SHE’S GOT ‘THE LOOK’: Songwriters Burt Bacharach and Hal David are back on Billboard’s Hot 100 after an absence of five years. They last appeared on the chart the week of Aug. 8, 1998, when Dionne Warwick and the Hip-Hop Nation United peaked at No. 87 with a remake of “What the World Needs Now Is Love.” That same song was a sales hit earlier this year when it was released as a single by the American Idol Finalists, but it didn’t garner enough airplay to enter the main Hot 100.
The new Bacharach-David credit appears on Ashanti’s new chart entry, “Rain on Me” (Murder Inc/Def Jam). That song samples Dusty Springfield’s 1967 hit, “The Look of Love.” Bacharach and David wrote “The Look of Love” for the James Bond movie “Casino Royale,” which starred David Niven, Peter Sellers and Woody Allen and was not part of the Cubby Broccoli-produced Bond film series that starred Sean Connery (and later, Roger Moore).
Thanks to “Rain on Me,” Bacharach and David have one of the longest songwriting chart spans of the rock era. They first appeared on a Billboard pop singles chart the week of Nov. 11, 1957, with Marty Robbins’ recording of “The Story of My Life.” The Bacharach-David team now has a chart span of 45 years, nine months and three weeks.
‘CRAZY’ DAYS OF SUMMER: Beyoncé and Jay-Z are just one week away from tying the record for the longest-running No. 1 song of 2003 on Billboard’s Hot 100. Their single “Crazy in Love” (Columbia) is on top for the eighth week in a row, closing in on the nine-week reign of 50 Cent’s “In Da Club.”
If “Crazy” can continue to resist the challenge of Chingy’s “Right Thurr” (Disturbing tha Peace/Capitol) and Nelly, P. Diddy & Murphy Lee’s “Shake Ya Tailfeather” (Bad Boy), Beyoncé and Jay-Z could hold the record for the longest-running No. 1 of the calendar year all by themselves, in just two weeks.
Whatever its fate, “Crazy in Love” is the song that has dominated the summer of 2003. On the first day of summer, “21 Questions” by 50 Cent Featuring Nate Dogg was spending its last day at No. 1. The next day, Clay Aiken debuted at No. 1 with “This Is the Night” (RCA). Aiken was in pole position for two weeks, then yielded to Beyoncé and Jay-Z.
Beyoncé has another reason to remain on top for a few more weeks. If “Crazy in Love” can keep its grip on No. 1 for four more weeks, it will be the longest-running No. 1 of her career, surpassing the 11-week reign of the Destiny’s Child song “Independent Women Part I.”
SHAKERS AND MOVERS: The “Bad Boys II” soundtrack cut “Shake Ya Tailfeather” (Bad Boy) by Nelly, P. Diddy & Murphy Lee has been in the top-10 of Billboard’s Hot 100 for a few weeks, and now finally enters the top-10 of the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart with an 11-7 move. It’s the seventh top-10 R&B hit for Nelly, who was last in the top-10 with “Air Force Ones,” a No. 4 hit in December 2002.
For P. Diddy, “Shake” is his 14th top-10 hit on the R&B chart. His first nine were credited to Puff Daddy. His most recent top-10 hit prior to “Shake” was “Bump, Bump, Bump,” a No. 2 hit in January co-credited to B2K. “Shake” is the second top-10 hit for Lee, who was one of the featured artists on Nelly’s “Air Force Ones.”
Lee also enters R&B/Hip-Hop chart this week at No. 74 with his own song, “Wat Da Hook Gon Be” (Fo’ Reel/Universal), which features Jermaine Dupri.
RAISING THE ‘BAR’: Toby Keith has the highest-ranking new entry of 2003 on Billboard’s Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart, as “I Love This Bar” (DreamWorks) opens at No. 30. That’s just one notch higher than the No. 31 debut of Alan Jackson & Jimmy Buffett’s “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere” (Arista), which is in its fourth week at No. 1.
The last song to enter the tally higher than No. 30 was Shania Twain’s “I’m Gonna Getcha Good!” which debuted at No. 24 the week of Oct. 19, 2002.
BEST SHOT: Pat Benatar returns to The Billboard 200 after an absence of just more than six years. She last charted with “Innamorata,” which peaked at No. 171 in June 1997. This week, Benatar is back with “Go” (Bel Chiasso), which enters at No. 187.
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