The Party #13’s starts with the iconic “Safety Dance” from Men Without Hats. It was written by the lead singer in response to being kicked out of a club for pogo dancing, a form of dancing that was becoming popular with new wavers. The following year “Owner Of A Lonely Heart” by Yes landed at #13 and was their only Hot 100 #1 song. 1985 saw another Hot 100 #1, “Broken Wings” by Mr. Mister take the unlucky number.
In the ‘90s the ladies dominated the #13 position. Bonnie Raitt’s Something To Talk About” in 1991. The fabulous “Sleeping Satellite” by Tasmin Archer in 1994 followed by Sheryl Crow’s debut hit “All I Wanna Do” in ’94, and then by Natalie Merchant’s solo debut “Carnival in ’95. The unbroken heart of Toni Braxton was at the position in 1996 and the end of the decade saw back-to-back Madonna songs, “The Power Of Goodbye” and “Beautiful Stranger” in 98/99. Overall I really lost interest in her as the decade progressed.
In 2003 the Russian duo T.A.T.U. scored with “All The Things She Said”, their only hit in the States. In 2005 it was “Take Me Out” by Scottish band Franz Ferdinand. A #3 UK and alternative hit, it was chosen as the #1 song of the year on the Village Voice’s Pazz and Jop poll and also on the Australian influential alt station Triple J. The Welsh singer Duffy came in at 13 in 2009 with the very Amy Winehouse-ish “Mercy”.
Shinedown’s “If You Only Knew” is one of 4 songs that made the party top 50 from the album “The Sound of Madness”. This one was a pop and rock hit and still sounds great. The other entries from the album were “Sound of Madness (#26), “The Crown and The Butterfly (#20 and talked about on the next episode of the Beyond Radio presents podcast), and their biggest pop hit “Second Chance (#4).
More rock showed up at #13 in 2012 (“Gold On The Ceiling” by the Black Keys), Fall Out Boy’s “Centuries” in 2015, the cover of the Cranberries “Zombie” by Bad Wolves in 2018, and the unlikely combo of Ed Sheeran, Chris Stapleton, and Bruno Mars on the blistering “Blow” in 2020. If you haven’t heard that one, I highly recommend.