Category: 1990s

My Top 5 Hits RETRO – 1996

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date April 9, 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 April 14TH 1996:

“One Of Us” – Joan Osborne
“I Want To Come Over” – Melissa Etheridge
“Insensitive” – Jann Arden
“Rock And Roll All Nite” – KISS
“The World I Know” – Collective Soul

kiss

KISS is arguably one of the greatest rock and roll bands in the history of the rock era, and “Rock And Roll All Nite” is arguably their greatest song ever. Some consider it to be one of the greatest rock and roll songs ever made. It was originally a minor hit on the radio in 1975 before it exploded in popularity early in 1976. It kicked-off a string of hits for KISS from 1976 to 1979. They were an alternate to the disco era of the time; although, they too would succumb to the discotheque sound with their often-maligned disco smash “I Was Made For Lovin’ You”.

But back to “Rock And Roll All Nite” – it was actually reissued as a single (both at retail and to radio) 20 years later early in 1996, and it became a Rock 40 smash all over again. You may remember the Rock 40 radio format. It was very popular during the early-to-mid-1990s away from both coasts – particularly in smaller radio markets – and it blended pop music (deemphasizing hip hop and rap) with hard rock music.

“Rock And Roll All Nite” has been in heavy rotation on my iPod Shuffles that play at my desk at my workplace for many years. It’s garnered 1,007 plays over the past 9 years.

I’ve been to a lot of music concerts over the past 35 years, but KISS was regrettably not one of them. Some will say that you haven’t truly lived the concert experience unless you’ve been to a KISS concert. (I wouldn’t know.)

Next Friday on RETRO I’ll go back 30 years ago to April 1991.

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 Driving Home Military Music Radio Travel

My Top 5 Hits RETRO – 1991

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

It’s the 3RD Friday of the month, so I go back 30 years ago. Here it is – for the week ending Sunday March 17TH 1991:

“One More Try” – Timmy T
“Waiting For That Day” – George Michael
“Joyride” – Roxette
“Baby Baby” – Amy Grant
“More Than Ever” – Nelson

Exactly 30 years ago this weekend I was at home – my teenage childhood home in McLean Virginia (just outside of Washington D.C.)

On the weekend prior I departed the pink desert sands of Al Kharj AB Saudi Arabia with some of my fellow Operations Desert Shield / Desert Storm airmen. We lifted-off from the runway in Saudi at 0326L on Saturday March 09TH 1991. After 7 hours and 7 minutes in the air we landed at Torrejon AB Spain (near Madrid). It was a longer-than-expected nearly 5½-hour stop before we took-off again for our stateside destination at Dover AFB Delaware. We touched-down there at 1656L (21½ hours after leaving Saudi). A bus transported us to Philadelphia where we spent the night at a hotel near the airport. We flew out (commercial) the next morning – Sunday March 10TH 1991 – arriving back in Miami at 1001L.

We returned to Homestead AFB with no fanfare at all, and the next morning I was back at my workplace office. I met my new supervisor. He replaced my previous supervisor who was “reassigned”. He told me to take up to 30 days of “R & R” (rest and recuperation) as a returning war veteran. That Wednesday March 13TH 1991 I was on-the-road northward heading towards the Washington D.C. area. I spent the night in South Carolina, and the next afternoon I arrived at my childhood home 1,096 miles from the base. I stayed there for the next 2 weeks enjoying family time.

I was sent to war as punishment by my supervisor at the time (end of 1990). I didn’t do anything wrong. She just hated me. She had issues with guys that looked like me. An investigation occurred while I was at war, and she was relieved of her duties. The war (and post-war) was the start of the best (and final) 26 months of my entire Active Duty Air Force career.

(I still work for the USAF today as a Federal Civilian – at now Homestead ARB.)

Next Friday on RETRO I’ll go back 35 years ago to March 1986 – towards the end of my first year working for the USAF.

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 March 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 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