funky's journey through the 90s (again, again)

[alla]

I had no idea M People were already charting in USA. They won't have a proper hit there until Moving on up, their only pop hit, but I believe they were regulars in the US dance chart.

I was never a fan of Voice Of The Beehive, but this single stood out for me after it popped up on the US charts this month, their first of only two Top 100 hits:



It was the lead single from their second album Honey Lingers, and eventually went #15 UK and #74 US.

I only know their 2 US hits, I assume the other you're talking about is Scary kisses? At least I remember it making some top 40 countdowns. I've seen a lot of talk here about this group but I know nothing about them. Edit: I checked and have another 4 songs on my ipod. For sure that has to be after reading something on Moopy and adding a few hits, I totally forgot about it or if I played them at all.

Notable new entries (US):

November 2

47 — KEEP COMING BACK –•– Richard Marx

The big comeback after 2 multiplatinum albums was not what I was expecting from him. This is so much mature, and has little to do with what he had released so far. I don't get this song as the first single, I never got it, I appreciate the effort but I find it a bit boring; it wasn't such a big hit, missing the top 10. Thankfully the follow up was a massive hit, with the help of a very clever video(s).

 

[alla]

Growing up I always thought Kym Sims was a black R&B singer - I must never have watched the video or saw her perform live. But this came out at the same time as Ce Ce Peniston, Shanice, Sybil and other US R&B dance acts, and they all got muddled together. This had a good run to #38 in the US but was a huge hit in the UK, reaching #5 . Growing up I only knew this track from her really, but there's a discovery coming up shortly that I've decided is better than this.

I thought the same about Kym Sims, the single didn't have a picture and I don't remember watching the video back then. Btw, now that you put them in the same sentence, Kym Sims cowrote one of Ce Ce Peniston's biggest hits, coming up next year.

Michael Jackson returns after a two year hiatus and four years since the release of Bad, and this must have been a huge pop event. I have vague memories of the video being premiered in the UK, and lots of marketing and the video being on heavy rotation. I feel that a debut of #35, even in this era, feels a bit soft, but to be fair it did bounce up to #3 in its second week and was #1 by its third. This ended up being one of his biggest hits ever, hitting #1 all over the world including the UK. Personally I think it's one of his weakest ever singles, and that would be the story for me across the Dangerous album - a real mixed bag of hits and misses. The album didn't quite land as well as Bad or Thriller but that was purely relative - it was still a massive success.

The premiere of the video was such a thing, I remember a tv channel here stopping everything to air the complete video. The video is insane and 100% MJ, and it did all the promo for the single. The special effects used to morph faces into one another were such a wow moment, something never seen before, that was copied in other music videos in the coming years.

 

[Sardonicus]

The special effects used to morph faces into one another were such a wow moment, something never seen before, that was copied in other music videos in the coming years.

MJ got the face morphing idea from the video to this mid 80s hit, although obviously done with a much bigger budget & better technology.

 

[alla]

MJ got the face morphing idea from the video to this mid 80s hit, although obviously done with a much bigger budget & better technology.

Yes, and when I said it was copied by other music videos, I didn't mean the idea, but the technology to do that; probably copied was not the right word, they simply used the same programme to do high quality transformations. Terence Trent D'arby's Delicate, Coolio's Fantastic Voyage, and probably many more that I can't think of right now.

 

[alla]

Top 5 1991 r&b hits that didn't get a (proper) mention and I think they deserve it:


(WARNING: this post contains heterosexual lyrics)


Sex Cymbal - Sheila E.



Recent Grammy winner Sheila E. totally flopped with her 1991 álbum; at least the lead single managed to make the top 40 in the r&b singles chart. Shame this wasn't a bigger hit. This short video is the ending for the music video, see the energy, what a woman




Written All Over Your Face - Rude Boys

a #1 r&b (didn't Billboard name this the #1 r&b song of 91?) that did crossover and made the top 20.




This house - Tracie Spencer

This was a massive hit, peaking at #3. Despite being only 15 back then, she already had another top 40 hit 3 years earlier Tracie had quite a few r&b hits from this album, most of them were moderate pop hits too. She then disappear only to make a brief comeback a decade later.




With you - Tony Terry

One of my favourite ballads of the year, and the only crossover hit for this sexy man. It barely made the top 20, but spent months and months in the chart, climbing slow and steady.





My heart is failing me - Riff

And last but not least, a favourite of mine, totally forgotten but still on heavy rotation on my ipod after so many years. The only crossover hit for this group, it made the top 30, and that pretty much was it for them.



To my total shock, the song was remade years later by one of the biggest female singers of all time in Spain, Luz Casal (you may know her from some Almodovar film music, I've seen someone posting here about her) and it became a massive hit here. I bet 99.99% has no idea it's a cover. No wonder, I think the original wasn't even released in Europe, even when I found the cd single in a record fair in London.

 

[alla]

Top 5 1991 pop hits that didn't get a (proper) mention and I think they deserve it:

(kala-friendly list, no men found here)


Kiss them for me - Siouxsie & The Banshees

After so many years, Siouxsie Sioux finally has a top 40 hit in USA, her only one. Kiss them for me peaked at #26 in late 91.





Love me all up - Stacy Earl

I still don't get why they never bothered with a video, it would have been a much bigger hit. There is a video for another song that wasn't release as a single, so they probably changed their mind in the last minute about her debut single, god knows.Anyway, Love me all up is amazing, it peaked in the top 40 in early 92, and it wasn't her only hit: the follow up, Romeo & Juliet, that is LITERALLY Opposites Atract, also made the top 40.






Temple of love - Harriet

Most of you probably don't know this singer, but guess what, she's from England. Temple of love peaked at #39, I think the follow up made the AC chart, and that was it for her. Shame, because her album isn't that bad, and she has a fantastic voice. If you play it you're not going to be shocked if I tell you Temple of love made the r&b chart too. Btw, if you think you never listen to her music before, think again: she cowrote in the late 90s Tina Turner's Whatever you need.





Save some love - Keedy

This is pure joy and the video is camp as hell A total one hit wonder; the follow up to this, a ballad written by Diane Warren, flopped, and she never released another album. Pointless trivia: you can hear a few seconds of this song in a scene of Julia Robert's movie Dying young.





You don't have to go home tonight - The Triplets

Remember in 1990 when we had a few twins? Well we have now The Triplets, and they're real triplets. Born and raised in America, this latin trio (mexican father) were another one hit wonder, but left one of the best songs of the year, absolutely magnificent.