WHEN THIS WEEK STARTED, I thought my blog would be something of a lighthearted and fun (well, not for the couple that got caught on the Coldplay "kiss-cam" at one of their recent concerts) and somewhat of publicity for Chris Martin and company, that has been around 25 years, but has been somewhat in the background in recent years.
And then came the news that, just in a span of a few days, heavy metal's biggest name, and a significant artist in the jazz field we had lost. Add to that, an early 1960's female singer and actress, and one of the biggest names in professional wrestling, with a music connection, also passed.
Andy Byron, you're safe (at least here).
 |
| Heavy Metal legend Ozzy Osbourne passed away earlier this week; he joins others who recently passed this month. |
Let's start with Ozzy Osbourne, probably the first person that comes to mind when referring to the heavy metal genre. Starting out with Black Sabbath in the late 1960's, they were the first band of note in that style of music, and were very successful. Unfortunately he was fired from the band in 1979 due to excessive use of drugs and alcohol, which he had battle much of his life. However, he then started a successful solo career the next year with Blizzard of Ozz, which contained perhaps his signature song, "Crazy Train". One notable member of his band at the time was Randy Rhodes who passed away in 1982 after paying on his first two albums.
Ozzy had sort of a goth/mystery persona, often hiding behind shades, and had the nickname "The Prince of Darkness". Another song from that first album, "Suicide Solution" was met with controversy when, in 1984, 19-year old John McCollum shot himself in the head, after allegedly listening to the song. McCollum's family filed a lawsuit but it was dismissed as it was ruled that the First Amendment protected Ozzy's right to free expression. There was also the incident in which he bit the head of two doves during a concert in Iowa in 1982. The intention was to release several doves into the air, but Ozzy was too intoxicate and wound up biting the head off of one on stage, and another when he was escorted out.
Ozzy didn't have any big hit singles on his own as he was primarily an album artist, but he did have a hit duet with Lita Ford on "Close My Eyes Forever", #8 in 1989. Osbourne continued releasing albums steadily until 2022, and headed the multi-act "Ozzfest", which often included his former band. He returned for Black Sabbath's 2013 album 13. While he has been, throughout his career battling addiction, it was when he met and married his wife, Sharon, that helped him deal with his issues, and was responsible for being a positive influence on his life.
Ozzy was also part of a reality show, The Osbournes with wife Sharon and their children Jack and Kelly. It was, at the time, one of the first reality shows and ushered in an era of groundbreaking shows in that genre.
Osbourne had been diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease, and it was that which he finally succumbed to. He died on July 22, at the age of 76, just over two weeks from his last concert.
WE ALSO LOST jazz great Chuck Mangione. He was an accomplished musician on the flugelhorn and trumpet as well as a composer. He is primarily known for his hit "Feels So Good", #4 in 1977, but before that, he had made his rounds in jazz circles. He started out in the 1960's playing in Art Blakely's band, before forming his own with his brother Gap. He also scored a top 40 hit "Give It All You Got", which was the theme to the 1980 Winter Olympic Games in Lake Placid, NY. Four year's earlier, another composition, "Chase the Clouds Away" was used in the 1976 Montreal Games.
Mangione also acted, with guest appearance on shows such as Magnum P.I., and a recurring role on the animated King of the Hill.
He died of natural causes in his sleep on July 22. He was 84.
CONNIE FRANCIS, a Jersey girl from Newark was also an accomplished singer and actress. She probably best known for her role in the spring-break movie "Where the Boys Are", and had a hit with the title song (#4 in 1961). Her first big hit came in 1957 with "Who's Sorry Now". She had hits, including two number one's and several top 10's until 1963, and then continued to make the Hot 100 and/or "Bubbled Under" through 1969. Her movie career began in 1956 with Rock Rock Rock. Aside from "Where the Boys Are", she starred in the sequel Follow the Boys, and finally, Where the Boys Meet the Girls, which featured artists Herman's Hermits and Liberace.
In the 1970's, she had a modest success with the answer song, "(Should I) Tie A Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree", to Tony Orlando & Dawn's big hit, Connie started performing regularly once again. Unfortunately, in 1974 at New York's Westbury Music Fair, she was raped at knifepoint and beaten. Sadly, the 19 year old man who committed the act was never found. She sued the hotel that she was staying in, and won the $2.5 million suit. Connie then retreated into seclusion at her home in Essex Fells, NJ.
While Ms. Frances returned to recording in 1978, with Who's Happy Now, however, nasal surgery made her lose her voice completely. But just four years later, another tragedy occurred, this time with her brother George Franconero was shot to death in a mafia hit.
Able to sing again, Connie cut one more album, and the single "I'm Me Again" became her final chart hit, making the Adult Contemporary list in the 1980's. She made live appearances again, including American Bandstand's 30th anniversary special.
She continued recording, on and off through the 1990's, and made live appearances since then, including a 2010 appearance with fellow Jerseyan Dionne Warwick. She finally retired in 2018, but had a sort of revival when her 1962 single "Pretty Little Baby" went viral on TikTok, a platform that she then joined.
Earlier this year, she had hip surgery, as well as stem cell surgery. She had to get around in a wheelchair and by July was in extreme pain. She slipped into unconsciousness on July 14, but never woke up, finally passing on July 16 in Florida. You can find a "Connie Francis Way" sign on one of the street corners in Belleville, NJ.
FINALLY, there was Hulk Hogan, who was one of the top professional wrestlers, and while he wasn't known for being a musician, he was instrumental in some of the music trends of the 1980's. Hogan joined the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) in 1983, but it was the following year that he led the MTV-driven "Rock 'n' Wrestling Connection", and was one of their leading faces. He and several other wrestlers of the day cut two albums--1984's The Wrestling Album, and 1987's Piledriver--The Wrestling Album 2. Several videos got MTV play. He adorned the cover of the latter album. He was portrayed as the good guy at the time, but when he left the WWE for the rival World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in the early 1990's, he played the villain as "Hollywood Hogan". He eventually returned to the WWE. He also acted in several films, most notably 1982's Rocky III, and a few TV shows as well.
While the wrestling albums included input by Hogan, he had been a musician in his own right; he formed a band called Ruckus in 1976 before diving into wrestling.
Hulk Hogan (real name: Terry Gene Bollea) died of cardiac arrest at his Florida home. He was 71.
July was a month of many passings, and although he wasn't related to music, we had also lost Malcolm- Jamal Warner, an actor most noted for his stint as Theo Huxtable on The Cosby Show. He was 54.
HOT 100: Alex Warren's "Ordinary" continues for a seventh week at #1, while the top debut at #2 is Justin Bieber's "Daisies". While there are a few "new" songs in the top 10--HunterX's "Golden", Morgan Wallen and Tate McRae's "What I Want", and Drake's "What Did I Miss?" with less than ten weeks, the old guard: "A Bar Song", "Die With a Smile", and "Lose Control" are still there; the latter logging its 100th week on the Hot 100. If there's any consolation, Sabrina Carpenter's "Espresso" fell of the chart; it had been #19 in its 62nd week, but was probably pushed out of the top 25 by several Justin Bieber debuts in the teens.
SNS 100: The Black Keys continue to dominate my chart, logging a third week with "No Rain No Flowers". Pepper Creek's "Salty Southern Saturday Night" holds at #2, while Suki Waterhouse, Thee Sacred Souls, and Steve Cheek rounds out the top five. The big mover in the top 10 is Rhonda McDaniel's "Sad Girl" moving 15-6. The Black Keys have a second song in the ten as "Babygirl" goes 13-7. Indie band The Sleepwalkin' Cheetah's move 18-10 with "Long Haul".
Five new songs enter the top 20, headed by Anna Lavigne's "Night Dreams" (23-14), Fitz and the Tantrums, with yet another hit, "Man on the Moon" (21-15); Rivermist continues its top 20 streak with the Latin-tinged "Lady of the Island" (22-16), and Jalen Ngonda is back yet again with "Just As Long As We're Together" (26-17). Finally, Irishman Barry Walsh has his second top 20 as "Suddenly June" moves 25-20.
Jersey band Real Estate, last week's Top Debut, grabs Mover honors with "Pink Sky" (75-49).
OLD IS NEW: This week's top two debuts are relatively old songs. The Jay Vons recently topped SNS with "Days Undone", now #13, a song that I heard on one of the Netflix shows. The song was from the band's 2019 album The Word. I decided to check out the rest of that album, and WOW! Almost every song on it is awesome. Very gutsy, and it's sort of a throwback to 1960's psychedelic garage band music. I decided to go with the feel-good "My Mama (She Was Right)", but it could have been any track. Since the band hasn't released anything since (I really HOPE they're still together), I may as well explore more of it. It debuts at #59.
Then next highest debut is one that was released in 2007, "505" by the British band Arctic Monkeys. The band has charted here seven times, including two top 20's. This past week, I discovered the song as it accompanied a video about the TV show The Office on my News Feed. This is another gutsy, alternative, post-Britpop song. While I was going to dismiss the song because it's been 17 years since it came out, apparently it had a revival as recently as 2022, when it was featured on various TikTok videos. The song "Bubbled Under" the Billboard Hot 100 at #102 at the time. So heck, if it can come back after fifteen years, what's another three? Beside, it's MY chart, so it's here, debuting at #67.
The reminder of the debuts include the newest from Moon Soul, following up two blog hits, "Call". This is more bluesy than soul, and a big dreamy as well, and should make it three in a row. The sound is a little different but still in their soulful vein.... As they usually do, Orbis Max floods the market with releases from an upcoming album very few weeks; this one re-teams them with Brit Tim Izzard, "Further Down the Line". This is from an album to benefit victims of last year's California wildfires, Pop Aid 3. A very alt-pop with hints of the Jersey sound, circa late-70's. Dw Dunphy once again takes the lead on this....Two songs near the top of the alternative charts, Role Model's (real name: Tucker Pillsbury) "Sally, When the Wine Runs Out", is good, current alternative, and Djo's "Basic Being Basic", is sort of synth-oriented and rhythmic; it reminds me of Trio's "Da Da Da", except with words...Northern Tracks, a Canadian Internet collective which includes Einsteins Dad's Richard Bradley, which scored a top 40 blog song last year with "Deceiving Minds", returns with the country-rock ballad "Moving Towards" from their new Racing the Clock album...finally Mumford and Sons' "Caroline", another in their alt-folk vein.
NOTE: This is another two-week blog as I will be away next week. I hope to have a blog out the weeks after that, but there may be a short hiatus as we get into late August and into September. The exact schedule is yet to be determined.
Scenes ‘n’ Soundwaves 100 Playlist
July 20 / 27, 2025
|
This Week |
Last Week |
ARTIST-Title |
Weeks on List |
|
1 |
1 |
NUMBER ONE:  Album: No Rain, No Flowers (3 weeks at #1) |
7 |
|
2 |
2 |
11 |
|
|
3 |
4 |
9 |
|
|
4 |
5 |
6 |
|
|
5 |
6 |
8 |
|
|
6 |
15 |
7 |
|
|
7 |
13 |
7 |
|
|
8 |
7 |
13 |
|
|
9 |
3 |
12 |
|
|
10 |
18 |
10 |
|
|
11 |
19 |
9 |
|
|
12 |
20 |
10 |
|
|
13 |
8 |
17 |
|
|
14 |
23 |
TOP 20 IMPACT OF THE WEEK:  Album: Night Dreams |
5 |
|
15 |
21 |
8 |
|
|
16 |
22 |
7 |
|
|
17 |
26 |
5 |
|
|
18 |
9 |
10 |
|
|
19 |
14 |
13 |
|
|
20 |
25 |
8 |
|
|
21 |
10 |
15 |
|
|
22 |
11 |
10 |
|
|
23 |
28 |
6 |
|
|
24 |
12 |
23 |
|
|
25 |
34 |
The
Tams - My True Love |
4 |
|
26 |
32 |
5 |
|
|
27 |
17 |
18 |
|
|
28 |
33 |
Juliet
Callahan - Running Lights |
4 |
|
29 |
30 |
11 |
|
|
30 |
31 |
9 |
|
|
31 |
27 |
12 |
|
|
32 |
16 |
12 |
|
|
33 |
24 |
18 |
|
|
34 |
36 |
5 |
|
|
35 |
35 |
12 |
|
|
36 |
42 |
5 |
|
|
37 |
40 |
9 |
|
|
38 |
29 |
14 |
|
|
39 |
38 |
17 |
|
|
40 |
44 |
9 |
|
|
41 |
47 |
6 |
|
|
42 |
41 |
10 |
|
|
43 |
49 |
5 |
|
|
44 |
50 |
9 |
|
|
45 |
54 |
5 |
|
|
46 |
56 |
4 |
|
|
47 |
55 |
6 |
|
|
48 |
37 |
18 |
|
|
49 |
75 |
MOVER OF THE WEEK:  "Pink Sky" Album: The Wee Small Hours: B-Sides and Other Detritus 2011-2025 |
2 |
|
50 |
58 |
6 |
|
|
51 |
39 |
17 |
|
|
52 |
60 |
Ruth
Morayniss - Easy Does It |
4 |
|
53 |
43 |
22 |
|
|
54 |
62 |
KALEO
-Bloodline |
4 |
|
55 |
57 |
7 |
|
|
56 |
70 |
3 |
|
|
57 |
51 |
12 |
|
|
58 |
59 |
7 |
|
|
59 |
--- |
TOP DEBUT:  Album: The Word |
1 |
|
60 |
61 |
8 |
|
|
61 |
66 |
4 |
|
|
62 |
67 |
3 |
|
|
63 |
46 |
20 |
|
|
64 |
48 |
13 |
|
|
65 |
45 |
12 |
|
|
66 |
52 |
10 |
|
|
67 |
--- |
1 |
|
|
68 |
65 |
6 |
|
|
69 |
73 |
Easha -
Stunning |
4 |
|
70 |
74 |
MT
Jones - Punching |
4 |
|
71 |
68 |
6 |
|
|
72 |
77 |
3 |
|
|
73 |
79 |
2 |
|
|
74 |
53 |
7 |
|
|
75 |
69 |
6 |
|
|
76 |
82 |
3 |
|
|
77 |
81 |
Psychic
Air - Phase Disintegrate |
4 |
|
78 |
89 |
2 |
|
|
79 |
72 |
7 |
|
|
80 |
91 |
2 |
|
|
81 |
87 |
3 |
|
|
82 |
93 |
Sonny Russell
and Cannonball Joe - Carolina Sunshine Is Calling Me |
2 |
|
83 |
71 |
20 |
|
|
84 |
63 |
14 |
|
|
85 |
--- |
1 |
|
|
86 |
64 |
8 |
|
|
87 |
--- |
1 |
|
|
88 |
--- |
1 |
|
|
89 |
83 |
19 |
|
|
90 |
95 |
2 |
|
|
91 |
96 |
2 |
|
|
92 |
88 |
Good
Neighbours - Ripple |
4 |
|
93 |
99 |
2 |
|
|
94 |
--- |
1 |
|
|
95 |
76 |
21 |
|
|
96 |
84 |
4 |
|
|
97 |
--- |
1 |
|
|
98 |
85 |
17 |
|
|
99 |
100 |
9 |
|
|
100 |
--- |
1 |
Murmurs:
Balu Brigada - The Question
Grace Bowers and the Hodge Podge - Going to California
Roger Smith, Just Give Me a Beach
Kathleen Turner Overdrive - Love At the End of the Line
The Doobie Brothers - Angels and Mercy/Call Me/New Orleans
Margo Price - Don't Let the Bastards Get You Down
Murmurs: Songs which are in the
queue for future adds onto the Scenes ‘n’ Soundwaves 100 Playlist.
|
|
Songs
with the greatest increase in favorite points over the prior week
●Songs garnering 25 plays
on Spotify (“Scrobbles”) according to Last.Fm (effective October 2024) ▲ Songs garnering 50 plays.
Songs
on the SNS 100 are included on the following public Spotify playlists
Scenes
‘n’ Soundwaves Top 40: Contains songs in positions 1-40 on the SNS
100
Scenes
Up and Coming: Songs From 41-100 that are moving up the
chart that have not reached the top 40
Scenes
Down and Going: Song formerly in the top 40 that are
descending but still on the SNS 100.
Scenes
Recurrents: Songs which had been in
the top 20 and/or songs on the chart 25 weeks or more, that have dropped off
the SNS 100.
