1995 Archives - Ramblin' with Roger

Mainstream, Alternative Rock #1s in 1995

Bush

These tracks are the Mainstream and Alternate Rock #1s in 1995. The Mainstream Rock charts started in 1981, while the alternative rock tracks began in September 1988.

In 2020, the late Joel Whitburn wrote in the author notes of Rock Tracks, “There has been increasingly less crossover between the mainstream and alternative charts.” Mainstream charts, but there was some similarity back in 1995.

Lightning Crashes – Live, 10 weeks at #1 Main, nine weeks at #1 Alt, #12 pop. I knew a guy named Ed Kowalczyk remotely through work in this time frame. If I remember correctly, he was vaguely elated to the Live vocalist with the same name.

Wonderwall – Oasis, 10 weeks at#1 Alt, #9 Main, #8 pop. Yes, this is on the only Oasis album that most people, including me, own.

December – Collective Soul, nine weeks at #1 Main, #2 Alt, #20 pop

Better Man – Pearl Jam, eight weeks at #1 Main, #2 for four weeks Alt, #13 pop

When I Come Around – Green Day, seven weeks at #1 Alt, #2 for two weeks Main, #6 pop

And Fools Shine On – Brother Cain, six weeks at #1 Main

Name – Goo Goo Dolls, five weeks at #1 Main, four weeks at #1 Alt, #5 pop

Good -Better than Ezra, five weeks at #1 Alt, #3 for two weeks Main, #30 pop

On stage

You Oughta Know – Alanis Morissette, five weeks at #1 Alt, #3 for three weeks Main, #13 pop. Won Grammys for Rock Vocal and Rock Female Vocal. The songs from the album were made into a musical, Alanis Morissette’s Jagged Little Pill, which we saw in May 2023, and liked. One of my favorite bits in 60 Songs From the ’90s was when Rob Harvilla’s girlfriend would play the album, and she would cough when the F-bomb came on to hide it from her mom.

My Friends – Red Hot Chili Peppers, four weeks at #1 Main and #1 Alt, #27 pop

Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me – U2, four weeks at #1 Alt, one week at #1 Main, #16 pop, from the Batman Forever soundtrack.

Don’t Tell Me (What Love Can Do) – Van Halen, three weeks at #1 Main. This is from the Sammy Hagar period, which I know less about than the DLR era.

Tomorrow – Silverchair, three weeks at #1 Main and #1 Alt, #28 pop

Hard As A Rock – AC/DC, three weeks at #1 Main

Misery – Soul Asylum, three weeks at #1 Alt; #3 for four weeks Main, #20 pop. Ha! I didn’t know this song, but I instantly recognized the Weird Al parody.

Comedown – Bush, two weeks at #1 Alt, #2 Main, #30 pop

Glycerine – Bush, two weeks at #1 Alt, #4 Main, #28 pop

J.A.R. (Jason Andrew Revla) – Green Day, one week at #1 Alt, #17 Main, #6 pop

Hand In My Pocket – Alanis Morissette, one week at #1 Alt, #8 Main, #15 pop

Lump – The Presidents of the United States of America, one week at #1 Alt, #7 Main, #21 pop. Not to be confused with Weird Al’s Gump.

Hot R&B #1 Singles for 1995

sampling Marvin Gaye

Here are the Hot R&B #1 Singles for 1995 from the Billboard charts.

One More Chance/Stay With Me – The Notorious B.I.G., nine weeks at #1 RB, #2 for three weeks pop. Christopher George Latore Wallace, a/k/a Biggie Smalls. The hit is from his 1994 debut album, Ready To Die. Brittanica notes that he “was among the most influential artists of 1990s gangsta rap.” He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2020. “On March 9, 1997, Wallace was leaving a party at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles when he was killed in a drive-by shooting. The shooter and the motive remained unknown.”

Exhale (Shoop Shoop) – Whitney Houston, eight weeks at #1 RB, also #1 pop. Died in 2012.

This Is How We Do It – Montell Jordan, seven weeks at # RB, also #1 pop

Fantasy – Mariah Carey, six weeks at #1 RB, also #1 pop

MJ

You Are Not Alone – Michael Jackson, four weeks at #1 RB, also #1 pop. Died in 2009. About a decade after that, I posted a piece in response to the question, “Are we under any obligation to erase performers or songs we once liked because it later turns out that they were either allegedly or actually terrible humans or allegedly or actually did terrible things?” I’m still ambivalent about it.

Baby – Brandy, four weeks at #1 RB, #4 RB, platinum

Candy Rain – Soul for Real, three weeks at #1 RB, #2 for four weeks RB, gold

I’ll Be There For You/You’re All I Need To Get By – Method Man featuring Mary J Blige, three weeks at #1 RB, #3 pop. The latter song was a 1968 hit by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, #1 RB for five weeks, #7 pop.

Don’t Take It Personal (just one of dem days) – Monica, two weeks at #1 RB, #2 for three weeks pop, platinum. Samples Back Seat (Of My Jeep) by LL Cool J

These are the number ones for only one week, RB.

Boombastic– Shaggy, #3 for two weeks pop, platinum. Samples Baby Let Me Kiss You by King Floyd. A remix also samples Marvin Gaye’s Let’s Get It On.

Who Can I Run To? – Xscape, #8 pop, gold

You Remind Me Of Something – R. Kelly, #4 pop, platinum

1995 #1 Hot Country Singles & Tracks

John Michael Montgomery, Alan Jackson, Brooks & Dunn

Here are the 1995 #1 Hot Country Singles and Tracks. Joel Whitburn’s Hot Country Songs contains information about chart methodology.

“For decades, Billboard’s country singles charts were compiled by playlists reported by radio stations and sales reports reported by stores. These airplays and sales reports established the weekly rankings…

“On January 20, 1990, Billboard began basing the charts entirely on airplay with information gathered by the Nielsen Broadcast Data systems, a subsidiary of Billboard that electronically monitored actual radio airplay… These monitors can identify each song played by an encoded audio fingerprint.

“On December 5, 1992, Billboard began compiling the country singles charts strictly on the number of detections or plays registered by each song.

The songs

I Like It, I Love It – Tim McGraw, five weeks at #1

Check Yes or No -George Strait, four weeks at #1. As you may know, Strait has been selected for the Kennedy Center Honors in 2025. Someone gave me one of his compilation CDs, the 1991 Ten Strait Hits.

I Can Love You Like That – John Michael Montgomery, three weeks at #1. This song I know! I own a version by All-4-One. Some music pundit noted at the time that this convergence meant that the genres were essentially meaningless.

Summer’s Comin’– Clint Black, three weeks at #1

Sold (The Grundy County Auction Incident) – John Michael Montgomery, three weeks at #1

Not A Moment Too Soon – Tim McGraw, two weeks at #1

Mi Vida Loca (My Crazy Life) – Pam Tillis, two weeks at #1

Old Enough To Know Better – Wade Hayes, two weeks at #1

This Woman And This Man – Clay Walker, two weeks at #1

Thinking About You – Trisha Yearwood, two weeks at #1

Any Man Of Mine – Shania Twain, two weeks at #1

You’re Gonna Miss Me When I’m Gone – Brooks & Dunn, two weeks at #1

Dust On The Bottle – David Lee Murphy, two weeks at #1

Tall, Tall Trees – Alan Jackson, two weeks at #1

That’s As Close As I’ll Get To Loving You – Aaron Tippin, two weeks at #1

All the rest of the songs are one week at #1

Gone Country – Alan Jackson

My Kind Of Girl – Collin Raye

You Can’t Make A Heart Love Somebody – George Strait

The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter – Reba McEntire

Little Miss Honky Tonk – Brooks & Dunn. I read the titles to text, and the machine changed Honky to *****, which I thought was adorable.

Gonna Get A Life – Mark Chesnutt

What Mattered Most – Ty Herndon

Texas Tornado – Tracy Lawrence

I Don’t Even Know Your Name – Alan Jackson

I Didn’t Know My Own Strength – Lorrie Morgan

Not On Your Love – Jeff Carson

She’s Every Woman—Garth Brooks. I own only one other album represented on this list, Fresh Horses.

Hot 100 #1s for 1995

TLC

Here are the Billboard pop Hot 100 #1s for 1995, A nice short list. And the Hot Adult Contemporary is both so short and has so much in common that I will note them here.

One Sweet Day – Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men (Columbia), 16 weeks at #1 pop, 13 weeks at #1 AC, double platinum record. This song was a response on the first episode of JEOPARDY I was on in 1998. SONGS BY THE NUMBERS: This 1995-96 hit by Mariah Carey & Boyz II Men holds the record for the most weeks at No. 1 with 16. (A record that has since been superseded.) I couldn’t think of the song’s name, though I knew it was One [something] Day.

In the next year or two, a very similar question showed up on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire at a very high level, I think $250,000. By that point, of course, I knew!

Fantasy – Mariah Carey (Columbia), eight weeks at #1 pop, double platinum record. I recognize the swipe more than the song.

Waterfalls – TLC (LaFace), seven weeks at #1 pop, platinum record. I also know this from the parody Weird Al Yankovic did, Phony Calls, featuring Bart Simpson.

Take A Bow – Madonna (Maverick /Sire), seven weeks at #1 pop, nine weeks at #1 AC, gold record

This Is How We Do It – Montell Jordan (PMP /RAL), seven weeks at #1 pop, platinum record

Some songs in movies

Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman – Bryan Adams (A&M) five weeks at #1 pop and AC. It was used for the film Don Juan DeMarco, starring Marlon Brando, Johnny Depp, and Faye Dunaway, which I never saw.

Creep – TLC (LaFace), four weeks at #1 pop, platinum record

Gangsta’s Paradise – Coolio featuring LV (MCA Sound), three weeks at #1 pop, triple platinum record. This song was initially rooted in Pastime Paradise by Stevie Wonder from his legendary album, Songs In The Key of Life. Coolio and Weird Al had a bit of a row about Weird Al’s use on Amish Paradise, though it was settled by 2011. The song is taken from Michele Pfeiffer’s movie Dangerous Minds.

One week at #1 pop

Kiss From A Rose – Seal (ZTT/Sire), 12 weeks at #1 AC, gold record, . It was from his second eponymous album (1994), released as a single in July 1994 and included in the film The NeverEnding Story III that year. “The song was re-released a year later as part of the Batman Forever film soundtrack, helping it top the charts in the United States.” I own the latter album, as well as his second album.

Exhale (Shoop Shoop) – Whitney Houston (Arista), platinum record. It was released as the lead single from the Waiting to Exhale soundtrack. The film starred Houston and Angela Bassett.

You Are Not Alone – Michael Jackson (Epic), platinum record

Hot Adult Contemporary #1 for 1995

These are the songs that were NOT #1 pop.

I’ll Be There For You (Theme from Friends) -the Rembrandts, seven weeks at #1 AC, #17 pop. I remember going on a picnic with my future wife. This song played on the radio when we got to the location, and again when we left about four hours later.

As I Lay Me Down – Sophie B. Hawkins, six weeks at #1 AC, #6 pop

In The House Of Stone and Light – Martin Page, four weeks at #1 AC, #14 pop

Love Will Keep Us Alive – Eagles, three weeks at #1 AC, #22 pop

Believe – Elton John, two weeks at #1 AC, #13 pop