Wu-Tang Clan's Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) released

Enter the Wu-Tang Clan (36 Chambers) Wu-Tang Clan

Released: November 9, 1993 Charted: November 27, 1993 Peak: 41 US, 8 RB, 83 UK Sales (in millions): 3.0 US, 0.3 UK, 3.3 world (includes US and UK) Genre: rap > hardcore

Tracks: Song Title (Writers) [time] (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to singles charts. Bring da Ruckus Shame on a Nigga Clan in da Front Wu-Tang: 7th Chamber Can It Be All So Simple (7/2/94, 82 RB) Intermission Da Mystery of Chessboxin’ Wu-Tang Clan Ain’t Nuthing ta F’ Wit C.R.E.A.M. (2/19/94, 60 US, 32 RB) Method Man (9/11/93, 69 US, 40 RB) Protect Ya Neck (9/11/93, 86 RB) Tearz Wu-Tang: 7th Chamber, Pt. 2 Conclusion Total Running Time: 58:26

Rating: 4.190 out of 5.00 (average of 10 ratings) Quotable: “One of the most influential rap albums of the ‘90s.” – Steve Huey, All Music Guide Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album: “New York brings the ruckus (back). The Wu-Tan Clan’s debut had all the earmarks of cult-dom-masked rappers, a backstory shaped by comics and kung-fu flicks and grimy beats. Yet the octet’s output was so badass, it drew gangsta rap – and jaded hip-hop fans back to New York.” BL “Along with Dr. Dre’s The Chronic, …Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), was one of the most influential rap albums of the ‘90s. Its spare yet atmospheric production – courtesy of RZA – mapped out the sonic blueprint that countless other hardcore rappers would follow for years to come. It laid the groundwork for the rebirth of New York hip-hop in the hardcore age, paving the way for everybody from Biggie and Jay-Z to Nas and Mobb Deep. Moreover, it introduced a colorful cast of hugely talented MCs, some of whom ranked among the best and most unique individual rappers of the decade. Some were outsized, theatrical personalities, others were cerebral storytellers and lyrical technicians, but each had his own distinctive style, which made for an album of tremendous variety and consistency. Every track on Enter the Wu-Tang is packed with fresh, inventive rhymes, which are filled with martial arts metaphors, pop culture references (everything from Voltron to Lucky Charms cereal commercials to Barbra Streisand’s ‘The Way We Were’), bizarre threats of violence, and a truly twisted sense of humor.” SH “Their off-kilter menace is really brought to life, however, by the eerie, lo-fi production, which helped bring the raw sound of the underground into mainstream hip-hop. Starting with a foundation of hard, gritty beats and dialogue samples from kung fu movies, RZA kept things minimalistic, but added just enough minor-key piano, strings, or muted horns to create a background ambience that works like the soundtrack to a surreal nightmare. There was nothing like it in the hip-hop world at the time, and even after years of imitation, Enter the Wu-Tang still sounds fresh and original. Subsequent group and solo projects would refine and deepen this template, but collectively, Wu-Tang have never been quite this tight again.” SH Notes: “BMG International's 2004 import edition…included one bonus track,” SH an alternate version of “Method Man.”

Resources and Related Links: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Wu-Tang Clan BL Blender (10/08). “100 Greatest American Albums” SH Steve Huey, All Music Guide WK Wikipedia Last updated 4/18/2022.

Meat Loaf hit #1 with “I’d Do Anything for Love”

I’d Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That) Meat Loaf

Writer(s): Jim Steinman (see lyrics here) Released: September 15, 1993 First Charted: September 5, 1993 Peak: 15 US, 16 CB, 11 GR, 3 RR, 9 AC, 10 AR, 17 UK, 12 CN, 18 AU, 4 DF (Click for codes to singles charts.) Sales (in millions): 1.4 US, 0.79 UK, 2.83 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 1.0 radio, 157.0 video, 124.44 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: The debut album from Meat Loaf (born Marvin Lee Aday), 1977’s Bat Out of Hell, has been estimated at 50 million in worldwide sales, making it one of the three best-selling albums of all time. Subsequent releases over the next decade didn’t even reach a million in sales in the U.S., and by the 1990s it looked like his career was over. However, he reteamed with Jim Steinman, who’d written the songs on Bat Out of Hell, and they created Bat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell in the same “bombastic, piano-driven style.” SF The original album charted three top-40 hits, but his highest charting song had been “Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad” at #11. With “I’d Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That),” the first single from Bat Out of Hell II, Meat Loaf didn’t just chart again, he went all the way to the top. In addition to spending five weeks at the pinnacle of the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S., the song reached #1 in 27 other countries. WK The song was the UK’s best seller in 1993 and earned a Grammy for Best Rock Vocal Performance, Solo. Meat Loaf and Steinman had talked about reuniting as far back as 1984, but Meat Loaf’s record label at the time wasn’t interested. When he moved to MCA, Steinman was busy working with the group Pandora’s Box, who released an album in 1989. They did finally reunite and Steinman played “I’d Do Anything for Love” for Meat Loaf in 1990. It had all the traits of a Steinman song: “power chords, the pseudo-classical piano sequences, [and] the tearful verse followed by a triumphant chorus.” LW The version that they recorded for the album was 12-minutes long, but was cut down to a five-minute version for the single. As he did for all his songs, Meat Loaf assumed the role of a character. In this case, he said he imagined he “was a 14-year-old looking at this girl trying to figure out how to get up the nerve…to ask her out.” FB Listeners seemed puzzled over what it was that Meat Loaf wouldn’t do for love, but he said the answer’s right there in the song. “I’ll never forget the way you feel right now…I’ll never stop dreaming of you every night of my life.” FB At the end of the song, the female singer, Lorraine Crosby, declares “You’ll see that it’s time to move on” and “You’ll be screwing around” to which Meat Loaf responds, “I wont do that!” Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Jim Steinman FB Fred Bronson (2007). The Billboard Book of Number One Hits (4th edition). Billboard Books: New York, NY. Page 821. LW Alan Lewens (2001). Popular Song – Soundtrack of the Century. Billboard Books: New York, NY. Page 172. SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 2/8/2021; last updated 11/24/2022.

On This Day (1943): The Mills Brothers’ “Paper Doll” hit #1 for 1st of 12 weeks

Paper Doll The Mills Brothers

Writer(s): Johnny S. Black (see lyrics here) First Charted: October 24, 1942 Peak: 112 US, 13 GA, 13 HP (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 6.0 US, -- UK, 11.0 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 4.16 video, 5.81 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: It has been said that this song “signaled the demise of the big band era.” TY1 However, it also marked a revival for the group who had been suffering from declining sales for years. WK This vocal group, originally comprised of four brothers, first charted in 1931 with the #1 “Tiger Rag” and went on to chart 17 top ten hits over the next three years. In 1935, however, the fortunes of the group turned when oldest brother John died. The group soldiered on with Dad stepping in for his namesake son, PM but it looked like their days of chart glory were over. They didn’t chart again until 1937. Then, over the next five years they sent nine more songs up the charts, but only “Sixty Seconds Got Together” achieved top ten status. PM In 1942, the Mills Brothers charted with “Paper Doll”, a song about preferring a paper doll to the far more fickle real-life versions, TY1 It hit the charts for a solitary week, coming in at #20. PM The song had taken awhile to come to fruition. It was written in 1915 and wasn’t published until 1930. WK The songwriter, Johnny S. Black, died six years before the song finally charted. However, the 1942 peak was only the beginning. It recharted in July of 1943. This time, it went to #1 on its way to becoming one of the biggest songs of all time. With sales over six million, “Paper Doll” was the biggest non-holiday hit of the ‘40s PM and one of the ten best sellers of the first half of the century. PM The song also bears the distinction of being one of fewer than thirty songs to have sold more than 10 million copies worldwide. WK Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for The Mills Brothers DJ David Jasen (2002). A Century of American Popular Music: 2000 Best-Loved and Remembered Songs (1899-1999). Routledge: Taylor & Francis, Inc. Page 155. TY1 Don Tyler (1985). Hit Parade 1920-1955. Quill: New York, NY. PM Joel Whitburn (1986). Pop Memories 1890-1954. Record Research, Inc: Menomonee Falls, WI. Pages 316 and 631. WK Wikipedia.org First posted 11/20/2011; last updated 9/6/2023.