Memorial Day 2015 bears a special significance for two reasons: More importantly, it's the first time in 14 years that the holiday has been celebrated with no American troops involved in a "major ground war," and it's also the 25th anniversary of the first invasion of Iraq during the Gulf War. We at Music Times can do little but throw out our thanks to those who have served and those who currently serve in the United States military, but we wanted to check out what the Billboard charts looked like on both dates, August 2, 1991 and October 7, 2001, the dates when Americans last became embroiled in foreign combat. It features the rise of Alicia Keys, Jay Z and Nickelback.
You can check out the charts from that period during 1990 here.
The Hot 100: "Fallin'" by Alicia Keys
Just as Mariah Carey was just beginning her career as a pop star as the U.S. entered Iraq during 1990, Alicia Keys began her iconic career as the United States entered combat (this time in Afghanistan). "Fallin'" was the first single off of her Songs In A Minor debut album, and it would climb to no. 1. Interestingly, the song was actually in its second run at no. 1 during the week of October 7. It had spent three weeks at no. 1 during August before being bumped off by Jennifer Lopez's "I'm Real." That stretch of the year would end up being huge for female pop stars: Beginning on August 4, the no. 1 song on the Hot 100 would be held by one of four female-fronted singles..."Fallin'," "I'm Real," "Bootylicious" by Destiny's Child and "Family Affair" by Mary J. Blige. Keys has gone on to be the main act on two other no. 1 singles.
Billboard 200: The Blueprint by Jay-Z
One thing that few people realize about Jay-Z's (he was still rocking the hyphen back then) classic The Blueprint album was that it was released on September 11, 2001. That said, he was far from as universally huge as he is now, so it took several weeks for the album—which packed singles such as "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)" and "J*gga That N*gga"—would take three weeks to reach the top spot on the album charts, and then would spend another three weeks in the top spot. That week would end up being one of the worst in American history...but it's mind-blowing now to look back at just how many releases dropped that day: Nickelback's Silver Side Up, Bob Dylan's Love & Theft, and more eerily, several metal records, including Slayer's God Hates Us All and Dream Theater's Live Scenes From New York, which included the city (and the World Trade Centers) flaming in the background.
Hot Rap Songs: "Raise Up" by Petey Pablo
For those who have read our other list, noting the top chart songs from the onset of the Gulf War, you'll also see the decline of hip-hop that you hear old school fans preach so often. More than a decade earlier the members of N.W.A., Body Count and Digital Underground had come together to preach against black-on-black crime. By 2001, we had evolved to Petey Pablo's "Raise Up." The song would be his only no. 1 song on the rap song charts but it would lodge itself in the consciousness of mainstream listeners thanks to its hook, which you may recall urges the listener to take off one's shirt and twist it around our heads. Kind of like a helicopter.
Mainstream Rock Songs: "How You Remind Me" by Nickelback
For those who have read our other list, noting the top chart songs from the onset of the Gulf War, you'll also see the decline of rock 'n' roll that you hear old school fans preach so often. Nickelback, what many consider to be the worst band currently in existence (they're wrong...this is just what people say), finally broke it big during 2001 with the aforementioned release of Silver Side Up and "How You Remind Me"s rise to no. 1 on the rock charts. We might argue that, compared to the Aerosmith of 1990, Nickelback's early albums really weren't that bad. But you can continue to pretend that you didn't buy this album if you want.
Alternative Rock Songs: "How You Remind me" by Nickelback
Now wait just a minute. We can handle Nickelback being at no. 1 on the rock charts. heck, we can even understand how "How You Remind Me" got to no. 1 on the actual Hot 100 eventually. But the alternative rock songs chart? There's a time and a place where hard rock should be on top of the alternative songs chart, and that time was called the grunge era. So the next time your hipster friends give you crap for listening to more mainstream rock, just remind them of 2001, when Nickelback and Staind combined to top the alternative songs chart for 29 weeks, more than half of the year.
US Country Songs: "What I Meant To Say" by Cyndi Thomson
One might expect that the recent occurrence of 9/11 to have inspired the country music world into an uproar, but it took a bit longer for the patriotic anthems to come pouring forth (Alan Jackson's "Where Were You (When The World Stopped Turning)" would be the last song to top the country songs chart during 2001). At the time of the American invasion of Afghanistan, the chart belonged to Cyndi Thomson, a curious entry in the genre's history. She topped the country charts with her first single ever (joining Jamie O'Neal and Blake Shelton to accomplish the feat that year). Unlike those two however, she would pull out of the music industry immediately after her initial success, releasing one more EP during 2009 but otherwise not hosting The Voice.
Hot Dance Songs: "Stand Still" by Aubrey
Aubrey Ayala, better known simply by her first name, is an even less productive performer to top the charts at this point in history than Thomson. Her fame is almost exclusively limited to the single "Stand Still," which stayed at no. 1 on the Hot Dance Songs chart for just the one week (compared to three for Thomson). Aubrey would release one more single (which peaked at no. 24) and then cease producing new music.
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