Last year Tunesmate highlighted that The Monkees celebrated 45 years hitting one number with “I’m A Believer“. Today, Davey Jones, the electric frontman of The Monkees, has died at the age of 66. Let’s remember Davey with the great music that he gave the world.

CNN Story on Davey Jones

Al Green’s international hit Let’s Stay Together hit number one 40 years ago. In 2011 Seal did a worthy tribute of the tune on his Soul 2 effort, however Reverend Green’s version can’t be replicated. Al’s smooth vocals continue to serenade audiences, check out his tour schedule on his website.

In my opinion this song is one of the best R&B vocals ever, do you agree?

http://www.algreenmusic.com

For a while in the early 1980s, San Francisco-based rock band Journey was huge.  In fact, they were so popular that in 1982 Data Age video games released a video game for the Atari 2600 based on the band.  Yet, despite their popularity, the band never reached number one on Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart.

Journey’s highest-charting hit came up just short, when “Open Arms” peaked at number 2 for six weeks, starting exactly 30 years ago today.  For the first three of those weeks, the J. Geils Band’s “Centerfold” kept Journey out of the top spot.  Then, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts’ “I Love Rock ‘N Roll” leaped over “Open Arms” to take the number one spot for the final three weeks of Journey’s run in the runner-up spot.

Though “Open Arms” didn’t make it to number one, it still managed to become one of the 1980s’ more memorable tunes, and VH1 even named it the greatest power ballad of all time.

Chris Cornell, the lead singer of Sound Garden and Audio Slave, recently performed a tribute to the late great Whitey Houston. The rocker belts out his cover of “I Will Always Love You” the tune that Whitney made famous from her starring role in the Body Guard. The funny thing is Dolly Parton, the writer of the song, is reaping all the benefits from the increased airplay. Thanks to cia_mike for the forward.

What do you think of his tribute?

While Nelly Furtado became known first for her song “I’m Like A Bird,” which hit number 9 back in 2001, it would be a number of years later before she would top Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart.  In 2006, she teamed up with Timbaland to hit number one with “Promiscuous.”  Then, exactly five years ago today, Furtado hit number one a second time, when “Say It Right” rose to the pinnacle for a one-week stay.  While “Promiscuous” spent more weeks at number one in the United States, and both “Promiscuous” and “Say It Right” went double platinum in sales, based on chart performances around the world, “Say It Right” is arguably Furtado’s biggest hit internationally.

How much did the Spice Girls dominate popular music in the United Kingdom from 1996-1998?  Well, their first six singles all went to number one, their seventh single went to number two, and their next two singles both went to number one.  If you’re counting at home, that’s nine singles on the charts, with eight going to number one and one going to number two.  Pretty remarkable performance, eh?  (And, by the way, their tenth single, released in 2000, would also top the charts.)

While the five-woman vocal group would not reach those levels of success in the United States, the Spice Girls did hit the top 20 in the U.S. with seven of those nine singles.  The first three hit the top five, and only one — their very first single – went to number one.  That song, “Wannabe,” rose to the top spot on Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart exactly 15 years ago today, and it would stay there for a total of four weeks.

In addition to the song’s success in the U.K. and the U.S., “Wannabe” rose to the top of the pop charts in numerous countries and regions throughout the world.  As international megahit songs go, “Wannabe” clearly fits the bill, meaning that 15 years ago right now, it truly was, as the group’s film that would be released in late 1997/early 1998 declared, a “spice world.”

Chicago-born singer and record producer Gene Chandler had a string of singles hit Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart in the 1960s and 1970s, including several that cracked the Top 40, but only one of them hit the Top 10, and it was Chandler’s first.  That song, “Duke Of Earl,” went all the way to number one exactly 50 years ago today and would remain at the top for three weeks.

In the five decades since “Duke Of Earl” topped the charts, it has been remade by numerous artists and has become a prominent reference in popular music and in popular culture.  It has also become Chandler’s signature song, as evidenced by a trip to his official website.

Exactly 25 years ago yesterday, Valentine’s Day was greeted, appropriately enough, with a new number 1 song on Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart that would tell the story of Tommy and Gina, who were “down on [their] luck” but were ready to “hold on to what [they] got” because they had “each other and that’s a lot for love.”  That song, of course, was “Livin’ On A Prayer” by New Jersey-based rock band Bon Jovi.

The song was the second consecutive number 1 hit for Bon Jovi from their Slippery When Wet album, following “You Give Love A Bad Name.”  While “Bad Medicine” and “I’ll Be There For You” would also hit number 1 a couple years later, the four weeks that “Livin’ On A Prayer” spent on top made it the biggest hit of the band’s career.

Perhaps one of the more recognizable voices in popular music over the last 40 years belongs to St. Louis-born Michael McDonald, who turns 60 today.  McDonald gained particular notoriety in the 1970s, first to some extent with Steely Dan and then, much more famously, as a member of the Doobie Brothers.  As part of his stint with the Doobie Brothers, McDonald sang lead vocals on on one of the band’s two numbers one hits, “What A Fool Believes,” which topped Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart for one week in April 1979.  After the Doobies split up in the early 1980s, McDonald pursued a solo career, which included top 5 singles with “I Keep Forgettin’ (Every Time You’re Near),” which reached number 4 in October 1982, and his biggest hit, the duet “On My Own” with Patti Labelle, which spent three weeks at number 1 in June 1986.  Meanwhile, McDonald appeared as a backup singer on hits for a number of other artists, including Christopher Cross’s “Ride Like The Wind” in 1980 and Toto’s “I’ll Be Over You” in 1986, among others.

While I like a lot of McDonald’s songs, perhaps the most memorable for me is “Sweet Freedom” which hit number 7 in August 1986.  The song came from the film Running Scared, whose stars, Billy Crystal and Gregory Hines, also appeared alongside McDonald in the video for the song, which is featured above.  In honor of McDonald’s 60th birthday, what’s your favorite Michael McDonald song from any stage of his career?

By now, you’ve likely heard the news that Whitney Houston has died at the age of 48.  In the 1980s and 1990s, Houston was one of the most successful artists in the music industry, and though her career faltered in the last decade, to many Generation Xers, she was an integral part of growing up.

In April of 1988, Houston gained what may be her most notable achievement when “Where Do Broken Hearts Go” hit number 1 on Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart.  In the process, the song became Whitney’s seventh consecutive single to go to number 1, breaking a tie that she had held with the Beatles and the Bee Gees since “So Emotional” had ascended to the top of the chart a few months earlier.  To this day, Whitney’s seven number 1 hits in a row remains the record for most consecutive number 1 singles.  It also seems a fitting song to play as we remember the talent and inspiration of Whitney Houston.