November 3, 2001: Mary J. Blige's "Family Affair" hits Number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the first of six weeks.
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| Mary J. Blige |
Mary J. Blige's mentor, Sean Combs, referred to his crew as "The Family," and using such a benign title helped earn the song airplay on adult-skewing radio stations that might balk at a song about getting drunk on the dance floor. Dr. Dre produced this track.
Read more: Songfacts
November 3, 1963: Carole King's former baby-sitter, Little Eva, entered Billboard's Hot 100 with "Keep Your Hands Off My Baby." The Beatles recorded the song for the BBC radio show Saturday Club on 22 January 1963, which was first broadcast four days later.
November 3, 1973: Elton John made a big move on the US music chart, from Number 62 to 40, with "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road."
Bernie Taupin wrote the lyrics to "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" and most of Elton's other songs. He often seems to write about Elton, but this one appears to be about himself.
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| Elton John |
The lyrics are about giving up a life of opulence for one of simplicity in a rural setting. Elton has enjoyed a very extravagant lifestyle, while Taupin prefers to keep it low key.
Read more: Songfacts
November 3, 1984: Billy Ocean took over the top of Billboard's Hot 100 with "Caribbean Queen (No More Love On The Run)."
The first version of "Caribbean Queen (No More Love On The Run)" was titled "European Queen (No More Love On The Run)" and released in the UK.
In went nowhere, so Ocean and his team edited the song, changing it to "Caribbean Queen." This version was a hit in both the US and UK. A third version, "African Queen," was made for that continent.
Read more: Stereogum
November 3, 1990: "Ice Ice Baby" by Vanilla Ice became the first rap record to top the US singles chart.
"Ice Ice Baby" samples the 1980 song "Under Pressure" by Queen and David Bowie, but Vanilla Ice never got permission to use it. According to industry insider Hans Ebert, Brian May of Queen first heard this song in a disco in Germany. He asked the DJ what it was, and learned that it was #1 in the US. No lawsuit was filed, but it is likely Ice agreed to pay Queen and Bowie a settlement.
Read more: Songfacts
Mary J. Blige
Family Affair
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