Though they had a few top 40 hits in the 1960s, Brooklyn-based vocal group the Tokens only hit the top 10 once in their career.  That one top 10 hit went all the way to the top, though.  Exactly 50 years ago today, the Tokens’ version of “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” ascended to the pinnacle of Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart for the first week of a three-week run. 

Of the many artists around the world who had recorded ”The Lion Sleeps Tonight” before them and have recorded it since them, the Tokens are the only ones to hit number one with the tune.

For more on the Tokens, who are still touring, check out their website.

Spoiler Alert: If you want to watch this TV special and you do not want to know what the top three videos as presented by VH1 were determined for 2011, then do not read this post. If you just want to cut to the chase and discover the top three videos of 2011, then read below.

I just watched the special counting down the best videos of the year and I have to say I was not surprised. Adele was the highest selling album of the year so her track at the top was predictable. Bruno Mars and Katy Perry had stellar years, so I anticipated there melodies would arise to the top. I actually thought a handful of there studio releases could make the countdown, however the countdown was specifically featuring the rapture of the video. Congratulations to the countdown winners of 2011! Bring on 2012.

Top Three Videos of 2011
1. Rolling In The Deep – Adele
2. Grenade – Bruno Mars
3. E.I. – Katy Perry

In addition to topping Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart four times as a members of Destiny’s Child, Beyoncé Knowles has also hit number 1 five times in her solo career.  As Tunesmate noted back in September when Beyoncé celebrated her 30th birthday, among those five songs, “Irreplaceable” spent the longest time at the top, with ten weeks at number 1.  That ten-week run for “Irreplaceable” began exactly five years ago today.

Coldplay is giving away a little bundle of stuff. You can download desktop wallpapers and icons. You can also find links to Chris’s handwritten Mylo Xyloto lyrics and exclusive behind-the-scenes film from the Manchester show on 4 December.

http://www.myloxyloto.com/

If you watched Fame in the 1980s, you may remember Nia Peeples as the character Nicole Chapman.  If you were into dance music in the late 1980s, you may remember Nia from her 1988 hit “Trouble,” which topped the dance charts and hit number 35 on Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart.  Or you might remember Nia from his 1991 hit single “Street of Dreams,” which was featured on the soundtrack to the film The Cutting Edge and rose to number 12 on the Hot 100.  Whichever way you might know her, Nia Peeples turns 50 today.

Does country music make a pop song better? Over the years, pop songs covered by country artists seem to resonate with the public. Take this cover by the Ghourds of Snoop Dogg’s tune “Gin and Juice”.

Examples of Country Versions of Pop Songs:

• Gin and Juice originally recorded by Snoop Dogg covered by The Ghourds
• Home originally recorded by Michael Buble covered by  Blake Sheldon
• Ain’t Gonna Miss A Thing originally recorded by  Aerosmith covered by Mark Chestnut

I personally think a country artist should remake Van Halen’s “Finish What Ya Started”. What song do you think is a good candidate for a country make-over?

Nowadays, you’ll catch Toni Braxton on reality television, but a decade and a half ago you would have found her at number 1.  Exactly 15 years ago today, Toni Braxton’s “Un-Break My Heart” hit the top of Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart, where it would stay for 11 weeks.  That 11-week run at number 1 makes “Un-Break My Heart” the biggest hit of Braxton’s career–a career that featured 10 consecutive top 40 hits between “Love Shoulda Brought You Home” in 1993 and “Just Be a Man About It” in 2000.

Are you in the holiday spirit cranking those Christmas songs? Is there a certain holiday tune that when you hear it, you need to stop the world and change the station? If you could just make one holiday song go away, what would it be? For some reason, the constant stuttering of Porky just doesn’t work for you. I realize that Porky Pig singing Blue Christmas presented as a piece of comedy, but I just can’t listen to it.

Amazon is offering free holiday songs to download to countdown Christmas. Each day a free song is offered for you to download or add to your cloud.

Follow this link

16 years ago, “Free As A Bird” was released by the Beatles as a bonus track to their Anthology record. The song is an erie tribute to John Lennon and every time I hear it I get a chill. Watch the making of the song. According to Wikipedia, the song reached no.6 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming The Beatles’ 34th Top 10 single in America. It also gave the band a charted hit in the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s and 1990s.