WELL, it looks like my piece on where this blog will be going (precipitated by only 35 views on the last one) will have to be delayed another week, as yet another rock legend has passed. And then there's a matter of a popular artist who I had thought peaked a few years ago, but one in which I started appreciating her music in recent years, has debuted at Billboard's #1 position, and finally a seasoned beach music duet scoring the second highest debut ever on the SNS 100. So, here we go....
 |
| Legendary musician David Crosby who co-founded The Byrds, and Crasby, Stills, Nash and Young, passed away last week at the age of 81. |
As if the three passings last week weren't enough, the past week saw the death of David Crosby, a rock pioneer who co-found two important and significant bands in the 1960's. Crosby, born in California in 1941, had dabbled in drama in various school plays, but started his music career in a partnership with David Callier in Greenwich Village in New York City as well as in Chicago. However, they were unable to secure a recording contract and Crosby played solo for a while and recorded his first material in 1963. By the following year, he reconnected with Callier who had introduced him to both Roger McGuinn and Gene Clark in a band called The Jet Set, later joined by drummer Michael Clarke. When bassist Chris Hillman joined, The Byrds were born. In 1965, the quintet hit #1 with a cover of Bob Dylan's "Mr. Tambourine Man". The song was a perfect example of folk rock, and perhaps inspired Dylan, whose prior work was acoustic folk, to go electric. A second #1 hit, "Turn! Turn! Turn!" followed and The Byrds were now a big attraction. However, cracks developed in its foundation when the band performed at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967, particularly in between songs, with Crosby bantered about politics, in particular various John F. Kennedy assassination theories. This eventually led to Crosby being fired from the band in late 1967. However, he started collaborating with Stephen Stills, himself a "free agent" after the break-up of Buffalo Springfield, as well as Graham Nash, who had just left the British band The Hollies.
Crosby, Stills and Nash were considered the first real '"supergroup"--with members coming from other major bands--and were just as groundbreaking as Crosby's former group. While The Byrds were pioneers of folk-rock, CSN were leading exponents of a country-rock-folk hybrid, with much of their music entrenched in the counterculture of the late 1960's, and Crosby was viewed as a big influence on that generation. CSN's first album, released in 1969 a couple months before Woodstock, contained the hit singles "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes" and "Marrakesh Express" (the latter written by Nash while with the Hollies). By then, they had hooked up with Neil Young, who played with Stills in Buffalo Springfield and, as Crosby Stills Nash & Young, started playing gigs, the second of which was the Woodstock Festival. They also played the ill-fated Altamont Free Concert that December. 1970 was a peak year of sorts for the quartet, releasing the album Deja Vu, with hits like "Woodstock" (penned by Joni Mitchell, who did not perform at the festival), and "Teach Your Children". At the same time, the tragic events at Kent State University in Ohio, resulting in four student deaths resulted in "Ohio", pretty much cementing Crosby's status as a de-facto leader of the counterculture movement.
Aside from a live album in 1971, Two Way Street, CSNY didn't record again until the late 1980's but all four members were active, releasing solo albums as well as duets; Crosby recording often with Nash. Crosby Stills and Nash did release albums in 1977 and 1982, including hits like "Just a Song (Before I Go)" and "Wasted on the Way". Crosby also was part of a one-off Byrds reunion of original members in a 1973 self-titled album, and CSNY would play at Live-Aid in 1985. Crosby stayed active both as a solo and collaborator; he released four albums since 2010 alone, most recently 2021's For Free. CSNY's last album together was in 1999, five years after the final CNS album. Crosby and Nash last duetted in 2004.
David Crosby was 81, and there were conflicting reports on the cause; some saying it was after a long illness while others claiming it was "sudden". Still, Crosby was still active and was planning to record another solo album.
TURNING TO THE SNS 100: There is a lot to talk about, so here goes. Seven-piece, female-led Say She She logs a second week at #1 with "Trouble", with the top seven songs stagnant from last week, with some minor jostling for position. Tennis enters the top 10 with the duo's tenth SNS top 10 "One Night With the Valet" and the first since "Need Your Love" in mid-2020. However, a trio of big movers, all debuting last week, enter the Top 20.
Leading the way with a 35-9 move to secure Impact honors is last week's Top Debut, Stephen Sanchez's "Until You Found Me". The retro-late 1950's throwback song, however, retreats to #27 from last week's peak of #23 on the Billboard Hot 100, preventing it from an even higher jump. While the song has been on the Billboard chart for 29 weeks and counting, it remains to be seen about its staying power here on SNS; but I am a sucker for music like this so its upward movement here should give it a legitimate shot at the top spot.
Grabbing Mover of the Week honors is Rev. Bubba D. Liverance's second blog entry, "Ti Ta Ti Ta Ti Ta Ta" jumping from #50 all the way to #16. Bubba messaged me last week and had said this wasn't a planned single release (the song is from his 2021 album Void Outlaw Dark Iron which also contains his prior single "In My '64"). Bubba and his band were planning to record a new song in March, but, as the song is now starting to permeate several beach music charts, he is not complaining one bit.
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| Miley Cyrus debuts at #1 on the Hot 100 with "Flowers", becoming her second national #1 hit, scoring a record number of streams. It moves 53-20 on SNS. |
The third big mover into the Top 20 is "Flowers" by Miley Cyrus moving 53-20 but more importantly debuting at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. While Ms. Cyrus is no stranger to the top of the charts, the high debut is somewhat of a surprise, for me, anyway, since her popularity has supposedly slipped in recent years. "Wrecking Ball" her first #1 song, came in 2013 and she is mostly known for that song. However, she subsequently scored blog number ones with "Malibu" (2017) and "Midnight Sky" (2020). While those two songs were by no means bombs--"Malibu" peaking at #10 and "Midnight" at #14 on Billboard--they had relatively short runs on the Hot 100.
However, the vibe on "Flowers" was her most in recent years. It was the most-streamed song on Spotify last week (and in history, with over 101 million streams during that period), without a doubt leading to the top debut. Self-penned, it's a rather personal statement from Miley, who had split from her husband Liam Hemsworth a few years back, although it's interpreted as a general statement of "self-reliance", and a statement on women's strength and independence, sort of an updated "I Will Survive". In response to my adding the song last week and posting it on my Facebook page, fellow artist and FB friend Deb Browning stated she was a fan of both Miley (and Carly Pearce, who I also added last week), and that they were on her "role model" list of female singer-songwriters.
While, as mentioned above, "Flowers" might have been about the breakup with Hemsworth, the aforementioned "Midnight Sky" was indeed inspired by that; thus "Flowers" is more likely about Miley gaining the strength and empowerment on her own and moving on.
Finally, the number one Hot 100 debut of "Flowers" and the #20 showing here makes four current or past Hot 100 chart-toppers on my current SNS 100. The dual number ones of "Bad Habit" by Steve Lacy and "As It Was" by Harry Styles on both lists (#21 and #53 on the current SNS list, respectively), and the former Hot 100 #1, Taylor Swift's "Anti-Hero" (#23 here, and #3 on Billboard after an 8-week run at the top), shows that perhaps pop music might be becoming more accessible to an extent.
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| Lesa Hudson (L) and Rick Strickland, both of the Rick Strickland band score the second highest debut in history on the SNS 100, entering at #25 with "Got It Right (The First Time)" |
THEY DEFINITELY GOT IT RIGHT: Just a few positions below the Top 20 we have another record-breaker with the new song by the duet of Rick Strickland and Lesa Hudson, "Got it Right (The First Time)" debuting at a lofty #25. That makes it the second highest entry on the SNS 100 since the chart started in August 2010. Here are the all-time Top Debuts:
#21 - Avi Buffalo, "What's In It For"; September 6, 2010
#25 - Rick Strickland and Lesa Hudson, "Got it Right (The First Time)", January 22, 2023
#26 - Foxygen, "How Could You Really?", November 9, 2014
#27 - Fitz and the Tantrums, "Handclap", April 3, 2016
#28 - ScreenAge "Think Again", May 2, 2021
Both Rick and Lesa are, of course, members of the Rick Strickland Band and have performed together as well as hosting a Facebook Live show every Monday night. As for releases, both usually record separately--last year both singers combined for five Top 20 songs on SNS, but this is their first duet since 2012. With Lesa's "Santa Can You Teach Me How to Shag" still hanging in at #96 and her huge "Breathless" hit at #57 and Strickland's former blog #1 "You're the One for Me" still at #12, the duo, current getting ready to do a "Sunny Days" sea cruise (named after Ms. Hudson's 2022 blog hit) are doing alright for themselves.
So, what about "Got it Right"? Well, it's all you can expect from a beach music song, and it's in the style that got me into the genre in the first place. It's pretty much straight out of the sixties, with classic emotional soul with a good time beat that's reminiscent of both "Spooky" and "Crystal Blue Persuasion", it pretty much transports you to North Myrtle Beach. With my wife and I slated to visit the area in April, this should be near the top of the charts and on local radio stations by then. A real winner.
OH YEAH: Another high debut that it on the Triple-A charts is "Burning" by Yeah Yeah Yeahs. No relation to the recent Juliet Callahan blog-topper of the same name, this is a rather epic song that in a way reminds me of last year's My Chemical Romance song "My Foundations of Decay" with its many twists and turns. It also reminds me a bit of Ten Years After's "I'd Love the Change the World". The three-piece band from New York City, fronted by Karen O had back-to-back top 10 blog hits in 2013 with "Sacrilege" and "Under the Earth", but this one should match or surpass those; it has already smashed the #81 peak of last year's "Spitting Off the Edge of the World".
ALSO DEBUTING: Nine debuts in total. The Heavy Heavy, making its SNS debut (and no relation to the band The Heavy) has a straight-ahead sixties early seventies vibe with the appealing "Miles and Miles"; Pop singer Ava Max has her strongest since "Sweet But Psycho" with "Million Dollar Baby" with a rhythmic pop stance that grabs hold; The Heaterz have their first blog song with the rather light jazzy/big band driven "Don't Fault Me Baby"; Meghan Trainor's "Made You Look" has the same vibe as her "All About That Bass" hit of a few years back (and unsurprisingly, her biggest pop hit in years); and finally a trio of seasoned female pop icons: Beyonce's "Cuff H" is a pop confection to follow her "Break My Soul"; Selena Gomez's "My Mind and Me", an emotional personal ballad, and, following a trend that started with Sia's 'Unstoppable", and The Weeknd's "Die For You" (#7 on Billboard, #13 here this week) releasing several years old songs, comes Lady Gaga's "Bloody Mary". The song originally appeared on her 2011 album Born This Way. The album previously spawned five singles that all reached the blog Top 40, with three of them hitting the Top 20 here, "Judas", "The Edge of Glory" and "Marry the Night". Consistent to what Lady Gaga was doing at the time, "Bloody Mary" got a second life from a sped-up Tik Tok video of Jennifer Ortega (as her Wednesday Addams character in the TV series Wednesday) dancing. The viral video was originally set to her dancing to punk band The Cramps' "Goo Goo Muck", it was overdubbed with "Bloody Mary". It moves 62-57 on the Hot 100 and debuts here at #74.
CORRECTION: Sharon Van Etten's "Mistakes", inches into the Top 10 this week. However, what I had lost sight of, was that the song had an earlier run last year and peaked at #28. I had added the song again a couple months back, not realizing that it had a prior run. As a result, I corrected the "Weeks on List" to reflect the combined chart runs.
Scenes ‘n’ Soundwaves 100 Playlist
January 22, 2023
|
This
Week |
Last
Week |
ARTIST-Title |
Weeks
on List |
|
1 |
1 |
NUMBER ONE:  "Trouble" (Single Only) (2 Weeks at #1) |
10 |
|
2 |
2 |
8 |
|
|
3 |
3 |
9 |
|
|
4 |
5 |
14 |
|
|
5 |
6 |
9 |
|
|
6 |
4 |
Deb Browning and Six Piece
Suits - It Don't Get Better Than This |
12 |
|
7 |
7 |
15 |
|
|
8 |
12 |
4 |
|
|
9 |
35 |
TOP 20 IMPACT OF THE WEEK:  Album: Easy On My Eyes (EP) |
2 |
|
10 |
11 |
26 |
|
|
11 |
8 |
14 |
|
|
12 |
9 |
13 |
|
|
13 |
14 |
12 |
|
|
14 |
10 |
12 |
|
|
15 |
15 |
8 |
|
|
16 |
50 |
MOVER OF THE WEEK:  REV BUBBA D. LIVERANCE and the CORNHOLD PROPHETS Album: Void Outlaw Dark Iron |
2 |
|
17 |
17 |
33 |
|
|
18 |
13 |
19 |
|
|
19 |
18 |
7 |
|
|
20 |
53 |
2 |
|
|
21 |
19 |
17 |
|
|
22 |
27 |
7 |
|
|
23 |
22 |
10 |
|
|
24 |
20 |
16 |
|
|
25 |
--- |
TOP DEBUT:  RICK STRICKLAND and LESA HUDSON "Got it Right (The First Time)" (Single Only) |
1 |
|
26 |
23 |
10 |
|
|
27 |
28 |
7 |
|
|
28 |
31 |
7 |
|
|
29 |
29 |
Carolina Coast Band ft Rhonda McDaniel - The Thing About You● |
27 |
|
30 |
26 |
16 |
|
|
31 |
34 |
10 |
|
|
32 |
21 |
15 |
|
|
33 |
38 |
6 |
|
|
34 |
16 |
8 |
|
|
35 |
33 |
15 |
|
|
36 |
36 |
19 |
|
|
37 |
30 |
Doyle Wood and Sylvia Johns Ritchie - Not Tonight (I Have a
Heartache) |
17 |
|
38 |
32 |
11 |
|
|
39 |
49 |
6 |
|
|
40 |
65 |
2 |
|
|
41 |
44 |
8 |
|
|
42 |
46 |
6 |
|
|
43 |
51 |
6 |
|
|
44 |
43 |
15 |
|
|
45 |
52 |
4 |
|
|
46 |
42 |
32 |
|
|
47 |
78 |
2 |
|
|
48 |
--- |
1 |
|
|
49 |
37 |
26 |
|
|
50 |
67 |
2 |
|
|
51 |
39 |
15 |
|
|
52 |
74 |
2 |
|
|
53 |
61 |
37 |
|
|
54 |
71 |
2 |
|
|
55 |
24 |
7 |
|
|
56 |
41 |
9 |
|
|
57 |
48 |
33 |
|
|
58 |
57 |
12 |
|
|
59 |
--- |
1 |
|
|
60 |
25 |
6 |
|
|
61 |
45 |
3 |
|
|
62 |
54 |
16 |
|
|
63 |
80 |
2 |
|
|
64 |
76 |
13 |
|
|
65 |
40 |
6 |
|
|
66 |
55 |
14 |
|
|
67 |
83 |
2 |
|
|
68 |
--- |
1 |
|
|
69 |
--- |
1 |
|
|
70 |
56 |
19 |
|
|
71 |
86 |
12 |
|
|
72 |
--- |
1 |
|
|
73 |
47 |
5 |
|
|
74 |
--- |
1 |
|
|
75 |
68 |
15 |
|
|
76 |
--- |
1 |
|
|
77 |
58 |
9 |
|
|
78 |
66 |
19 |
|
|
79 |
69 |
14 |
|
|
80 |
60 |
14 |
|
|
81 |
88 |
8 |
|
|
82 |
--- |
1 |
|
|
83 |
79 |
19 |
|
|
84 |
89 |
4 |
|
|
85 |
73 |
16 |
|
|
86 |
81 |
16 |
|
|
87 |
64 |
11 |
|
|
88 |
82 |
33 |
|
|
89 |
59 |
5 |
|
|
90 |
85 |
26 |
|
|
91 |
96 |
28 |
|
|
92 |
62 |
7 |
|
|
93 |
63 |
4 |
|
|
94 |
70 |
13 |
|
|
95 |
72 |
5 |
|
|
96 |
75 |
5 |
|
|
97 |
77 |
5 |
|
|
98 |
84 |
6 |
|
|
99 |
87 |
17 |
|
|
100 |
90 |
Rev. Bubba D. Liverance and the Cornhole Prophets - In My '64 |
26 |
|
|
Songs
with the greatest increase in favorite points over the prior week. ●
Songs with
25 or more plays on iTunes/iPods ▲ Songs with 50 or more plays.
|
|
Holiday
Songs
