Top Songs of 1991: #12: "Because I Love You (The Postman Song)" by Stevie B.

The #12 Billboard hit of 1991 was "Because I Love You (The Postman Song)" by Stevie B.  Stevie has apparently released 9 albums since 1991--go Stevie! 

My favorite Stevie B. hit, by a mile, is "In Your Eyes".  That is a sweet jam.

The Postman Song?  Well.  People were gaga for it 1991.  It goes back to my theory of how the adult contemporary genre doesn't exist anymore.  But in 1991, "The Postman Song" fit right into that genre.  Stevie B. writes his lady a letter, in a song, and tells her exactly how he feels.  And he feels that he loves her.  His heart is an open door.  He'll be right by her side.  He wants to reassure her that she can always count on him.  That isn't my interpretation of the lyrics.  Those are the lyrics. 

Take it away, Grover. 

Top Songs of 1991: #13: "Someday" by Mariah Carey

The #13 Billboard hit of 1991 was "Someday" by Mariah Carey.

She co-wrote the song with Ben Margulies and it appeared on her original demo that Mariah finagled into the right person's hands at the right time. Once her demo got in the tentacles of Tommy Matola, the songs were changed a little bit, here and there. Wikipedia said that "Carey and Margulies were forced to accept the changes that were made because neither had been allowed to co-produce. Reportedly, Carey was unhappy with the final version of "Someday" produced, because both she and Margulies thought it had been too 'polished'. "

"Someday" was her first upbeat single--having already released "Vision of Love" and "Love Takes Time". This is definitely her "kiss-off" song: "no one you find will ever be/closer to all your dreams than me". I felt highly uncomfortable doing the "rap" portion of the song--so I just sang it. It actually seems like in the video Mariah herself seems a little uncomfortable rapping (she also does a little bit of the running man).

I had a good time watching the video for this song...classic. We see a young "Mariah" (i.e. child actor bearing some resemblance to Mariah), clad in overalls, getting treated badly at school. And then older Mariah is watching on, singing "I'm the one who's keeping score!" Don't we all wish we could have said that when we were 13??

Top Songs of 1991: #14: "High Enough" by Damn Yankees

Damn Yankees were one of the first hard-rock super groups. Before Velvet Revolver and Audioslave, there were Damn Yankees! D.Y. included Ted Nugent and Tommy Shaw from Styx.

"High Enough" was their biggest hit and it went "high enough" in the Billboard charts....it was #14 for the year of 1991. The song was written by Nugent, Shaw and Jack Blades (formerly of the bands Rubicon and Night Ranger).

I gotta say, I find this song structure a little...strange....the pre-chorus kind of doesn't fit into the song. The verses and chorus to me sound like they are from the same era, the same idea, but then there is this crazy pre-chorus that has a totally different energy from the rest of the song. It stands out. It's like you are strolling in a quiet, serene forest. Then you are yanked out of the path by a hungry bear,who drags you over craggy rocks by your hair. And then he decides against eating you and calmly, carefully puts you back on the same serene path. It's like--what the hell just happened?

"High Enough" is saturated with power chords--it is a power chord haven! I do believe except for the first two chords of the verse, every single other chord in the song is a power chord.

The lyrics beg some questions:
1. "I just made one mistake--I didn't know what to say when you called me baby"
That qualifies as a mistake? I mean, it's not like the lady called him "Horse Breath". 'Baby" isn't that shocking. But I get the feeling the songwriter was nonplussed by the use of "baby".
2. By the second verse, being called "baby" doesn't seem like such a shocker....at that point the lyric turns to "I know just what to do when you call me 'baby'". Thank goodness you figured it out!
3. "fly me over yesterday"
I will take two doses of 'fly me over yesterday', please. Thank you.

Gotta say, I kind of love the bridge to this song--it'd kind of killer heavy-metal scorcher!

Top Songs of 1991: #15: "From a Distance" by Bette Midler

The #15 Billboard hit of 1991 was "From a Distance", performed by Bette Midler. The song had quite a life of it's own before Bette got a hold of it. Julie Gold, an American singer-songwriter, wrote the song:

"Gold was working as a secretary at the time for Home Box Office and writing songs in her free time.^[1] Gold's friend, Christine Lavin, introduced the song to Nanci Griffith who first recorded for her 1987 album, Lone Star State of Mind. It quickly became a favorite of Griffith's fans around the world. The Byrds recorded the song as one of 4 newly recorded studio tracks for their box set The Byrds released in 1990."

Also in 1990, Bette Midler recorded the song as part of her album "Some People's Lives". Like the #16 song of 1991 ("All the Man That I need" by Whitney Houston), this song very much fits into that Adult Contemporary genre.

My strongest association of Bette Midler is how Michael Shurtleff describes her in his book "Audition". He said she was such an innate artist, that she was like a "gland". That has stuck in my head since I read the book when I was 15. I love that description.

I mostly remember this song being strongly attached the the Gulf War. It came out around the same time and the video had lots of images of soldiers in black and white.

There is something about this song that feels like a folk-protest song from the 60s. I can almost hear Bob Dylan singing it.

Top Songs of 1991: #17: "Right Here, Right Now" by Jesus Jones

The number 17 Billboard hit of 1991 was the indie-dance track "Right Here, Right Now" by the
British band Jesus Jones. The songs is about the end of the Cold War and taking down the Berlin Wall.

Some pretty radical things WERE going on in 1991 and Jesus Jones captured that...in a very catchy way.

I didn't even really know some of the things Mike Edwards (lead singer) was singing. For instance, it wasn't 'til I learned this song just now that I found out the second lyric of the song is: "Bob Dylan didn't have to sing about this, you know it feels good to be alive". There is something about this song (I guess it's casual insistence in the lyrics) that does actually make me feel very grateful and moved my present moments. So kudos to you, Jesus Jones! Mission Accomplished.




My favorite part is when Mike Edwards goes all falsetto...."i wanna beeEEEEEE!!". Total climax of the song.

I remember he had on this painters cap with bill up in the video. This small little fashion statement seemed to perfectly fit the time.

This song comes from their 1991 album, "Doubt". I had a cassette tape of this album.

Top Songs of 1991: #18: "I Adore Mi Amor" by Color Me Badd

CMB.

Yeah, that's a household acronym. You're down with CMB, yeah, you know me!

Color Me Badd had a bunch of hits off their first albums (conveniently titled "CMB").
The band was discovered by Kool and the Gang, so maybe they have a little cred.

Before I get to the song, I find this video hilarious and fascinating and UTTERLY CONFUSING. The CMB guys are walking along a beach. And then they find a treasure chest. With pictures of the band in it. They hang these pictures--of themselves--on clothes lines. Then they head to some rocks to urge you to 'dream away". What does it all mean, CMB?

I did my best with the Spanish verse in this song. I took French, so please pardon me if I'm saying something that is inane.

(Sidenote: the guy who sings the Spanish verse seems so uncomfortable in front of a camera. I feel so bad for him. He like...is always trying to be occupied...drawing a stick in the sand, mugging thoughtfully, leaning in this strange manner--see the guy on your left in the yellow shirt. Poor guy).

I think the thesis of the song is:
I won't leave my lady.
You can try and sway me away and lead me astray. But I won't leave my lady.

And that is my song analysis.

Top Songs of 1991: #19: "Love Will Never Do (Without You)" by Janet Jackson

Janet sure was on fire in 1990 and 1991!

"Love Will Never Do (Without You)" was her seventh (seventh!!) single from her album "Rhythm Nation 1814". This song made her "the only artist to achieve seven top five singles from one album" (Wikipedia). Wow!

"Love Will Never Do..." was written by James Harris III and Terry Lewis, who wrote most of the "Rhythm Nation" album.

I remember this video as being sort of shocking....in all the other videos we had seen up to that point from "Rhythm Nation" Janet was heavily clad in military jackets, thick pants and boots and structured hair. All of a sudden, we see this barely-clad Janet, her hair all loose and blonde, and probably about 25 pounds lighter....it was a very fast transformation!

I think this song totally holds up as a fun feel-good pop song. The sing-along chorus at the end is super-catchy and Janet seems all spunky in it...especially when she says "What?" before the last chorus. The recording of this song has an air of spontaneity to it.

According to Wikipedia, this song was originally intended to be a guy-girl duet...they were trying to get either Prince or Johnny Gill to sing it with her. But it never happened. So in the recording booth, Jimmy Jam said " 'Sing it low like some guy would sing it.' As a result, they kept the idea of her singing the first verse in a low octave but go an octave up on the second verse"....That is a total happy accident--her singing intially low and then breaking out into her higher register gives the song a lot of momentum and drive.

Top Songs of 1991: #20: "Good Vibrations" by Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch

Back to my blog after a hiatus. I have already covered the top Billboard hits of both 1989 and 1990. I provided a link if you want to get caught up.

When I started this blog, I hadn't intended to go chronologically...but here I am, going chronologically. Next up, I will cover the Top 20 Billboard hits of 1991.

#20 of 1991 was "Good Vibrations" by Marky Mark (aka Mark Wahlberg) and the Funky Bunch. This was Marky Mark's debut song. America was introduced to both Marky Mark and his abs.

"Good Vibrations" was written by Mark Wahlberg, his big bro'/New Kid Donnie Wahlberg, some guy named "Spice" and Dan Hartman. I did not know that it was produced by Donnie as well. Go Donnie. (Donnie was always my favorite New Kid).

The star of the black and white video has got to be Marky Mark's washboard stomach.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVL3b1wKZQU
We see his washboard stomach dance, box and get busy with a lady behind a chain link fence. There is also a nice cameo of Boston's Citgo sign, too.

Thank goodness Marky Mark's hip hop career kind of flopped after this, because otherwise the world would not have experienced Mark Wahlberg, the actor. It's amazing to look back at his career circa 1991 and think this guy could have a great acting career and also be a great actor. But that is indeed the case.