Saturday, March 23, 1996

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

First posted 2/12/2021.

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 (Click for codes to singles charts.)


Sales (in millions): 2.05 US, 0.6 UK, 5.0 world (includes US + UK)


Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 0.6 radio, 107.6 video, 154.7 streaming

Awards: (Click on award for more details).

About the Song:

During 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 and as a single from her 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 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 of her late-father. As she said, “it was my way of thanking my dad, because he really believed in me, my talent.” BR1 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. BR1

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 and Related Links:

  • DMDB encyclopedia entry for Celine Dion
  • DMDB page for parent album Falling into You
  • DMDB encyclopedia entry for Diane Warren
  • BR1 Fred Bronson (2007). The Billboard Book of Number One Hits (4th edition). New York, NY; Billboard Books. Page 844.
  • WK Wikipedia

Monday, March 18, 1996

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:


Related Links:


First posted 10/26/2021.

Saturday, March 16, 1996

The Beatles' Singles and Albums

The Beatles

Singles and Albums

This page lists the singles released by the Beatles in the UK and U.S. In addition, the albums (in italics and highlighted in grey) released in the UK are spotlighted here. Until Sgt. Pepper’s, albums didn’t make it to the U.S. in the same form which they were released in the UK. When the albums were released on CD, the UK versions were released with non-album singles and B-sides gathered together on the Past Masters collection. The one exception is Magical Mystery Tour, which was released as an album in the U.S. but a double-EP in the UK. The EP reached #2 on the UK charts while the import album got to #31.

Note: singles are listed in chronological order by the earliest date possible. That means that even though a song like “Got to Get You into My Life” was released as a single in 1976, it was initially released on the Revolver album so is listed there. Otherwise the dates listed for singles indicate the release date of the single.

SLEEVE
A-SIDE/ALBUM TITLE
B-SIDE
DATE
UK
US
ALBUM
My Bonnie (with Tony Sheridan) The Saints (with Tony Sheridan) 1/62 48 26
Sweet Georgia Brown (with Tony Sheridan) Nobody's Child (with Tony Sheridan) 1/64
Why (with Tony Sheridan) Cry for a Shadow (with Tony Sheridan) 3/64 88
Ain't She Sweet If You Love Me, Baby (aka ‘Take Out Some Insurance on Me, Baby’) 5/64 29 19
In the Beginning/The Early Tapes (recorded 1961) 5/16/70
Love Me Do 10/5/62 4 11
P.S. I Love You 10/5/62 10
Please Please Me Ask Me Why 1/11/63 2 3
I Saw Her Standing There (B-side of “I Want to Hold Your Hand”) 1/13/64 14
Twist and Shout (B-side of “I Want to Hold Your Hand”) and “Back in the U.S.S.R” 3/14/64 2
There’s a Place (B-side of “I Want to Hold Your Hand”) 3/14/64 74
Do You Want to Know a Secret 3/28/64 2
Boys (Australian single, also B-side of “Baby It’s You” in 1995) 7/4/64
Baby It's You (BBC version) 4/1/95 7 67
Please Please Me 3/22/63 130
From Me to You 4/12/63 17 41
Thank You Girl (also B-side for “Do You Want to Know a Secret?” 4/12/63 35
She Loves You I'll Get You 8/23/63 16 12
All My Loving This Boy 2/7/64 45
Roll Over Beethoven Please Mister Postman 3/21/64 68
Devil in Her Heart (B-side of “Baby It’s You”) 4/1/95
With the Beatles 11/22/63 121
I Want to Hold Your Hand This Boy 11/29/63 15 17
Komm Gib Mir Deine Hand (I Want to Hold Your Hand) 3/5/64
Can’t Buy Me Love 3/16/64 13 15
You Can't Do That 3/16/64 48
Sie Liebt Dich (She Loves You) I'll Get You 6/27/64 97
A Hard Day's Night Things We Said Today 7/10/64 13 12
I Should Have Known Better 7/18/64 53
And I Love Her 7/20/64 12
If I Fell 7/20/64 53
I'm Happy Just to Dance with You 7/20/64 95
I'll Cry Instead 7/20/64 25
A Hard Day’s Night 7/10/1964 121
Matchbox (also on Long Tall Sally EP) 6/19/64 17
Slow Down (also on Long Tall Sally EP) 6/19/64 25
Long Tall Sally / I Call Your Name Slow Down / Matchbox 6/19/64
I Feel Fine 11/23/64 15 13
She's a Woman 11/23/64 4
Honey Don’t / I’m a Loser Mr. Moonlight / Everybody’s Trying to Be My Baby 2/1/65 68
Eight Days a Week 2/15/65 12
I Don’t Want to Spoil the Party 2/15/65 39
Beatles for Sale 12/4/64 16
Ticket to Ride 4/9/65 13 11
Yes It Is 4/9/65 46
Help! 7/19/65 13 13
I'm Down 7/19/65
Yesterday 9/13/65 8 14
Act Naturally 9/13/65 47
Help! 8/6/1965 19
We Can Work It Out 12/3/65 15 13
Day Tripper 12/3/65 15 5
Nowhere Man 2/21/66 3
What Goes On 2/21/66 81
Rubber Soul 12/3/1965 18 16
Paperback Writer 5/30/66 12 12
Rain 5/30/66 23
Yellow Submarine 8/5/66 14 2
Eleanor Rigby 8/5/66 14 11
Got to Get You into My Life 6/12/76 12
Revolver 8/5/66 17 16
Penny Lane 2/13/67 2 11
Strawberry Fields Forever 2/13/67 2 8
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band/ With a Little Help from My Friends A Day in the Life 9/16/78 63 71
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band 5/26/67 128 115
All You Need Is Love 7/7/67 13 11
Baby You're a Rich Man 7/7/67 34
Hello Goodbye 11/24/67 17 11
I Am the Walrus 11/24/67 56
Magical Mystery Tour/Your Mother Should Know/Flying The Fool on the Hill/Blue Jay Way/I Am the Walrus 12/8/67 2
Magical Mystery Tour 11/27/67 31 18
Christmas Time (Is Here Again) (also B-side of “Free As a Bird”) 12/15/67
Lady Madonna 3/15/68 12 4
The Inner Light 3/15/68 96
Hey Jude 8/26/68 12 19
Revolution 8/26/68 12
While My Guitar Gently Weeps (Australian single) Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da 3/8/69
Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da Julia 11/20/76 49
Helter Skelter (B-side of “Got to Get You into My Life”) 6/12/76
Back in the U.S.S.R. 7/10/76 19
The Beatles (The White Album) 11/22/68 31 19
Get Back (with Billy Preston) 4/11/69 16 15
Don't Let Me Down 4/11/69 35
The Ballad of John and Yoko Old Brown Shoe 5/30/69 13 8
Something 10/6/69 4 3
Come Together 10/6/69 11
Abbey Road 9/26/69 118 111
Let It Be 3/6/70 2 12
You Know My Name, Look Up the Number 3/6/70
The Long and Winding Road For You Blue 5/11/70 12
Let It Be 9/26/69 13 14
The Beatles Movie Medley I’m Happy Just to Dance with You 3/27/82 10 12
Free As a Bird 12/16/95 2 6
Real Love Baby’s in Black 3/16/96 4 11

Resources and Related Links:


Last updated 6/25/2022.