Readers of That Grape Juice know what avid music lovers we are – especially of hits past.
So, as our retrospective features ‘From the Vault’ and ‘TGJ Replay’ allow us the chance to re-spin the gems and jams of yesterday of one artist, our newest feature Chart Rewind – a variation of our current Retro Rewind assay – accedes salutes to an entire era of music history.
This week we believe it’s time to pay homage to 1998’s ‘Believe,’ the last chart-topping single from pop goddess Cher. Delivered as the lead single from her 22nd album of the same name (click here to read our ode to the album in full), the song zoomed to #1 on the Hot 100 in five months after its release and eventually topped the charts of over 20 other countries. The feat gave her several distinct honors, including:
- Oldest artist to occupy #1 spot on Hot 100 (age 52 at the time)
- Longest span between #1 singles (1974-1999)
- Longest gap between first #1 single and last #1 single (1965-1999)
In the UK, the song was the first ever by a solo female to reach triple platinum status. As of time reporting, it remains the biggest selling single by a solo female artist on our side of the pond. Easily becoming a fan favorite of the timeless diva’s, the song snagged one Grammy for ‘Best Dance Recording’ at the 2000 ceremony.
Dethroned this week 19 years ago by R&B supergroup TLC, tuck in to relieve the magic of the tune and see who joined them in the top 25 this week in 1999:
(more…)
