With Bottom Feeders we take a look at the songs on the Billboard Hot 100 that only got a little love. It’s an A-Z look at songs that charted no higher than #41 in the decade. Take a listen, enjoy and comment. And don’t forget, information on the top 40, airplay and bubbling under charts are on pages 2-3.
So, this is the last week of Bottom Feeders. I didn’t look back to see when it started but it’s been at least 4-5 years now I would think, since the first Bottom Feeders post. I have to admit, the original Ass End of the ’80s was the best and frankly a bit of a groundbreaking series as there’s no one on the web that had done something like that before. Then the Rock End of the ’80s kicked some major ass as well. I probably should have stopped there but it wasn’t until a few months into the Ass End of the ’90s that I realized a big difference in the two decades. The ’80s had many minor, forgotten songs. Some were great and some were shit but even the ones that were bad, were kind of fun to listen to . The ’90s had the same but they were all generic and unnecessary tunes which made some weeks a little weak at times. What I surely have learned is that people rip the ’80s for being the worst decade for music. But Bottom Feeders has proven, without a doubt in my mind, that the ’90s were much worse and way less memorable in the end.
Either way, no one appreciates the fact that you’ve spent years of Mondays reading and downloading, more than me. I’ve made some friends from the series, got some regular readers and had a ton of fun with it but it’s time to let it go. Well…maybe I’ll turn the ’80s version into a book one day. But until then, here’s the final installment of Bottom Feeders! Enjoy.
Section 1: The Ass End
Yaki-Da
”I Saw You Dancing” 1995, #54 (11 weeks) (download)
”I Saw You Dancing” is a relatively boring tune that has fallen into obscurity at this point. It (and most songs from Yaki-Da) was written by one of the guys in Ace of Base, which leads me to wonder if they turned it down first.
Yankee Grey
”All Things Considered” 1999, #55 (20 weeks) (download)
This is another one of these country bands that I’ve never heard until now. This series has opened my ears to a lot of pretty generic late 90s country for sure.
”Weird Al” Yankovic
”Amish Paradise” 1996, #53 (16 weeks) (download)
I’m a huge Weird Al fan and this is one of his best parodies of the decade for sure. I still get the picture of Coolio wanting to kick Al’s ass for putting this song out, which is kind of funny when you look back at it.
Yasmin
”Wanna Dance” 1991, #76 (4 weeks) (download)
This was the only hit for Yasmin Jacobsen from Denmark.
Trisha Yearwood
”The Song Remembers When” 1993, #82 (9 weeks) (download)
”There Goes My Baby’” 1998, #93 (2 weeks) (download)
”Powerful Thing” 1999, #50 (12 weeks) (download)
”I’ll Still Love You More” 1999, #65 (12 weeks) (download)
I didn’t know anything about Trisha Yearwood until she sang ”How Do I Live” in ’97 and then saw the video for ”There Goes My Baby” where she starts off in nothing but a towel! After seeing and hearing her in ”I’ll Still Love You More,” it’s no wonder Garth Brooks went chasing. Beautiful lady with a gorgeous voice.
Yes
”Lift Me Up” 1991, #86 (5 weeks) (download)
I never liked Yes, so you’re not going to get anything but a negative opinion on their 1991 album, Union. However it is interesting simply because the two major Yes lineups were fighting for the use of the Yes name and decided at this point to do a record together instead. So Union features the Squire/Rabin/Kaye/White lineup as well as Anderson/Bruford/Wakeman/Howe. ”Lift Me Up” was a Squire/Rabin written tune.
Dwight Yoakam
”Fast As You” 1993, #70 (10 weeks) (download)
”Crazy Little Thing Called Love” 1999, #64 (10 weeks) (download)
I’m a little surprised that Dwight Yoakam didn’t have a little more success on the pop charts, however maybe ”Fast As You” was just a little too late to chart. If it had come out while the Fabulous Thunderbirds and Georgia Satellites were a hit in the 80s, it would have been a massive hit. I always kind of saw him as a twangier version of Tom Petty.
Young & Restless
””B” Girls” 1990, #54 (15 weeks) (download)
Holy shit. I had completely forgot about this song. Young & Restless tried to combine the sound of the Beastie Boys with a little Miami bass and failed in the end. But damn if I don’t remember singing along to this chorus even if I had no idea what I was singing at the time.
Young Black Teenagers
”Tap the Bottle” 1993, #55 (20 weeks) (download)
This was my joint back in the day up until the point where YBT confused the crap out of me when I found out they were all white. Their name is absolutely why they didn’t have more hits as all the members of the group were actually good rappers. The only one of the group that really made a name for themselves after the group disbanded however, was DJ Skribble.
Sydney Youngblood
”I’d Rather Go Blind” 1990, #46 (11 weeks) (download)
It’s not like I heard this song more than once or twice on the radio but I remember not liking it’s awkwardness right from the start.
Young M.C.
”I Come Off” 1990, #75 (5 weeks) (download)
”That’s the Way Love Goes” 1991, #54 (7 weeks) (download)
I wonder if most people even realize that Young M.C. had a second record let alone the fact that he’s released eight(!) and is still active today. Stone Cold Rhymin’ was a great album at the time and ”I Come Off” was a great single from it. ”That’s the Way Love Goes” was the lead track from the follow up — Brainstorm — which, while charting in the US, really wasn’t very good at all. I have no idea what anything sounds like past the second disc.
Youngstown
”I’ll Be Your Everything” 1999, #71 (10 weeks) (download)
This is your typical boy band song that was used in the movie Inspector Gadget with Matthew Broderick. You know he was dancing to this every night.
Yo-Yo
”The Bonnie and Clyde Theme” 1993, #72 (12 weeks) (download)
”IBWin’ Wit My CREWin” 1993, #72 (4 weeks) (download)
When you think about rappers from the 80s, even if you were speaking about female’s specifically, for some reason Yo-Yo isn’t mentioned. She had a great flow and was discovered and promoted by Ice Cube so there’s no real reason that she shouldn’t have been bigger in the end.
Yvonne
”There’s a Party Going On” 1990, #88 (9 weeks) (download)
Eh, here’s a pretty average freestyle song at a time where any tune in the genre that was halfway decent could make it to the radio, especially in Miami where she was located.
ZZ Top
”Doubleback” 1990, #50 (11 weeks) (download)
”Give It Up” 1991, #79 (5 weeks) (download)
Well, I guess we could have ended on a worse note for sure. But it’s not like either of these songs are ZZ Top classics. I mean, listen to ”Give It Up” for a second. It’s like hearing ”Legs” or ”Sharp Dressed Man” all over again, just watered down. By 1990’s Recycler (fitting name), they had played the polished blues rock game a little pass where they should have and have really never recovered.
Comments