musicflashbacks-blog

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July 2, 1994 - "Back & Forth" by Aaliyah peaked at No.5 on the Hot 100. It is the debut single from her debut studio album Age Ain't Nothing but a Number. The song was written and produced by R&B singer R. Kelly, and chronicles a teenage girl's excitement to celebrate the weekend by going to a party and having fun with her friends. The music video for "Back & Forth" was directed by Millicent Shelton. "Back & Forth" was filmed in February 1994 as Aaliyah's first music video. It was shot in her hometown of Detroit and features Aaliyah and Kelly performing in a gym with her real-life friends from high school. Kelly performs the rap in the song. #Aaliyah #thisdayinmusic #1994 #1990s #backandforth #AgeAintNothingButANumber #JiveRecords #RKelly #picplaypost @picplaypost #MillicentShelton @rkelly (at Chicago Recording Company)

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July 2, 1991 - Heavy D & the Boyz released Peaceful Journey on Uptown Records. It was produced by Pete Rock, DJ Eddie F, Teddy Riley, Marley Marl and Howie Tee. This marked the group's first album since the death of member Trouble T Roy, who died almost a year before the album's release, and several on the album pay tribute to him. Though not as successful as the group's previous album, Big Tyme, the album was able to reach Platinum status and made it to No.21 on the Billboard 200 and No.5 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. The following singles also charted: "Now That We Found Love" (UK No.2, US No.11), "Is It Good to You" which sampled the beginning from Mama Used to Say by Junior, "Don't Curse" and "Peaceful Journey", which sampled the bass line from This Place Hotel by The Jacksons. Guests on the album include Aaron Hall, Big Daddy Kane, Grand Puba, Kool G. Rap, Q-Tip, Pete Rock & CL Smooth, Daddy Freddy and K-Ci & JoJo. One of the songs, "Is It Good to You," has since been remade by Teddy Riley and featured singer Tammy Lucas for the soundtrack to the movie Juice. #heavyd #thisdayinmusic #1991 #1990s #PeacefulJourney #heavydandtheboyz #djeddief #peterock #teddyriley #marleymarl #howietee #davehall #nevellehodge #uptownrecords #hiphop #rap #picplaypost @picplaypost

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👑 LONG LIVE THE KING! July 2, 1988 - Michael Jackson became the first artist to have five number one singles from one album when ‘Dirty Diana’ went to the top of the US charts. The other four chart-toppers from the LP ‘Bad’ were the title track, I Just Can't Stop Loving You, The Way You Make Me Feel and Man in the Mirror. The song also charted within the top ten in multiple countries, including the United Kingdom, France, Italy and New Zealand. Dirty Diana was written and co-produced by Michael Jackson, and produced by Quincy Jones. It appeared on Jackson's seventh studio album, Bad. The song was released by Epic Records on April 18, 1988 as the fifth single from Bad. After Beat It, Dirty Diana was the second hard rock song of his solo career, with lyrics about a persistent groupie. Jackson hired Billy Idol's guitarist Steve Stevens to back him on the track. Initial reports at the time suggested the song was a poke at his close friend Diana Ross, however it was later denied. In fact, Ross started using the song as an overture at her concerts shortly before appearing on stage. In an interview from the special edition of Bad, Jones later confirmed that the song's lyrics were about groupies. Jackson also confirmed this during an interview with Barbara Walters, adding that it was not about Diana, Princess of Wales, though he was told personally by the Princess that it was her favorite among his songs. The five-minute music video for the song was directed by Joe Pytka. It won the "Number One Video In The World" at the second World Music Awards held on April 14, 1989. #michaeljackson #thisdayinmusic #1988 #1980s #DirtyDiana #bad #quincyjones #SteveStevens #JoePytka #epicrecords #picplaypost @picplaypost @michaeljackson

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July 2, 1977 - "Gonna Fly Now (Theme From Rocky)" by Bill Conti hit No.1 on the US singles chart. It was composed by Bill Conti with lyrics by Carol Connors and Ayn Robbins, and performed by DeEtta Little (the sister of actor Cleavon Little) and Nelson Pigford. Released in February 1977 with the movie Rocky, the song became part of American popular culture after main character Rocky Balboa as part of his daily training regimen runs up the 72 stone steps leading to the entrance of the Philadelphia Museum of Art in Philadelphia. While the song plays. Rocky, training for a fight he doubts he can win, struggles to run up the steps ("Trying hard now, it's so hard now"). As Rocky gains strength and inspiration ("Getting strong now, won't be long now"), he begins running up the steps with increasing ease and speed. The song finishes ("Gonna fly now, flying high now, gonna fly, fly, fly...") as Rocky runs up the steps before the Philadelphia Museum of Art easily and with vigor and raises his arms in a victory pose. The song was written in Philadelphia. The song is also often played at sporting events, especially at sporting events in the city of Philadelphia or featuring sports teams from there. The song was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song in the 49th Academy Awards (losing to "Evergreen - Love Theme from A Star Is Born" by Barbra Streisand). A version by jazz trumpeter Maynard Ferguson hit the top 30. Disco versions by Rhythm Heritage and Current were on the chart at the same time (Conti's own version reveals some early disco influence in the orchestration). Billboard ranked Conti's version as the No. 21 song of 1977. Conti's single was certified Gold by the RIAA, for shipments exceeding one million in the United States. The American Film Institute placed it 58th on its AFI's 100 Years... 100 Songs list. Due to its original use, the song (or soundalikes) is used frequently in various forms of popular media where a main character is forced to train hard in order to defeat an opponent, often during a montage sequence.

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July 2, 1966 - Frank Sinatra went to No.1 on the US singles and the Easy Listening charts with 'Strangers In The Night'. Sinatra despised the song, calling it at one time "a piece of shit" and "the worst fucking song that I have ever heard" despite the fact that his was a big comeback song for Sinatra, becoming his first No.1 pop hit in 11 years. He was not afraid to voice his disapproval of playing it live. Sinatra knocked The Beatles out of No.1 in the US and pushed "Paperback Writer" to No.2. After one week, The Beatles reclaimed their spot at the top. A month earlier, "Strangers in the Night" dominated the UK chart for three weeks before The Beatles' song took over. This topped the charts 18 weeks after Frank's daughter Nancy had a No.1 hit with "These Boots Are Made For Walkin'." Not long after, the pair would make history with "Somethin' Stupid" as the first father-daughter duo to have a No.1 single. Legendary Country star Glen Campbell, who was then a session musician for hire, played rhythm guitar on this track. He recalled to The Daily Telegraph October 9, 2008 that he was so dumbstruck by being in the presence of the master that he couldn't stop staring at him. Frank asked [the producer] Jimmy Bowen, 'Who's the fag guitarist over there?' Campbell told him he'd slap him if he said that again. Glen Campbell recalled to the Daily Mail that when this song was cut, "we did the whole song in two takes. We were all in the studio together, Frank and the band. They spliced together the best bits of both versions for the final record." They were under a time crunch to get the song out as quickly as possible, as Bobby Darin and Jack Jones were also recording the song. Sinatra's recording won him the Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance and the Grammy Award for Record of the Year, as well as a Grammy Award for Best Arrangement Accompanying a Vocalist or Instrumentalist for Ernie Freeman at the Grammy Awards of 1967.

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The crush on Debbie Harry back in the day was of SO real! July 1, 1945 - Born on this day, Deborah Harry, singer, Blondie. In the late 1960s, Harry began her musical career as a backing singer for the folk rock group, The Wind in the Willows, which released one self-titled album in 1968 on Capitol Records. In 1974, Harry joined The Stilettos with Elda Gentile and Amanda Jones. Her eventual boyfriend and Blondie guitarist, Chris Stein, joined the band shortly after. After leaving The Stilettos, Harry and Stein formed Angel and the Snake with Tish and Snooky Bellomo. Shortly thereafter, Harry and Stein formed Blondie, naming it after the term of address men often called her when she bleached her hair blonde. Blondie quickly became regulars at Max's Kansas City and CBGB in New York City. With her distinctive photogenic features and two-tone bleached-blonde hair, Harry quickly became a punk icon. Her look was further popularized by the band's early presence in the music video revolution of the era. She was a regular at Studio 54. Harry's persona, combining cool sexuality with streetwise style, became so closely associated with the group's name that many came to believe "Blondie" was the singer's name. The difference between the individual Harry and the band Blondie was famously highlighted with a "Blondie is a group" button campaign by the band in 1979. In 1981, Harry issued a press release to clarify that her name was not "DebbieBlondie" or "Debbie Harry", but Deborah Harry, though Harry later described her character in the band as being named Blondie. After a debut album in 1976, huge commercial success followed in the late 1970s to the early 1980s, first in Australia and Europe, then in the United States. While leading Blondie, Harry and Stein became life as well as musical partners, though they never married. Harry has no children. In the mid-1980s, she took a few years off to care for Stein while he suffered with pemphigus, a rare autoimmune disease. Stein and Harry broke up in the 1980s, but continue to work together. Blondie was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006. They have sold 40 million records worldwide and are still active.

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June 30, 2001 - "Get Ur Freak On" by Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott peaked at No.7 on the US singles chart. It was written and produced by Elliott and Timbaland for her third studio album Miss E... So Addictive (2001). Based on heavy bhangra elements, a popular music and dance form from the Punjab state of India, the song features a six-note base that is a Punjabi melody played on a tumbi, a stringed Indian instrument. Released as the album's first single in 2001, the track reached number seven on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. Internationally, "Get Ur Freak On" became a top ten success in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, where it became her first solo top ten hit, peaking at number four. A remix of the song featuring Nelly Furtado was a dance club hit during this period. The music video was directed by Dave Meyers. Rappers Ludacris, LL Cool J, Timbaland, Ja Rule, Busta Rhymes, Master P, Sliff Star, Lil' Romeo, Eve, Nate Dogg and singer Nicole Wray make cameo appearances in the video. It marked Elliott's first music video collaboration without Hype Williams, the creative mind behind her trademark futuristic look. The problem was, Elliott didn't want a trademark and was already feeling pigeonholed to fit the image that was expertly laid out for her in Williams' videos. "You see, I change my music and I change my image at the same time. I felt like as long as me and Hype continued to work together we would probably keep it going in the same kinda of direction," she told interviewer Amy Linden. The song won the award for Best Rap Solo Performance at the 44th Annual Grammys. It was listed 14th on Rolling Stone's Best Songs of the Decade ranking, and later at number 466 on their The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time updated list of 2010. In 2002, "Get Ur Freak On" was named the best single released in the year 2001 by The Village Voice's Pazz & Jop annual year-end critics' poll. The song also lists at number seven on Pitchfork Media's Top 500 Songs of the 2000s and number 16 on VH1's Greatest Songs of Hip-Hop. In 2011, NME placed it at number 17 on its 150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years list.

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June 30, 1984 - Huey Lewis and the News went to No.1 on the US album chart with 'Sports'. Sports is the third album by Huey Lewis and the News. It catapulted the band to international fame. The album has been certified 7× Platinum by the RIAA. Sports was ranked number 2 on the Billboard year-end album chart for 1984. The album spawned four top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 and a fifth went top 20. Sports did very well internationally where most of its singles charted in the top 40 or above in multiple countries. The album was self-produced and recorded promptly after the modest breakthrough success of the band's second album, Picture This. However, due to reorganization and internal issues at the band's label, Chrysalis, the band held back the master tapes, choosing to perform at small venues to showcase the new material while the matters were resolved. Once Chrysalis got their affairs in order and agreement in place by the band's management, the master tapes were handed over for production. Sports was finally released in September 1983 and proceeded a slow climb up the charts throughout late 1983 and early 1984. The lead single, "Heart and Soul", peaked at number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. The album's second release turned out to be the band's best-selling single. "I Want a New Drug" peaked at number 6 on the Hot 100 and was certified gold with sales of 500,000 copies in 1989. The track was also the center of a lawsuit against artist Ray Parker Jr., who was accused of plagiarizing the song for his 1984 hit, "Ghostbusters". The case was eventually settled out of court for an undisclosed sum. The third single from the album continued the band's success as its ode to rock and roll, "The Heart of Rock & Roll", peaked at number 6 on the Hot 100. Summer of 1984 "If This Is It", was released shortly thereafter, also peaking at number 6 on the Hot 100. The fifth and final single from the album, "Walking on a Thin Line", was released in December 1984 and peaked at number 18.

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June 30, 1984 - "Self Control" by Laura Branigan peaked at No.4 on the Hot 100. The song was originally recorded by Italian singer Raf and released in 1984. It was written by Giancarlo Bigazzi, Steve Piccolo and Raf. The song was covered the same year by Branigan. Branigan's first major hit had also been co-written by Bigazzi: "Gloria" (1982) was an English cover of the 1979 original Italian song recorded by Umberto Tozzi. The following year Branigan recorded another English song written over a Tozzi and Bigazzi song, "Mama", which was part of the 1983 album Branigan 2. Branigan chose two more Italian songs for her third album: the first one, "Ti Amo" with lyrics by Diane Warren once again based on the original by Tozzi and Bigazzi that had been a 1977 single for Tozzi. The second one, "Self Control" became the title track to the album and her biggest international hit. "Self Control" was the only one of the four Italian songs recorded by Branigan that was originally composed in English, and Branigan chose to record the song as written. Also unlike the other songs, Branigan's version was contemporaneous with that of its co-writer. The Branigan recording was arranged by Giorgio Moroder's protégé Harold Faltermeyer with Robbie Buchanan and produced by Buchanan with Jack White in Germany and Los Angeles. A keyboard hook in Raf's version was changed to a guitar riff for Branigan's version and a vocal break was paired with a sharper and repeated percussive element. Branigan's recording was a worldwide multi-format hit. In the US, the song became Branigan's fourth consecutive top 10 hit on a Billboard chart in a year and a half, following "Gloria", "Solitaire" and "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You". "Self Control" peaked at no. 2 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart, and no. 5 on the Adult Contemporary chart. In Canada, the track hit no. 1 on both the pop and AC charts. Both the Raf original and the Branigan version of "Self Control" entered the German Top 20 in May 1984: on June 25, the Branigan single assumed the no. 1 position, where it remained for six weeks, while the Raf version occupied the no. 2 spot. Branigan's "Self Control" also entered the Italian charts although the dominance of the Raf version in his native Italy predicated a comparatively low peak Italian chart peak of no. 29 for Branigan's version. The song gave Laura Branigan a no. 1 hit in Austria, Canada, Sweden and South Africa and was also a smash hit for Branigan in Norway (no. 2), Ireland (no. 3), Australia (no. 3) and the UK (no. 5). Branigan's album Self Control went Silver, Gold or Platinum in several countries and yielded subsequent charting singles, though not of the title track's magnitude. Branigan was one of the first artists of the video era to work with an Academy Award-winning film director on a music video when William Friedkin (The French Connection, The Exorcist) directed the clip. Filmed in New Jersey and New York City, the video was produced by Fred Caruso and first aired in April 1984. The video ultimately drew controversy, as it was considered so shockingly sexy that MTV required some edits before it could air. Entertainment Tonight aired a segment on the network's reaction to the clip, which was being played in late-night slots on other networks. Though Branigan resisted at first, her record company convinced her to allow a minor alteration and the video was aired on MTV, though by this time the single had peaked on the charts. Branigan would go on to be nominated for a 1985 American Music Award for Favorite Pop/Rock Female Video Artist. Branigan's fellow nominees were Tina Turner and Cyndi Lauper, who won the award.

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June 30, 1981 - Al Jarreau released his fifth studio album, Breakin' Away. It remains Al Jarreau's most popular album. It spent two years on the Billboard 200 and peaked at No.9. It also hit No.1 on both the Jazz and R&B charts. Breakin' Away is not only a great follow-up to This Time, it all but perfected the effort. With an amazing batch of songs, producer/artist chemistry, and top-level players, Breakin' Away became the standard bearer of the L.A. pop and R&B sound. "Closer to Your Love" comes off as a tougher, more confident version of the songs from the previous album. However, in short order, Breakin' Away assumes its own identity with brilliant results. Everything works so well here that the hit, the pleasing "We're in This Love Together," comes off as the weak link. "Easy," with its gorgeous and subtle Latin flourishes, has Jarreau's purposeful delivery coming off oddly poignant in its joy and beauty. The bittersweet "My Old Friend" has him giving a charming and understated reading with gorgeous synth signatures that speak volumes. Most of Breakin' Away has Jarreau in great spirits and giving one great performance after another, like the powerful and melody-rich title song. Like his best albums, this gives Jarreau plenty of room to exercise his chops. He struts through the funky and elegant "Roof Garden," and on the impressive "(Round, Round, Round) Blue Rondo a la Turk" he offers great scats and whimsical lyrics. For the final track, Jarreau brings new life to "Teach Me Tonight" and it has a sweeping, dreamy arrangement. Produced by Jay Graydon, Breakin' Away is a great album and informed a lot of Jarreau's subsequent efforts. Three single charted: "We're in This Love Together" (No.15 pop, No.6 AC, No.6 R&B), "Breakin' Away" (No.43 pop, No.30 AC, No.25 R&B), and "Teach Me Tonight" (No.70 pop, No.19 AC, No.51 R&B). At the Grammys in 1982 the album won for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male, while "(Round, Round, Round) Blue Rondo à la Turk" won for Best Jazz Vocal Performance, Male. The album was nominated for Album of the Year. Jarreau died of respiratory failure, at the age of 76, just two days after announcing his retirement on February 12, 2017.