Michael Bolton "Ain't Got Nothing if You Ain't Got Love"

History shows the year 1994 as the turning point in Michael Bolton's career. Actually, the year started off quite well for Bolton as "Said I Loved You...But I Lied" topped the Adult Contemporary Chart for 14 straight weeks. It was all downhill from there for Bolton. During the summer of '94, he lost a plagiarism lawsuit to The Isley Brothers for his 1991 hit "Love Is A Wonderful Thing". A jury sided with The Isley Brothers citing that Bolton's song was too similar to the group's 1964 tune of the same name. Bolton paid an estimated $5 million in restitution (a record amount for copyright infringement). While this dragged on, sales of his album The One Thing chugged along, but still lagged well behind the success of his previous albums. Other than "Said I Loved You...But I Lied", the album's next two singles--the ballad "Completely" and the uptempo "Ain't Got Nothing if You Ain't Got Love"--failed to become major hits for Bolton. From that point on, Bolton's successes hinged on soundtrack songs: "Once in a Lifetime" (also in 1994) and "Go the Distance" (in 1997).

Lionel Richie "Don't Wanna Lose You"

History labeled Lionel Richie's Louder Than Words album a commercial disappointment with lackluster sales of 28,000 copies. Despite that, Adult Contemporary radio stations finally had a new Lionel song to spin: "Don't Wanna Lose You". While the album didn't do much, the song peaked at #2 on the Adult Contemporary Chart in 1996.

Five for Fighting "Easy Tonight"

For bands, sometimes it takes another song's success to help a previously released song find success. In the case of Five for Fighting, "Easy Tonight" didn't do much when released in 2000. A year later, the band's "Superman (It's Not Easy)" hit #2 on the Adult Contemporary Chart giving the band their first breakthrough hit. Their record company hoped to capitalize on that by re-releasing "Easy Tonight" in 2002.

Seal "Crazy"

Seal found a home on Adult Contemporary radio in 1995 thanks to "Kiss From A Rose", yet his first hit, "Crazy", happened a handful of years earlier in 1991. "Crazy" drew inspiration from the fall of the Berlin Wall.

The Eagles "Best of My Love"

Q: What meandering ballad from Country Rock band The Eagles was the group's first #1 hit?

A: "Best of My Love"

The Eagles' tune topped the Hot 100 and Adult Contemporary Chart in 1974 (then called the Easy Listening Chart)

Amy Grant "Big Yellow Taxi"

Amy Grant asked for Joni Mitchell's permission to update the lyrics  in "Big Yellow Taxi" and Mitchell agreed (admission to the tree museum was hiked to $25 in Grant's version). Grant released the song in 1994. Grant's version preceded another more commercially-successful version from Counting Crows and Vanessa Carlton in 2003.

Diana Ross "Why Do Fools Fall in Love"

I find it strange that the question mark doesn't appear in song titles. Case-in-point: "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" from Diana Ross. Where is the question mark?

Tom Petty "Learning to Fly"

"The good ol' days may not return."

Dionne Warwick "Deja Vu"

I once worked with a fascinating guy who worked as a radio DJ at two different stations in the same city. Because of that, his Program Director made him change his name so as to not confuse the listeners. Since it was a rock station, he decided to use the name Ron Dezvous.

Kenny Rogers & Dolly Parton "Islands in the Stream"

The Bee Gees wrote "Islands in the Stream" with Marvin Gaye in mind, but they took a left turn and turned it into one of the most successful country ballads of all time thanks to Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton. The duet "Islands in the Stream" topped the Country, Adult Contemporary, and Hot 100 in 1983.

Dido "Thank You"

I'll never forget something uttered by Mr. Irving Katz, one of my college professors at Indiana University. Katz said that the most common response to "thank you" is "no problem". He railed against that and urged the students in my class (History of the Democratic Party) to get back to saying "you're welcome". 

The Alan Parsons Project "Time"

Among the popular themes for songs, there's love, loss, and time. The Alan Parsons Project got in on that action when they released one of their biggest hits of all time (aptly called "Time") in 1981.  

Sixpence None the Richer "Kiss Me"

Sixpence None the Richer can send a thank you card to the folks behind She's All That, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, and Dawson's Creek.  All three productions used the ballad "Kiss Me" and helped turn the song into a hit.  Heck, even the BBC used the song during its coverage of Prince Edward's royal wedding.  

Billy Ocean "Love Is Forever"

Think Billy Ocean has a kick ass name? Well, you're right. His real name is even more kick ass. He was born Leslie Sebastian Charles.

Carly Simon "Give Me All Night"

You might be too young to understand this, but...

The sound I hear while listening to "Give Me All Night" makes me think the cassette player is about to "eat" my tape.  The song sounds like it's slower than it should be and a bit garbled.

Julio Iglesias & Willie Nelson "To All The Girls I've Loved Before"

Can you name the celebrity Sophia Petrillo did not have a date with on The Golden Girls?

• Burt Reynolds
• Julio Iglesias
• Willie Nelson
• Mickey Rooney

Answer: Sophia dated Reynolds, Iglesias, and "Rocco" a character played by Mickey Rooney

Diamond Rio "One More Day"

"One More Day" touches on the theme of wanting one more day with someone you loved and lost. Released in late-2000, the song was a band-aid of sorts following a couple tragic events. The first happened after the death of NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt as the song became an unofficial tribute to him. The second happened following the tragic events on September 11th, 2001. Nearly a year after its popularity, the song returned to the radio as our nation struggled to heal and move forward after the 9/11 attacks.

Michael Bolton "Can I Touch You...There?"

"It's like a porno soundtrack with words."

-a random grandmother's review of Michael Bolton's "Can I Touch You...There?"

Jody Watley "Everything"

R&B superstar Jody Watley racked up multiple Top 40 hits before finding success on Adult Contemporary radio.  Her sappy ballad "Everything" reached #11 in 1989.

Blessid Union of Souls - "Hey Leonardo (She Likes Me For Me)"

"Hey Leonardo" burst out of radios at the end of 1999 and proved to be one of Blessid Union of Soul's signature tunes.  The song (and title) makes reference to Leonardo DiCaprio whose popularity was at an all-time high (thanks to the blockbuster Titanic) when the group wrote the tune.