This week in 1986 Rock Me Amadeus, a tribute to the famous composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart by Austrian musician “Falco,” hit number 1 in America. It was the first, and so far the only, German language song to peak at number one on the Billboard Hot 100. Prior to this, 99 Luftballons by “Nena” had peaked at number two.
The BossHoss are a German band from Berlin, formed in 2004, They originally started by making country and western style cover versions of famous pop, rock and hip hop songs. That included the cowboy clichés in clothing such as cowboy hats, sleeveless T-shirts and large sunglasses. Their success to date has mostly been confined to Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
The band’s new album, Electric Horsemen, will be released in May. For their latest single, You, the group has teamed up with Dutch country and pop rock singer-songwriter Ilse DeLange.
You is new this week on RadiJohan.
| TW | LW | Artist | Title |
| 10 | 5 | Belle and Sebastian | I Don’t Know What You See In Me |
| 9 | 3 | Six60 | Never Been Tonight |
| 8 | 9 | The Interrupters ft The Skints | Love Never Dies |
| 7 | 8 | Lyrre | Call In The Wind |
| 6 | 6 | Riverside | Friend or Foe |
| 5 | 7 | Inhaler | If You’re Gonna Break My Heart |
| 4 | 10 | Ian Hunter | Bed of Roses |
| 3 | 4 | Those Damn Crows | This Time I’m Ready |
| 2 | 2 | Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds | Easy Now |
| 1 | 1 | DMA’s | Fading Like a Picture |
Watch this week’s Top 10 by clicking the play button below.
Tenille Townes is a Canadian Country music singer who is the reigning Canadian Country Music Association Entertainer of the Year. She has teamed up with one of the best-selling music artists of all time, fellow Canadian Bryan Adams after a chance encounter on her way out of a studio where she had been recording, not realising that the studio belonged to Bryan.
“We talked for just a few minutes, and I was so happy to meet him because his path as a fellow Canadian has been incredibly inspiring to me, with a collection of songs that have impacted the world in such a huge way. Later that night, I thought about ‘The Thing That Wrecks You,’ a song I’d written a while before with Kate York and Daniel Tashian, and how the spirit of that song made me think about his voice. I decided to go out on a limb and sent him the song along with a letter asking if he might be up for singing on it with me. Fast forward to now, where not only have I gotten to sing with a hero of mine, but I have also found a mentor and friend through this whole adventure. This song is evidence to me that putting a wild thought out in the atmosphere and believing in it is a powerful thing.”
The Thing That Wrecks You, by Tenille Townes and Bryan Adams, is new this week on RadiJohan
Achy Breaky Heart by “Billy Ray Cyrus” was released this week in 1992. It would become Cyrus’ signature song and his biggest hit. The music video led to the explosion of the “line dance” into the mainstream.
Even though the song topped the charts in New Zealand and Australia, and was a top 10 hit in a number of other countries, it is also considered by some as one of the worst songs of all time and featured at number 2 on VH1’s list of the “50 Most Awesomely Bad Songs Ever”. However, considering The Heart of Rock & Roll by “Huey Lewis & The News” was number 10 on that same list we suggest this can’t be taken at all seriously.
Not many bands can say they are releasing their third album thirty-five years after their debut. Originally formed in the late 80’s, “Roxanne” garnered commercial success with their 1988 self-titled debut album which was well received with two songs charting on rock radio in the US; Cherry Bay and Sweet Maria, as well as a cover of the “Wild Cherry” song Play That Funky Music.
“Roxanne” has returned with Stereo typical. Released last month it is their first album in five years and features ten new songs. Only a Call Away, a ballad on the album featuring the vocals of dUg Pinnick from the band “King’s X,” is new this week on RadiJohan. It is a song about friendship and the importance of spending time with the ones who matter most while you can.
On the 20th of March 1990 Sinead O’Connor released her second album, I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got. The album’s second single, “Nothing Compares 2 U,” written by Prince, became a worldwide hit and propelled her to stardom. The song topped charts in O’Connor’s native Ireland, Australia, Austria, Canada, Germany, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States.
One of Australia’s most successful musical exports, with millions of record sales and over a billion streams worldwide, are back! “Sheppard,” formed in 2009, have released Good Time, the first single from the band’s upcoming fourth studio album. The song has an undeniable singalong chorus that will soon be lodged in the heads of millions of people around the world.
In the midst of all that’s been happening in the world, the band wanted to write a pop song that lifts spirits and encourages enjoying good times with those who matter most. They may well have succeeded. Sheppard’s Good Time is new this week on RadiJohan.
| TW | LW | Artist | Title |
| 10 | New | Ian Hunter | Bed of Roses |
| 9 | New | The Interrupters ft The Skints | Love Never Dies |
| 8 | New | Lyrre | Call In The Wind |
| 7 | New | Inhaler | If You’re Gonna Break My Heart |
| 6 | 10 | Riverside | Friend or Foe |
| 5 | 4 | Belle and Sebastian | I Don’t Know What You See In Me |
| 4 | 5 | Those Damn Crows | This Time I’m Ready |
| 3 | 1 | Six60 | Never Been Tonight |
| 2 | 3 | Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds | Easy Now |
| 1 | 2 | DMA’s | Fading Like a Picture |
Watch this week’s Top 10 by clicking the play button below.
In 1963 “Peter, Paul and Mary” released the single, Puff The Magic Dragon. The song was written by Peter (Yarrow) based on a 1959 poem by Leonard Lipton. The lyrics tell the story of an ageless dragon named Puff and his friend, a young boy named Jackie Paper. Sadly, as Jackie grows up, he loses interest in Puff, leaving him to be alone.
Through the years, controversy has surrounded this song. It was banned by a number of radio stations whose management thought that the song was about smoking marijuana. The American folk trio denied this . Yarrow has frequently explained that the song is about the hardships of growing older and has no relationship to drug-taking. He has also said that the song has “never had any meaning other than the obvious one” and is about the “loss of innocence in children.” Mary Travers, who along with Yarrow and Paul Stookey made the song famous, said, “Believe me, if he (Yarrow) wanted to write a song about marijuana, he would have written a song about marijuana.”
Peter, Paul and Mary recorded a dozen hits that charted between 1962 and 1969. Other hits included their versions of Bob Dylan’s Blowin’ in the Wind and, their biggest hit, John Denver’s Leaving on a Jet Plane.