'NICE' GIRLS

Hello Fred,

I just read that the Dixie Chicks' "Not Ready to Make Nice" hit No. 40 on the Hot AC chart six months after the song's initial release. Is it typical for a song to move so slowly up the charts?

Bill Bradley
Sacramento, Calif.


Dear Bill,

I guess Adult Top 40 radio was not ready to make nice with the Dixie Chicks when the song was released in March. It's been seven months since "Not Ready to Make Nice" debuted on the Hot Country Songs chart, six months since it made its Adult Contemporary debut and five months since the song entered the Hot 100. Now, "Nice" moves 40-39 in its second week on the Adult Top 40 tally, so the song has come late to this format.

It does sometime happen that a song is popular in one (or more) formats before crossing over to a different radio format. Country songs sometimes show up on the Adult Contemporary chart long after their runs on Hot Country Songs, for example, although this track did not .

By the way, "Hot AC" is another name for the Adult Top 40 chart. The latter is the name of the chart in Billboard and the former is the name you'll see in the pages of our sister publication, Radio & Records.


SO SIX IS HIGHER THAN SEVEN?

Hi Fred,

I think you might have made an error in your recent piece.

You said, "'Smack That' is already Eminem's highest-ranked title since "Lose Yourself" spent 12 weeks at No. 1, starting in November 2002. Two recent Eminem songs peaked at No. 6: "Shake That" in February and "Just Lose It" in October 2004."

However, "Smack That" had just then only reached No. 7. So it is Eminem's highest-ranked title since "Just Lose It," not "Lose Yourself." I think you had it confused with Akon's "Lonely" which had peaked at No. 4 and which you had just mentioned in the sentence preceding the part I quoted. Just for your info.

Joey Toledo
Quezon City, Philippines


Dear Joey,

I was so busy keeping "Smack That" and "Shake That" straight that I must have missed the fact that No. 6 is higher than No. 7. Thanks for catching the error.

This week, "Smack That" moves up to No. 4, matching the peak position of "Lonely" and making the whole thing moot, but I'm still glad you spotted the mistake.


FAIR EXCHANGE

Hi Fred,

I think this is a very strange coincidence. A few months after a song called "London Bridge" topped the U.S. Hot 100, the U.K. chart is led by a song called "America." I know searching for similar coincidences is beyond the scope of Chart Beat but, in case nobody has realized this, I just wanted to tell you.

Best regards,

Jochen Tierbach


Dear Jochen,

Others may have noticed, but you're the first to write about it. Too bad the two geographic songs didn't reach No. 1 in the same week, but we can't have everything. For the record, "London Bridge" is by Fergie and "America" is by Razorlight.


THE GAME OF THE NAME

Hi, Fred.

In response to Randy Price's question last week about artists who charted on the Hot 100 the same weeks their names were used in a song title, I came up with four instances:

On Nov. 17, 1984, Rick Springfield debuted at No. 81 with "Bruce," a song about being mistaken for Bruce Springsteen. Bruce Springsteen was No. 42 that same week with "Born in the USA."

On July 4, 1987, ABC debuted at No. 86 with "When Smokey Sings," a tribute to Smokey Robinson, who was at No. 8 with "Just to See Her."

On April 25, 1992, "Weird Al" Yankovic debuted at No. 95 with "Smells Like Nirvana," a parody of Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit." That same week, Nirvana was No. 34 with "Come as You Are."

And this last one is kind of cheap, but here goes: On Nov. 28, 1992, Prince debuted at No.98 with his hit "7." He was also No.66 that week with "My Name Is Prince."

Chris Feldman
Dubuque, Iowa


Dear Chris,

I don't know about that last one, but thanks for coming up with such a complete report. Many Chart Beat readers wrote in with one or two of the examples you mentioned, but you found the most.

Here are some additional discoveries from readers:

Michael Smith of Westboro, Mass., added this one: "On April 24, 1982, Stevie Wonder was in the top 10 with his Paul McCartney duet 'Ebony and Ivory' while Stars on 45 were simultaneously in the top 40 with "Stars On 45 III" subtitled "A Tribute to Stevie Wonder."

Pete Pait of Alpharetta, Georgia, wrote: "I found a couple of instances where Elvis Presley was mentioned, by nickname, in the title of a song at the same time Elvis appeared on the chart. On Sept. 10, 1977, Ronnie McDowell debuted at No. 89 with 'The King Is Gone' while Elvis jumped 11 spots to No. 24 with 'Way Down.' Also, on Nov. 12, 1977, Elvis debuted at No. 75 with 'My Way' while Ronnie McDowell was No. 33." Pete later added one more, although it is more tenuous: "On March 27, 1982, 'Empty Garden (Hey Hey Johnny)' jumped 10 spots in its second week to No. 69 on the Hot 100, while 'The Beatles Movie Medley' debuted right behind it at No. 70.

Pat Kelly of Brompton, Ontario, Canada, wrote: "Way back in 1955, Johnny Maddox reached No. 2 with 'The Crazy Otto' while the original Crazy Otto was on the charts with the double-sided hit 'Glad Rag Doll' and 'Smiles.'"