Theme: Hits from the 90’s
A video collection of hits from 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998 and 1999. “The Nineties.”
Vnertia Music and Artist Project
Hits of the 1990’s on vnertia “Video’s in Motion” highlights many of the artist and songs popular during the years of 1990 through 1999.
The musical era of the 1990s was one filled with a variety of pop, rap, and alternative music artists as well as a plethora of one-hit wonders. It was a time when musical taste was as varied as the events that were happening at the time. Many of the most popular acts that emerged in the 1990s were bands and artists who enjoyed a type of resurgence in the mainstream music scene after their popularity had dwindled for a decade or so. Other artists were just starting out during this decade and make a huge impact on the musical scene. Following is an explanation of some of the most memorable artists that helped to define the era in terms of musical differentiations as well as some artists who are best forgotten.
The early years of the 1990s began with a surge in popularity for music genres like techno (often called dance or house music) and hip-hop that continued throughout the decade. Groups like Technotronic entered the Billboard charts with big hits like “Pump Up the Jam” and “Get Up (Before the Night is Over)”. Others will undoubtedly remember the hits from C+C Music Factory, including “Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)” that is still a popular dance song at many of the dance clubs across the country. Similarly, the hip-hop music scene achieved popularity with artists like MC Hammer, Tone Loc, and Vanilla Ice. The subject matter that these artists chose to use in their music was as varied as their audiences. MC Hammer, for instance, sung (or rapped, depending on you want to refer to it) about subjects including the rise of his career as well as songs about praying for the betterment of society. On the other hand, Tone Loc’s songs were riddled with sexual lyrics and innuendo that seem tame and conservative by today’s standards.
Around late 1992 to early 1993, there was a change starting in the mainstream radio playlists. While the sexual lyrics of techno and hip-hop still dominated the airwaves, a new style of rock music was making an impact. Bands like Pearl Jam and Soundgarden were offering youngsters a new type of rock music to listen to that contained catchy lyrics about the angst and trials of teenage years. These songs also seemed to send a message about the status quo of society and the helplessness that was felt among the teens and early adults of the era. Songs like Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” spoke about a teen revolution in a seemingly meaningless world. The song also marked the beginning of the grunge and alternative rock phase that remained popular throughout the mid-1990s.
By late 1995, many young people were getting tired of the hopelessness that the grunge and alternative bands were inundating the airwaves with. They were ready for something fresh and new. As a result of this feeling, there was a movement of “happy rock” that was in direct contrast to the negativity of the grunge bands. Bands like Hootie and the Blowfish, Sister Hazel, and The Bodeans perpetuated upbeat melodies and positive lyrics that many people were ready for after years of negativity. These bands also created a resurgence in songs that dealt with love and relationships through ballads and happier-sounding songs. “All For You” by Sister Hazel was a popular song about the things a person does for another in a relationship while, contrastingly, “Let Her Cry” by Hootie and the Blowfish dealt with a tearful breakup that deeply hurt both people.
The “happy rock” years in the mid-90s helped to pave the way for the “bubblegum pop” that followed in the waning years of the decade. Artists like Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera dominated the mainstream pop music scene well into the late 1990s and beyond. The sexual lyrics and innuendos also came back in the songs of this era that was once popular in the early years of the decade, but they were more blatant than before. The videos were more sexual in nature, too. The later years of the decade also saw a new popularity for traditional boy bands. The Backstreet Boys, 98 Degrees, and N’Sync enjoyed the same amount of, if not more, popularity than older boy bands like New Kids on the Block from the late 1980s.
The music in the 1990s went through a series of changes in regards to the mainstream radio airwaves. Ironically, it was nearly a full-circle of styles and tastes that resulted in recreating the mainstream sound that is strongly reminiscent of popular music in the 1980s. Many of these bands and artists had staying power, though. Nearly a decade later, we are still being exposed to many of their antics or effects that they had on the musical front. Fortunately, several of these acts have matured in recent years and continue to produce quality music while others with less talent have fallen by the wayside in recent years.
Wilson Phillips is an American singing group consisting of Carnie and Wendy Wilson and Chynna Phillips. Their 1990 self-titled debut album scored four Grammy Award nominations, two American Music Award nominations and a Billboard Music Award. The group is also known for being the offspring of prominent musicians; the Wilsons are the daughters of Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys, while Phillips’ parents are John Phillips and Michelle Phillips of The Mamas & the Papas.
Wilson Phillips reunited in 2004 to release California, an album of cover songs. A single, “Go Your Own Way”, a song originally recorded by Fleetwood Mac, peaked at #13 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart. The album debuted at #35 on the charts with 31,000 copies sold, but due to lack of promotion, the album has yet to reach sales of 100,000 copies.
In New Zealand, the album was a surprise hit, reaching the top 10 and amassing gold sales following “Go Your Own Way”, topping the adult contemporary radio chart for several weeks.
Roxette is a Swedish pop-music double act, partly rock-influenced, whose members are Marie Fredriksson and Per Gessle.
Roxette is among the top bands in worldwide sales and fame, brandishing a simple, effective blend of pop with a slight edge and occasional hints of dance. The group claims such influences as The Beatles, Blondie, new-wave music, Joni Mitchell, and Aretha Franklin.
In 1991, Roxette performances could fill an arena with tens of thousands of fans in places as diverse as Buenos Aires, Frankfurt, Mexico City, Montevideo, Paris, Rome, Lima, Santiago de Chile, Stockholm, and Sydney. The 1992 release Tourism: Songs from Studios, Stages, Hotelrooms & Other Strange Places, with a recording of audience members singing along to the tune of the group’s biggest hit, “It Must Have Been Love”, exemplifies Roxette’s temporary but impressive hold.
Roxette had four US No. 1 singles, two No. 2 singles and a few other Top 40 peaks until falling out of sight of the Hot 100 in 1994. Even so, by that token, Roxette can be considered a highly successful singles act. The group has been certified by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) with two platinum albums - 1988’s Look Sharp! (released in the U.S. in 1989) and 1991’s Joyride - and two gold singles - “The Look” and “It Must Have Been Love.”
Bell Biv DeVoe was a successful splinter group of New Edition that consisted of three previous members, Ricky Bell (also known as Slick), Michael Bivins (also known as Biv), and Ronnie DeVoe (also known as R.D.).
Bell Biv Devoe’s debut album Poison has a variety of producers, including Dr. Freeze and Spyderman, Wolf & Epic (Richard Wolf & Bret “Epic” Mazur), Guy’s Timmy Gatling, and Public Enemy’s Hank Shocklee and Keith Shocklee. As a result, Bell Biv DeVoe’s first album “Poison” has a larger new jack swing composition as compared to New Edition releases. BBD was a pioneering group that was the first to successfully combine hip-hop with R&B & pop.
The CD was released in 1990, and its title track became a #1 hit on the R&B chart. The singles that followed were “Do Me!”, “B.B.D. (I Thought It Was Me)?”, “When Will I See You Smile Again”, and “Dope!” (the latter was retitled “She’s Dope!” upon release due to the rising drug abuse among children). Poison sold over three million copies. The remix album WBBD-Bootcity! The Remixes, with the Wolf & Epic produced “Word To The Mutha!” as accompanying single, was released the next year and was certified gold.
Bell Div Devoe Official Site
Madonna Beginning with the release of her self-titled debut album in 1983, Madonna rose to stardom producing three consecutive number one studio albums on the Billboard 200; Like a Virgin (1984), True Blue (1986), and Like a Prayer (1989). Though the entertainer faced colder critical reception and more modest sales on subsequent albums Erotica (1992) and Bedtime Stories (1994), she garnered critical acclaim with the release of her seventh studio album Ray of Light (1998), which opened at number two. Madonna continued to remain in the forefront of pop music with four more consecutive number one studio albums; Music (2000) American Life (2003) Confessions on a Dance Floor (2005) and Hard Candy (2008).
Bryan Adams (born Bryan Guy Adams on November 5, 1959) is a Canadian rock singer-songwriter, musician and photographer. Active for three decades of rock music. Some of his best-known albums are Reckless, 18 til I Die, and Waking Up the Neighbours.
His 16 consecutive weeks spent on top of the UK Singles Charts (for “(Everything I Do) I Do It For You”) remains a record. One of Adams’ most successful albums is Waking up the Neighbours co-produced by Adams and Robert Lange. The album was released in September 1991 and featured the single “(Everything I Do) I Do It for You”, which was also used in the film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, starring Kevin Costner and Alan Rickman. This album and the single went to number one in many countries in the world in 1991 and 1992, with the single spending record-breaking 16 weeks at number one on UK Singles Chart and 17 weeks on top of US Hot 100 Singles Sales. It also made record-breaking sales of 3 million copies in the US. Canadian content regulations were revised in 1991 to allow radio stations to credit airplay of this album towards their legal requirements to play Canadian music. Adams has won a 1991 Grammy Award in the Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or for Television category for co-writing it.
Paula Julie Abdul (born June 19, 1962) is a Grammy Award-winning American pop singer, dancer, choreographer, and television personality. Married to Emilio Estevez between 1992-1994, she is the former daughter-in-law of actor Martin Sheen.
In the 1980s, Abdul rose from being a cheerleader for the Los Angeles Lakers NBA basketball team to being a sought-after choreographer at the height of the music video era, then to being a Pop-R&B singer with a string of hits in the late-1980s and early-1990s. According to Abdul, she has sold over 53 million records to date.
After her initial period of success, she suffered a series of setbacks in her professional and personal life, until she found renewed fame and success in the 2000s as a judge on the television series, American Idol. A new album by Abdul is reportedly set to be released in mid-2008.
Timmy T (born Timothy Torres in Fresno, California on September 21, 1967) is a Freestyle performer and musician. He is best known for his 1991 Billboard Hot 100 #1 single “One More Try.”
Timmy T started out in the 80s in small rap groups in Fresno, but felt that he would rather do dance music. He purchased a Moog synthesizer and a Roland TR-808 drum machine at a pawn shop, and recorded his first single, “Time After Time,” in his garage. He delivered copies to a Fresno radio station and asked them to play his single. After the DJ played the song, there were many calls requesting who was performing that song. The DJ recommended that Timmy T take his record to radio stations in Los Angeles for more exposure. After Los Angeles pop station Power 106 played the record, Timmy got a record deal with Quality Records and released another single at the end of 1990, “One More Try,” which proved to be much more successful than his first single, climbing its way to the top of the Billboard charts the next year.
Although Freestyle music has been a mainstay of New York and Miami, Timmy T was one of the most successful Freestyle artists to come from California. He recorded his first album Time After Time, featuring the title track (his first single), “What Will I Do,” “One More Try,” and “Over and Over.” None of the singles from his second album, All For Love, reached the charts.
Timmy T is not related to fellow Freestyle singer Judy Torres.
Boyz II Men is a four-time Grammy Award-winning American R&B/soul singing group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1988 as a quintet which originally included Marc Nelson, Boyz II Men found fame as a quartet, with members Nathan Morris, Michael McCary, Shawn Stockman, and Wanya Morris, on Motown Records during the early 1990s. Nelson left the group before their first recording to pursue a solo career.
Based on sales, Boyz II Men is the most successful R&B male vocal group of all time. It recorded five #1 R&B hits between 1992 and 1997 and has sold more than 60 million records Three of its #1 hits, “End of the Road”, “I’ll Make Love to You”, and “One Sweet Day” (with Mariah Carey), set and broke records for the longest period of time a single remained at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100; the last of them still holds the record. Although “On Bended Knee” did not break any records, it was still an immensely popular song that reached #1 and made Boyz II Men the third artists (behind Elvis and The Beatles) to replace themselves at the number one spot of the Billboard Hot 100.
Boyz II Men was signed to Motown Records from 1990 to 2000, at which point it was moved to parent label Universal Records. After the 2000 album Nathan Shawn Michael Wanya, Boyz II Men moved to Arista Records. In 2003, Michael McCary left the group due to chronic back problems resulting from scoliosis. As of 2005, Wanya Morris, Shawn Stockman, and Nathan Morris continue to tour and record as a trio. At the 1995 Grammy Awards, the group received four Grammy Award awards for their work, including two for their 1994 sophomore album, II in 1995.
Whitney Elizabeth Houston (born August 9, 1963) is an iconic, Grammy Award-winning American pop and R&B singer, actress, film producer, record producer, songwriter, and former fashion model. Her crossover success opened doors for other African Americans, particularly women, to find success in pop music. She is frequently referred to as “The Voice”, and is known for her “powerful, penetrating pop-gospel voice.”
In the 1980s, Houston was one the first black artists to receive regular rotation on MTV in the network’s early years during a white male rock dominated time. Her debut album became the biggest selling debut album of all time for a solo artist (a record that has since been broken), her follow up album became the first album by a female artist to debut at #1 on the Billboard 200, and she had a record seven consecutive #1 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Houston continued her success into Hollywood in the 1990s, starting with the box office hit The Bodyguard. The soundtrack became the best-selling soundtrack of all time, and the single “I Will Always Love You” the best-selling single by a female artist and 6th best-selling song in history of music. She continued the decade with other successful and culturally significant projects before returning to the studio. Houston is the fourth best-selling female recording artist according to the Recording Industry Association of America,[9] and is the “The Most Awarded Female Artist of All Time” according to the Guinness Book of World Records.
Save big on MP3 Players at Walmart.com
Free Shipping on HDTVs at Walmart.com
Save big on Top Electronics at walmart.com