7	Unbelievable	EMF
8	I've Been Thinking About You	Londonbeat
9	Cream	Prince and The New Power Generation
10	Justified And Ancient	The KLF with Tammy Wynette
11	Groove Is in the Heart	Deee-Lite
12	Alice Everyday	Book of Love
13	Shiny Happy People	R.E.M.
14	Tom's Diner	DNA featuring Suzanne Vega
15	Nothing Else Matters	Metallica
16	Something to Talk About	Bonnie Raitt
17	Silent Lucidity	Queensrÿche
18	Sadeness (Part I)	Enigma
19	Kiss Them For Me	Siouxsie & The Banshees
20	All This Time	Sting
21	Justify My Love	Madonna
22	Right Here, Right Now	Jesus Jones
23	Give It Away	Red Hot Chili Peppers
24	Quiver	Book of Love
25	So You Think I'm in Love	Robyn Hitchcok & The Egyptians
26	Joyride	Roxette
27	Diane	Material Issue
28	You Could Be Mine	Guns N' Roses
29	Enter Sandman	Metallica
30	Here I Am (Come and Take Me)	UB40
31	Breaking the Girl	Red Hot Chili Peppers
32	I Touch Myself	Divinyls
33	Mysterious Ways	U2
34	Baby Baby	Amy Grant
35	There She Goes	The La's
36	I Wanna Sex You Up	Color Me Badd
37	Show Me the Way	Styx
38	Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance...)	C+C Music Factory
39	Black or White	Michael Jackson
40	Near Wild Heaven	R.E.M.
41	Don't Let The Sun Go Down on Me (live)	Elton John with George Michael
42	The Way You Do the Things You Do	UB40
43	Everybody Plays the Fool	Aaron Neville
44	Learning to Fly	Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
45	The Unforgiven	Metallica
46	More Than Words	Extreme
47	Girlfriend	Matthew Sweet
48	Rush	Big Audio Dynamite II
49	Motownphilly	Boyz II Men
50	She Lives (In A Time of Her Own)	The Judybats
51	The Promise of a New Day	Paula Abdul
52	Don't Drop The Baby	The Judybats
53	Signs	Tesla
54	Wind of Change	Scorpions
55	Disappear	INXS
56	Summer Kisses Winter Tears	Julee Cruise
57	Rush Rush	Paula Abdul
58	Sunny Day	Book of Love
59	Right Now	Van Halen
60	Under The Bridge	Red Hot Chili Peppers
61	Bitter Tears	INXS
62	Until The End of the World	U2
63	Alive	Pearl Jam
64	Real Real Real	Jesus Jones
65	I Can't Dance	Genesis
66	Emotions	Mariah Carey
67	Hole Hearted	Extreme
68	Good Vibrations	Marky Mark And The Funky Bunch
69	Live and Let Die	Guns N Roses
70	High Enough	Damn Yankees
71	Kinky Afro	Happy Mondays
72	The Shoop Shoop Song (It's in His Kiss)	Cher
73	(Everything I Do) I Do It for You	Bryan Adams
74	I'm Your Baby Tonight	Whitney Houston
75	I'm Too Sexy	Right Said Fred
76	Into the Great Wide Open	Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers
77	Just Another Dream	Cathy Dennis
78	It Ain't Over 'til It's Over	Lenny Kravitz
79	Radio Song	R.E.M.
80	Rhythm of My Heart	Rod Stewart
81	The Other Side of Summer	Elvis Costello
82	The Fly	U2
83	O.P.P.	Naughty by Nature
84	It Hit Me Like a Hammer	Huey Lewis & The News
85	November Rain	Guns N' Roses
86	This House	Tracie Spencer
87	Too Many Walls	Cathy Dennis
88	Get A Leg Up	John Mellencamp
89	Fading Like a Flower (Every Time You Leave)	Roxette
90	Someday	Mariah Carey
91	Love Takes Time	Mariah Carey
92	The One and Only	Chesney Hawkes
93	Love Will Never Do Without You	Janet Jackson
94	Summertime	DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince
95	Touch Me (All Night Long)	Cathy Dennis
96	I Adore Mi Amor	Color Me Badd
97	I'm Not in Love	Will to Power
98	Coming Out of the Dark	Gloria Estefan
99	Here We Go	C+C Music Factory
100	Something to Believe In	Poison

#TBT - The Name Game by Shirley Ellis

 

From my childhood way back in 1965 comes "The Name Game" by singer Shirley Ellis. We used to have this 45 on the old Congress label back in the day. My late sister and her friend used to love to sing this and substitute names of people they knew at the end of the song. This was a real long time ago... what almost 60 years now.

One thing I liked about "The Name Game" 45 was the killer B-side of that record. The song title was "Whisper To Me Wind". This could have also been a hit back in the day... though I never recall any radio station playing the song.

Shirley Ellis' real name was Shirley Marie O'Garra. She was born in 1929 and lived to 2005. During her career Shirley had three major Billboard Hot 100 hits. The first was "The Nitty Gritty" which came out in 1963 and topped off at the #8 position in October of that year. Her next hit single was "The Name Game" which peaked at #3, followed by "The Clapping Song (Clap Pat, Clap Slap)" which went to #8. Shirley Ellis had a total of 14 charted singles that appeared on the U.S. as well as the U.K. charts.

Check this playlist I created on Spotify featuring Shirley Ellis' music. The playlist tracks should play in full if you have a Spotify subscription.

Elvis Presley - Are You Lonesome Tonight? | I Gotta Know

Throwback Thursday - 45 RPM Heaven

Much has been written about "The King of Rock n Roll", ELVIS PRESLEY. This little post on my music corner of nowhere is just another cog to add to that huge, growing wheel, more than 46 years ago today.

Elvis Presley passed away on August 16, 1977. He left a long musical legacy of hundreds of memorable singles and record albums, all of which have been brought up to date in the digital age when you can stream just about anything online.

One of the very first records I was exposed to in the rock n roll genre came very early in my life, probably before I was five years old. My Dad used to have a friend who ran a vending machine business. Among his many vending machines were jukeboxes that he loaned out to restaurants and other eating places. Periodically he would have to change out the records contained in the jukeboxes. Since he was a friend of my Dad, we would end up with dozens of old 45s that Dad brought home. How cool was that?

One of the first records I remember getting was Elvis Presley's single "Are You Lonesome Tonight" with "I Gotta Know" on the B-side. I think my Mom first played the record when we got it. She fell in love with the broken hearted ballad that was the featured A-side of the record. The song was one of several Elvis singles that went to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts.

As a kid I found the other side of the record to be much better. "I Gotta Know" was an upbeat song, more to my early rock n roll liking of faster tunes. So I played that side of the record more than the A-side which my Mom loved. 

That all said, both "Are You Lonesome Tonight" and "I Gotta Know" both became radio hits, with "Lonesome" as previously stated peaking at #1 and "I Gotta Know" peaking at #20 on the Hot 100.

I love 45 rpm records, especially in the old days when both sides of a 45 could become hits. DJs had more flexibility in those days to flip a record over and figure that hey, the other side is just as good as the A-side being pushed by the record company.

The original 45 was on the black RCA label featuring Nipper the dog looking into the old gramophone record player. What a classic label and symbol. Sadly I no longer have that original 45.

Today "Are You Lonesome Tonight" and "I Gotta Know" exist on CD or a digital playlist like I have at. Spotify.

"Are You Lonesome Tonight" and "I Gotta Know" appear on the CD Elvis Golden Records Volume 3.

You can listen to both songs on my Digital 45 playlist on Spotify.

Rich Men North of Richmond - Oliver Anthony

 

"Rich Men North of Richmond" is a rootsy, blue-collar song that came out of nowhere to become a huge viral video hit for its author and singer Oliver Anthony. Apparently this guy just does some home made recordings and this one has resonated a lot... so much that it debut at #1 on my country music chart. The song is available for streaming on various platforms as well as digital purchase on Amazon and iTunes.

"Rich Men North of Richmond" also tops the iTunes Top 100 and the iTunes Country Charts. Oliver Anthony's other songs are also charting on iTunes including "Ain't Gotta Dollar" which chimes in at #10 on my country chart. Check that out below:

The Country 5 + 5 Chart

As of August 15, 2023.

TW	Title	Artist	LR
1	Rich Men North of Richmond	Oliver Anthony Music	new
2	Try That In A Small Town	Jason Aldean	1
3	Need A Favor	Jelly Roll	2
4	When I Die	Fanny Lumsden	4
5	Fast Car	Luke Combs	5
6	Bury Me In Georgia	Kane Brown	7
7	White Horse	Chris Stapleton	9
8	Save Me The Trouble	Dan + Shay	3
9	Save Me (featuring Lainey Wilson)	Jelly Roll	6
10	Ain't Gotta Dollar	Oliver Anthony Music	new

You can listen to all ten of the Country 5 + 5 hits on Spotify.

Try That In A Small Town

 

Jason Aldean Tops the Current Top 20, Country 5 + 5, Billboard's Hot 100 and More

Jason Aldean tops Mel's Current Top 20 with his high profile hit, "Try That in a Small Town." The track has been the #1 best seller on iTunes for the past few weeks, and topped the Billboard Hot 100 onTuesday for the week of August 1. I would be thrilled to see if "Try That in a Small Town" can hold on to #1 for a few more weeks, especially on the Hot 100 chart.

Here are this week's Current Top 20 hits as posted on August 4, 2023.

TW	Title	Artist	LW
1	Try That In A Small Town	Jason Aldean	3
2	When I Die	Fanny Lumsden	1
3	I Can See You (Taylor's Version)	Taylor Swift	5
4	Vampire	Olivia Rodrigo	4
5	Heavenly Kind of State of Mind	Lewis Capaldi	2
6	Need A Favor	Jelly Roll	7
7	Fast Car	Luke Combs	8
8	Curtains	Ed Sheeran	6
9	Loving You	Cannons	10
10	Island in the Sun (feat. American Authors)	Smallpools	11
11	American Flags (with Adam Calhoun)	Tom MacDonald	19
12	Save Me (with Lainey Wilson)	Jelly Roll	9
13	Silver Fish	Dengue Fever	15
14	A Beautiful Game	Ed Sheeran	14
15	I Won't Back Down	Goo Goo Dolls & O.A.R.	16
16	Resolution/Revolution	The Linda Lindas	new
17	Save Me The Trouble	Dan + Shay	20
18	Until I Found You (Em Beihold Version)	Stephen Sanchez & Em Beihold	12
19	Karma / Karma (featuring Ice Spice)	Taylor Swift	13
20	Barbie Girl (Tiësto Remix)	Aqua + Tiësto	new

Jason Aldean and his #1 hit video.

The Country 5 + 5

As of August 1, 2023.

TW	Tit          le	Artist	LR
1	Try That In A Small Town	Jason Aldean	2
2	Need A Favor	Jelly Roll	3
3	When I Die	Fanny Lumsden	1
4	Save Me The Trouble	Dan + Shay	6
5	On The Boat Again	Jake Owen	5
6	Save Me (featuring Lainey Wilson)	Jelly Roll	4
7	Fast Car	Luke Combs	7
8	Bury Me In Georgia	Kane Brown	9
9	Good Lookin'	Dixon Dallas	8
10	World on Fire	Nate Smith	new

Listen to the Current Top 20 on Spotify.

Awaiting: New Dawn by Fanny Lumsden from Bandcamp.

Also waiting from Bandcamp: Reissue of The Connells' 1993 album Ring with bonus tracks.

Listen to the Country 5 + 5 on Spotify.

Mel’s Top 100 Hits of 1969

 Get Back is My Favorite Song of 1969

I was only 12 back in 1969. The biggest event of that year was the manned landing on the moon by Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong, Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin and Michael Collins. 

Music wise 1969 was another year of great rock and pop music that wrapped the decade of the 1960s up. We had some great big classic hits by The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Creedence Clearwater Revival and many others.

In retrospect my favorite songs from 1969 are those by The Beatles. My #1 song of the year is "Get Back" and I list it with its 45 rpm B-side "Don't Let Me Down". My #2 song of the year is another Beatles song that was never released as a single. It is George Harrison's greatest song of all time... "Here Comes The Sun" from the Abbey Road album. He also showed up with The Beatles at #12 with "Something". John Lennon had Beatles tracks on my top 100 with "The Ballad of John & Yoko" at #9, "Come Together" at #21 and his first solo track, "Give Peace a Chance" at #58, which is shown on the record's label at John Lennon / The Plastic Ono Band. 

The Rolling Stones had a couple of big hits in 1969, with my favorite being "Honky Tonk Woman" at #3 for the year.

Several songs in my Top 100 of 1969 were not in the Billboard Top 100 of 1969. They include It's a Beautiful Day's "White Bird" at #4, The Youngbloods' "Get Together" at #11 (originally released in 1967), and "The Boxer" and "Baby Driver" 45 from Simon & Garfunkel. Several other songs that did not score high enough on the year end Billboard Chart of 1969 made this chart.

All of the songs on this chart can be streamed on my Spotify playlist. The Top 100 Hits of 1969 list is posted below. Enjoy!

Rank	Title	Artist
1	Get Back / Don't Let Me Down	The Beatles
2	Here Comes The Sun	The Beatles
3	Honky Tonk Women	The Rolling Stones
4	White Bird	It's A Beautiful Day
5	In the Year 2525	Zager & Evans
6	One	Three Dog Night
7	Crimson and Clover (album version)	Tommy James and the Shondells
8	Bad Moon Rising / Lodi	Creedence Clearwater Revival
9	The Ballad of John & Yoko / Old Brown Shoe	The Beatles
10	Time of the Season	The Zombies
11	Get Together	The Youngbloods
12	Something	The Beatles
13	Everyday People	Sly and the Family Stone
14	Fortunate Son / Down on the Corner	Creedence Clearwater Revival
15	Dizzy	Tommy Roe
16	Hair	The Cowsills
17	Crystal Blue Persuasion	Tommy James and the Shondells
18	Green River / Commotion	Creedence Clearwater Revival
19	Eli's Coming	Three Dog Night
20	I Heard It Through the Grapevine	Marvin Gaye
21	Come Together	The Beatles
22	Proud Mary / Born on the Bayou	Creedence Clearwater Revival
23	Love (Can Make You Happy)	Mercy
24	Suspicious Minds	Elvis Presley
25	Put a Little Love in Your Heart	Jackie DeShannon
26	Someday, We'll Be Together	Diana Ross & The Supremes
27	It's Your Thing	The Isley Brothers
28	Sugar, Sugar	The Archies
29	These Eyes	The Guess Who
30	Sympathy for the Devil	The Rolling Stones
31	Hawaii Five-O	The Ventures
32	Touch Me	The Doors
33	Lay Lady Lay	Bob Dylan
34	Easy to Be Hard	Three Dog Night
35	Hot Fun in the Summertime	Sly and the Family Stone
36	Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye	Steam
37	A Boy Named Sue	Johnny Cash
38	Soul Deep	The Box Tops
39	Time Is Tight	Booker T. & the M.G.'s
40	More Today Than Yesterday	Spiral Starecase
41	Sugar on Sunday	The Clique
42	Spinning Wheel	Blood, Sweat & Tears
43	The Boxer / Baby Driver	Simon & Garfunkel
44	Whole Lotta Love	Led Zeppelin
45	Marakesh Express / Helplessly Hoping	Crosby, Stills & Nash
46	Atlantis	Donovan
47	Laughing	The Guess Who
48	I'd Wait a Million Years	The Grass Roots
49	I Can Hear Music	The Beach Boys
50	My Cherie Amour	Stevie Wonder
51	What Does It Take (To Win Your Love)	Jr. Walker & The All Stars
52	You've Made Me So Very Happy	Blood, Sweat & Tears
53	You Showed Me	The Turtles
54	Smile a Little Smile for Me	The Flying Machine
55	Traces	Classics IV
56	Ramblin' Gamblin' Man	Bob Seger System
57	Tell All The People	The Doors
58	Give Peace A Chance	John Lennon & the Plastic Ono Band
59	Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town	Kenny Rogers and The First Edition
60	Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In	The 5th Dimension
61	Backfield in Motion	Mel and Tim
62	I Can't Get Next to You	The Temptations
63	Wishful Sinful	The Doors
64	Build Me Up Buttercup	The Foundations
65	This Magic Moment	Jay and the Americans
66	Maxwell's Silver Hammer	The Beatles
67	In the Ghetto	Elvis Presley
68	Everybody's Talkin'	Harry Nilsson
69	Baby It's You	Smith
70	The River is Wide	The Grass Roots
71	Too Busy Thinking About My Baby	Marvin Gaye
72	Good Morning Starshine	Oliver
73	Gimme Gimme Good Lovin'	Crazy Elephant
74	Wedding Bell Blues	The 5th Dimension
75	It's Getting Better	Mama Cass Elliot
76	Sweet Caroline	Neil Diamond
77	Games People Play	Joe South
78	Baby, Baby Don't Cry	The Miracles
79	Take A Letter Maria	R.B. Greaves
80	Israelites	Desmond Decker & The Aces
81	Jingle Jangle	The Archies
82	Galveston	Glen Campbell
83	Undun	The Guess Who
84	Octopus's Garden	The Beatles
85	Goodbye	Mary Hopkin
86	I'm Gonna Make You Love Me	The Supremes & The Temptations
87	Bella Linda	The Grass Roots
88	That's the Way Love Is	Marvin Gaye
89	Hooked on a Feeling	B.J. Thomas
90	This Girl Is a Woman Now	Gary Puckett & The Union Gap
91	Only The Strong Survive	Jerry Butler
92	Ruben James	Kenny Rogers and The First Edition
93	Time Machine	Grand Funk Railroad
94	Try A Little Tenderness	Three Dog Night
95	Baby, I Love You	Andy Kim
96	Mr. Sun, Mr. Moon	Paul Revere & the Raiders
97	Can I Change My Mind	Tyronne Davis
98	Gitarzan	Ray Stevens
99	Grazing in the Grass	The Friends of Distinction
100	Keem-O-Sabe	Electric Indian