Music Charts

One Last SXSW 2013 Flashback: Justin Timberlake

SXSW is rapidly fading in the rearview mirror, but this was too good to pass up. Emerald McLaughlin, daughter of Houston Press Publisher Stuart Folb, happened to be down front at Justin Timberlake's not-so-secret appearance last Sunday night at Austin's Coppertank Events Center, which was merely a h ... More >>

Behind "Pancho and Lefty": "That Son of a Bitch Is a Smash"

"Pancho and Lefty" long ago became more than just a song and something closer to a pop-culture touchstone, particularly in Texas and the Southwest. According to Urbanspoon, you can even dine at Pancho & Lefty's Tex-Mex restaurant in St. George, Utah. Unforgivably, it charges separately for chips and ... More >>

Jan Hammer and the Top 10 TV Theme Songs of the '80s

Not a lot of television shows win multiple Grammys. Then again, not a lot of television shows ever sounded (or looked) like Miami Vice. The cutting-edge series perfectly captured the pastel zeitgeist of its time when it debuted in 1984, influencing film, fashion, design and music in a way that few T ... More >>

Texans-Titans: The Best Rapper Tweets

The Top 10 Weirdest U.S. No. 1 Hits

It's not often that the pop charts will surprise you. After all, the average consumer in most countries doesn't have time to delve too deep into an artist's catalogue. They don't often pick up on songs that will stand the test of time. They like the ephemera record labels tell them is hot right now. ... More >>

4:50 a.m.: The 15 Best Fishing Songs We Could Find

Rocks Off never thought we'd say this, but the country eye candy behind "Pretty Good at Drinkin' Beer," Billy Currington, turned out to be pretty wise. He was smart enough to record the song "Bad Day of Fishin'" anyway, which contains the sage advice "a bad day of fishing beats a good day of anythin ... More >>

Happy Birthday to Archie Bell, Houston's Multi-Hit Wonder

Sixty-eight must be a pretty significant number to Archie Bell these days. Not only was 1968 the year that "Tighten Up" -- his million-selling single with Archie Bell and the Drells -- was released, but the man himself turns 68 years old tomorrow. A seminal piece of endlessly danceable proto-funk, ... More >>

Six Market Blvd. Shakes It Down

Rising Texas country stars will sign anything you want, up to a point.

10 Reasons to Hate Boyz II Men's "End of the Road"

Twenty years ago this week, a slick R&B ballad appeared at the top of the charts and simply refused to go away. One of the most successful songs of the '90s, Boyz II Men's "End of the Road" ruled the Billboard Hot 100 for 13 weeks, setting a new record. The soundtrack single was a major triumph not ... More >>

Two Door Cinema Club

Lila Downs

King Of Memes Gotye Hitting Houston October 11

In wishful touring news, an October 11 Gotye date has been announced at Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion. Right now, you are asking who Goatee is and why he, she, or they is headlining an outdoor pavilion. I say wishful because the guy has one single to his credit, but a hell of a lot of memes. Ear ... More >>

RIP Donna Summer: Disco Queen Dies At 63

Donna Summer, the disco queen whose salacious songs sometimes clashed with her traditional values, has died of cancer at age 63, TMZ is reporting. Boston native Summer, born LaDonna Andre Gaines, sang in her church choir as a teenager before winning five Grammys and becoming one of the top-selling ... More >>

Going The Distance: The Hot 100's 10 Longest-Charting Songs

Let us hop in our time machine and head back to a magical place in the past known as Dec. 23, 2010. Here is a snapshot of things going on at the time: Rocks Off was making wishes for the year 2011; Kanye West was knee deep in Album of the Year wins for My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy; Eddie Vedder ... More >>

Girl Gone Wild: Madonna's Top 10 Dance/Club Chart-Toppers

For the past two weeks, Madonna's latest single, "Girl Gone Wild," has been sitting pretty at the top of Billboard's Hot Dance/Club Play chart. That's the chart that tabulates which songs are getting the most spins in discos and dance clubs. It's a cool, upbeat track about losing control of your de ... More >>

Missed Opportunities: 10 Musicians Who Turned Down Big Hits

Have you ever had one of those moments where you thought to yourself, "Why did I do that?" or "Why did I turn that down?" Those kinds of moments happen to all of us. It's part of life, unfortunately. This happens all the time in the movie world, but you never seem to hear about it in the music worl ... More >>

Kenny Chesney & Tim McGraw Playing Reliant Stadium August 4

Rocks Off is used to seeing these kinds of announcements only around the Rodeo or at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington. But two of country music's top alpha males, Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw, will bring their "Brothers of the Sun" tour to Reliant Stadium Saturday, August 4, promoter AEG announced today ... More >>

Notice: Mariah Carey Still Has More No. 1 Singles Than Elvis

Four years ago this week, Mariah Carey made music history by scoring the 18th No. 1 single of her career. Think about that for a second: If you're reading this, Mariah Carey has recorded more No. 1 singles than women you've had sex with (a lot more). What makes the feat even more incredible is that ... More >>

Five Movies That Kept Classic Songs Partying On

You might be surprised to learn that in 1992 the No. 1 movie in theaters on Valentine's Day was not a romantic comedy. Twenty years ago this week, a film about a pair of rock-obsessed, public-access TV hosts from Aurora, Illinois was released, and would go on to make $121 million at the box office. ... More >>

RIP "Drift Away" Singer, Native Houstonian Dobie Gray

Pop/Soul/Country singer/songwriter Dobie Gray passed away today after a long, respected career as a silky crooner and songwriter, who achieved moderate success in the '60s and '70s. He had his biggest hit with "Drift Away," in 1973 and re-emerged in 2003 when Uncle Cracker recorded the song and ha ... More >>

Top 20 Throwback TV Theme Songs Part 2

Only a big dummy wouldn't have this show on the list.​Yesterday, we hit you up with the best ten TV theme songs that didn't quite make the top of our list. We heard a few quibbles from fellow television aficionados, but their cries of frustration were muffled by the sounds of "The LOOOVVE BOA ... More >>

Top 20 Throwback TV Theme Songs Part 1

​We grew up on television. Whether it was Saturday morning cartoons, afternoon re-runs, Sunday Disney and Wild Kingdom or Thursday night "must see" TV, we saw it. We noticed that on November 2, 1985, the Miami Vice soundtrack went to number one on the Billboard charts where it would stay for ... More >>

Do Hit Singles Still Help Sell An Album?

J: Cole: Zero hit singles, 218K first-week sales.​​The music industry has been reeling from a host of ailments, none more severe than crippling record sales. Fortunately, 2011 has been a strong year so far, with CD sales on the rise. Spearheaded by the likes of Adele, Lady Gaga and Lil Wayn ... More >>

George Strait's Top 20 Songs Of All Time: Nos. 5-1

​As Rocks Off dives into the top slots of our favorite George Strait songs from his 30-year career - see Nos. 20-16, 15-11 and 10-6 - we are waiting anxiously to see if King George was able to knock Lil' Wayne's Tha Carter IV from atop the Billboard 200. A top seat for the brand-new Here For a ... More >>

Mana

Beyonce's 4 & 11 Other Numerical Album Titles

​Beyonce is not the first artist to title her album after a number. Here are 11 more - one of which B may have to unseat from the top of the charts when her fourth solo album, 4, is released next month. Chicago, Chicago III-Twenty 1 (1971-91): Chicago had a simple formula for naming albums: ... More >>

Controversial Producer Huey Meaux Dead At 82

​Huey P. Meaux, the onetime studio and record-label owner and chart-topping producer who helped define the Gulf Coast sound through hits by the Sir Douglas Quintet, Freddy Fender and Barbara Lynn, died this morning at age 82. Known as the "Crazy Cajun," Meaux died at his home in Winnie, his n ... More >>

Soul City: The Amazing Jazz Crusaders

Black History Month is always a great time to recall some of Houston's greatest musical innovators and leaders. Rocks Off will highlight some of them during the remainder of February. "Hey, let's get back to that down-and-dirty old-school chicken-shack sound" mosaicrecords.com​While Houston ... More >>

Chris Isaak

Aventura

The Music of True Blood, Episode 1.5: Playing Chicken With the Train, and an AIDS Burger

Alan Ball was known for his masterful use of music in Six Feet Under. He's lost none of his touch when it comes to his current HBO series, True Blood - which happens to be set in the Louisiana swamps, not terribly far from Houston. With Season 2 just completed, Rocks Off is now working our way backw ... More >>

Lonesome Onry and Mean: Has Miranda Lambert Sparked a Revolution In Nashville?

If there is a ticking time bomb signaling the impending end of the '80s hair-band nature of mainstream country music, Miranda Lambert is probably lighting the fuse. Lambert's third album, Revolution, debuted at No. 1 on Billboard's Top Country Albums chart last week and sold 23 percent more (almost ... More >>

Gene Loves Jezebel

The Return of Chart Check: Beyonce Runs "Rings" Around the Competition

[Note: Chart Check is back, now spotlighting Texans on this week's various Billboard lists.] The Billboard 200 (albums) 4. Beyonce, I Am... Sasha Fierce 8. Jaime Foxx, Intuition Hot 100 (singles) 2. Beyonce, "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" 19. Beyonce, "If I Were a Boy" Digital Songs 5. Beyonce, ... More >>

Hitsville: The Year in Music, by the Numbers

You don't need a half-wit music critic to tell you it's been a remarkable year for America, one historians will be discussing and researching for centuries to come. War, financial collapse, politics, technology: All have been dinner-table topics for many Americans. Racial barriers in 2008 were demol ... More >>

The Kanye Is a "Sharp Dressed Man"

Rocks Off would like to thank Dallas Observer Music Editor Pete Freedman for hipping him to this little nugget: the White Folks Get Crunk blog has chosen DJ Shade's splice job welding Kanye West's "Love Lockdown" and ZZ Top's "Sharp Dressed Man" as one of 2008's top five mashups (it's No. 4). ... More >>

Tonight: Shontelle at House of Blues

Snoop Dogg

Bartender, Pour the Wine: Ten Great Country Breakup Songs

The Irish Tenors’ Christmas Special

The classical/pop trio makes its debut in Houston

Pro Athlete Musicians

Athletes step off the field and into the studio

Chamillionaire: Not So Dirty

The Houston 100: The Master List

The Houston 100: From Scarface to Robert Earl Keen

Chart Check: R. Kelly

Paul Wall Update

Hoob Job

Brian Keane, Wayne Sutton and Rachel Loy

Friday, February 10, Dan Electro's Guitar Bar, 1031 East 24th Street, 713-862-8707.

Ice Ice Maybe

A decade after Vanilla Ice melted down, he's back with the man who made him

Racket

In his first 24 years of life, Brad Turcotte has already become a music-business veteran