Category: 1990s

My Top 5 Hits RETRO – 1996

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date March 12, 2021

Every Friday I post the Top 5 of one of my classic hit music charts based on personal preference and influenced by radio airplay from either 15, 25, 30, or 35 years ago this weekend (rotating each week).

It’s the 2ND Friday of the month, so I go back 25 years ago. Here it is – for the week ending Sunday March 10TH 1996:

“You Oughta Know” – Alanis Morissette
“The World I Know” – Collective Soul
“Close To You” – Fun Factory
“When I Come Around” – Green Day
“One Of Us” – Joan Osborne

Joan Osborne scored her first and only hit here stateside with the somewhat Christian track “One Of Us”. It was released early on in 1995, and it took nearly a year to build and emerge as a worldwide multi-format smash into 1996. On my chart it spent 23 weeks in my Top 20, and it was my # 7 hit overall in 1996.

Now obviously I didn’t understand the song back in 1996 when I was a 28 / 29-year-old of the world, but I knew it was about God because of its prominent lyrics that were easy to sing along to:

♫ If God had a name what would it be ?
And would you call it to His face ?
If you were faced with Him in all His glory
What would you ask if you had just one question ?

And yeah – yeah – God is great
Yeah – yeah – God is good
And yeah – yeah – yeah – yeah – yeah

What if God was one of us ?
Just a slob like one of us
Just a stranger on the bus
Tryin’ to make His way home ♫

Eric Bazilian – one of the founding members of the longtime band The Hooters wrote the song. It’s often ranked as one of the greatest songs of the 1990s. It was nominated for several Grammy Awards including Record Of The Year and Song Of The Year. It lost in both categories to “Kiss From A Rose” from Seal.

Here’s the official music video for “One Of Us”. You can watch it here, or link here on YouTube.

Next Friday on RETRO I’ll go back 30 years ago to March 1991. Post-Desert Storm I’m back home stateside, and the American pop charts are heating-up !

It’s halftime my friends. I’ll be back on Sunday and Monday with 2 more blog posts for this weekend. Enjoy your Saturday. Thanks for going RETRO with me !

Tags 1996, Music, Radio

1990s Blogging Career Military Music Radio Travel

My Top 5 Hits RETRO – 1991

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date February 19, 2021

It’s the 3RD Friday of the month, so I go back 30 years ago. That would be for the week ending Sunday February 17TH 1991, but I didn’t do a chart that week – or for any week in 1991 yet. I finally found some downtime in the desert, and my very first chart of the year was for the week ending Sunday February 24TH 1991. I compiled it and wrote it down on loose-leaf paper from my tent in the middle of “Tent City” at Al Kharj Air Base Saudi Arabia. I actually did a Top 40 that week (and every week thereafter). Here’s my Top 5:

“High Enough” – Damn Yankees
“Without You” – Mötley Crüe
“Ice Ice Baby” – Vanilla Ice
“It Must Have Been Love” – Roxette
“The Heart Of The Matter” – Don Henley

As I wrote last month on the January 1991 edition of RETRO during Operations Desert Shield & Storm we had limited access to hit music on the radio. We only had a few stations to listen to via AFRTS (American Forces Radio & Television Service). “Eagle Radio 103 / 105 / 107” was picked-up out of Riyadh – about 65 miles away. My Top 40 chart was based on that limited radio. It was heavily based on private airplay from cassettes (mostly bootleg) that were sold on base. Also my tentmates played their favorite music – some of which I liked.

Next Friday on RETRO I’ll go back 35 years ago to February 1986.

It’s halftime my friends. I’ll be back on Sunday and Monday with 2 more blog posts for this weekend. Enjoy your Saturday. Thanks for going RETRO with me !

Tags 1991, Music, Radio

1990s Blogging Music Radio

My Top 5 Hits RETRO – 1996

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date February 12, 2021

It’s the 2ND Friday of the month, so I go back 25 years ago. Here it is – for the week ending Sunday February 11TH 1996:

“When I Come Around” – Green Day
“You Oughta Know” – Alanis Morissette
“Hand In My Pocket” – Alanis Morissette
“Close To You” – Fun Factory
“Be My Lover” – La Bouche

Punk Pop and Eurodance topped my hit music chart exactly 25 years ago. After struggling a bit during the Grunge era of the early-1990s Top 40 Radio was on fire during the mid-1990s here in the U.S., and I was part of that fun scene. I loved the Eurodance feel, and I could listen to it all day. That Fun Factory song – “Close To You” – was one of the best of them all – and also one of the fastest as far as BPM (beats-per-minute) was concerned. It clocked-in at over 120 BPM – perhaps even closer to 130 BPM. I danced to it a few times in the clubs. I got quite the workout !

Next Friday on RETRO I’ll go back 30 years ago to February 1991. I was serving in Operation Desert Storm at the time in Saudi Arabia, but I managed to produce a hit music chart over there on the pink desert sands.

It’s halftime my friends. I’ll be back on Sunday and Monday with 2 more blog posts for this weekend. Enjoy your Saturday. Thanks for going RETRO with me !

Tags 1996, Music, Radio

1990s Blogging Career Military Music Radio Travel

My Top 5 Hits RETRO – 1991

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date January 15, 2021

It’s the 3RD Friday of the month, so I go back 30 years ago. That would be for the week ending Sunday January 13TH 1991, but on that week I was serving my country in Saudi Arabia in support of Operations Desert Shield & Storm. It was the start of my 2ND week in the desert.

Life was very different in “Tent City” in the middle of the desert. We had limited access to hit music on the radio. We only had a few stations to listen to via AFRTS (American Forces Radio & Television Service). “Eagle Radio 103 / 105 / 107” was picked-up out of Riyadh – about 65 miles away.

At our BX (Base Exchange) – think small military department store – they sold cassettes. Most of them could be considered as “bootleg” off the local economy, but I bought a bunch of them for a couple of dollars each despite diminished quality. I also bought myself a Walkman (or equivalent) so that I could listen to them in my tent and not disturb anyone.

Don Henley’s “The End Of The Innocence” was one of those cassettes – the album not the title-track alone. Songs like the title-track, “The Heart Of The Matter”, “How Bad Do You Want It ?”, “The Last Worthless Evening”, and “New York Minute” represent the soundtrack of my war experience. I wore-out that cassette over there.

One of my tentmates loved “Hard To Handle” from The Black Crowes. I mean he really loved it, and he loved to play it often – many times per day – loud and proud. I ended-up liking the song as well (since I heard it so many times).

Next Friday on RETRO I’ll go back 35 years ago to January 1986.

It’s halftime my friends. I’ll be back on Sunday and Monday with 2 more blog posts for this weekend. Enjoy your Saturday. Thanks for going RETRO with me !

Tags 1991, Music, Radio