Ask Billboard: Does Lionel Richie Make Billboard Chart History?by Gary Trust | April 08, 2012 10:05 EDT
As his 'Tuskegee' begins atop Country Albums, have any artists previously topped both that tally and R&B/Hip-Hop Albums? Plus, analysis of chart feats by Justin Bieber, Adele, Celine Dion and more.
Ask Billboard is updated every week. As always, submit your questions about Billboard charts, sales and airplay, as well as general music musings, to
askbb@billboard.com. Please include your first and last name, as well as your city, state and country, if outside the U.S.
HE'S A LITTLE BIT COUNTRY … Hi Gary,
With
Lionel Richie debuting at No. 1 with "Tuskegee" on the
Country Albums chart this week, he's earned No. 1s on Country Albums and R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.
In the history of Billboard, how many other artists have accomplished this feat during their careers?
Garrett Godbey
Tampa, Florida
Hi Garrett,
First, a recap of Richie's No. 1s on R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. His self-titled first solo set spent a week at the summit (Nov. 27, 1982). Follow-up "Can't Slow Down" led for 23 weeks in 1983-84 - the fourth-longest reign since the chart premiered the week of Jan. 30, 1965.
Richie also made four trips to the top of R&B/Hip-Hop Albums as a member of the Commodores. The group, from Tuskegee, Ala. (aahh …), ruled with "Hot on the Tracks" (six weeks, 1976), "Commodores" (eight, 1977), "Natural High" (eight, 1978) and "Midnight Magic" (three, 1979) before Richie's departure to go solo in 1982.
"Tuskegee" does not appear on R&B/Hip-Hop Albums due to its country arrangements and guests, including Jason Aldean,
Tim McGraw, Rascal Flatts, Blake Shelton and
Shania Twain, all of whom duet with Richie on several of his R&B hits.
"Tuskegee" is, however, Richie's first No. 1 on Country Albums. He appeared on the chart once before, with "Can't Slow Down," which reached No. 55. (Trivia:
Richard Marx sang backup vocals on that set, prior to his 1987 breakout as an artist. In addition to his pop success, he's written three No. 1s on Country Songs.)
Getting to your question: how many artists have topped each survey? This week, Richie becomes just the
second artist to have reached No. 1 on both Country Albums and R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. The first?
Ray Charles. Perhaps surprisingly, Charles tallied only one No. 1 on R&B/Hip-Hop Albums: 1966's "Crying Time."
On Country Albums, the late legend crossed over in a similar manner as Richie: with an all-star collaboration project. "Friendship" reached No. 1 the week of March 23, 1985. The set sports duets with country icons including Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard,
George Jones,
Willie Nelson and the Oak Ridge Boys.
(Like "Tuskegee," "Friendship" did not appear on R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, given the album's sonic nature and lineup of featured core country artists.)
Richie told Billboard for the magazine's recent
cover story by Gail Mitchell that despite his status as one of the most heralded artists in R&B history, a country album has long been in the works.
"I always knew I was going to do a country album with maybe one or two duets," Richie said. Notably, he penned Kenny Rogers' 1980 Country Songs No. 1 "Lady" and teamed with Alabama for the 1987 Country Songs top 10 "Deep River Woman." In between, Richie's own "Stuck on You" had crossed over to become a No. 24 hit on the survey in 1984.
As for covering his classics with current country stars, Richie says that, ultimately, music fans appreciate a well-crafted song, regardless of genre or production style. "('Tuskegee') shows just how far these songs have come.
"Once a song is embraced, people don't care who the hell did it. They love the song."
(And, in terms of the topic of shared country/R&B success, please feel free to revisit
this recent Chart Beat column about how
Dolly Parton and
Whitney Houston helped make the song "I Will Always Love You" a standard in both genres, if not one of the most enduring songs of the entire rock era.)
Billboard
'BOYFRIEND' #2 Hi Gary,
I read your column every week and I am always amazed with the great questions about music trivia and your knowledge with feedback information.
I've been an avid music lover for years (and had my own chart based on radio listening). Remember those days when "American Top 40" would come on and Casey Kasem's voice would keep us glued to the radio/boom box until the end of those four hours? I still have old charts that I keep because they're a reminder of how things used to be.
My e-mail this week has to do with No. 2
Billboard Hot 100 hits. I noticed that if
Justin Bieber's latest hit "Boyfriend" doesn't rise from its debut rank of No. 2, it will be another case of a song that people might think did hit No. 1. Here are some examples of songs that people perhaps remember as having hit the top spot but actually had to settle for the runner-up position:
"All Wanna Do," Sheryl Crow's first top 10
"Work It," Missy Elliott "Waiting for a Girl Like You," Foreigner, who possibly has the biggest No. 2 smash (10 weeks peaking there) that people may think hit No. 1
"Back at One," Brian McKnight "Proud Mary," Creedence Clearwater Revival, who had five No. 2 hits - and no No. 1s
"Dancing in the Dark," Bruce Springsteen "Since U Been Gone," Kelly Clarkson "The Girl Is Mine," Michael Jackson and
Paul McCartney "Breathe," Faith Hill. The ballad became the top single of 2000, despite not reaching No. 1 on the weekly Hot 100.
"Hanging By a Moment," Lifehouse. A year later, another No. 2 hit became the top song of 2001.
If anyone has any others to add, that would be great.
Reggie Thomas
North Dartmouth, Massachusetts
Hi Reggie,
Thanks so much. Kind words and, like me, you're from the Bay State? Write any time!
A great spin on Bieber's debut, although it might be a bit early to include "Boyfriend" with such well-worn tracks that have stood the test of time. Given the hype surrounding the song's release, however - having 19 million Twitter followers, as Bieber does, tends to create a bit of a buzz about a new release - a No. 1 debut seemed a possibility. And, even though
fun.'s "We Are Young," featuring Janelle Monae, managed to hold the song off from the summit, "Boyfriend" bowed with the fourth-best digital sales week ever (521,000, according to Nielsen SoundScan).
Per your suggestion, let's throw it to fellow Chart Beat readers:
what No. 2-peaking Hot 100 hits over the years feel like No. 1s, considering their lasting appeal, or how big they seemed as current releases? You've already got us started with 10 good ones. Please send your suggestions to
askbb@billboard.com and we'll continue the topic in the next "Ask Billboard."
(And, Reggie, since you mentioned having kept a personal chart, let's go for another round of those, too, as the topic received a warm welcome from readers who've done the same when an e-mail on the topic touched off several responses last year. Any faithful curators of your own charts, please feel free to send along highlights of your latest rankings to
askbb@billboard.com, as well.)
Billboard
ADELE ROLLS OUT OF TOP 10 Hi Gary,
This is the first time in months that
Adele does not rank in the Hot 100's top 10.
How many consecutive weeks had she spent in the top 10 since the arrival of "Rolling in the Deep" through last week?
Best regards,
Andrew Leon
Ruskin, Florida
Hi Andrew,
Reader Alby J. Aupiais of Cape Town, South Africa, noticed the same occurrence, so I'll respond to both insightful e-mails.
Adele had ranked in the Hot 100's top tier consecutively since Sept. 17, 2011 - or a span of 30 straight weeks - until this week's 6-12 fall for "Set Fire to the Rain."
Had there not been a three-week gap last August/September after "Rolling in the Deep" departed the top 10 and before "Someone Like You" reached the region, Adele would've linked 52 consecutive weeks - an entire year - in the top 10, with three No. 1s, through last week.
Such a stretch would've been the second-best in the Hot 100's history, after the recent record-establishing one by another female superstar:
Katy Perry tallied 69 consecutive weeks in the top 10 from May, 29, 2010, through Sept, 17, 2011 (coincidentally, the same week that Adele's 30-week top 10 stay began).
Instead, Ace of Base remains in second-place with 48 straight weeks in the Hot 100's top 10 in 1993-94. Santana (1999-2000) and
Mariah Carey (1995-96) follow with 42-week streaks each.
Not that Adele doesn't have a few Billboard
chart records of her own.Billboard
HOW WE KNOW IT GOES ON Hi Gary,
Thank you for honoring
Celine Dion on her birthday last Friday (March 30) with a look at her most notable
Billboard chart achievements. With "Titanic" having been re-released in theaters this week in 3D, it's very likely that there will be a renewed public interest in the film's theme song, Dion's Academy- and Grammy-Award winning "My Heart Will Go On." The song spent two weeks at No. 1 on the Hot 100 in 1998.
I was wondering if you could please provide up-to-date sales for the classic song, as well as Dion's best selling songs overall.
Thanks and God bless,
Derek Fenningdorf
Brighton, Michigan
Hi Derek,
Movie-goers/music fans have actually already begun to rekindle their love for "My Heart Will Go On." The song rises from 6,000 to 8,000 downloads sold this week, according to SoundScan. (That's also four-times the sales of her next-best-seller this week, "Because You Loved Me.")
As for Dion's top-selling songs, since her career covers both the physical and digital singles eras, let's talk about love that fans have given her in each configuration.
First, Dion's top physical singles, in terms of SoundScan sales:
1,343,000, "Because You Loved Me"
1,176,000, "It's All Coming Back to Me Now"
1,117,000, "The Power of Love"
658,000, "My Heart Will Go On"
500,000, "All By Myself"
And, here are Dion's best-selling digital tracks:
1,133,000, "My Heart Will Go On"
704,000, "Because You Loved Me"
498,000, "Taking Chances"
387,000, "It's All Coming Back to Me Now"
357,000, "A New Day Has Come"
Overall, Dion's top-selling songs, physical and digital combined, look like this:
2,047,000, "Because You Loved Me"
1,791,000, "My Heart Will Go On"
1,563,000, "It's All Coming Back to Me Now"
1,471,000, "The Power of Love"
784,000, "Beauty and the Beast," with Peabo Bryson
While "Because" takes overall best-seller honors, that "Heart" is easily Dion's most popular download, the configuration of choice for the last decade, reinforces its appeal more than 14 years after its original release, when "Titanic" first stormed theaters.
Billboard
GIBB THEM SOME CREDITHey Gary,
Writing you in response to the Chart Beat feature this week celebrating the 48th anniversary of the
Beatles having held the
top five positions on the Hot 100. Obviously, there's no disputing what kind of chart force the Beatles were in the '60s. And, their record total domination of the top five for one week in 1964 is amazing. Also, props go to 50 Cent's three concurrent top five songs in 2005.
But, while you say that that's the closest anyone came to Beatles-like domination, let me make an argument.
For two weeks in March 1978, the
Bee Gees had four of the top five songs; if not as the main performers, as songwriters, producers and harmony singers: "Stayin' Alive," "Night Fever," Andy Gibb's "Love Is Thicker Than Water" and Samantha Sang's "Emotion." I'll argue that when even the songs you write, not just those you perform, are part of your chart domination, that's pretty darn special.
In fact, starting the week of Nov. 26, 1977, and stretching all the way to Sept. 2, 1978, there was at least one Gibb-penned song (and as many as four) in each week's top five, from "How Deep Is Your Love" through Frankie Valli's "Grease." And, there were always plenty more populating various reaches of the Hot 100.
In any case, I just want to make sure that the Brothers Gibb get their due. I'm also very much looking forward to Robin Gibb's
"Titanic Requiem" this month, plus rumored new music from Barry and Robin later this year.
Thanks!
Pat Thomas
Sparks, Nevada
Hi Pat,
Well said, as there's certainly more to Hot 100 history than just what shows in the chart's title and artist fields.
As for Robin Gibb, I've always thought that one of the most melodic songs in the family's songbook is this one:
While it never charted on the Hot 100, "Juliet" hit No. 1 in multiple European countries in 1983.
Beyond charts, Gibb received some very good real-life news this week: that he has reportedly won his battle against liver and colon cancer. "It's gone, they can't see it no more. I've done it,"
he told his son, RJ. "It was the most beautiful feeling," RJ said. "Instantly, life was so, so much better."
Billboard
