ONE PAUL WRITES ABOUT TWO PAULS
Dear Fred,
Thought I’d drop you a line again with another piece of trivia that I couldn’t let pass, especially since Jamaica is all abuzz with how well Sean Paul is doing on the charts.
Did you realize that there is another artist named Sean Paul and that he’s in the top-10 simultaneously with the Jamaican dance hall star? He’s one half of the Youngbloodz, and they move to No. 5 on the Hot 100 this week with “Damn!” while Jamaica’s Sean Paul tops the chart on Beyoncé’s “Baby Boy.”
I know it’s happened several times that different songs with the same title have charted simultaneously, but it must be extremely rare to have two artists with the same name do so (though obviously one is not directly named in this case) with both being in the top-10!
What do you think about that?
Best regards,
Paul Cadogan
Kingston, Jamaica
Dear Paul,
It is quite amazing timing for both Sean Pauls to be in the top-5 of Billboard’s Hot 100 at the same time. Sean Paul Henriques was born in Kingston on Jan. 8, 1975, and is the Sean Paul we know for recording “Get Busy” as well as “Baby Boy” with Beyoncé. Sean Paul Joseph from Atlanta is the Sean Paul in the Youngbloodz, along with Jeffrey Ray Grigsby, known as J-Bo.
This isn’t the only case of different artists having similar names, by the way. Country singer Lorrie Morgan was born Loretta Lynn Morgan, and charter Monkee Micky Dolenz was born George Michael Dolenz.IN FOR THE LONG RUN
Dear Fred,
Your comment regarding Meat Loaf’s October 1977 debut “Bat Out of Hell,” which peaked at No. 14 and went 14 times platinum, inspired me to research if this is the top [U.S.] selling non-greatest hits album to miss the top-10. It is. The only other non-greatest hits album to miss the top-10, but achieve Diamond Award status [for U.S. shipments of 10 million certified by the Recording Industry Association of America], is Van Halen’s self titled debut.
The band’s debut peaked at No. 19 and went 10 times platinum. It, coincidentally, debuted in March 1978, just five months after Meat Loaf’s debut.
Bill Szczuka
San Diego
Dear Bill,
While some albums start out strong and taper off, others sell generous amounts over a long period of time, which is how an album can miss the top-10 but still achieve the RIAA’s rare diamond status. Thanks for doing the research!‘OR’ ELSE
Dear Fred,
Kid Rock’s “Picture” featured Sheryl Crow on the album/radio mix and Allison Moorer on the single release and each female singer was recognized on the charts.
It is well documented that both Fabolous’ “Into You” and Santana’s “Why Can’t You & I” were re-recorded with new vocals by Tamia and Alex Band, respectively, because Ashanti and Chad Kroeger would not allow promo singles for radio in order to avoid competing with their own new records. Therefore, I’m curious as to why those artists would receive chart credit and the resulting accomplishments since both records have been multi-format smashes.
It seems that by denying the release to radio, the versions they recorded presumably haven’t received airplay. If the versions they recorded do receive airplay, then why deny the promos in the first place? Seems like a case of getting their cake and eating it too.
Nick Harris
nikwaters34@yahoo.com
Dear Nick,
The “or” credit has certainly become prominent on our charts during the last few months. But don’t blame the artists. Decisions like this are rarely made by talent. It’s usually the record label that is afraid a featured performance on the radio would keep an artist’s own single from getting airplay.
The problem is, once a recording exists, you can’t stop anyone from playing it. Radio is not beholden to record companies and don’t have to follow their edicts. So if a station prefers to play Ashanti instead of Tamia, or Chad Kroeger instead of Alex Band, they are free to do so. That’s why the charts continue to reflect both choices, in spite of who appears on the promo single sent to radio.UN-WRAP MY CHART
Hi Fred,
I bought Gloria Estefan’s “Unwrapped” CD this week and was I blown away. The album is definitely one of her best. “Unwrapped” definitely has shades of Carole King’s “Tapestry.” Every song has a beautiful melody, something lacking (in my opinion) in today’s music.
I couldn’t wait to see how the album charted, however the look on my face was not of joy when I saw it debuted at a dismal No. 39 on The Billboard 200. I must admit that I wasn’t surprised. Many might agree that No. 39 is not that bad, but even Fleetwood Mac debuted in the top-10 with their last CD.
Has Gloria even had a single yet? There seems to be no promotion for this album at all. Like many of your recent fans, I can no longer count on the Hot 100 as a true reflection of what is popular. Yes, these songs are played to death on the radio, but I believe that The Billboard 200 album chart better reflects popularity since it measures actual albums bought. Now I have to face the fact that so much good music goes unnoticed.
There are so many artists that are putting out some of their best material late in their career. The Bee Gees last recorded album, “This Is Where I Came In” is another example that proves that older artists can deliver the “goods.” Cher’s “Living Proof,” Cyndi Lauper’s “Shine,” Olivia Newton-John’s “Back With a Heart” are just a few albums that went unnoticed.
Fred, in this day and age of throwaway artists, do you think that veterans are doomed? Do you think that “Unwrapped” has a chance of moving up the chart? If it doesn’t sell well do you think that Gloria will be releasing many more albums?
Phil Fogel
Montreal
Dear Phil,
I have seen some promotion for Gloria Estefan’s “Unwrapped,” including a special section in the Oct. 11 issue of Billboard (you can read the Q&A with Estefan by clicking link. And for those who want more, a second Q&A with Clay is scheduled to appear in the Oct. 25 print edition of Billboard.
After this new Clay Q&A was posted, I learned a new lesson about the power of Clay’s fans. In my reply to one E-mail, I mentioned that “This Is the Night” was the final entry in the fifth edition of my book, “The Billboard Book of Number One Hits,” and that there was a message from Clay on the back cover.
Last Sunday, the Amazon ranking of the book was below 2,000,000. By Monday, the ranking had skyrocketed to 252, thanks to all of the Clay fans who pre-ordered it in that 24-hour period. I’ll never underestimate the strength of Clay’s fans again!
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