Categories
Blogging Christian God Ministry Music Radio

My Top 10 Hits – Week 211

Every Monday I post my all-new Top 10 Christian hit music chart based on personal preference and influenced by radio airplay from the previous week. It’s the continuation of a weekly hobby that goes back 40+ years. Here’s this week’s chart:

COUNTUP MINISTRIES FOR THE WEEK ENDING SUNDAY FEBRUARY 28TH 2021 WEEK 211
TW LW WKS SONG TITLE ARTIST / SITE
1 3 7 Say I Won’t
[1ST week @ # 1]
MercyMe
2 1 14 Every Step Of The Way Cade Thompson
3 2 16 Out Of My Hands Jeremy Camp
4 4 6 Less Like Me Zach Williams
5 6 2 Good God Almighty Crowder
6 9 6 Fires Jordan St. Cyr
7 5 21 Truth Be Told Matthew West
8 7 4 Battle Belongs Phil Wickham
9 8 5 Next To Me Jordan Feliz
10 10 10 Another In The Fire Hillsong United

# 1 This Week In:
2020 – “Almost Home” – MercyMe
2019 – “Red Letters” – Crowder
2018 – “Gracefully Broken” – Matt Redman Ft. Tasha C. Leonard
2017 – “Love Broke Thru” – Toby Mac

After 12 consecutive weeks at # 1 Cade Thompson’s “Every Step Of The Way” eases down one notch this week to # 2. It was # 1 all 4 weeks of December, all 5 weeks of January, and the first 3 weeks of February.

Replacing Cade at the top is the last act to spend 12 consecutive weeks at # 1 – MercyMe. They did it last February to May with “Almost Home”. This is their follow-up single – “Say I Won’t”. It’s their 5TH hit on my chart since 2017. 2017 is also the last time they released an album (“Lifer”) which included their first 3 hits. I’m expecting a new album from them this year that will include both “Almost Home” and “Say I Won’t”.

This concludes another weekend of blog posts. I’ll do it again this upcoming weekend – with 4 new entries on Thursday, Friday, Sunday, and Monday. I don’t blog on Saturdays. That’s my day of rest.

Your likes, follows, and comments are always appreciated. Thank You for being part of my online ministry to share God’s Good News and win souls for Christ through His music. I’m also on Twitter and Flickr.

Be blessed my friends !  May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

All rights reserved (c) 2021 Christopher M. Day, CountUp Ministries

Categories
1980s Blogging Music Radio

My Top 5 Hits RETRO – 1986

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 4TH Friday of the month, so I go back 35 years ago. Here it is – for the week ending Sunday February 23RD 1986:

  1. “The Phantom Of The Opera” – Sarah Brightman & Steve Harley
  2. “When The Going Gets Tough, The Tough Get Going” – Billy Ocean
  3. “System Addict” – Five Star
  4. “And She Was” – The Talking Heads
  5. “How Will I Know” – Whitney Houston

35 years ago this weekend Sarah Brightman – one of the stars of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “The Phantom Of The Opera” – scored a # 1 smash on my chart with the title track of the West End (London) musical. At the time she was married to Andrew Lloyd Webber. He composed the song (with lyrics added by others). I actually saw the play LIVE in person later in 1986 with a couple of coworker friends of mine at the time. It was my first play ever. I saw it several months after my first concert ever.

Nationally (in the United Kingdom) Billy Ocean’s # 2 hit was # 1 in the British Isles. Whitney Houston’s # 5 hit was # 1 back home stateside on “American Top 40”.

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 !

All rights reserved (c) 2021 Christopher M. Day, CountUp Ministries

Categories
Blogging Christian God Ministry Music Radio

My Top 10 Hits – Week 210

Every Monday I post my all-new Top 10 Christian hit music chart based on personal preference and influenced by radio airplay. It’s the continuation of a weekly hobby that goes back 40+ years. Here it is – this week’s chart:

COUNTUP MINISTRIES WEEK ENDING SUNDAY FEBRUARY 21ST 2021
TW LW WKS SONG TITLE ARTIST / SITE
1 1 13 Every Step Of The Way
[12TH week @ # 1]
Cade Thompson
2 2 15 Out Of My Hands Jeremy Camp
3 4 6 Say I Won’t MercyMe
4 5 5 Less Like Me Zach Williams
5 3 20 Truth Be Told Matthew West
6 1 Good God Almighty Crowder
7 10 3 Battle Belongs Phil Wickham
8 9 4 Next To Me Jordan Feliz
9 8 5 Fires Jordan St. Cyr
10 6 9 Another In The Fire Hillsong United

# 1 This Week In:
2020 – “Almost Home” – MercyMe
2019 – “Maybe It’s OK” – We Are Messengers
2018 – “Gracefully Broken” – Matt Redman Ft. Tasha C. Leonard
2017 – “Love Broke Thru” – Toby Mac

Last Sunday night (February 14TH 2021) I attended TobyMac’s “Hits Deep Tour 2021” at the BB&T Center here in South Florida (Sunrise). It was my first LIVE concert in over 11 months (since just before COVID shut-down America), and it was my first LIVE concert at the BB&T Center in over 15 months. It was also my 3RD TobyMac concert in mid-February over the past 4 years.

The wearing of face masks was mandatory and strictly enforced by staff. The arena had socially-distanced seating. Individuals and groups were more than 6 feet apart from others both in the standard (elevated) seating as well as the floor seating. Arena seating (usable for the concert) was probably no more than about 20% to 25% full. It was one of the best concert experiences I can ever remember for the simple reason that I had plenty of room to stand-up and dance all around my seat on the floor, and I did just that. Everyone had their own personal dancefloor !

I was seated along the right-edge of the floor in the center of the arena. There were two stages – the main stage up-front – and the center stage to the left of me (by about 20 feet or so).

Unspoken kicked-off the show from the main stage, and then Terrian performed from the center stage. We Are Messengers were up next from the main stage, and then Cochren & Co. took over from the center stage. Tauren Wells performed from the main stage. The first 5 artists split (almost evenly) 1 hour and 20 minutes (about 15 minutes apiece). They were all great. We Are Messengers are my personal favorite of the 5, so naturally I was singing and dancing along through all of their hits. I liked when Chad Mattson (lead singer of Unspoken) guest-performed “Echo” (the Elevation Worship song) with Tauren Wells.

After a 35-minute sermon and fundraising push (Food For The Hungry) TobyMac took center stage for “The Elements”. He performed non-stop hits for the next 1 hour and 35 minutes – performing about half of his set from the main stage – and half from the center stage. The guy has so much energy for his age. (He’s 56.) He’s also from one of my childhood hometowns of Fairfax County Virginia.

Terrian was with Toby for many of his hits. (She’s a back-up vocalist with Toby’s Diverse City band.) Michael Cochren assisted Toby with one of his hits.

What a great night to praise and worship my Lord & Savior Jesus Christ with my instant church family for the night.

This concludes another weekend of blog posts. I’ll do it again this upcoming weekend – with 4 new entries on Thursday, Friday, Sunday, and Monday. I don’t blog on Saturdays. That’s my day of rest.

Your likes, follows, and comments are always appreciated. Thank You for being part of my online ministry to share God’s Good News and win souls for Christ through His music. I’m also on Twitter and Flickr.

Be blessed my friends !  May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

All rights reserved (c) 2021 Christopher M. Day, CountUp Ministries

Categories
1990s Blogging Career Military Music Radio Travel

My Top 5 Hits RETRO – 1991

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 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:

  1. “High Enough” – Damn Yankees
  2. “Without You” – Mötley Crüe
  3. “Ice Ice Baby” – Vanilla Ice
  4. “It Must Have Been Love” – Roxette
  5. “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 !

All rights reserved (c) 2021 Christopher M. Day, CountUp Ministries