Sunday, July 25, 2021

Music History Today: July 26, 2021

July 26, 1986: Soundtrack to Top Gun reached Number 1 on the Billboard Top 200 LP chart.

One of the best-selling soundtrack albums of all time, Top Gun remains a quintessential artifact of the mid-'80s. 

Top Gun

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The collection's smash hits, including Berlin's "Take My Breath Away" and Kenny Loggins' "Danger Zone," still define the bombastic, melodramatic sound that dominated the pop charts of the era. The song "Take My Breath Away" by Berlin went on to win the Academy Award for Best Original Song and the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song.  

Read more: Wikipedia

July 26, 1969: Andy Kim broke into the Top 10 with "Baby, I Love You," which peaked at Number 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.

"Baby, I Love You" was originally recorded by the Ronettes in 1963 and released on their debut album Presenting the Fabulous Ronettes. Andy Kim recorded the song for Jeff Barry's record label Steed Records on his album Baby I Love You. 
Read more: Wikipedia

July 26, 1975: Van McCoy's "The Hustle" hits Number 1 in America.

While the name Van McCoy might not spark immediate recognition, people of a certain age do know the song and dance that made him famous: “The Hustle.” 

Van McCoy
Van McCoy

Released in 1975 on the album Disco Baby, the single went on to sell 10 million copies, making it the biggest dance hit of the 1970s, according to The Washington Post. McCoy was only 39 when he died of a heart attack July 6, 1979. But he lives on via “The Hustle” and other songs he wrote and produced for such artists as Gladys Knight and the Pips and Aretha Franklin. 

Read more: Legacy

July 26, 1986: "Danger Zone" by Kenny Loggins from the Top Gun soundtrack peaked at Number 2.

When Top Gun blasted into theaters in 1986 it became a box office smash and sent Tom Cruise’s star soaring to new heights.

Top Gun

If there was one track that summed up the film’s high-adrenaline attitude, it was the closing credit song “Danger Zone,” performed by Kenny Loggins. The track, written by Georgio Moroder and Tom Whitlock, became an iconic piece of mid-‘80s movie music. Still, things could have gone much differently. 

Read more: Ultimate Classic Rock

 

July 26, 1997: Shawn Colvin topped out at Number 7 with the hit "Sunny Came Home." 

In the final stages of making the album, Colvin was trying to complete a song based on a demo by John Leventhal, the album’s producer, and she struggled to find a lyrical angle. 

Julie Speed painting Setting the World on Fire

I tried many things, and I didn’t crack it easily. The inspiration behind that story came from the painting that I chose to be on the cover of the record. I just liked Julie Speed’s work and I really wanted something different rather than a photo. In the 11th hour, “Sunny Came Home” was really barely there—in fact I think I had it as ‘Jimmy Came Home’ at one point before I’d written the lyric to “The Facts about Jimmy” I looked at this cover and I thought, you need to write a story about this woman on the cover who’s got a lit match and a big fire in the background. 

Read more: Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers

Take My Breath Away
Berlin

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