For all you Music chart aficionados, got any cool chart trivia?  Here's a bunch ...

♦ In 1982, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark reached #32 in Canada with 'Joan of Arc', a song that I honestly do not remember at all.  But what's weird is that back in the 90s (before I knew what charted in Canada) when I aquired a cassette copy of their album 'Architecture and Morality', I recognized the song 'Maid of Orleans' as a song I used to hear when I was a kid.  The actual title of the song is 'Maid of Orleans (The Waltz of Joan of Arc)' so not to be confused with their song 'Joan of Arc', but it didn't work because I was confused.  It's all about what you remember though, right?  I remember 'Maid of Orleans' and I can honestly say this was the one that charted in Canada
Maid of Orleans (The Waltz of Joan of Arc) - The Video

♦ Remember the 1988 hit 'Somewhere Down the Crazy River' by Robbie Robertson?  So do I, but you know what?  It only reached #91 in Canada.  I've said this before and I will say it again, a song doesn't have to be in the Top 40 for it to be popular.  This song is a grand example.  'Somewhere Down the Crazy River' reahced #15 in the UK

♦ Modern Talking was a German Eurodisco duo who had no success at all in America, but in 1987, they reached #34 in Canada with the song 'Brother Louie'.  I don't remember this song at all, but long before I knew it was a chart single in Canada, I always liked it.  In the old days of Napster, I learned of Modern Talking, and really liked their songs and still do

♦ In the late 70s, British YES vocalist Jon Anderson teamed up with Greek instrumentalist Vangelis and scored a string of hit singles throughout Europe.  With several UK Top 40s to their credit, their most successful single was one that was a total surprise hit in Canada ... In 1981, 'The Friends of Mr. Cairo' by Jon & Vangelis topped the Canadian chart for 6 weeks and was the 4th best selling single in Canada for 1981

♦ Lenny Kravitz' 1999 cover version of 'American Woman' spent 56 weeks (1 year and 4 weeks) in the Canadian Top 100.  It yo-yo'd the chart, eventually peaking at #26 and re-entered the Top 40 an additional three times

♦ Under the pseudonym Morris Minor and the Majors, British comedian Tony Hawk had a Top 40 hit in the UK and Australia with the ovelty (and obvious Beastie Boys parody) song 'Stutter Rap (No Sleep 'Til Bedtime)'.  What I have found to be quite a surprise to some, it also reached #14 in Canada.  Oh, I remember the song well.  The Chaka Khan lyric still makes me chuckle

♦ In 1982, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark reached #32 in Canada with 'Joan of Arc', a song that I honestly do not remember at all.  But what's weird is that back in the 90s (before I knew what charted in Canada) when I aquired a cassette copy of their album 'Architecture and Morality', I recognized the song 'Maid of Orleans' as a song I used to hear when I was a kid.  The actual title of the song is 'Maid of Orleans (The Waltz of Joan of Arc)' so not to be confused with their song 'Joan of Arc', but it didn't work because I was confused.  It's all about what you remember though, right?  I remember 'Maid of Orleans' and I can honestly say this was the one that charted in Canada
Maid of Orleans (The Waltz of Joan of Arc) - The Video


"Maid of Orleans (The Waltz Joan of Arc)" was OMD's sole #1 hit over here, whereas "Joan of Arc" wasn't even released as a sinlge.
Trivia: I didn't like "Maid of Orleans" when it came out, but it has grown on me.


♦ Remember the 1988 hit 'Somewhere Down the Crazy River' by Robbie Robertson?  So do I, but you know what?  It only reached #91 in Canada.  I've said this before and I will say it again, a song doesn't have to be in the Top 40 for it to be popular.  This song is a grand example.  'Somewhere Down the Crazy River' reahced #15 in the UK


"Somewhere Down The Crazy River" was Robbie's sole Top 40 hit over here (as a solo artist, that is). It peaked at #9.


♦ Modern Talking was a German Eurodisco duo who had no success at all in America, but in 1987, they reached #34 in Canada with the song 'Brother Louie'.  I don't remember this song at all, but long before I knew it was a chart single in Canada, I always liked it.  In the old days of Napster, I learned of Modern Talking, and really liked their songs and still do


Modern Talking scored a total of...


Enough already. ;D


♦ In the late 70s, British YES vocalist Jon Anderson teamed up with Greek instrumentalist Vangelis and scored a string of hit singles throughout Europe.  With several UK Top 40s to their credit, their most successful single was one that was a total surprise hit in Canada ... In 1981, 'The Friends of Mr. Cairo' by Jon & Vangelis topped the Canadian chart for 6 weeks and was the 4th best selling single in Canada for 1981


The duo scored only two Top 40 hits over here. ("I Hear You Now" #7, "I'll Find My Way Home" #4)
Jon Anderson had something of a solo career over here, with "Surrender" peaking at #7 in 1982 and "Hold On To Love" reaching #22 in 1988.
Vangelis (Evangelis Papathanassiou) was a member of Aphrodite's Child (who scored a string of hits in the late 1960's/early 1970's), and was also successfull as a solo artist over here. He is mostly remembered for the soundtrack of "1492 (Conquest Of Paradise)". The title track reached #1 in our charts and held that spot for 10 weeks (...in 1995!)


♦ Lenny Kravitz' 1999 cover version of 'American Woman' spent 56 weeks (1 year and 4 weeks) in the Canadian Top 100.  It yo-yo'd the chart, eventually peaking at #26 and re-entered the Top 40 an additional three times


Lenny's most successful song in our chart wasn't a hit in US or UK. It's called "Believe In Me" (not to be confused with his 1993 song "Believe").


♦ Under the pseudonym Morris Minor and the Majors, British comedian Tony Hawk had a Top 40 hit in the UK and Australia with the ovelty (and obvious Beastie Boys parody) song 'Stutter Rap (No Sleep 'Til Bedtime)'.  What I have found to be quite a surprise to some, it also reached #14 in Canada.  Oh, I remember the song well.  The Chaka Khan lyric still makes me chuckle


Not a hit in The Netherlands.



We all know Little River Band, right? Songs like "It's A Long Way There", "Help Is On Its Way" and "Home On A Monday" were international hits, to my knowledge. But what's funny is that the band scored a surprise #15 hit over here in 1995 with "Forever Blue", a song that did nothing elsewhere (not even in their home country).


Rolling Stones had a #1 hit in 1966 with "Paint It Black". Much to their own surprise, the song hit the top spot over here again 24 years later, when it was used for the sound track of the tv series "Tour Of Duty" (hugely popular at the time). I believe we were alone in this.

Vangelis (Evangelis Papathanassiou) was a member of Aphrodite's Child (who scored a string of hits in the late 1960's/early 1970's), and was also successfull as a solo artist over here. He is mostly remembered for the soundtrack of "1492 (Conquest Of Paradise)". The title track reached #1 in our charts and held that spot for 10 weeks (...in 1995!)


Now that is a surprise.  Over here, Vangelis is still best known for his US #1 hit 'Theme From Chariots of Fire'



We all know Little River Band, right? Songs like "It's A Long Way There", "Help Is On Its Way" and "Home On A Monday" were international hits, to my knowledge. But what's funny is that the band scored a surprise #15 hit over here in 1995 with "Forever Blue", a song that did nothing elsewhere (not even in their home country).


That sounds like Farnham singing.  Didn't know he recorded with LRB after the 80s ended.  Too cool! 8)

I remember hearing a funny one about Michael Jackson once.

In the late 1970s when his album Off The Wall came out, the Number One record at the time was coincidentally Pink Flloyd's The Wall. Not really sure how true it is, but it if is, it's really interesting.  ;D

And I love Lenny Kravitz version of "American Woman".  8) It's great.

I remember hearing a funny one about Michael Jackson once.

In the late 1970s when his album Off The Wall came out, the Number One record at the time was coincidentally Pink Flloyd's The Wall. Not really sure how true it is, but it if is, it's really interesting.  ;D


Both albums debuted in the chart during late 1979, and sailed into the Top 40 in 1980, but it was Jackson who reached the album Top 40 first

Well I feel like a bad fan.  :( I should have known that beforehand. Thanks for the heads up Whistledog.  :)

Well I feel like a bad fan.  :( I should have known that beforehand. Thanks for the heads up Whistledog.  :)


Both albums were smash hits and JAckson went onto have more hits than Pink Floyd did :)

Here's one that puzzles me ...

In 1981, Ian Thomas reached #28 in Canada with the song 'Hold On'.  The next year (1982), Santana did a cover version that reached #4 in Canada (and #15 in America).  Santana's cover version was almost identical to Ian's original, the only real difference being that their version was sung a bit slower.  Even still, sometimes when I hear it on the radio, I often find it a bit hard to tell which version I am hearing.  How can the same song sung almost the same way chart higher than the original?  Perhaps bigger star presence = bigger success?  Ian Thomas was very popular in Canada during the 70s with several hits, but Santana were more well-known

Here are both versions.  You be the judge:

Ian Thomas - Hold On (1981)
Santana - Hold On (1982)

♦ Under the pseudonym Morris Minor and the Majors, British comedian Tony Hawk had a Top 40 hit in the UK and Australia with the ovelty (and obvious Beastie Boys parody) song 'Stutter Rap (No Sleep 'Til Bedtime)'.  What I have found to be quite a surprise to some, it also reached #14 in Canada.  Oh, I remember the song well.  The Chaka Khan lyric still makes me chuckle


This is really bizarre! I thought of this song just this morning when I was at this other forum (they were talking about rap in general). Anyway I found the video on You Tube and it mentioned it's Canadian chart placing which immediately made me think of you.  ;D And here you are a few hours later mentioning it!

But yes, cool song and Tony Hawk went on to become quite a household name on UK tv.

♦ Under the pseudonym Morris Minor and the Majors, British comedian Tony Hawk had a Top 40 hit in the UK and Australia with the ovelty (and obvious Beastie Boys parody) song 'Stutter Rap (No Sleep 'Til Bedtime)'.  What I have found to be quite a surprise to some, it also reached #14 in Canada.  Oh, I remember the song well.  The Chaka Khan lyric still makes me chuckle


;D

I heard the acoustic version of this recently on a comedy stand-up show. It was good but the satire was lost because 'Stutter Rap' was parodying groups like The Beasty Boys at the time. I am amazed that song reached Canada let alone hit the top 20.

'He was gonna chuck a can, chuck-a-can, chuck-a . . .'

Priceless.

Erm . . . Not too sure this is what you are after, Jason . . .

* 'Time Warp' by Damian had to be released three times (1987 and 1988) before it became a UK hit in 1989.

* 'Panic' by The Smiths was a response to Radio 1. NME in 1987, Marr says:

"'Panic' came about at the time of Chernobyl. Morrissey and myself were listening to a Newsbeat radio report about it. The story about this shocking disaster comes to an end and then, immediately, we're off into Wham!'s 'I'm Your Man'. I remember actually saying 'what the f**k has this got to do with peoples' lives?' We hear about Chernobyl, then, seconds later, we're expected to be jumping around to 'I'm Your Man'."

'Hang the DJ' indeed but there is contention as to which DJ even though many believe the song was aimed at Steve Wright, lol.

* AC/DC are a band who, at the moment, have had more hits than anyone else without hitting the UK Top 10 (28 hits and the closest was 'Heatseaker' in 1988 at No 12).

We all know Little River Band, right? Songs like "It's A Long Way There", "Help Is On Its Way" and "Home On A Monday" were international hits, to my knowledge. But what's funny is that the band scored a surprise #15 hit over here in 1995 with "Forever Blue", a song that did nothing elsewhere (not even in their home country).


Not everyone knows LRB...ask your average Brit and he/she will look nonplussed!

Why?

Absolutely no chart action in Britain whatsoever, despite shedloads of extremely fine releases!  :o

A quick glance at the British #1 albums from 1977 would have you thinking you were in the wrong decade!

Chart toppers included...Slim Whitman, The Shadows, Frank Sinatra, The Beatles, Johnny Mathis, Connie Francis. Elvis Presley, Diana Ross & The Supremes and Cliff Richard...

Amidst all this, The Sex Pistols' 'Never Mind The Bollocks' did manage a fortnight in pole position!

A quick glance at the British #1 albums from 1977 would have you thinking you were in the wrong decade!

Chart toppers included...Slim Whitman, The Shadows, Frank Sinatra, The Beatles, Johnny Mathis, Connie Francis. Elvis Presley, Diana Ross & The Supremes and Cliff Richard...

Amidst all this, The Sex Pistols' 'Never Mind The Bollocks' did manage a fortnight in pole position!


I gather alot of those were K-Tel and/or other compilation label 'Best of' collections?

I gather alot of those were K-Tel and/or other compilation label 'Best of' collections?


The damage wasn't done by K-Tel (although they did have a #1 that year with 'Disco Fever'...bet you can't guess what the theme of that was!), but mostly by EMI, who had discovered how to re-issue old product...

Apart from the Pistols, the only 'new' LPs to hit #1 that year were 'Going For The One' - Yes, 'Arrival - Abba and rather oddly, 'The Muppet Show Album'!

Hey Whistledog, what can you tell me about some of Prince's chart positions? Little wild details about some of his albums.  ;D

Thanks!

Hey Whistledog, what can you tell me about some of Prince's chart positions? Little wild details about some of his albums.  ;D

Thanks!


I can give you a whole bunch, but for now, here's one ...

Prince formed a jazz/funk group in the mid 80s called The Family, who released a self-titled album on his Paisley Park Records label in 1985.  Though Prince did not feature as a member in the band, he wrote all of the 8 songs that appeared.  One of the songs titled 'Screams of Passion' was released as a single and peaked at #63 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in October of 1985.  Also included on the album was a song titled 'Nothing Compares 2 U' which would later become a #1 hit for Sinead O'Connor in 1990

http://www.geocities.com/~luvamour/fam.JPG

Speaking of Prince...

In Britain's 'regal' single charts of 1985, Prince, Princess, King & Queen all had top ten hits!

This had never happened before and is probably unlikely ever to occur again!

A quick glance at the British #1 albums from 1977 would have you thinking you were in the wrong decade!

Chart toppers included...Slim Whitman, The Shadows, Frank Sinatra, The Beatles, Johnny Mathis, Connie Francis. Elvis Presley, Diana Ross & The Supremes and Cliff Richard...

Amidst all this, The Sex Pistols' 'Never Mind The Bollocks' did manage a fortnight in pole position!


Now, that is strange!  :o

Speaking of Prince...

In Britain's 'regal' single charts of 1985, Prince, Princess, King & Queen all had top ten hits!

This had never happened before and is probably unlikely ever to occur again!


I totally forgot about that.  Awesome ;D

Bruce Springsteen has had plenty of #1 albums in America (8 to be exact), but he's never had a US #1 hit single.  The closest he ever came was 'Dancing in the Dark' which peaked at #2 in 1984

Worldwide, his most successful single remains 'Streets of Philadelphia' which was #1 in many countries including Ireland, Germany and Canada

In most chart systems today, download sales are taken into consideration, which has affected the charts, most notably in the UK where many older songs have re-entered the charts.  Examples ...

♦ From 2004 - 2007, 35 singles by Elvis Presley re-entered the UK Top 40

♦ In 2006, 19 singles by Michael Jackson re-entered the UK Top 40

♦ In 2007, Chris Rea re-entered the UK chart with 'Driving Home For Christmas' where it peaked at #33.  Originally it's 1988 release failed to make the Top 40


♦ In 2007, Kylie Minogue released her 10th album titled 'X'.  Based on download sales alone, the album track 'Speakerphone' peaked in Canada at #87 in 2008.  It was never released as a single

Louie Louie -- The Kingsmen  (from Wikipedia)    Released in May 1963, the single entered the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for December 7, and peaked at number two the following week; it would remain in the top 10 through December and January before dropping off in early February. One factor in the success of the record may have been the rumor that the lyrics were intentionally slurred by the Kingsmen. Allegedly, this was to cover the fact that it was laced with profanity, graphically depicting sex between the sailor and his lady

Shocking, Surprising Fact...
In February, 1964, an outraged parent wrote Robert Kennedy, then the attorney general of the United States alleging that the lyrics of "Louie, Louie" were obscene. The Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated the complaint. In June, 1965, the FBI laboratory obtained a copy of the recording and concluded that it could not interpret any of the words on the recording, and therefore could not conclude that the recording was obscene.

George Burns (I Wish I Was 18 Again), Billy Crystal (You Look Marvelous) and Pee-Wee Herman (Surfin' Bird) all had Top 40 hits in Canada during the 1980s, and depending on whether or not you consider WWF superstars as athletes or actors, The Wrestlers also had a Top 40 hit with a version of that old classic 'Land of A Thousand Dances'

Yes, the 80s was a decade of actors that sang who probably shouldn't have.  There are more including Don Johnson, Eddie Murphy and Patrick Swayze, but the list goes on (oh yes).  All things considered, I love the Billy Crystal one

♦ In 2007, Chris Rea re-entered the UK chart with 'Driving Home For Christmas' where it peaked at #33.  Originally it's 1988 release failed to make the Top 40

I'm not usually a Chris Rea fan, but this has been one of my Christmas favourites since 2000. Can't wait to spin it again in December!

1980:  Rapper Kurtis Blow covers Bachman-Turner Overdrive's Takin' Care of Business.

And that's pretty much all I can say.  You have to hear it to believe it.  You'd never guess it was Kurtis Blow covering BTO, you'd never even guess the guy singing it was a rapper, except that the proof is right there on his self-titled debut album.

♦ In 2006, 19 singles by Michael Jackson re-entered the UK Top 40





OMG! I knew that some of his songs reentered the charts, but gosh, I didn;t know it was that many! Wow! I'm glad I bought the Visionary set now. It had 20 singles in it. I wonder which one was the one that didn't chart.  ???

And Thanks for the info on The Family. I always did like Jerome Benton. (And the lady, Susannah is Wendy Coleman, Prince's guitarist's twin sister.)  :)

Despite clocking up chart runs of over nine and seven years respectively in the British Albums listings, Meatloaf's 'Bat Out Of Hell' and Pink Floyd's 'Dark Side Of The Moon' have never reached the top!  :o

I would have thought 'Bat Out of Hell' would have reached the top.  I know it was a far bigger success in the UK than it was over here



♦ Depeche Mode's 1984 album 'Some Great Reward' spent 55 consecutive weeks (that's over a year) in the Canadian 100 Albums chart, peaking at #34 along the way.  This was quite an unprecedented success considering Depeche Mode had not been a major success in North America at all prior to this

♦ In 2002, Tiga and Zyntherius reached #25 in the UK with 'Sunglasses at Night'.  The 1984 original by Corey Hart was not a success in the UK, making Tiga (if my sources are correct) the first ever Canadian artist to reach the UK Top 40 with a cover of a Canadian song that never originally charted in the UK

♦ In 1978, Pickwick Records released the budget compilation album 'A Canadian Tribute' by Elvis Presley which despite only reaching #86 on the States, topped the Canadian Albums Chart in December of 1978, giving Elvis his first posthumous #1 album.  Prior to this, Elvis had been no stranger to Canadian Content:  His 1971 hit 'Until It's Time For You To Go' was written by Buffy Saint-Marie

This one surprised me, but "When I'm With You" by Sheriff (the soft power ballad) actually is from 1983, it just wasn't that popular until it re-charted in '88 (I think it was #1 or pretty close).

In a way, that's like as close as you can get to taking a song back in time. You obviously can't take a song back, but it gives you an idea how somethat that ended up being popular in the late '80s would've perceived by people back then.

This one surprised me, but "When I'm With You" by Sheriff (the soft power ballad) actually is from 1983, it just wasn't that popular until it re-charted in '88 (I think it was #1 or pretty close).


Yes.  The original 1983 release only reached US #61.  In 1989, heavy rotation via a Las Vegas DJ sparked nationwide interest in the song, where it re-charted at US #1

Despite only releasing one (eponymous) album in 1982, there was more to Sheriff than many people know ...

http://www.inthe00s.com/index.php?topic=32956.0

Ok were talking about the Music Charts. Did "Stone Temple Pilots" hits like "Plush" and "Interstate Love Song" crack the Billboard Hot 100 in the 90's  because I know those 2 songs did well on the Modern Rock Charts but what about the Billboard Hot 100?

Ok were talking about the Music Charts. Did "Stone Temple Pilots" hits like "Plush" and "Interstate Love Song" crack the Billboard Hot 100 in the 90's  because I know those 2 songs did well on the Modern Rock Charts but what about the Billboard Hot 100?


This might be a bit of shock ... The only US Hot 100 hit STP had was 'Sour Girl' which made US #78 in 2000.  The extent of STP's success in America was mainly in the US Mainstream and Modern Rock chart

I can tell you that in Canada, 'Plush' reached #21 and 'Interstate Love Song' reached #20.  Plush was apparently also a Top 40 hit in Australia, the Netherlands and Sweeden

This might be a bit of shock ... The only US Hot 100 hit STP had was 'Sour Girl' which made US #78 in 2000.  The extent of STP's success in America was mainly in the US Mainstream and Modern Rock chart

I can tell you that in Canada, 'Plush' reached #21 and 'Interstate Love Song' reached #20.  Plush was apparently also a Top 40 hit in Australia, the Netherlands and Sweeden


Yep. It went all the way to #20 in our Top 40. And FYI: it was their only hit over here.

"Red Red Wine" from UB40 is from 1983

"Red Red Wine" from UB40 is from 1983


Yep.  It orginally was a #1 hit in 1983 almost everywhere but America where it peaked at US #34.  The 1988 re-chart was a U.S. only re-release and it promptly hit #1