Before Billy Ray Cyrus and Shania Twain conquered the charts, there was... Hank Williams, Jr.
Top 150 debuts:
Number 131 "Angel Eyes" by The Jeff Healey Band
Peak: number 115
Peak date: 23 October 1989
Weeks in top 150: 12 weeks
Top 150 chart run: 131-127-125-136-120-122-(out for 8 weeks)-147-133-133-136-115-144
Fifteen years later, Australian Idol first season also-ran Paulini would take her cover of this song to number one, but in 1989, the original version by Canada's The Jeff Healey Band had to settle for bubbling outside the top 100 with "Angel Eyes". The single performed better on the Australian Music Report chart, where it peaked at number 79. Lead singer, Jeff Healey, died in 2007, aged 41. We will see The Jeff Healey Band again later in the year, and again in 1990.
Number 143 "Raindance" by Steve Hoy
Peak: number 107
Peak date: 14 August 1989
Weeks in top 150: 11 weeks
Top 150 chart run: 143-134-143-128-122=129-118-114-107-119-121
Another single that performed better on the Australian Music Report chart (number 92) is this one from Australia's Steve Hoy. We will see Steve again in 1990.
Number 146 "There's a Tear in My Beer" by Hank Williams, Jr.
Peak: number 118
Peak date: 3 July 1989
Weeks in top 150: 6 weeks
Top 150 chart run: 146-138-118-139-137-131
Oh dear. I don't know what to say about this one (which I'd never heard of before), other than I assume it must have some sort of cult appeal, as it has over 5 million views on YouTube, since 2014. Wikipedia informs me that this track peaked at number 7 on the US Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.
Bubbling WAY down under:
Number 159 "Nothin (That Compares 2 U)" by The Jacksons
Peak: number 153
Peak date: 3 July 1989
Weeks on chart: 3 weeks
Almost a year before Sinéad O'Connor's mega-hit "Nothing Compares 2 U", The Jacksons bubbled under with this, similarly-titled ditty. Again, this one charted better on the Australian Music Report chart, where it peaked at number 89. The Jacksons last scored a (number 32) hit down under with "Torture", in 1984. This would turn out to be the last charting single in Australia for the group. Parent album 2300 Jackson Street peaked at number 99 on the ARIA Albums Chart in July 1989.
Internationally, "Nothin..." peaked at number 18 in the Netherlands in May 1989, number 24 in Switzerland in May 1989, number 33 in the UK in May 1989, number 24 in the Flanders region of Belgium in June 1989, number 26 in Germany in June 1989, number 77 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in June 1989, and number 16 in New Zealand in July 1989.
Number 161 "And More" by X
Peak: number 161
Peak date: 19 June 1989
Weeks on chart: 1 week
X were an Australian band. This was their only charting release. It is awful. The single peaked highest in Western Australia, reaching number 129. Moving on...
Number 166 "Honky Tonk Women (Nomen Est Woman)" by Z'Zi Labor
Peak: number 166
Peak date: 19 June 1989
Weeks on chart: 1 week
Z'Zi Labor were a Hungarian band. This is a cover version of The Rolling Stones' "Honky Tonk Women" from 1969, and the subtitle "Nomen Est Woman" says, according to Google Translate, "I am woman" in Latin. The publishing date on this single says 1986. That's all I know. Why a three year-old song from a Hungarian band I've never heard of charted in Australia in 1989 - your guess is as good as mine. This one performed strongest in Western Australia, where it reached number 143 on the state chart.
Number 169 "When Will I Be Loved" by Little River Band
Peak: number 169
Peak date: 19 June 1989
Weeks on chart: 1 week
Little River Band managed a career resurgence in 1988, when "Love Is a Bridge" reached the top 10; their first top 40 hit since 1983's "The Other Guy". The comeback chart success wasn't to last, however, with no subsequent single peaking higher than number 70. This one performed strongest in Queensland, where it reached number 149. We will see LRB again in 1990.
Number 171 "Giving You the Best That I Got" by Anita Baker
Peak: number 171
Peak date: 19 June 1989
Weeks on chart: 1 week
American singer Anita Baker had much greater success in her homeland that in Australia, where she only notched up one top 100 single.
"Giving You the Best That I Got" was Anita's second chart entry in Australia, and curiously debuted on the chart eight months after its release in October 1988.
In the US, "Giving You the Best That I Got" peaked at number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in December 1988, becoming her biggest hit there. The album it is lifted from, Giving You the Best That I Got (number 47, December 1988), also topped the US Billboard 200 albums chart.
Elsewhere, "Giving You the Best That I Got" peaked at number 55 in the UK in October 1988, and number 25 in New Zealand in January 1989.
We will next see Anita in 1990.
Next week (26 June): Five new entries, including the return of two groups we haven't seen on the chart since 1987, and the first charting song (that I am aware of) to sample the I Dream of Jeannie theme. Plus, there are three bubbling WAY down under entries. You can also follow my posts on facebook.
Basically anything the jacksons did without michael was nowhere near their best. Even the title track from the 2300 Jackson Street album you mentioned. I saw that on a rage michael jackson special that i recorded probably around 2009, schamltz at it's worst
ReplyDeleteI would say almost certainly that Angel Eyes and Raindance chart positions were almost solely due to South Australian sales. Angel Eyes charted in our Top 40 for some time - reckon it was a couple of months - while Raindance certainly entered our top 40 in Adelaide for a few weeks also.
ReplyDeleteYou could be right. While I don't have state chart data to confirm that for either release, 'Angel Eyes' spent 12 weeks in the national top 150, and 'Raindance' spent 11 weeks, so they both stuck around for a while despite their low peaks.
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