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Influential Albums: 1430-1436
Fri., Apr. 12. 2024 12:08am EDT
J. Jackson, lead singer and lyricist for ApologetiX here again.
Here are the latest entries in the "albums that influenced me" series I started writing in May 2020.
Note: Just because an album appears on this list doesn't mean I give it a blanket endorsement. Many of the secular albums on this list are mainly there because they wound up being spoofed by ApologetiX.
1430. Billboard Top Hits: 1987 - Various Artists
The year 1987 was significant for me, because it was the last I collected #1 hits on 45s as they were being released (preferably with picture sleeves). Twenty-nine singles topped the Hot 100 in '87, and six of them are on this collection: "At This Moment" by Billy Vera & The Beaters, "With or Without You" by U2, "You Keep Me Hangin' On" by Kim Wilde, "Heaven Is a Place on Earth" by Belinda Carlisle, and two of my favorites — "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)" by Aretha Franklin & George Michael and "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" by Starship. I also collected #2 records on 45s through the end of '87, and there's a pair of those on Billboard Top Hits: 1987 as well: "C'est La Vie" by Robbie Nevil and "Don't Dream It's Over" by Crowded House. Rounding out the set are "The Lady in Red" by Chris de Burgh (#3) and "I Heard a Rumour" by Bananarama (#4). I got rid of all my 45s in '88, but collections like this helped me create playlists of #1, #2, #3, #4, and #5 songs in the mid-2000s. If you're a regular reader of these entries, you've noticed that those playlists have helped to inspire a lot of parodies.
1431. Heartthrob Hits - Various Artists
Released by Rhino Records in 1998, Heartthrob Hits featured 14 Top 10 hits from 1985-91, plus a 15th that just missed (#12) and a 16th that didn't even hit the top half of the Hot 100 — "All Fall Down" by Fire Star (#65). Sorry, I had to get that out of my system. The #12 hit was "Nothing's Gonna Change My Love for You" by Glenn Medeiros (#4 adult contemporary). Believe it or not, there have only ever been three Hot 100 hits featuring titles that start with the words "Nothing's Gonna," and they all charted in '87. The other two were "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" by Starship (#1) and "Nothing's Gonna Stop Me Now" by Samantha Fox (#80), but neither of those was on Heartthrob Hits. Let me tell you what was on it. We'll start with five #1 singles: "I Think We're Alone Now" by Tiffany, "Never Gonna Give You Up" by Rick Astley, "Ice Ice Baby" by Vanilla Ice, "Foolish Beat" by Debbie Gibson, and "(I Can't Live Without Your) Love and Affection" by Nelson. Add to that a pair of #2 hits: "Don't Forget Me (When I'm Gone" by Glass Tiger and "All I Need" by Jack Wagner. Up the ante with four #3 hits: "Crush on You" by The Jets, "The Loco-Motion" by Kylie Minogue, "Never Surrender" by Corey Hart, and "You Got It (The Right Stuff)" by New Kids on the Block. Round out the rest of the roster with "Come Go With Me" by Exposé, "I Like It" by Dino, and "Playground" by Another Band Creation (#10). ApologetiX has spoofed "I Think We're Alone Now," "Never Gonna Give You Up," "Ice Ice Baby," "All I Need," "Never Surrender," and "You Got It (The Right Stuff)." We also did a parody of "The Loco-Motion," but we imitated the Grand Funk version.
1432. Greatest Hits of the '80s, Vol. 1 - Various Artists
This odd collection came out on the Echo Bridge label and featured nine Top 20 hits from 1985-89, plus a 10th song that didn't fit that criteria — "Deep Inside My Heart" by Randy Meisner (#22 pop in 1980) with Kim Carnes on backing vocals. It's a great tune, though. Perhaps you thought Don Henley, Glenn Frey, and Joe Walsh were the only Eagles with successful solo careers; Meisner, who left the group in 1977 to strike out on his own, actually had three Top 30 singles from 1980-82. The three other tracks on Greatest Hits of the '80s, Vol. 1 that missed the pop Top 10 all made the mainstream rock Top 10: "What About Love" by 'Til Tuesday (#26 pop, #9 mainstream), "Day by Day" by The Hooters (#18 pop, #3 mainstream), and "Cult of Personality" by Living Colour (#13 pop, #9 mainstream). Meisner's song came out five months before Billboard instituted the mainstream rock chart. The six tracks that made the pop Top 10 were "Head to Toe" by Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam (#1), "The Flame" by Cheap Trick (#1), "When I See You Smile" by Bad English, "Party All the Time" by Eddie Murphy (#2), "Der Kommissar" by After the Fire (#5 pop, #4 mainstream), and "Tuff Enough" by The Fabulous Thunderbirds (#10 pop, #4 mainstream). ApologetiX spoofed "Der Kommissar" in 2020 and "Party All the Time" and "Tough Enough" in 2021.
1433. Billboard Top Rock 'n' Roll Hits: 1964 - Various Artists
In the music world, the big story of 1964 was The Beatles taking America by storm. Thirty songs by those lovable mop tops hit the Hot 100 that year — 11 hit the Top 10 and six went all the way to #1. Therefore, it's kind of funny that there are no tunes by The Fab Four on an album called Billboard Top Rock 'n' Roll Hits: 1964. But that's to be expected because of licensing issues. In my own world, the big story of 1964 happened on Thursday, July 2, when I was born. The #1 single for the week ending July 4 (that's how Billboard designated their weekly charts) was "I Get Around" by The Beach Boys, which is on this album, along with two other chart toppers, "Chapel of Love" by The Dixie Cups and "Leader of the Pack" by The Shangri-Las. "I Get Around" and "Leader of the Pack" became big hits all over again with my kids many years later. Billboard Top Rock 'n' Roll Hits: 1964 included three #2 hits as well: "Bread and Butter" by The Newbeats, "She's Not There" by The Zombies, and "Last Kiss" by J. Frank Wilson & The Cavaliers. As for the rest of this compilation, there was "The Little Old Lady (From Pasadena) by Jan & Dean (#3), "Out of Limits" by The Marketts (#3), "Suspicion" by Terry Stafford (#3), and "Under the Boardwalk" by The Drifters (#4).
1434. Billboard Top Rock 'n' Roll Hits: 1965 - Various Artists
As this compilation amply demonstrated, pop music in 1965 was for The Byrds, who took up two tracks on Billboard Top Rock 'n' Roll Hits: 1965, with a pair of #1 hits — "Mr. Tambourine Man" and "Turn! Turn! Turn!" Sadly, those would be the only Top 10 hits for the group, although they went on to release many more influential singles and albums over the course of the next eight years. Other chart toppers on this compilation included "Hang On Sloopy" by The McCoys, "Eve of Destruction" by Barry McGuire, "This Diamond Ring" by Gary Lewis & The Playboys, "Help Me, Rhonda" by The Beach Boys, and "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" by The Righteous Brothers. In 1999, "Lovin' Feelin'" was ranked by Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) as the most-played song on American radio and television in the 20th century. The remaining three tracks on Billboard Top Rock 'n' Roll Hits: 1965 all had to settle for the runner-up position on the Hot 100: "Wooly Bully" by Sam the Sham & The Pharaohs, "1-2-3" by Len Barry, and "Treat Her Right" by Roy Head and the Traits. ApologetiX spoofed "Help Me, Rhonda" in 1993 and "Eve of Destruction" in 2022.
1435. Rock On 1966 - Various Artists
Although Rock On 1966 didn't have contain any songs that made it to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, it featured three that made it as far as #2: "Barbara Ann" by The Beach Boys, "Snoopy Vs. The Red Baron" by The Royal Guardsmen, and "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down" by Cher. A couple of the those topped the charts of Billboard's rivals: "Barbara Ann" went #1 on Cash Box and Record World and "Snoopy Vs. The Red Baron" went to #1 on Record World and also on the Canadian chart. That last bit of information is interesting because, as I pointed out previously, the Rock On series was put out by a Canadian company (Madacy), which may explain why there are four other #1 Canadian hits on Rock On 1966: "No Matter What Shape (Your Stomach's In) by The T-Bones (#3 U.S.), "Bus Stop" by The Hollies (#5 U.S.), "Lady Godiva" by Peter & Gordon (#6 U.S), and "Sweet Talkin' Guy" by The Chiffons (#10 U.S.). Even so, all of the tracks on this collection made the U.S. Top 10 except for one, "Love Is a Hurtin' Thing" by Lou Rawls (#13), which still went to #1 on the U.S. R&B chart. The rest of the playlist included "Sloop John B." by The Beach Boys (#3), "She's Just My Style" by Gary Lewis & The Playboys, "I Fought the Law" by The Bobby Fuller Four (#9), and "Sure Gonna Miss Her" by Gary Lewis & The Playboys (#9). You may have noticed that Gary Lewis & The Playboys and The Beach Boys each had two selections on Rock on 1966. Well, it was a good year to be one of the boys. Lewis & The Playboys had a third Top 10 in '66, "Green Grass" (#9) and two others in the Top 15, "My Heart's Symphony" (#13) and "(You Don't Have to) Paint Me a Picture" (#15). The Beach Boys, meanwhile, had two more Top 10s that year, "Wouldn't It Be Nice" (#8) and the "Good Vibrations" (#1). ApologetiX spoofed "Barbara Ann" in 2002.
1436. 45s on CD: Vol. 2, 1964-1965 - Various Artists
This was one of the rare '60s compilations that actually contained a Beatles hit single. That's because the song, a cover of the 1927 chestnut "Ain't She Sweet," was recorded in 1961 and released on Atco Records. Nevertheless, it still made it to #19 at the height of Beatlemania. Ironically, it's the only song on 45s on CD: Vol. 2, 1964-1965 not to hit the Top 10. The others were "The Game of Love" by Wayne Fontana & The Mindbenders (#1), "Wooly Bully" by Sam the Sham & The Pharaohs (#2), "You Don't Own Me" by Leslie Gore (#2), "You Were on My Mind" by We Five (#3), "King of the Road" by Roger Miller (#4), "Keep On Dancin'" by The Gentrys (#4), "I Can Never Go Home Anymore" by The Shangri-Las (#6), "You've Got Your Troubles" by The Fortunes (#7), and "Little Honda" by The Hondells (#9). The lead singer for The Hondells was a gentleman named Chuck Girard, who went on to one of the pioneers of Christian rock, first with the band Love Song and then as a solo artist. Since we started this entry with the lads from Liverpool, I'll point out that "You Don't Own Me" by Leslie Gore was kept out of the #1 slot by "I Want to Hold Your Hand," The Beatles' first U.S. chart topper, in 1964. They would wind up with 20 — for a total of 59 weeks at #1 — by the end of their long and winding road, so many other artists would join Gore as bridesmaids over the course of the decade. The last record to stall at #2 because of The Beatles was "Which Way You Goin' Billy" by The Poppy Family, in 1970. Don't worry, though; Gore had already reached #1 in 1963 with "It's My Party," and one of the main members of The Poppy Family was Terry Jacks, who wrote "Which Way You Goin' Billy" and scored a #1 hit of his own with "Seasons in the Sun" in 1974.
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