Rod Stewart "I Can't Deny It"

Wisdom teeth extraction sometimes results in crazy talk. Severe crazy talk! In the case of my friend Matt, I stopped by his house one afternoon during Christmas break in college. I didn't know at the time that Matt was fresh out of oral surgery after having his wisdom teeth removed. The moment I walked into his house, the expression on Matt's mother's face said it all. She looked shocked and horrified -- yet I didn't pick up on her social cues and decided to stay. After about 15 minutes of Matt writing notes to me on a piece of paper, I decided to leave. Matt later told me that while on the drive home from the dentist's office, he informed his very conservative mother that he had "Babies. Babies, babies babies alllllll over the country!" This tidbit freaked out his mother to the point that she didn't believe it was the laughing gas talking, but rather Matt's conscience. Spoiler alert: Matt didn't have babies, babies, babies all across the country. He now has three beautiful children, but that happened long after college.

Sade "By Your Side"

Sade emerged from retirement in 2000 to give her fans Lovers Rock. The sultry album gave produced the Adult Contemporary hit "By Your Side". In 2018, Sade announced they are working on a new album and when they're happy with it, we'll hear it too.

98 Degrees "I Do (Cherish You)"

What does 98 Degrees and Screech from Saved by the Bell have in common? The video to the boy band's 2001 ballad "I Do (Cherish You)" featured Dustin Diamond as a dorky guy who an attractive bride-to-be chooses over the four handsome members of 98 Degrees. Think of it as Saved By the Bell: The Bachelor Years.

Michelle Branch "All You Wanted"

Sometimes forgotten in the madness of late-2001 is singer Michelle Branch. That year she turned in one of her best efforts with "All You Wanted". The angst-ridden tune packed with a sound similar to one of her idols, Alanis Morrisette, soared to #6 on the Hot 100 (#30 on Adult Contemporary Chart). The song became her biggest solo hit. A year prior, she was opening for Hanson and, in the years following, Branch would strike gold in duets with the legendary Carlos Santana ("The Game of Love" and "I'm Feeling You"). Aside from that, she turned up on television shows such as Charmed and Buffy the Vampire Slayer before seguing into country music in a band called The Wreckers before returning to her pop-rock roots in the 2010s. Sometimes the only people who truly get you are those who do what you do and Branch did just that. She found her soulmate in fellow musician Patrick Carney of The Black Keys and the two later married.

'N-SYNC "Gone"

Weeks of a rumored format-flip culminated into a staff meeting one afternoon at the radio station. Management told the sales and programming staffs to meet in the conference room at 3:00 P.M for an announcement -- some folks weren't as lucky. They were invited to an earlier meeting at 2:00 P.M. where they were fired. I mistakenly figured this out when I arrived early for the 3 P.M. meeting and noticed both desks of my colleagues were emptied. All the papers pinned to their bulletin board: gone. All their personal items (photographs, press credentials, and fan mail): gone. The radio station did flip formats that following day resulting in half the air staff being dismissed. The lesson I learned that day: it's never a good thing to be invited to the meeting before the meeting.

Train "Drops of Jupiter (Tell Me)"

"Drops of Jupiter" gets Charlie Sheen arrested. Sounds like a tabloid headline, but no--it actually happened. The unlikely scene unfolded at the Sheen house on Christmas morning in 2009. According to Sheen, he purchased two telescopes for him and his daughter so they could "look at the same point in the universe at the same time as a way of staying connected" and also because they both enjoyed the Train ballad "Drops of Jupiter." This, according to Sheen, enraged his then-wife Brooke Muller who was jealous Sheen and their daughter shared a song, but she and Sheen did not. Sounds like a common fight that plays out at most folks homes on Christmas morning, right? Muller's version was quite different: Sheen was drunk, threatened to have her killed, snapped her designer eyeglasses, and slapped her hands. Sheen later pled guilty and went to rehab following the incident. To no one's surprise, the couple later divorced. Happy Holidays, from the Sheens!

Christina Aguilera "Beautiful"

STORY BEHIND THE SONG:

The song "Beautiful" caused an ugly scene among Christina Aguilera, Pink and the song's writer Linda Perry. Perry originally mulled a solo career of her own and sought to keep "Beautiful" for herself, but later offered it to Pink while producing her Mizzundaztood album. That offer changed when Aguilera stopped by Perry's house one day and sang "Beautiful". Perry immediately fell in love with Christina's demo of the song and decided to let her keep the song--which didn't tickle Pink. Christina also wasn't happy with Perry. She didn't like her original vocals on the demo and wanted to re-record the song, but Perry would not allow it. Perry claimed the roughness of the demo captured the essence of the song's theme: being imperfect and vulnerable and only wanted the original vocals.

Sugar Ray "When It's Over"

This is a very incomplete list of the what the ladies loved in 2001:

• Sex & The City
• Mark McGrath, lead singer of Sugar Ray 

Aerosmith "Jaded"

Aerosmith performed their new single "Jaded" during a star-studded Superbowl halftime show in 2001. *N-Sync, Mary J. Blige and even Britney Spears also appeared. "Jaded" remains Aerosmith's last Top 10 hit on the Hot 100 Chart.

Eve 6 "Here's to the Night"

This Christmas Eve we take a listen to the alternative rock band Eve 6. Their unforgettable song "Here's to the Night" gained airplay on many Hot Adult Contemporary radio stations in 2001.

Enrique Iglesias "Hero"

Released days before the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center, "Hero" from Enrique Iglesias was one of several songs remixed after the 9/11 attacks to include audio from first responders and politicians. The ballad went on to top the Adult Contemporary Chart for 15 weeks during a time when radio programmers struggled with (among other things) the tone of their radio stations -- should it match the somber feeling of the world around them or be an escape from the reality of what happened? That challenge helped several remixes of songs such as "Hero", "Only Time" and "One More Day" get plenty of airtime.

DJ Sammy & Yanou f/ Do "Heaven"

Two DJ's remixed Bryan Adam's ballad "Heaven" and turned it into a dance hit. The song was later remixed to a "Candlelight Version" by a California radio station to commemorate the one year anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.

Faith Hill "There You'll Be"

Celine Dion reportedly didn't want to be known as the woman who sang all the tearjerker ballads in movies. She passed on the ballad "There You'll Be", a song destined for the Pearl Harbor Soundtrack. Along came Faith Hill who happily took the song and turned it into a #1 hit on the Adult Contemporary Chart in 2001.

LeAnn Rimes "Soon"

"I want to make abundantly clear to you that this album is not a reflection of myself as an artist but is solely the conception of Curb Records, and for that I am truly and deeply sorry."

-LeAnn Rimes

Not often does an artist release an album and immediately disown it, but that happened with LeAnn Rimes in 2001.  Her record company released "I Need You", a compilation album of various songs and B-sides, because Rimes was contractually obligated to release it.
(this is post #1100 on Growing Up Adult Contemporary)

Ricky Martin & Christina Aguilera "Nobody Wants to Be Lonely"

It was 2001 and the only way to get a copy of Ricky Martin and Christina Aguilera's monster duet "Nobody Wants to Be Lonely" was to buy the song's album or record it off the radio.  Why?  The song was never released as a CD single -- meaning you couldn't go out and buy the song (or in today's terms: you couldn't just download the single from iTunes).  The song wound up being one of the biggest songs of the year and a real head-scratcher as the record companies who would soon lose their grip on CD sales with the rise of Napster and illegal downloads.

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.

Sophie B. Hawkins "Walking in My Blue Jeans"

I found an old aircheck from my days at "Today's Soft Rock" Windy 100 in Chicago.  Since it was recorded on a cassette tape, I managed to find a (working) cassette player to play said tape.  While I don't remember the song "Walking in My Blue Jeans", the Sophie B. Hawkins tune aired during an overnight shift on Windy 100 during the Spring of 2001.  The song peaked at #23 on the AC Chart in 2001.

S Club 7 - "Never Had A Dream Come True"

After finding success with the Spice Girls, mastermind Simon Fuller formed S Club 7.  The septet found success in the UK, but struggled to find an audience in the US.  Their 2001 song "Never Had A Dream Come True" was their only US Top 10 hit.  Despite being a group of seven, the song featured lead vocals by just one member, Jo O'Meara.

The Calling - "Wherever You Will Go"

The Calling scored the #1 song of the decade with "Wherever You Will Go".  Just how popular was that song?  It topped the Adult Top 40 for 23 weeks--the second longest in the history of the chart (Rob Thomas & Santana's "Smooth" sat at #1 for 25 weeks between 1999 and 2000).

Jo Dee Messina - "Bring on the Rain"

Jo Dee Messina's pop-country ballad "Bring on the Rain" featured Tim McGraw on backup vocals and has the dubious distinction of being released on September 10, 2001.