Hats off to "Weird Al" Yankovic for carving out a niche in novelty songwriting, many of which parody rock or rap favorites. Yankovic is one of the most successful artists in this genre, and his antics have amassed some pretty big chart hits. While musical styles have changed since his start in the early 80s, Yankovic has showed an amazing ability to adapt and keep making hits. Yankovic's first chart appearance goes all the way back to 1983 when "Ricky," a parody of "Mickey" by Toni Basil, peaked at #63. But what really made him a household name was his parody of "Beat It" by Michael Jackson. Yankovic's "Eat It" soared to #12 and won him a Grammy for Comedy Record. Yankovic would continue to make the charts chuckle from time to time, but his biggest hit to date arrived in 2006 when "White & Nerdy," his parody of "Ridin'" by Chamillionaire landed at #9--his first and only Top 10 hit so far. Yankovic's last chart appearance was in 2014 when "Word Crimes," a parody of "Blurred Lines" by Robin Thicke, reached #39. But I wouldn't count Yankovic out yet. If history is any indicator, he will be back on the charts again soon. "Yoda" explores one of his favorite things to sing about other than food: Star Wars. It is a parody of "Lola" by The Kinks that can be found on his 1985 record, "Dare To Be Stupid."
Diana Ross led the The Supremes to become one of the biggest musical acts of the 60s. Upon going solo, she became the 13th most successful artist of the 70s (and 41st of all-time). She's been able to retool and adapt to the ever-changing music scene, effortlessly floating between pop, dance, soul, ballads, and disco. Ross has scored 6 #1 hits as a solo artist, including "Ain't No Mountain High Enough," "Touch Me In The Morning," "Theme From Mahogany (Do You Know Where You're Going To)," "Love Hangover," "Upside Down," and "Endless Love," a duet with Lionel Richie that stayed on top for nine weeks in 1981. By 1986, her remarkable run on the charts spanning three decades came to an end with "Chain Reaction." This song, written and performed with the Bee Gees, was released as two different versions. The original in 1985 went to #95 and the 1986 version went to #66. The song is very catchy, and I'm amazed it didn't do better. If you play "Fool For Your Love," most people won't guess that it is by Diana Ross. As a hard rock anthem, this song really stands out from the rest of her catalogue. It features Bruce Kulick on guitar, whose previous work was with KISS and W.A.S.P. The song comes from her 1982 record, "Silk Electric," which is better known for its lead-off track, "Muscles," written by Michael Jackson (it went to #10). Ross teamed up with Jackson and the Bee Gees again on "Eaten Alive," a track that stalled at #77 in 1985 despite all its superstar power.
How do you top being a member of one of the greatest bands in history? You don't. But you can come real close. Paul McCartney has had a phenomenal run after his time in The Beatles, and with a new record out this month, he doesn't show signs of stopping even at the age of 76. (By the way, his new single "Come On To Me" proves he still has the magic.) The Beatles were the #1 artist of the 60s, and McCartney came close to being the #1 artist of the 70s (he landed at #2 since Elton John claimed #1). McCartney currently ranks as the 18th most successful artist of all-time, and this does not include his time with The Beatles. McCartney came out of The Beatles strong, with the #5 hit "Another Day" quickly followed by the #1 smash, "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey." He'd hit the #1 spot five more times in the 70s and three times in the 80s. Some of his biggest hits of the 80s included duets: "Ebony and Ivory" with Stevie Wonder was #1 for 7 weeks in 1982, and he scored two hits with Michael Jackson: "The Girl Is Mine" hit #2 and "Say, Say, Say" was #1 for 6 weeks. McCartney fever began to fade in the 90s as silly love songs and catchy pop riffs fell out of fashion, but his 2005 record, "Chaos and Creation in the Backyard" was widely acclaimed to be a significant comeback album. "Promise To You Girl" is just one of the many fine tracks gracing this record. Nothing from this terrific record charted, nor has any of his subsequent work. However, an unlikely hit sung with Rihanna and Kayne West surfaced in 2015 that took McCartney back to #4 on the charts (his first top 10 hit in 30 years, since "Spies Like Us" reached #7 in 1985).
The massively talented Jackson family took the charts by storm as The Jackson 5 beginning in 1969 with the #1 smash "I Want You Back." They followed this up with three more consecutive #1 hits: "ABC," The Love You Save," and "I'll Be There." They almost made it six #1 hits in a row, but "Mama's Pearl" and "Never Can Say Goodbye" both topped out at #2. The group shortened their name to simply The Jacksons in 1976. They continued to rack up more hits on the charts through the 70s, earning them the 6th most successful artist from that decade (and #72 of all-time). By the 80s, the hits were a little fewer and far between, but the runaway success of brother Michael rejuvenated interest in the family group. Thanks to a little help from Mick Jagger, The Jacksons landed a #3 comeback hit in 1984 with "State Of Shock." "Walk Right Now" is a funky pop song from the band's 1980 effort, "Triumph." The song only reached #73, but remains an overlooked favorite of mine.
The most successful of the uber-talented Jackson family, Michael has been giving the charts a beating since his debut in 1971 when "Got To Be There" hit #4. His first of an astonishing thirteen #1 hits was the unlikely "Ben," the title song from a bizarre movie sequel about a pet killer rat. Michael's streak of smash hits in the 80s has earned him the #1 rank for most successful artist of that decade (he ranks #6 of all-time). Having sold over 66 million copies, his album "Thriller" remains the bestselling album in history. A lot of people might be surprised to see "Leave Me Alone" being featured here, but believe it or not, this song never charted in the US. "Leave Me Alone" was a CD bonus track and not released as a single in the US. When the video was released in 1987, Michael was already a dominating force on the chart. His record "Bad" yielded a record-breaking five consecutive #1 singles that year, and in 1988 "Another Part Of Me" reached #11 and "Smooth Criminal" hit #7. Michael's career began a slow fade in the 90s, in part due to his strange behavior and allegations of child molestation. Sadly, this legendary artist died of cardiac arrest from dubiously prescribed drugs in 2009 at the age of 50.
Sheryl Crow burst onto the music scene in the mid-90s with her #2 smash, "All I Wanna Do", which became an anthem for the decade. Before she launched her solo career, she sang backup for the likes of Michael Jackson, George Harrison, and Don Henley. Her debut album "Tuesday Night Music Club" went to #3 and secured her a Grammy for Best New Artist of 1994. Crow is still going strong - in 2013, she released a country-tinged record called "Feels Like Home" that became her ninth top 10 album. My pick for one of her best non-charting records is "Diamond Ring", from her excellent sixth album, "Detours", which went to #2 in 2008. Fun fact: Despite incredible success, Crow has never scored a #1 album (4 of them went to #2). "Diamond Ring" is Sheryl Crow doing what she does best. Wearing her heart on her sleeve with just barely an acoustic guitar to accompany her astonishing heartfelt vocals. Very earnest tune, masterfully done.
