Celine Dion hit #1 with “Because You Loved Me”

Because You Loved Me Celine Dion

Writer(s): Diane Warren (see lyrics here) Released: February 20, 1996 First Charted: March 1, 1996 Peak: 16 US, 13 CB, 17 RR, 119 AC, 112 A40, 5 UK, 1 CN, 13 AU, 16 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 2.05 US, 0.6 UK, 5.0 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 0.6 radio, 134.02 video, 398.85 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: In the ‘80s, Celine Dion had regional success with singles sung in French and released in her native Canada. She vaulted to international success in the ‘90s when she started releasing English-language albums. In 1994, she went all the way to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with her cover of “The Power of Love,” a song first released by Jennifer Rush a decade earlier. She reached the top again with “Because You Loved Me.” It served as the theme song for the Robert Redford and Michelle Pfeiffer movie Up Close and Personal but was not included on the soundtrack. It did, however, serve as the lead single from Dion’s Falling into You album. In addition to topping the charts in the U.S., “Because” went to #1 in Canada and Australia and reached the top 10 in a number of other countries. The Advocate called the song an “emotional roller coaster.” WK Stephen Holden of The New York Times referred to it as 1996’s version of “Wind Beneath My Wings.” WK Billboard’s Larry Flick wrote that the song was “rife with grand romance, larger-than-life production, and a climax that is best described as the musical equivalent to 4th of July fireworks.” WK Interestingly, though, when Diane Warren wrote the song, she wasn’t thinking of romance but her late-father. She said, “It was my way of thanking my dad, because he really believed in me, my talent.” FB In the context of the film, Warren said the song served as a thank you from Pfeiffer’s character to Redford’s character for him believing in her. RC Toni Braxton was considered for the song, but Celine Dion heard it and wanted to record it. She’d recorded songs by Warren before and her label was so enthused about this song that they reworked their marketing plans for her about-to-be-released album to make this the first single in North America. FB The song won a Grammy for Best Song Written for Visual Media and was nominated for Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. It also received nominations for an Academy Award for Best Original Song and Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song. Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Diane Warren FB Fred Bronson (2007). The Billboard Book of Number One Hits (4th edition). Billboard Books: New York, NY. Page 844. RC Rod Couch (2015). The Top 500 Songs of the Rock Era: 1955-2015. Page 196. WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 2/12/2021; last updated 4/16/2024.

The Prodigy “Firestarter” released

Firestarter The Prodigy

Writer(s): Liam Howlett, Keith Flint, Kim Deal, Anne Dudley, Trevor Horn, J.J. Jeczalik, Gary Langan, Paul Morley (see lyrics here) Released: March 18, 1996 First Charted: March 30, 1996 Peak: 30 US, 24 MR, 13 UK, 3 CN, 22 AU (Click for codes to singles charts.) Sales (in millions): 0.5 US, 0.85 UK, 1.35 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 141.0 video, 77.04 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: The Prodigy formed in 1990. Fronted by keyboardist and songwriter Liam Howlett, the group also included MC/singer Maxim and singer/dancer Keith Flint. They are considered – along with the Chemical Brothers and Fatboy Slim – to be pioneers of the backbeat-influenced genre big beat. The group has gone on to sell over 20 million records worldwide – “a feat that remains unparalleled in dance music history.” XFM “Firestarter” was the lead single from their third album The Fat of the Land. It became their first UK chart topper was also the group’s first song to feature Flint on vocals. Howlett wrote it as an instrumental originally and then Flint, just a dancer with the band at the time, said he’d like to add some vocals, reportedly saying, “If I’m ever going to do any lyrics, I’m going to do it on this tune.” SF It was their only top-40 hit in the United States. After Flint’s suicide in 2019, the song reached #13 on Billboard magazine’s dance/electronic digital songs sales chart in the U.S. The follow-up single, “Breathe,” was also a #1 hit in the UK. Upon the single’s release, British magazine Music Week called the song a “powerful return for the kings of live techno.” WK RM magazine’s Brad Beatnik described it as “a typically searing chunk of heavy techno featuring some manie vocale and an awesome synth line.” WK Gerald Martinez referred to in New Sunday Times as “heavy metal meets techno-dance stylisations.” WK Kim Deal received a songwriting credit because of “the looped wah-wah guitar” WK in “Firestarter” that was sampled from “S.O.S.,” a song of hers with the Breeders. Anne Dudley, Trevor Horn, J.J. Jeczalik, Gary Langan, and Paul Morley also were credited because of the “hey hey hey” sample from their song “Close (To the Edit)” by Art of Noise. SF The song generated controversy in the UK where it was accused by the national fire service of promoting arson, XFM although Flint told Melody Maker the “rave rock anthem has nothing to do with literally starting fires by about performing in front of 5,000 people and stirring them up into a frenzy.” SF Flint’s enancing look in the video was also criticized by tabloids as frightening young children. SF Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for The Prodigy AMG All Music Guide SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia XFM Mike Walsh (editor) (2010). The XFM Top 1000 Songs of All Time. Elliott & Thompson Limited: London, England. Page 326. Related Links: First posted 10/26/2021.

 

Sting Mercury Falling released

Mercury Falling Sting

Released: March 12, 1996 Peak: 5 US, 4 UK, 8 CN, 14 AU Sales (in millions): 1.0 US, 0.3 UK, 4.5 world (includes US and UK) Genre: rock

Tracks: Song Title (Writers) [time] (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to singles charts. The Hounds of Winter [5:27] I Hung My Head [4:40] Let Your Soul Be Your Pilot [6:41] (2/24/96, 86 US, 3 AA, 15 UK, 65 AU) I Was Brought to My Senses [5:48] (9/14/96, 31 UK) You Still Touch Me [3:46] (4/20/96, 60 US, 51 CN, 43 RR, 21 AC, 19 A40, 5 AA, 27 UK) I’m So Happy I Can’t Stop Crying [3:56] (10/5/96, 94 US, 28 A40, 54 UK) All Four Seasons [4:28] La Belle Dame Sans Regrets (Sting, Dominic Miller) [5:17] Valparaiso [5:27] Lithium Sunset [2:38] All songs written by Sting unless noted otherwise. Total Running Time: 48:08

Rating: 3.505 out of 5.00 (average of 17 ratings) Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album: Mercury Falling is “one of Sting’s tighter records,” AMG traversing the ground “between the pop sensibilities of Ten Summoner’s Tales and the searching ambition of The Soul Cages.” AMG His jazz explorations in the ‘80s received criticisms of pretentiousness from some critics who thought he took himself too seriously. However, “Mercury Falling feels more serious than The Dream of the Blue Turtles, primarily because of its reserved, high-class production and execution. Building from surprisingly simple, memorable melodies, Sting creates multi-layered, vaguely soul-influenced arrangements that carry all of the hallmarks of someone who has studied music, not lived it.” AMG “Sting remains an engaging melodicist, as well as a clever lyricist.” AMG This album showed how much the fan base had shifted, though. Songs like Let Your Soul Be Your Pilot and You Still Touch Me sound like sure-fire hits and probably would have been in Sting’s peak commercial years when he was landing top-10 hits with “If You Love Somebody, Set Them Free,” “Fortress Around Your Heart,” “We’ll Be Together,” and “All This Time” in the ‘80s and early ‘90s. However, neither song even comes close to the top 40. Instead, Sting was now attracting more adult audiences. Both songs reached the top 5 on the adult alternative chart. Sting also found himself surprisingly embraced by the country community. In 1997, he dueted with Toby Keith on a cover of I’m So Happy I Can’t Stop Crying which went all the way to #2 on the country charts. Johnny Cash covered I Hung My Head on his 2002 album American Recordings IV: The Man Comes Around. Neither felt like an oddity, but natural fits for a genre steeped in story songs that played on sentimentality, clever twists with words, and sad-sack guys derailed by life. In the former, In “I’m So Happy,” Sting laments about a divorced father struggling with the absence of his kids. “I Hung My Head” uses the title phrase in multiple perspectives throughout the song to describe the misfortunes of a kid who accidentally shoots and kills someone.

Resources and Related Links: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Sting AMG All Music Guide review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine WK Wikipedia Other Related DMDB Pages: First posted 3/24/2008; last updated 8/26/2021.

2pac hit #1 with All Eyez on Me

All Eyez on Me Tupac (2pac) Shakur

Released: February 13, 1996 Peak: 12 US, 13 RB, 32 UK, 11 CN, 19 AU Sales (in millions): 5.89 US, 0.30 UK, 8.90 world (includes US and UK), 24.66 EAS Genre: rap

Tracks, Disc 1: Song Title (Writers) [time] (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to charts. Ambition Az a Ridah All Bout U (with Snoop Doggy Dogg, Nair Dogg, & Dru Down) Skandalouz (with Nate Dogg) Got My Mind Made Up (with Dat Nigga Daz, Kurupt, & Redman) How Do U Want It (with K-Ci & JoJo) (6/4/96, 12 BB, 13 RB, 17 UK, 24 AU) 2 of Americaz Most Wanted (with Snoop Doggy Dogg) (5/7/96, 26 BB, 10 RB) No More Pain Heartz of Men Life Goes On Only God Can Judge Me (with Rappin’ 4 Tay) Tradin’ War Stories (with Dramacydal, C-BO, Storm, & CPD) California Love (with Dr. Dre & Roger Troutman) (12/3/95, 12 BB, 2 CB, 31 GR, 35 RR, 6 B, 6 UK, 51 CN, 4 AU, 26 DF) I Ain’t Mad at Cha (with Danny Boy) (4/6/96, 58 BB, 18 RB, 13 UK, 47 AU) What’z Ya Phone # (with Danny Boy) Tracks, Disc 2: Can’t C Me (with George Clinton) Shorty Wanna Be a Thug Holla at Me Wonda Why They Call U Bitch When We Ride (with Outlaw Immortalz) Thug Passion Picture Me Rollin’ (with Jewel, Dramacydal, & C-BO) Check Out Time (with Kurupt & Big Syke) Rather Be Ya Nigga (with Richie Rich) All Eyez on Me (with Big Syke) Run tha Streetz (with Michel’le, Mutha, & Storm) Ain’t Hard 2 Find (with E-40, B-Legit, & C-BO) Heaven Ain’t Hard 2 Find Total Running Time: 132:20

Rating: 4.286 out of 5.00 (average of 19 ratings) Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album: 2pac’s third album, Me Against the World, was released while he was serving a prison term for sexual abuse. It made him a superstar, reaching the pinnacle on the Billboard album chart and going double platinum. All Eyez on Me became the rapper’s second album to debut at #1 and sold even more copies than its predecessor. It was his first release after signing with Death Row, a label helmed by Suge Knight “that dealt exclusively in…gangsta rap.” TB Unlike some of his peers, 2pac “really did come from the background of bleak, inner-city violence he rapped about.” TB It showed him “hardened and hungry” AM as he “unleashed all his pent-up frustrations into creating a larger-than-life gangsta rap persona.” CQ “Nobody was going to rep the West Coast harder than he was, as demonstrated by the unadulterated aggression of Ambitionz Az a Ridah.” CQ Throughout the album, he rapped “about his experiences in poverty and in luxury.” WK He was eager “to throw down a monumental epic whose sheer scope would make it an achievement of itself.” AM It was “the first double-disc album of original material in hip-hop history.” AM This album finds him “backing off the sober self-recognition of Me Against the World. Sure, there are a few reflective numbers and dead-homiez tributes, but they’re much more romanticized this time around. All Eyez on Me is 2Pac the thug icon in all his brazen excess, throwing off all self-control and letting it all hang out – even if some of it would have been better kept to himself.” AM As implied by the title, 2pac’s fourth album reflects how “he’d been affected by several years of living in the spotlight. He sounds somewhat paranoid, quick to draw conclusions about people and their motives; on Only God Can Judge Me, he muses, ‘Perhaps I was blind to the facts, stabbed in the back / I couldn’t trust my own homies, just a bunch of dirty rats.’” TM “Among Shakur’s enduring contributions to hip-hop is his effective use of R&B-style hooks, repetitive and often sung catchphrases. These offset the brutality of the All Eyez raps with basic structure. Can’t C Me, one of several tightly wound Dr. Dre productions, features the sepulchral vocals of George Clinton doing a P-Funk thing; All About U contains a refrain sung by Nate Dogg over a beat that flirts with disco.” TM “The production of Dre, DJ Pooh, DJ Quik, and Johnny J round out All Eyez on Me by finally offering Pac a soundtrack that could fully match his talents.” CQ It is “easily the best production he’s ever had on record.” AM Johnny J’s work is most notable on the club smash How Do U Want It AM and Dr. Dre “contributes another surefire single in California Love (which, unfortunately, is present only as a remix, not the original hit version). Both hits are on the front-loaded first disc, which would be a gangsta classic in itself.” AM This is “an accurate depiction of what made him such a volatile and compelling personality.” AM “From the social commentary of the still-relevant Brenda’s Got a Baby to the unbridled rage of Hit ‘Em Up and everything in between, Tupac’s range as a rapper remains unparalleled.” CQ “Other highlights include the anthemic Snoop Dogg duet 2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted, All About U (with the required Nate Dogg-sung hook)” AM “and the introspection of I Ain’t Mad at Cha,” CQ “a tribute to old friends who’ve gotten off the streets.” AM There are also “showcases for his group The Outlawz like Thug Passion.” CQ The two-hour-plus “ode to the gangsta lifestyle isn’t without its warts.” CQ “Despite some good moments, the second disc is slowed by filler and countless guest appearances, plus a few too many thug-lovin’ divas crooning their loyalty. Erratic though it may be,” AM “Pac’s burning passion elevates the album to another level.” CQ All Eyez on Me is “carried off with the assurance of a legend in his own time, and it stands as 2Pac’s magnum opus.” AM Sadly, it was his last album (other than posthumous releases). He was murdered in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas in September 1996.

Reviews: AM AllMusic.com review by Steve Huey CQ Consequence.net (9/12/2022). “The 100 Greatest Albums of All Time” TM Tom Moon (2008). 1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die. Workman Publishing Company, Inc.: New York, NY. Page 789. TB Thunder Bay (2005). Albums: The Stories Behind 50 Years of Great Recordings. Thunder Bay Press; San Diego, CA. Page 283. WK Wikipedia Related DMDB Links: First posted 4/17/2008; last updated 7/15/2025.