Totally Hits

Last updated

Totally Hits was a series of various artists compilation albums released in collaboration with BMG and Warner Music Group, intending to showcase some of the most popular hit songs of the time. [1] [2] The series was intended to rival EMI and UMG's Now That's What I Call Music! series.

Contents

For the first volume, a massive ad campaign was launched, with both record labels putting out TV spots, Internet ads, and promotions for the release. Label executives referred to it as "the definitive collection of 1998 and 1999 hit singles," and "the first multi-format collection to boast virtually an entire program of bonafide crossover smashes." The first volume debuted and peaked at #14 on the Billboard Top 200 and received favorable reviews from Robert Christgau and Entertainment Weekly, who preferred it to Now! 3 . [3] [4] [5]

The first release was distributed by BMG's Arista Records. Prior to Totally Hits, Arista had been releasing various artists compilations known as the Ultimate series for the past four years. Arista executive vice president Charles Goldstuck claimed he wanted to "expand the franchise. We thought we'd be better off with a partner, so we could source the right repertoire and end up with as strong a compilation as possible to give the consumer complete value." Warner CEO Roger Ames accepted, and a track listing was put together in only a couple of months. [6]

Following the release of the first volume, follow-up installments were numbered and contained hits from the few months prior to each album's release. This practice was abandoned after the release of Totally Hits 3 in November 2000. The main series then shifted to a yearly format, with the tracks featured on Totally Hits 2001 covering the entirety of that year. This practice then changed again in 2002, with the release of two volumes - Totally Hits 2002 and Totally Hits 2002: More Platinum Hits - with the former released during the first half of the year and the latter released during the second half. The yearly format was picked up again in 2003, which saw the only main entry in the series, Totally Hits 2003, released at the end of the year. 2004 saw the release of Totally Hits 2004 and Totally Hits 2004, Vol. 2, while the only release the main series saw for 2005, Totally Hits 2005, saw a release in May of that year. It would be the final main entry to be branded as a Totally Hits album. A Totally Hits 2006 compilation was planned, but it was never released. [7] Instead, Warner would go on to release an abbreviated, 12-track compilation, Only Hits, as a successor. No follow-ups have been released. The final release under the Totally Hits brand, Totally Country, Vol. 6, was released in January 2007.

Titles

Related Research Articles

Arista Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously a division of Bertelsmann Music Group, the North American division of German conglomerate Bertelsmann. Founded in November 1974 by Clive Davis and deactivated in 2011, Arista was re-established in 2018. Along with RCA Records, Columbia Records, and Epic Records, it is one of Sony Music's four flagship record labels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jive Records</span> American record label

Jive Records was a British-American independent record label founded by Clive Calder in 1981 as a subsidiary of the Zomba Group. In the US, the label had offices in New York City and Chicago. Jive was best known for its successes with hip hop, R&B, and dance acts in the 1980s and 1990s, along with teen pop and boy bands during the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Now That's What I Call Music! is a series of various artists compilation albums released in the United Kingdom and Ireland by Sony Music and Universal Music which began in 1983. Spinoff series began for other countries the following year, starting with South Africa, and many other countries worldwide soon followed, expanding into Asia in 1995, then the United States in 1998.

<i>Wide Open Spaces</i> (album) 1998 studio album by Dixie Chicks

Wide Open Spaces is the fourth studio album and the major label debut of American country music band Dixie Chicks. It was their first record with new lead vocalist Natalie Maines, and became their breakthrough commercial success. It received diamond status by the RIAA on February 20, 2003, in the United States, having shipped 13 million units worldwide, while spending more than six years in the Australian ARIA music charts Country Top 20.

<i>ELV1S: 30 No. 1 Hits</i> 2002 greatest hits album by Elvis Presley

Elvis: 30 #1 Hits is a greatest hits collection of songs by American rock and roll singer Elvis Presley. It was released by RCA Records on September 24, 2002. It is the first Elvis Presley album to feature the remix of "A Little Less Conversation" by JXL that was released earlier in the year and reached No. 1 in the UK, Australia and went on to become a number-one hit in over 20 countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sk8er Boi</span> 2002 single by Avril Lavigne

"Sk8er Boi" is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Avril Lavigne, released as the second single from her debut album, Let Go (2002). It was written by Lavigne and the Matrix, and produced by the Matrix. The song, which combines power pop and pop-punk elements, lyrically tells a story told from the singer's viewpoint about her rocker boyfriend and a girl he knew in high school who rejected him because he was a skateboarder and she did ballet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zomba Group</span> Record label

The Zomba Group of Companies was a music group and division owned by and operated under Sony Music Entertainment. The division was renamed to Jive Label Group in 2009 and was placed under the RCA/Jive Label Group umbrella. In 2011, the RCA/Jive Label Group was split in half. Multiple Jive Label Group artists were moved to Epic Records while others stayed with Jive as it moved under the RCA Music Group. In October 2011 Jive Records was shut down and their artists were moved to RCA Records.

Judith "Judy" Torres is an American freestyle music artist and dance-pop singer.

<i>Hits</i> (compilation series) Contemporary music compilation series

Hits - also commonly known as The Hits Album - is a long-running compilation album series containing contemporary chart music. It originally ran in the United Kingdom and parts of Europe for over twenty years from 1984 until 2006. It was compiled as a joint venture, variously between the compilation arms of the Sony Music, RCA/BMG, and Warner Music groups to rival the Now That's What I Call Music series that had launched a year earlier in 1983, compiled by rival companies EMI and Virgin. Initially, the Hits brand was arguably as popular as its main rival and all of the first eight volumes achieved at least a platinum BPI award, with several of the very early albums going multi-platinum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Smooth (Santana song)</span> 1999 single by Santana

"Smooth" is a song performed by American rock band Santana and Rob Thomas of Matchbox Twenty, who sings the lead vocals. It was released on June 15, 1999, as the lead single from Santana's 1999 studio album, Supernatural. It was written by Itaal Shur and Thomas, who re-wrote Shur's original melody and lyrics, and produced by Matt Serletic.

<i>Now Thats What I Call Music!</i> discography 1983 compilation album series (1983–present) by various artists

This is a list of available actual and physical albums belonging to the official Now That's What I Call Music! UK series, comprising: compact discs (CD), magnetic audio cassettes (AC), vinyl (LP), VHS tape, Universal Media Disc (UMD), DVD, and on other short-lived formats. They are categorized by series (country), then ordered by date. All series with the exception of United Kingdom and the United States have been discontinued, New Zealand had two more albums released as a playlist only on Spotify, South Africa had five more albums released as a playlist on Spotify under DJ Kurtis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">H-Blockx</span> German rock band

H-Blockx is a German rock band founded in Münster in 1991. After the success of their debut album in 1994, Time to Move, the band received a nomination for Best Breakthrough Artist at the 1995 MTV Europe Music Awards. In 1999, the World Wrestling Federation contacted them to record a song, "Oh Hell Yeah", for wrestler Stone Cold Steve Austin, and their song "Countdown to Insanity" appears in the European version of the 2007 music video game Rock Band. Between 1994 and 2012, H-Blockx released seven studio albums.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Don't Let Me Get Me</span> 2001 single by Pink

"Don't Let Me Get Me" is a song by American singer Pink. It was written by Pink and Dallas Austin and produced by the latter for her second studio album, Missundaztood (2001).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Here with Me (Dido song)</span> 1999 single by Dido

"Here with Me" is the debut single of English singer-songwriter Dido. It was the first single she released from her 1999 debut studio album, No Angel. The song was written about her then-boyfriend Bob Page. The single was released on 17 May 1999 in the United States but was not released in the United Kingdom until February 2001, serving as Dido's debut single in her home country. In other territories, it was issued as the album's second single, following "Thank You". Shortly after its release, "Here with Me" was used as the theme song for the American science fiction television programme Roswell (1999–2002).

<i>The Greatest Hits Collection</i> (Brooks & Dunn album) 1997 greatest hits album by Brooks & Dunn

The Greatest Hits Collection is the first compilation album by American country music duo Brooks & Dunn. It was released in 1997 on Arista Nashville, and it chronicles the greatest hits from their first four studio albums: 1991's Brand New Man, 1993's Hard Workin' Man, 1994's Waitin' on Sundown, and 1996's Borderline. The album also includes three new tracks, two of which were released as singles: "Honky Tonk Truth" and "He's Got You", which respectively reached #3 and #2 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts. In 2004, a sequel, The Greatest Hits Collection II, was released.

<i>Super Hits</i> (Alan Jackson album) 1999 greatest hits album by Alan Jackson

Super Hits is the second greatest hits compilation album by Alan Jackson. The album was re-released in 2007. It is part of a series of similar Super Hits albums issued by Sony BMG, the parent company of Jackson's label, Arista Nashville.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pam Tillis discography</span>

The discography of American country music singer–songwriter, Pam Tillis, contains 14 studio albums, six compilation albums, one video album, 45 singles, 25 music videos and has appeared on 11 albums. Tillis's career was launched on the Warner Bros. label, where she released several unsuccessful singles and her debut studio album: Above and Beyond the Doll of Cutey (1983). Through Arista Nashville, her second studio album was released in January 1991 titled Put Yourself in My Place. The disc was her first commercial success, reaching number ten on America's Billboard Top Country Albums chart, number 69 on the Billboard 200 and number 12 on Canada's RPM country chart. The disc also certified gold in both countries and spawned five charting singles. Of these releases, "Don't Tell Me What to Do", "One of Those Things" and "Maybe It Was Memphis" reached the top ten of the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. In September 1992, her third studio album was released called Homeward Looking Angel. The disc certified both gold and platinum in North America, while also spawning the Billboard and RPM top ten singles "Shake the Sugar Tree" and "Let That Pony Run".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Rhodes (musician)</span> American bass player (1953–2023)

Michael Rhodes was an American bass player, known for his session work and touring in support of other artists, and his collaborations in bands and ensembles.

Eric A. Darken is an American percussionist, composer, and programmer.

Larry Alvin Franklin is an American fiddler, mandolin and guitar player, session musician, and composer. His style embraces country, blues, rock and roll, jazz, and Western swing.

References

  1. ↑ "New 'Totally Hits' Taps 20 Top Singles". Billboard. Retrieved 2018-11-18.
  2. ↑ Sandler, Adam (1999-10-29). "Arista and Warner Music pact to bring on the 'Hits'". Variety. Retrieved 2018-11-18.
  3. ↑ "Top 200 Albums | Billboard 200 chart". Billboard. Retrieved 2018-11-18.
  4. ↑ "Robert Christgau: Album: Totally Hits". www.robertchristgau.com. Retrieved 2018-11-18.
  5. ↑ "Totally Hits; Now 3". EW.com. Retrieved 2018-11-18.
  6. ↑ Inc, Nielsen Business Media (1999-11-06). Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc.{{cite book}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  7. ↑ "Totally Hits 2006" . Retrieved 2024-06-02.

See also

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.