Music History Today: July 21, 2021

July 21, 1979: Cheap Trick peaked at Number 7 on the US music chart with "I Want You To Want Me."

With the break-up of bands such as Big Star and The Raspberries, by the mid-70s power pop looked to be heading for extinction, as prog rock and disco filled the airwaves and record racks worldwide. 

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But with punk rock bringing ‘short but sweet’ song structures back in vogue, a new crop of power pop bands emerged. One such band was Rockford, Illinois’s Cheap Trick. And it would be a song they’d been working up since their bar days, I Want You To Want Me, that put them on the map. However, the song had to wait until it was recorded live, on album number four, to make its impact. 

Read more: Louder Sound

July 21, 1973: Bloodstone had a Top 10 hit when "Natural High" hit Number 10.

"Natural High" by Bloodstone was released as the first single and title track from their second album. The song was written by the band's bassist Charles McCormick, and it was the first song from the band to enter the Billboard Hot 100. The song also reached number 40 on the UK Singles chart. 

Read more: Wikipedia

July 21, 1979: "Lonesome Loser" by the Little River Band entered the Billboard Hot 100.

"Lonesome Loser," written by David Briggs and performed by Australian rock music group Little River Band, was released as the lead single from their fifth studio album, First Under the Wire. 

Little River Band

The single entered the Billboard Hot 100 on July 21, 1979, at No. 63, and ultimately climbed to No. 6 on September 29, 1979, where it would become the band's third Top 10 hit and sixth overall Top 40 hit in the United States. 

Read more: Wikipedia

 

July 21, 1984: ZZ Top makes it up to Number 8 in the US with "Legs."

When ZZ Top released "Legs," from their 1983 album Eliminator, the Texas trio was already a well established forced on album-rock radio, churning out such hits as "Tush," "La Grange," "Tube Snake Boogie," and "Sharp Dressed Man."  

Yet, that song and accompanying video — with those women and those legs — helped take the band to a whole new level, as they say in the record business. With their long, flowing beards ZZ Top's singer/guitarist Billy Gibbons and bassist Dusty Hill are certainly a sight to be seen, but they can hardly compare with Wendy Frazier, Kymberly Herrin and Daniele Arnaud — the fine lovely ladies featured in the video. 

Read more: Yahoo Entertainment

July 21, 2001: Blu Cantrell peaked at Number 2 with "Hit ‘Em Up Style (Oops!). "

"Hit 'Em Up Style (Oops!)" is the debut single of American R&B singer Blu Cantrell. 

Blu Cantrell

The lyrics propose that women should take revenge on cheating men by draining them of their available assets, both monetary assets and property. Cantrell has said that she did not particularly care for the song artistically, but the bitter feelings she was experiencing at the time led her to include it on the album anyway. 

Read more: Wikipedia

I Want You To Want Me
Cheap Trick