Thursday, December 31, 1992

Barenaked Ladies “If I Had a $1,000,000” released as a radio single this month

If I Had a $1,000,000

Barenaked Ladies

Writer(s): Steven Page, Ed Robertson (see lyrics here)


Released: December 1992


First Charted: February 19, 2000


Peak: 37 AR, 13 CN, 1 DF (Click for codes to singles charts.)


Sales (in millions): --


Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 12.5 video, 37.82 streaming

Awards:

Click on award for more details.

About the Song:

Barenaked Ladies formed in Scarborough, Ontario, Canada, in 1988. They released about 500 copies the next year of a tape called Buck Naked. It featured the song “If I Had a $1,000,000.” It showed up again in 1990 on their tape Barenaked Lunch. 2000 copies of it were released. It showed up once again on The Yellow Tape. That sold over a half million copies and became the first independent release in Canada to be certified gold.

“If I Had a $1,000,000” got a lot of airplay on the Toronto radio station CFNY-FM and helped the band get signed to a major label deal with Reprise Records. The song saw release yet again on the band’s 1992 Gordon album, which sold a million copies. Despite never having a proper video or single release, the song became a staple in the band’s catalog. In 2005, it was ranked #2 on a list of the top 50 essential Canadian tracks as aired on CBC Radio. WK

It was released as a one-track radio single in December 1992. It reached #13 in Canada and was officially released in the UK as a commercial single in the UK. A 1996 re-release, thanks to the live album Rock Spectacle, prompted the song to hit #13 on the UK rock chart. In 2000, the song reached #37 on the Billboard Adult Top 40.

Steven Page and Ed Robertson came up with the song while counselors at a summer music camp. It became a trademark of the song for Page and Robertson to break into free-form banter, improvising eccentric purchases they’d make with a million dollars. WK The recorded version included references to Kraft macaroni and cheese dinners, the Elephant Man’s (John Merrick) remains, and exotic animals (a reference to Michael Jackson’s lavish spending habits).


Resources:


First posted 10/9/2022.

Saturday, December 12, 1992

The Bodyguard soundtrack hit #1 for the first of 20 weeks

First posted 3/25/2008; updated 12/1/2020.

The Bodyguard

Whitney Houston/Various Artists


Released: November 17, 1992


Peak: 120 US, 18 RB, 111 UK, 19 CN, 15 AU


Sales (in millions): 17.0 US, 2.14 UK, 38.5 world (includes US and UK)


Genre: pop/R&B


Tracks:

Song Title (PERFORMER) (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to singles charts.

  1. I Will Always Love You (WHITNEY HOUSTON) (11/14/92, 1 US, 1 UK, 1 RB, 1 AC, 4x platinum single)
  2. I Have Nothing (WHITNEY HOUSTON) (2/20/93, 1a US, 3 UK, 3a RB, 1 AC, gold single)
  3. I’m Every Woman (WHITNEY HOUSTON) (1/9/93, 2a US, 4 UK, 4a RB, 26 AC, gold single)
  4. Run to You (WHITNEY HOUSTON) (6/21/93, 26a US, 15 UK, #31 RB, #9 AC)
  5. Queen of the Night (WHITNEY HOUSTON) (11/6/93, 36a US, #14 UK, #47a RB)
  6. Jesus Loves Me (WHITNEY HOUSTON)
  7. Even if My Heart Would Break (KENNY G/ AARON NEVILLE)
  8. Someday (I’m Coming Back) (LISA STANSFIELD)
  9. It’s Gonna Be a Lovely Day (S.O.U.L. S.Y.S.T.E.M.)
  10. What’s So Funny ‘Bout Peace, Love and Understanding (CURTIS STIGERS)
  11. Waiting for You (KENNY G) *
  12. Trust in Me (JOE COCKER/ SASS JORDAN)
  13. Theme from ‘The Bodyguard’ (ALAN SILVESTRI)
* not on U.S. album


Total Running Time: 57:44

Rating:

3.499 out of 5.00 (average of 15 ratings)


Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album:

“Few observers expected that Whitney Houston’s first big-screen role in 1992’s The Bodyguard would generate a phenomenon. Not that the film itself was a phenomenon – it was a healthy success, due not only to Houston, but to her co-star Kevin Costner's drawing power – but the soundtrack’s success was astonishing. The Bodyguard followed Houston’s cover of Dolly Parton’s I Will Always Love You to the top of the charts, and once they got there, neither the single nor the album budged for weeks. ‘I Will Always Love You’ spent a record-shattering 14 weeks in the top slot, while The Bodyguard spent 20 weeks at number one, eventually selling over 15 million copies and winning the Grammy award for Album of the Year.” STE

“Like many phenomena of that magnitude, it’s hard to see, in retrospect, what triggered such a massive public response. True, The Bodyguard isn’t a typical soundtrack in that its first half plays like Houston’s sequel to I’m Your Baby Tonight, but its second half is filled with the flotsam and jetsam typical for a big-budget soundtrack – an excerpt from Alan Silverstri’s score, some flavorless but pleasant Kenny G instrumentals, dated pop and dance numbers, and a cover (Curtis Stigers’ take on (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding, which is notable in some circles as the recording that made the song’s author, Nick Lowe, a millionaire).” STE

“Then again, nobody really paid attention to anything outside of the first six songs, all of which rank among Houston's best efforts, demonstrating progress from the somewhat stilted I’m Your Baby Tonight. It’s not startling enough to justify the phenomenon, but I Have Nothing, Queen of the Night, Run to You, and especially her cover of I’m Every Woman are all first-rate urban pop songs that skillfully capture Houston at her best. In a sense, the album is no different than any other album Houston recorded.” STE

“It may seem odd that a soundtrack is Houston's biggest-selling album to date, but consider this – even her best records had five or six great songs surrounded by well-constructed filler; the same is true here, only the filler is recorded by other artists.” STE

Resources and Related Links:

Tuesday, December 1, 1992

Life Magazine "40 Years of Rock & Roll": The Songs

Life Magazine:

40 Years of Rock & Roll: The Songs

In 1992, Life magazine devoted a special issue to celebrate rock & roll, using the Moondog Coronation Ball held on March 21, 1952 in Cleveland as their starting point for rock & roll. They picked five songs to represent each year from 1952 to 1991. They also picked one album for each year from 1955 to 1991.

Click here to see other lists from publications and/or organizations. 1952:

  • The Dominoes “Have Mercy, Baby”
  • Lloyd Price “Lawdy Miss Clawdy”
  • Johnny Ace “My Song”
  • The Clovers “One Mint Julep”
  • Jimmy Forrest “Night Train”

1953:

  • Willie Mae Thornton ““Hound Dog
  • The Clovers “Money Honey”
  • The Orioles “Crying in the Chapel”
  • Ruth Brown “Mama, He Treats Your Daughter Mean”
  • Bill Haley & His Comets “Crazy Man Crazy”

1954:

  • The Chords “Sh-Boom
  • Johnny Ace “Pledging My Love”
  • Hank Ballard & the Midnighters “Work with Me Annie”
  • The Drifters “Honey Love”
  • Big Joe Turner “Shake, Rattle and Roll”

1955:

1956:

1957:

1958:

  • Dion & the Belmonts “I Wonder Why”
  • Little Anthony & the Imperials “Tears on My Pillow”
  • Chuck Berry “Johnny B. Goode
  • Jackie Wilson “Lonely Teardrops”
  • Eddie Cochran “Summertime Blues”

1959:

  • Dion & the Belmonts “A Teenager in Love”
  • Wilbert Harrison “Kansas City”
  • The Drifters “There Goes My Baby”
  • Ritchie Valens “Donna” / “La Bamba
  • The Crests “Sixteen Candles”

1960:

  • Brenda Lee “I’m Sorry”
  • Mark Dinning “Teen Angel”
  • Percy Faith “Theme from ‘A Summer Place’”
  • Roy Orbison “Only the Lonely”
  • Maurice Williams & the Zodiacs “Stay”

1961:

1962:

  • The Four Seasons “Big Girls Don’t Cry
  • The Crystals “He’s a Rebel”
  • The Miracles “You’ve Really Got a Hold on Me”
  • Gene Chandler “Duke of Earl
  • The Isley Brothers “Twist and Shout”

1963:

1964:

1965:

1966:

1967:

1968:

1969:

1970:

  • The Kinks “Lola”
  • The Miracles “The Tears of a Clown”
  • James Taylor “Fire and Rain”
  • Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young “Woodstock”
  • Van Morrison “Moondance”

1971:

1972:

1973:

  • Edgar Winter Group “Frankenstein”
  • Lou Reed “Walk on the Wild Side
  • Gladys Knight & the Pips “Midnight Train to Georgia”
  • The Rolling Stones “Angie”
  • The O’Jays “Love Train”

1974:

  • Lynyrd Skynyrd “Sweet Home Alabama
  • Bachman-Turner Overdrive “Takin’ Care of Business”
  • Steely Dan “Rikki Don’t Lose That Number”
  • Eagles “Best of My Love”
  • Joni Mitchell “Help Me”

1975:

  • Eagles “One of These Nights”
  • Linda Ronstadt “You’re No Good”
  • Queen “Bohemian Rhapsody
  • David Bowie “Fame”
  • Bob Marley & the Wailers “No Woman, No Cry”

1976:

  • Peter Frampton “Show Me the Way”
  • Paul Simon “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover”
  • Heart “Crazy on You”
  • Daryl Hall & John Oates “She’s Gone”
  • Boz Scaggs “Lowdown”

1977:

1978:

  • Talking Heads “Psycho Killer”
  • Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers “Breakdown”
  • Billy Joel “Just the Way You Are
  • Elvis Costello “Watching the Detectives”
  • Meat Loaf “Paradise by the Dashboard Light”

1979:

  • The Police “Roxanne
  • Dire Straits “Sultans of Swing”
  • Donna Summer “Bad Girls”
  • The Doobie Brothers “What a Fool Believes”
  • Joe Jackson “Is She Really Going Out with Him?”

1980:

  • Blondie “Call Me
  • The Pretenders “Brass in Pocket (I’m Special)”
  • Pink Floyd “Another Brick in the Wall Part II
  • Bruce Springsteen “Hungry Heart”
  • Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band “Against the Wind”

1981:

  • Kim Carnes “Bette Davis Eyes
  • The Cars “Shake It Up”
  • The Go-Go’s “Our Lips Are Sealed”
  • The Pointer Sisters “Slow Hand”
  • REO Speedwagon “Keep on Loving You”

1982:

  • Joan Jett & the Blackhearts “I Love Rock and Roll
  • Joe Cocker & Jennifer Warnes “Up Where We Belong”
  • The Clash “Rock the Casbah”
  • Human League “Don’t You Want Me?
  • Men at Work “Who Can It Be Now?”

1983:

1984:

1985:

1986:

  • Bruce Hornsby & the Range “The Way It Is”
  • Robert Palmer “Addicted to Love”
  • Prince “Kiss
  • Whitney Houston “How Will I Know”
  • Steve Winwood “Higher Love”

1987:

1988:

  • Tracy Chapman “Fast Car
  • INXS “New Sensation”
  • Terence Trent D’Arby “Wishing Well”
  • Guns N’ Roses “Sweet Child O’ Mine
  • Def Leppard “Love Bites”

1989:

  • Paula Abdul “Straight Up”
  • Public Enemy “Fight the Power”
  • Bonnie Raitt “Thing Called Love”
  • Fine Young Cannibals “She Drives Me Crazy”
  • Tone Loc “Wild Thing”

1990:

  • Sinéad O’Connor “Nothing Compares 2 U
  • Faith No More “Epic”
  • Mariah Carey “Vision of Love”
  • Chris Isaak “Wicked Game”
  • Technotronic “Pump Up the Jam”

1991:


Resources/Related Links:

First posted 4/9/2021.