Fred discusses Pink Floyd, the Jennifers of "Dreamgirls", Olivia Newton-John and more!
OFF 'THE WALL': Pink Floyd has been all over the Billboard charts since making its debut in 1965, but this week the veteran U.K. band stakes a claim on some new territory, showing up on Hot Dance Airplay for the first time.
The track that sends Pink Floyd into a new orbit is "Proper Education (The Wall)" (Data/Ministry of Sound) by Eric Prydz vs. Pink Floyd. Swedish house star Prydz, best known for the dance hit "Call on Me," incorporates David Gilmour's original vocal from the 1980 Hot 100 chart-topper "Another Brick in the Wall" into his new single.
While this is Pink Floyd's first turn on Hot Dance Airplay, the group did register on the Hot Dance Club Play chart in 1980 when the original "Another Brick in the Wall," along with "The Wall" tracks "Run Like Hell" and "Don't Leave Me Now," peaked at No. 57.
JENNIFER H. VS. JENNIFER H.: In the battle of the "Dreamgirls" divas, Jennifer Hudson's "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" (Music World/Columbia) is off to a slightly faster start than the original by Jennifer Holliday. Hudson's single enters this week's R&B chart at No. 71. Holliday's single opened at No. 74 the week of June 5, 1982 and is technically back on the charts this week, as a deluixe edition of the Original Broadway Cast album "Dreamgirls" (Hip-O/Geffen/UMe) enters Top Cast Albums at No. 12.
Of course, when it comes to the Hudson and Holliday singles, it's not where you start, it's where you finish. That means Hudson will have to go to No. 1 and stay there longer than a month to best Holliday's chart performance. Her recording of Effie White's defining moment in "Dreamgirls" went all the way to the top and stayed there for five weeks.
While Hudson is the odds-on favorite to win the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress, the song "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" is ineligible for an Academy Award, since it was written for the Broadway musical and isn't original to the soundtrack.
The song that could win a statuette for "Dreamgirls" also makes a Billboard chart debut this week. "Listen" by Beyonce bows at No. 95 on the Hot 100.
THE ONE THAT WE WANT: Until this week, Olivia Newton-John had a 27-year chart span on the Adult Contemporary survey, running from the debut of "If Not for You" in June 1971 to the final chart week of a re-recording of "I Honestly Love You" in August 1998. But with the debut of a new song, Newton-John's chart span suddenly expands to 35 years, six months and three weeks.
The new arrival that re-writes Newton-John's chart history is "Instrument of Peace" (ONJ Productions), which enters the AC tally at No. 30. It is Newton-John's 37th chart entry and ends her longest gap between hits. Since making her chart debut, she had a song enter the AC list every year from 1978 to 1983, and then had debuts in 1985, 1986, 1990, 1992 and 1998.
"Instrument of Peace" is based on a prayer by Saint Francis of Assisi and is sung by Newton-John as the finale to her live shows.
I NEVER PROMISED YOU A ROSE GARDEN: ... But I did promise my top 10 favorite singles of 2006. As I'm away on assignment this week, look for that list to appear in the first Chart Beat column of 2007, posted next week.