A "Casey Kasem" Moment...Almost!

Those who grew up listening to the late Casey Kasem's weekly radio show American Top 40 recall him pointing out trivia moments as they happened, sharing his passion for those moments with his audience. One such moment was those rare occasions when 2 different songs with the same title charted on the top 40 during the same week. Did this ever happen on Billboard's Modern Rock chart? Through 1998, no, but...there was a related chart enigma that year worth mentioning.

The ordeal began with Billboard's February 21st issue. Natalie Imbruglia's Torn was currently moving up the Modern Rock chart, when, on the "sister" chart, the Mainstream Rock chart, Creed's Torn just entered that chart! Surprisingly, Creed's song NEVER charted on Billboard's Modern Rock chart, despite their track My Own Prison ranking on that chart during this time. But the two tracks named Torn nearly charted in sync with each other on each chart for the next few months, until Natalie Imbruglia's Torn fell off the Modern Rock chart on July 18th.

This marked the closest two tracks with the same title ever came to charting at the same time on the Modern Rock chart. Casey Kasem would have been very disappointed!

One interesting side note: In the Chicago market, alternative station Q101 presented a year · end countdown courtesy of their listeners. BOTH tracks named Torn appear in their countdown, with Natalie Imbruglia's hit appearing at #20, and Creed's hit ranking at #78, making it likely both were popular with "windy city" listeners at the same time!

Sex And Candy New Record Holder At Number One

During the week of March 7th 1998, Marcy Playground's Sex And Candy spent it's 11th week at number one on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks Chart, enough to eclipse the record set just 2 years earlier by Oasis. By the time its run at the top ended the week of April 4th, Sex And Candy had moved firmly in first place in the Modern Rock Charts record books at 15 weeks!

The run for Marcy Playground's hit followed a trend on Billboard charts in recent years for long stays at the top. This was mainly due to Billboard using the computerized SoundScan system for compiling chart data, starting in 1991. The SoundScan system improved accuracy of the data, and showed both tracks'/singles' and albums' true popularity among fans.

Notable New Bands And Artists: Everlast

Erik Francis Schrody, known by his stage name Everlast, first made a name for himself in the rap and hip · hop world, best known as a member of the trio House Of Pain. Following a successful run as a hip · hop band in the early 1990's, House Of Pain broke up and Everlast later pursued a solo career. As a solo artist, Everlast shifted from rap and hip · hop to rock, yielding his first hit album Whitey Ford Sings The Blues in late 1998. The album, and its first track release What It's Like were an immediate success! What It's Like scored number one on BOTH of Billboard's rock charts in late 1998 and early 1999, not to mention it was the number 2 song for the year 1999 on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart! Everlast also saw success colaborating with Carlos Santana the following year in a track on Santana's comeback album Supernatural.

Everlast's foray into the alternative rock world came just in time for an influx of rap artists beginning to get notice from alternative rock fans. The genre began to shift its focus to new sounds.