“Macarena” spent 14th week on top

Macarena (Bayside Boys Remix) Los Del Rio

Writer(s): Rafael Ruiz, Perdigones, Antonio Romero Monge, SWK, Carlos de Yarza (see lyrics here) First Charted: September 2, 1995 Peak: 114 US, 12 CB, 28 AC, 19 A40, 2 UK, 16 CN, 19 AU, 2 DF (Click for codes to singles charts.) Sales (in millions): 4.3 US, 0.6 UK, 11.0 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 222.61 video, 240.0 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: “Macarena” was a Spanish dance song originally released in 1993 by Los Del Rio, a Spanish flamenco-pop lounge act comprised of Antonio Romeo Monge and Rafael Ruiz. Monge wrote the chorus on the spot at a private party in Venezuela. WK Inspired by a local flamenco dancer named Diana Patricia, SF he sang about a woman named Magdalena. The term was associated with Mary Magdalene and her seedy past and someone who was sassy and sensuous. WK It was renamed Macarena, which means “Mother of God.” SF Jammin’ Johnny Carride, a radio personality and club DJ in Miami, saw how popular the song was with clubgoers and snuck in an airing of the song at his radio station, despite their policy to exclude non-English songs. The program director was hooked, but wanted an English remix. SF Carride recruited Mike Triay and Carlos de Yarza, his partners at Bayside Records, to remix the song. They added English-language lyrics and a new dance beat. WK In the original version, Macarena carouses with other men to get revenge on her boyfriend, Vitorino, who joined the army. The Bayside Boys remix, featuring lyrics sung by Carla Vanessa, paints her as more promiscuous. SF The remix topped the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in August 1996 and stayed there for 14 weeks, making it one of the longest-running #1 songs in history. Its 60 weeks on the chart also made it, at the time, the longest-charting #1 song in the chart’s history. WK Billboard named it the #1 song of the year. With easy-to-learn, accompanying dance movies, the song became an international dance sensation and iconic presence at weddings, parties, and sporting events. It was even featured at the 1996 Democratic National Convention when Vice President Al Gore, known for his stiffness, made a joke about doing the Macarena and then stood motionless for a few seconds. In 2002, VH1 ranked it the greatest one-hit wonder of all-time. WK In 2012, Billboard ranked it the #1 all-time Latin song. WK Resources: DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Los Del Rio SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia First posted 10/30/2019; last updated 10/22/2022.

Sheryl Crow charted with “All I Wanna Do”

All I Wanna Do Sheryl Crow

Writer(s): Sheryl Crow/Wyn Cooper/Bill Bottrell/David Baerwald/Kevin Gilbert (see lyrics here) Released: April 4, 1994 First Charted: July 23, 1994 Peak: 2 US, 2 CB, 2 GR, 16 RR, 18 AC, 35 AR, 4 MR, 4 UK, 14 CN, 11 AU, 1 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 0.5 US, 0.2 UK, 0.81 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 1.0 radio, 7.35 video, 151.44 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Sheryl Crow signed to A&M in 1991 after working as a session singer, most notably for Michael Jackson. TB She recorded her debut album with Hugh Padgham, who had produced the Police. His “polished pop sheen” TB wasn’t much better than the major labels who wanted “to turn her into a grown-up Debbie Gibson.” TB Her boyfriend, Kevin Gilbert, introduced her to an informal collective of musicians known as the Tuesday Night Music Club. The group served as session musicians to Crow’s resulting album of the same name. Released in August 1993, it didn’t take off until a year later when “All I Wanna Do,” the fourth single, started garnering attention at radio. “Carefully driven by lilting slide-guitar and handclaps, the single was – somewhat ironically…much more slick and polished than the rest” TB of the album. The song went all the way to #2 on the Billboard Hot 100, stuck for six weeks behind Boyz II Men’s “I’ll Make Love to You.” It went to #1 in Australia and Canada and made the top 10 in Austria, France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. WK It also won Grammys for Record of the Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. The lyrics were adapted from Wyn Cooper’s 1987 poem “Fun.” Crow said “it encapsulated what was going on in LA, a real extreme feeling of apathy and defeat. It’s masked in this light pop ditty, but it’s about somebody down and out, sitting in a bar watching their life go by.” SF Bill Bottrell, a member of the Tuesday Night Music Club, and the producer for the album discovered the book of poetry, The Country of Here Below, in a used bookstore in Pasadena. The original run was for only 500 copies, but the success of “All I Wanna Do” spawned multiple reprints as well as earning considerable royalties for Cooper. WK Resources: DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Sheryl Crow DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Tuesday Night Music Club (the group) SF Songfacts TB Thunder Bay Press (2006). Singles: Six Decades of Hot Hits & Classic Cuts. Outline Press Ltd.: San Diego, CA. Page 263. WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 4/9/2020; last updated 2/3/2023.