Welcome to the fall of 1996. Bill Clinton was finishing up the campaign that would re-elect him over Republican Bob Dole, O.J. Simpson was about to face a civil trial for his role in the murders of Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman, and the New York Yankees were on their way to their first World Series win in eighteen years. Meanwhile, these were the hits of the day, counted down for me for the first time in a while by Casey himself. Good to hear you again, Case.
40 - "Don't Go Away," Fun Factory
39 - "Just Between You and Me," DC Talk
38 - "Killing Me Softly," The Fugees
37 - "The Child (Inside) Qkumba Zoo
36 - "Don't Look Back in Anger," Oasis
35 - "One and One," Robert Miles
34 - "Sad Caper," Hootie and the Blowfish
33 - "But Anyway," Blues Traveler
32 - "Jealousy," Natalie Merchant
31 - "Macarena," Los Del Rio
This first batch contains four groups from outside the United States. Germany's Fun Factory are back with another bit of sunny Eurodance. The rapping on it is obnoxious and off-putting. Not a fan. South African outfit Qkumba (pronounced "cucumba") Zoo had their biggest international hit with this techno-dance number that stands out from the pack with its tribal-sounding rhythms and singer Levannah's ethereal vocals. I don't remember this, but I'm very happy to have been introduced to it. Manchester, England's Oasis have probably made more waves on this side of the Atlantic for the antics of the frequently-feuding Gallagher brothers than for their music, but they did have a few hits in America, including their entry here, an anthemic ballad that has something to do with a girl named Sally and that advises "Please don't put your life in the hands of a rock n' roll band." Okay, Noel. Anyway, I know that Oasis songs have been described as "Beatlesque" hundreds of million times. And I'll add another to that pile. But in spite of that, this is one of their best moments. And Spain's Los Del Rio had their biggest impact on world culture with this disco flamenco that spawned a dance that is probably still being performed at weddings today. The most popular version, the "Bayside Boys Mix," featured a woman singing English verses between the Spanish choruses. Strangely enough, the version that was more popular in Canada, and thus the one I'm more farmiliar with, was by another Spanish group, Los Del Mar. It did not include those English verses, and that might be why I find it to be the somewhat more tolerable version.
Then their are the four American bands. DC Talk formed in Lynchburg, Virginia as a Christian rap group, but by the time of their fourth album. Jesus Freak, they had pretty much dropped the rap, and on their biggest mainstream hit, a song about needing to confess ones sins to find redemption, they sound a lot like Seal. Pretty good for what it is, I suppose. New Jersey based hip-hop crew The Fugees had by far their biggest pop hit with this cover of Roberta Flack's 1973 #1. Basically, it's just Lauryn Hill singing the song over a beat, with the occasional interjection from Wyclef Jean ("One time."). A terrific update of a classic. Hootie and the Blowfish were on the wane at this time, but they did squeeze out one more pop radio hit with this midtempo breakup ballad. It really isn't much of anything. Darius Rucker sings it with as much passion as he can muster, but it's just not that good a song. And Blues Traveler had their last pop hit with a live version of a song from their 1990 debut album. Another of their fun raveups, prominently featuring John Popper's harmonica playing. I imagine they'd be a cool band to go and see, even if you don't know many of the songs.
The other two songs here are by solo acts. Italian DJ and producer Robert Miles had his second and last American pop hit with this atmospheric dance track featuring waifish vocals from British singer Maria Nayler. It isn't as well-known as his biggest hit, the instrumental "Children." And that seems about right to me. And Natalie Merchand had her third hit from Tigerlily with this song that asks an ex if his new love is an improvement. Basically, it's a more genteel "You Oughta Know." Because Natalie Merchant musing about movie-theater blowjobs just wouldn't sound right.
30 - "I'm Still in Love With You," New Edition
29 - "My Boo," Ghost Town DJs
28 - "This is Your Night," Amber
27 - "Dance Into the Light," Phil Collins
26 - "At Night I Pray," Wild Orchid
25 - "Fallin' in Love," La Bouche
24 - "Sixth Avenue Heartache," The Wallflowers
23 - "Nowhere to Go," Melissa Etheridge
22 - "Don't Let Go," En Vogue
21 - "Let's Make a Night to Remember," Bryan Adams
We'll start with the two groups fronted by men Eight years after breaking up, New Edition reunited with a lineup that included both Bobby Brown and Johnny Gill. Their last major hit was this baby-come-back ballad. Nothing really worth getting excited about. And L.A. alt-rockers The Wallflowers made their breakthrough with this bluesy number. The lyrics are enigmatic, but singer-songwriter Jakob Dylan comes by that honesty, given who his father is. They would have a bigger hit with "One Headlight," but I like this better, even with Adam Duritz on backup vocals
Then we have the group songs sung by women. Ghost Town DJs burst on the scene with this midtempo hip-hop ballad about a woman secretly in love with a man on whom she bestows the term of endearment "boo." I'd never heard that word used that way before this song, but I still hear it once in a while, so it seems to have stuck. Meanwhile, Ghost Town DJs haven't been heard from since. Wild Orchid were a female trio from California whose first and biggest hit was this ballad about wishing for the love of the man of one's dreams. They wouldn't be remembered at all now, except for the fact that one of their members was one Stacy Ferguson, who would go on to success alone and with the Black-Eyed Peas as Fergie. German dance outfit La Bouche are here with a cover of a 1975 hit by Hamilton, Joe Frank and Reynolds. It's better than the original (even with the usual pointless Euro-rapping), but that's not saying much. And R&B stars En Vogue had their first hit in three years with this ballad that stands out because it was made with "real" instruments like guitar, drums and piano. And the vocals are of the group's usual powerhouse quality. Unfortunately, Dawn Robinson left the group shortly after this, and the group's fortunes as a trio didn't come close to matching the ones they had as a quartet.
Two solo women are in this batch. German Amber Cremers had her biggest hit with this bit of disposable Eurodance. That is not one of my favorite genres, to say the least. 95% of the songs sound interchangeable to me. But Amber does some nice scatting on this, though. And Melissa Etheridge picked up one of her last pop hits with this midtempo ballad about wanting to find somewhere secluded to be with a lover. It's got a sweet, earthy charm to it.
We finish the first half with two male stars who were on the wane. Phil Collins is here with an upbeat, horn-laden paean to positivity. His sound hadn't really changed in ten years, and it was clear that it didn't fit in on pop radio nearly as well as it used to. Okay for what it was, but what it was wasn't what it used to be. And Bryan Adams had his last major solo pop hit in the U.S. with this "Let's do it" ballad. I suppose there are people for whom Bryan Adams ballads are good "mood music," but I'm definitely not one of them.
Tomorrow: A Canadian sings about an American city, another Canadian continues her run of superstardom, and a song with one of the longer titles we've come across.
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