Magic! hit #1 with “Rude”

Rude Magic!

Writer(s): Nasri Atweh, Adam Messinger, Mark Pellizzer, Ben Spivak, Alex Tanas (see lyrics here) Released: October 10, 2013 First Charted: April 20, 2014 Peak: 13 US, 11 BA, 13 DG, 16 RR, 13 AC, 15 A40, 17 AA, 19 MR, 11 UK, 6 CN, 2 AU, 6 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 8.0 US, 1.2 UK, 9.88 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 2210.0 video, 1242.15 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Magic! proved to have the magic touch right out of the gate with their debut single, “Rude,” from their first album, Don’t Kill the Magic. The song was a #1 hit in the U.S. and UK and hit the top 10 in Australia, Canada, Denmark, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and Sweden. It was only the sixth song by a Canadian band to top the Hot 100, the others being “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet” by Bachman-Turner Overdrive, “One Week” by Barenaked Ladies, “American Woman” by the Guess Who, “how You Remind Me” by Nickelback, and “When I’m with You” by Sheriff. SF Nasri Atweh, the group’s lead singer, is also part of the songwriting and production duo The Messengers along with Adam Messinger. Among their songs are Justin Bieber’s “Never Say Never,” Chris Brown’s “Next 2 You,” and Pitbull’s “Feel This Moment.” SF Atweh described the song as “this picture in my head of a guy asking a father for his marriage blessing and getting rejected. It’s fun soulful, easy, and you know the hook right away.” SF The song originated after Nasri had an unpleasant encounter with a drunken girlfriend. He told Rolling Stone, “It was a rough night, and she was mean. The next day I was just writing, ‘Why you gotta be so rude? Don’t you know I’m human too?’” SF 4Music said of the song, “One listen and you’ll be hooked” WK while Renowned for Sound called it “lighthearted fun.” WK On the flip side, Time magazine called it the worst song of 2014, criticizing its “sanitized reggae-fusion sound.” WK Canadians seemed to like the song just fine, giving it the Juno Award for Single of the Year. Resources: DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Magic! SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia First posted 2/15/2021; last updated 7/22/2023.

Yes Heaven & Earth released

Heaven & Earth Yes

Released: July 16, 2014 Peak: 26 US, 20 UK, -- CN, -- AU Sales (in millions): -- Genre: progressive rock

Tracks: Song Title (Writers) [time] (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to singles charts. Believe Again (Davison, Howe) [8:01] (6/13/14, --) The Game (Squire, Davison, Gerard Johnson) [6:49] (6/23/14, --) Step Beyond (Howe, Davison) [5:34] (6/25/14, --) To Ascend (Davison, White) [4:40] (7/2/14, --) In a World of Our Own (Davison, Squire) [5:19] (7/16/14, --) Light of the Ages (Davison) [7:37] (7/3/14, --) It Was All We Knew (Howe) [4:11] Subway Walls (Davison, Downes) [9:02] Total Running Time: 51:29 The Players: Jon Davison (vocals) Chris Squire (bass, backing vocals) Steve Howe (guitar, backing vocals) Geoff Downes (keyboards, synths) Alan White (drums, percussion)

Rating: 2.415 out of 5.00 (average of 12 ratings)

About the Album: The 21st studio album by Yes was their first to feature Jon Davison as the lead singer, a role which had been occupied by Jon Anderson on every other studio album except 1980’s Drama and 2011’s Fly from Here. Benoit David had stepped into the role in 2011, but left after a respiratory illness caused the group to cancel shows in 2012. Davison was recommended to Squire by their mutual friend, Taylor Hawkins, the drummer of Foo Fighters. WK The Quietus called Davison “absolutely the right choice for the band.” WK Davison initially filled in on the tour, but then took a strong role in shaping the Heaven & Earth studio album by writing or co-writing 7 of the 8 cuts. He traveled to each of the band members’ homes to work on ideas with them. He credited that time with improving his relationships with the band. WK Guitarist Steve Howe, who was reluctant to record another studio album, said the resulting album had “a freshness and different stance” from previous Yes albums. WK The Financial Times said of the album: “Here come prog rock relics Yes to show the youth what proper boredom is, the kind of boredom that comes with bland guitar solos, chugging drums, lumbering time changes and otiose lyrics.” WK By contrast, The Guardian said the album had “a rich, 70s sound, and the material is solid enough, flavoured with Steve Howe’s distinctive, rippling guitar and Geoff Downes’ retro keyboard.” WK However, that review also noted, “What’s missing is the ambitious scope of their heyday, and the vitality of the younger generation of progressive rock bands.” WK The album was produced by Roy Thomas Baker, who has worked with David Bowie, The Cars, Cheap Trick, Foreigner, Journey, Queen, The Rolling Stones, The Who. AZ Among the most notable albums he has produced are Queen’s A Night at the Opera (1975), The Cars’ The Cars (1978), Journey’s Infinity (1978), Foreigner’s Head Games, and Cheap Trick’s One on One. Notes: The Japanese version of the album added an acoustic version of “To Ascend.”

Resources and Related Links: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Yes AZ Amazon WK Wikipedia Other Related DMDB Pages: First posted 7/24/2021; last updated 10/5/2021.

100 years ago: “By the Beautiful Sea” hit #1

By the Beautiful Sea Heidelberg Quintet

Writer(s): Harold R. Atteridge (words), Harry Carroll (music) (see lyrics here) First Charted: July 15, 1914 Peak: 16 US, 112 GA, 110 SM (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 1.0 (sheet music) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 0.17 video, -- streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: “This was a story about a happy couple, Joe and Jane who love the summer and anything that Joe suggests, Jane would always think it was best for her, so he’d get his Ford, holler all aboard and off they would go for day out by the beautiful sea…It was only in verse two that their sordid little affair came to light.” SM While extramarital affairs were nothing new, it was “surprising…that the subject was part of a poular song.” TY2 The Stanford Four introduced the song in vaudeville. DJ To publicize the song, the publisher hired a group of boys in sailor suits to perform the song at Coney Island. TY2 The song was further popularized by Muriel Window who integrated the song into the revue The Passing Show of 1914. TY2 It went on to chart three times in 1914. Prince’s Orchestra took the song to #6 and there were chart-topping version by Ada Jones & Billy Watkins as well as by the Heidelberg Quuintet. PM The latter was the first to chart and spent more weeks at #1. “By the Beautiful Sea” was the second #1 song for the Heidelberg Quintet, but their lineup was different than when they hit #1 with “Waiting on the Robert E. Lee.” Billy Murray, Steve Porter, William F. Hooley (all members of the American Quartet as well), and Will Oakland were all still members but John Bieling had been replaced by Robert Armour. “The vocals on this song were dominated by Billy Murray with all the other members joining in background harmonies only. Will Oakland’s high counter tenor voice could not be heard at all.” SM The song was also used in the films The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle (1939), Coney Island (1943), Atlantic City (1944), and Some Like It Hot (1959). DJ Judy Garland and Gene Kelly performed it in the 1942 movie For Me and My Gal. TY2 Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Heidelberg Quintet DJ David Jasen (2002). A Century of American Popular Music: 2000 Best-Loved and Remembered Songs (1899-1999). Routledge: Taylor & Francis, Inc. Page 29. SM Sharon Mawer Charts (1900-1968) TY2 Don Tyler (2007). Hit Songs, 1900-1955. McFarland & Company, Inc.: Jefferson, North Carolina. Pages 67-8. PM Joel Whitburn (1986). Pop Memories 1890-1954. Record Research, Inc: Menomonee Falls, WI. Page 481. First posted 2/27/2023.