Chuck Small’s Who Sings It?  – The 1990s – Part Three: All Roads Lead Here

The musical mix of 1991-92 featured artists from various strains of contemporary music:

• Dance, Rock, and Alternative
• R&B, Hip-hop, annd Contemporary Christian…
• And even a country legend.

• Siouxsie and the Banshees, long the darlings of alternative radio, made the pop Top 40 with “Kiss Them for Me…”

• While another act known to college and alternative audiences, The Smithereens, scored on Top 40 with “Too Much Passion.”

Two new rock bands who sounded a lot like Journey and Boston made chart appearances. At least there was a legitimate reason for the resemblance.

• The Storm, who hit the Top 40 with “I’ve Got a Lot to Learn About Love,” featured three former members of Journey.

• The week their hit dropped out of the Top 40, RTZ, led by Boston vocalist Brad Delp, entered with “Until Your Love Comes Back Around.” Each was the only hit for the respective act.

• As singer/actress Vanessa Williams had the biggest hit of her career with “Save the Best for Last,” two unrelated acts with the same surname were in the Hot 100 with lesser-known recordings.

• The Williams Brothers, guitarist brothers David and Andrew, just missed the Top 40 with the ballad “Can’t Cry Hard Enough.”

• In the meantime, English singer and guitarist Geoffrey Williams got as high as No. 70 with “It’s Not a Love Thing.”

This set’s international lineup also includes:

• Canadian rocker Tom Cochrane, who went Top 10 with “Life Is a Highway,”

• Jamaica’s Shabba Ranks and Britain’s Maxi Priest on the dancehall-style “Housecall,”

• Australia’s Colorhaus, performing their No. 50-peaking “Innocent Child.”

And the oddest, most delightful match:

British dance musicians The KLF and Mississippi native Tammy Wynette, on “Justified and Ancient.”

• Contemporary Christian artist Kathy Troccoli earned her moment in the pop sun with “Everything Changes.”

• The Florida trio Linear hit with “TLC.” (It wasn’t an ode to the hot R&B trio who were in the Top 40 concurrently with their own “Ain’t 2 Proud 2 Beg” and “Baby-Baby-Baby”). 

A couple of remakes…

• Producers Clivilles and Cole (with lead vocalists Deborah Cooper and Paul Pesco) released a dance version of U2’s “Pride (In the Name of Love).”

• Mic Murphy, formerly of 1980s “Who Sings It?” act The System, updated the Chairmen of the Board’s “Give Me Just a Little More Time.”

Of the 19 songs in this set, twelve are on Spotify.

You’ll have to go to YouTube to find:

• The Murphy, Linear, Colorhaus and Geoffrey Williams tracks,
• As well as One 2 One’s “Peace of Mind (Love Goes On),” Wendy MaHarry’s “How Do I Get Over You? 
• And Truth Inc.’s “The Very Best of Me.”     

Here’s the Spotify link for the rest of this set:

Which ones do you like? Hate? Share your thoughts in the comments.

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