The Bridge: Hits Don’t Lie

Summary

Podcast Summary: Hit Parade – The Bridge: Hits Don’t Lie (April 17, 2020)

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Overview

This “Bridge” episode of Hit Parade, hosted by Chris Molanphy, dives into the story of Latin music’s crossover onto the American pop charts. Through a mix of personal anecdotes, music history, and chart analysis, Chris and guest Eduardo Cepeda (music editor at Remescla) discuss what qualities make a true “smash” hit and reflect on the evolution and significance of Latin music—from Tito Puente’s standards to the global reggaeton explosion and “Despacito.” The episode is rounded out by listener trivia and insights into music fandom.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Genesis and Symbolism of "The Bridge"

• [02:04] Chris introduces Tito Puente’s “Oye Como Va,” explaining its significance as a literal and metaphorical bridge for Latin music in America.
  • Puente, a New York native, was known as the “King of Latin Music” and “King of Timbales.”
  • “Oye Como Va” became a standard after Carlos Santana’s 1971 cover and was named one of the 20th century’s most important musical works by NPR.
• Bridge episodes connect monthly Hit Parade shows and spotlight music trivia with guest participation.

2. Eduardo Cepeda’s Musical Roots and Latin/Anglo Divide

• [03:49] Chris asks Eduardo about navigating Latin and Anglo musical worlds growing up as a first-generation Mexican American.
  • Quote [04:12] Eduardo Cepeda: “Growing up as a first-generation immigrant... I was listening to grunge, I was listening to Nirvana... but at home... my dad, who played congas and bongos... we would listen to a lot of salsa... they were both part of my daily life, but they were separate from each other for a really long time.”

3. Early Crossovers and Chart Integration

• [04:43–06:49] They explore when and how Latin songs began resonating with non-Latino/Anglo audiences.
  • Eduardo highlights the duality of popularity and accessibility, and the commercialization of Latin sounds for broader appeal.
  • Notable quote on authenticity:

    “When Ricky Martin was on the charts... it was treated as like a tokenized movement, almost... there was no other way at the moment to do it... that was the way to kind of start opening the door for Bad Bunnies and Cardi Bs...” (Eduardo Cepeda, [05:56–06:49])

4. Crossover’s Complexity: “Cheesy” to “Crucial”

• [07:03–08:47] Eduardo’s mixed feelings about the first Latin pop boom (Ricky Martin, Shakira, Enrique, JLo).
  • Early crossovers were sometimes perceived as inauthentic or “cheesy.”
  • Shakira’s transition is discussed:

    “I was a fan of Shakira before she ‘crossed over’... what she ended up doing to kind of reach Anglo audiences... was a big pivot.” (Eduardo Cepeda, [07:03–08:07])

5. Reggaeton: Afrodiasporic Rhythm and Globalization

• [09:54–11:21] Reggaeton’s rise is examined, tracing the genre’s Afro-diasporic roots and adaptability.
  • Dembo rhythm’s journey from African beats, to Jamaican-dancehall, Panama, and then Puerto Rico where reggaeton emerged.
  • Notable quote:

    “You hear it in Afrobeats, you hear it in Soca, you hear it in dancehall... It became what we call reggaeton maybe in the mid-90s or so. So it kind of took on a more Latino identity in that moment.” (Eduardo Cepeda, [10:11–11:21])

6. Longevity in the Genre: Daddy Yankee and “Despacito”

• [11:49–14:51] The episode explores Daddy Yankee’s long-lasting influence, culminating in “Despacito.”
  • Chris is struck by Daddy Yankee’s relevance across decades; Eduardo highlights that “Despacito” revived media focus on reggaeton.
  • Eduardo shares Fonsi’s self-awareness:

    “Luis Fonsi... completely accepts that he’s not a reggaetonero... he recognizes this was pop music with a light dembow rhythm behind it and not necessarily reggaeton per se.” (Eduardo Cepeda, [13:40–14:23])

7. The Post-Despacito Era: Diversity and Authenticity

• [14:55–16:44] Discussion shifts to the present: crossover is no longer a novelty—Latin music is now a key component of America’s pop fabric.
  • Eduardo name-drops current and up-and-coming artists: Kiko Crazy, El Alfa, Tokischa, Nino Augustine, Eladio Carrión.
  • On the new landscape:

    “At this point because of some of the charting we’ve seen... I don’t think it’s a crossover anymore at this point. I think it’s just part of our fabric...” (Eduardo Cepeda, [15:23])

8. Resources and Recommendations

• Eduardo encourages listeners to read his work at Remescla and follow him on Twitter [16:52].

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Puente was known also as the King of the Timbales. Oye Como Va, his best known composition... has been recorded by dozens of musicians, including Carlos Santana...” —Chris Molanphy [02:15]
• “I was a fan of Shakira before she ‘crossed over’... what she ended up doing to reach Anglo audiences... was a big pivot.” —Eduardo Cepeda [07:03]
• “It wasn’t like Ricky or Enrique... She [JLo] just kind of jumped right in... and went straight to hip hop pretty quickly.” —Chris Molanphy [09:27]
• “Dembo specifically came from dancehall... it’s not just reggaeton. What you see with reggaeton specifically is it came from Panama... they started rapping in Spanish over it...” —Eduardo Cepeda [10:11]
• “Luis Fonsi... recognizes that this was pop music with a light dembo rhythm and not necessarily reggaeton per se.” —Eduardo Cepeda [13:40]
• “I don’t think it’s a crossover anymore... it’s just part of our fabric.” —Eduardo Cepeda [15:23]

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Trivia Segment Highlights

[17:11] Listener Tina Joins for a Three-Question Challenge

• Billy Joel’s chart hits, Latin pop crossover classics, and biggest 1983 albums are among the trivia topics.
• Tina stumps Chris with her own trivia: the first English-language #1 on the Spanish chart was “Diana” by Paul Anka. [23:42–24:07]

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• [02:04] – Episode begins: Tito Puente, the concept of the bridge
• [03:49] – Interview with Eduardo Cepeda starts
• [05:04] – Discussion on why Latin standards resonated in America
• [06:49] – First major crossover moments (& their complexities)
• [08:07] – Shakira’s and JLo’s crossover evolution
• [09:54] – Reggaeton history and Afrodiasporic rhythms
• [11:49] – Daddy Yankee’s influence; “Despacito” as resurgence moment
• [14:55] – Latin music’s “post-crossover” status; new artist recommendations
• [17:04] – Eduardo’s writing and social media details
• [17:27] – Listener trivia segment with Tina
• [23:42] – Tina’s trivia question for Chris
• [25:12] – Season preview: Next episode will focus on Billy Joel

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Tone and Language

The tone throughout is conversational, enthusiastic, and informative, providing keen historical insights without heavy jargon. Eduardo brings a personal yet critical perspective, and Chris’s hosting is inclusive and jargon-free, making complex musical topics accessible.

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Conclusion

This Bridge episode offers a dynamic exploration of Latin music’s journey in U.S. pop culture, unearthing the mechanics of crossover hits, historic milestones, and the new musical ecosystem post-Despacito. Through expert insight, engaging trivia, and honest reflection, listeners are invited to see the U.S. pop landscape—and their own musical memories—through a broader, more global lens.

Transcript

[Tina]

You're listening ad free on Amazon Music.

[Slate Membership Announcer]

Hi Hit Parade listeners. Before we start this Bridge episode, I have a brief announcement that's important to all Hit Parade subscribers. Like many media organizations at the moment, Slate is getting hit pretty hard by what's going on with the economy in the wake of the COVID 19 pandemic. We want to continue doing our work providing you with all our great podcasts, news and reporting, and we simply cannot do that without your support. So we're asking you to sign up for Slate plus, our membership program. It's just $35 for the first year and it will go a long way to helping support us in this crucial moment. As part of this effort, we're going to be making Hit Parade episodes available to Slate + members only. This will begin with the full length episode coming on April 30th. To listen to that episode in full and episodes in future months, you'll need to become a Slate plus member. This is the best way to support our show and our work, and we hope you will pitch in if you can. Your membership will also give access to everything on slate.com youm'll get ad free versions of this and other shows and you'll get bonus segments and bonus episodes of other Slate podcasts. Plus, once you become a member, you can sign up to do trivia with me on our Hit Parade the Bridge episodes. So to sign up now and support us, head over to slate.com hitparadeplus that's slate.com thank you so much.

[Chris Melanfy]

Hey everybody, this is Chris Melanfy, host of Hit Parade, Slate's podcast of pop chart history. Welcome to the Bridge. That's the original 1962 version of Oye Comova by the king of Latin music, Tito Puente, a man whose last name Puente in Spanish literally means bridge. A native of New York City, where we are recording today's live edition of Hit Parade, the Bridge. Puente was known also as the King of the Timbales. Oye Comova, his best known composition, which translates roughly to language, Listen how it goes, has been recorded by dozens of musicians, including Carlos Santana, who took it to number 13 in 1971. National Public Radio later named Oye Comova one of the most important musical works of the 20th century. And these mini episodes bridge our full length monthly episodes give us a chance to catch up with listeners and and enjoy some Hit Parade trivia. This month I am delighted to be joined by Eduardo Cepeda, a Mexican American writer and the music editor at the Latin media site Remescla Eduardo spent years as a touring musician and DJ and eventually founded Mother of Pearl, a record store that went on to become a label, a music festival, and a marketing agency. He splits his time between Brooklyn and Brookline and has a 5 year old who loves dancing to La Romana. Eduardo Cepeda, welcome to the Bridge.

[Eduardo Cepeda]

Thanks for having me.

[Chris Melanfy]

It's a pleasure to have you. You know, obviously we're here to talk about the most recent episode, full length episode of Hit Parade, which was all about the history of Latin pop crossover on the American charts. And I wanted to ask a personal question. For starters. Growing up, did you consider Spanish language music part of your regular music diet, or were Anglo pop and Latin pop separate worlds for you?

[Eduardo Cepeda]

They were both, essentially, because growing up as a first generation immigrant, right, like you're. You're kind of trying to fit in, you're kind of trying to, like, do whatever your friends are doing. So I was listening to, you know, grunge, I was listening to Nirvana or whatever, but then at home, you know, I would hang out with my dad, who played congas and bongos and stuff. And so we would listen to like a lot of salsa and stuff like that and, like, play along with that. And so they were both part of my daily life, but they were separate from each other for a really long time.

[Chris Melanfy]

Right. And that's interesting vis a vis the topic of the podcast episode, because I was trying to pinpoint the moment when these worlds, at least on the charts, started to merge in the 20th century. Songs like Guantaramera and Oye Como Va became standards, and they resonated with Anglo audiences. Why do you think that was?

[Eduardo Cepeda]

Well, I think on one hand it's because they were just very popular, very catchy songs that played on various, you know, maybe commercials or movies or just became a part of pop culture. But also, I think they were easily accessible to non Latino audiences. And I think maybe I'm getting ahead of myself here, but that's how the crossover ended up happening, because maybe a lot of songwriters kind of understood what Anglo audiences would consume and integrated that into their songwriting for bigger pop stars to kind of create this crossover thing that happened at the turn of the century.

[Chris Melanfy]

Right. And how do you perceive 20th century crossover? And I guess what's the moment for you where this crossover passes from the world of novelty to something a little more legitimate?

[Eduardo Cepeda]

Well, I guess when, you know, Ricky Martin was on the charts.

[Chris Melanfy]

That was.

[Eduardo Cepeda]

A great moment in and of itself, but it was very. It was treated as like a tokenized Movement, almost. So it was great to see. On one hand, it was great to see these artists resonating with Anglo audiences. But on the other hand, they were doing it in a way that was very. It was playing to Anglo audiences rather than being authentic to itself.

[Chris Melanfy]

Right.

[Eduardo Cepeda]

And so at the time I thought it was kind of cheesy. Now, in retrospect, I almost think, well, there was no other way at the moment to do it, right? That was the way to kind of start opening the door for Bad bunnies and cardi Bs to kind of just do themselves how they want to do it. Right. So it was an important moment, albeit a very complicated moment.

[Chris Melanfy]

Right. And so I would imagine as a fan of Latin music yourself, watching those worlds collide yet in this kind of watered down way, must have been a little surreal for you, right? As a fan of both sides of the radio dial, so to speak, right?

[Eduardo Cepeda]

I mean, it was. It was. Especially at the time, I mean, we didn't take it, like, at least in my group of friends, right? We didn't take it very seriously. Actually. I was a fan of Shakira before she, quote, unquote, crossed over. And the sound she was performing back then was very different from what she ended up doing to kind of reach Anglo audiences. She was doing like very, kind of almost basic but catchy alt rock in the late night. And so I actually saw her on that very first tour. She only played for like 40 minutes because she didn't have that many songs. So when she came out with these huge stage setups and, you know, the dancing cobra that she had on stage, that was just like, what is going on here? You know, it was definitely a big.

[Chris Melanfy]

Pivot, I guess, because it was like she was defining her own crossover, right? It was. She was crossing over, but it was. It was kind of almost in the other direction, taking the parts of American rock she wanted and fusing it to her own thing, right?

[Eduardo Cepeda]

Definitely. And yeah, even if you look at her early stuff, she wasn't doing technically Latin music. All she was doing was American rock music and Spanish, basically. Right. And so in a sense, when she again crossed over, which is a term I kind of don't like, but it's. It's a necessary term she was adding and she was incorporating more Latin elements, right. So. And especially some of her Arabic elements too, we forget about that, that she's.

[Chris Melanfy]

Also Lebanese, so we've already touched on this a bit. But what I'm calling the version 1.0 Latin boom of 99 to 2001, were you excited, dismayed, confused what Ricky Martin and JLo and Enrique all did during that period?

[Eduardo Cepeda]

Probably all of it. You know, again, it was, it was, it didn't sound like the Latin music that a lot of Latino communities were listening to at the time. Even though people, Latinos did get into Gigglesias, did get into Ricky Martin, did get into Shakira, JLo. I would, I would exclude JLO from that a little bit because, you know, she wasn't really playing those tropes so much, you know?

[Chris Melanfy]

Right.

[Eduardo Cepeda]

She was just making the kind of music, as you mentioned in the podcast, the kind of music you could have heard Ashanti maybe make. So in a sense, she was kind of one of the first to do this kind of crossover thing without playing into certain tropes.

[Chris Melanfy]

Right. And it's as if crossover was baked into what she was doing from the jump. It wasn't like Ricky or Enrique, who had one thing first and then translated it over a period of singles. She just kind of jumped right in with both feet with Rodney Jerkins and, you know, Murder Inc. Productions and went straight to hip hop pretty quickly.

[Eduardo Cepeda]

And it might have to do with the fact that she, she was from the Bronx and not from Puerto Rico or from Colombia. You know what I mean?

[Chris Melanfy]

Right. Let's talk about reggaeton, which becomes a force in the early 2000s. It exists in the late 90s, but it really kind of takes over in the aughts. Why do you think it translates across cultures? And why is that Dembo rhythm so irresistible and so adaptable?

[Eduardo Cepeda]

Well, I think first of all, if you look at where the Dembo rhythm came from, and Dembo is a very, you know, if you talk to some of the old school reggaeton producers, they'll tell you like, Dembo is one very specific rhythm that was used, and now it's kind of used as a catch all term for what the reggaeton driving beat is. But it's not technically Dembo. That beat, that rhythm crosses all kinds of cultures. I mean, it comes from Africa. You hear it in Afrobeats, you hear it in Soca, you hear it in dancehall. Still, obviously it came. Dembo specifically came from dancehall. So it's a very Afro diasporic beat. Right. So it's not just reggaeton. Right. What you see with reggaeton specifically is it came from Panama. A lot of Jamaican artists were sending records to their cousins in Panama and they started rapping in Spanish over it. And then eventually it became what was called underground in Puerto Rico and they started adding, you Know, maybe like timbales, they started adding bachata guitars to it. And that's kind of when it became what we call reggaeton, maybe like in the mid-90s or so. So it kind of took on a little bit more of a Latino identity in that moment.

[Chris Melanfy]

Yeah. And I would imagine at some point, reggaeton became the. The sound that, to your point, it wasn't just the Dembo rhythm. It kind of sprouted tendrils and went everywhere. Right. And I imagine that however long you've been writing about Latin music, reggaeton has probably been essential to, you know, if not a sun, certainly a planet around which lots of moons orbit in Latin music, I would imagine.

[Eduardo Cepeda]

Yeah. And one of the interesting things to see about that is if you look at the beginnings of reggaeton when it was still called underground, you have Daddy Yankee there from 1991, making recordings when he was, I think, 13 years old. And he's on some of the first, the most seminal reggaeton or pre reggaeton recordings with DJ Playero. So you have someone who was there from the very beginning when it was being recorded in, like, Playro's apartment in the Casarios of San Juan, who's now still on top of the reggaeton game, that you rarely see that in a genre where somebody helped found the genre and is still on top of it.

[Chris Melanfy]

That blew my mind. Yeah. When I was putting together the episode, realizing the depth of DY's you know, career, both before the breakthrough moment in the aughts and after the breakthrough moment, the fact that it's 20. This is a good transition to our next topic. It's 2016, 17, and he's still enough on top of the game that this is the guy that Luis Fonsi reaches out to for Despacito. Like, this is not somebody who's just kind of, you know, a has been. He's still topping the Latin charts routinely. So let's talk about that moment. I mean, whatever we think of Despacito, do you think that it helped bring about a permanent foothold for Latin pop in the mainstream?

[Eduardo Cepeda]

Absolutely. And again, like you said, whatever you think of that song, it did. It did serve a purpose. Right. It opened the world's eyes to an entire genre. People maybe hadn't been paying attention. There was this misconception that reggaeton had died in the. In, like, 2009, 2010. It was a big misconception because the sales were still there. Just the media outlets stopped paying attention after a while.

[Chris Melanfy]

Right.

[Eduardo Cepeda]

And so kind of what Despacito did was bring back the spotlight to the genre. And then, for example, we had a column at Remesta before I actually worked there, there was the history of reggaeton called Tupum. I don't know if that column would have done as well in a pre despacito world. When we put out this column a few months after Despacito, you know, it had a huge impact. And Luis Fonsi, I spoke to him once and he completely accepts that he's not a reggaetonero, that he was fortunate to land in this world and be allowed in it for one song. But he recognizes that this was pop music with a light Dembo rhythm behind it and not necessarily reggaeton per se. I think that kind of self awareness is cool to hear from someone like that.

[Chris Melanfy]

I've admired. Just as an aside, you know, when Despacito was rampaging on the charts in 2017, and I myself wound up talking about it on some TV shows and things, every time I saw interviews with Fonsi, he was wonderfully self deprecating and self aware and realized he was. He had a tiger by the tail and he knew it was a moment and he was not letting it get ahead of him.

[Eduardo Cepeda]

Exactly. And he, and he, you know, he said he's not going to try to recreate that moment either. He writes pop ballads on guitars and that's what he does. And that's what he's always done. And so.

[Chris Melanfy]

And he's good at it. He knows what he's good at.

[Eduardo Cepeda]

Exactly.

[Chris Melanfy]

So I really feel, and it sounds like you agree, that we're living in a kind of post despacito world in terms of Latin crossover now. And it blows my mind, as I said in the podcast, how much less compromised crossover Latin music is now at the turn of the twenties than it was at the turn of the millennium. Who have you been watching? You know, Bad Bunny is the obvious touchstone. I talked about him in the episode. But are there other folks that you're watching in this, this brave new world that we're in?

[Eduardo Cepeda]

Yeah, definitely. And like, you know, first, I'd probably say that at this point because of some of the charting we've seen, like with Cardi B and Bad Bunny and J Balv and some of the stuff we're seeing with Bad Bunny, I don't think it's a crossover anymore at this point. I think it's just part of our fabric. Right. Of what the demographics of this country make up and listen to. And so hopefully that's opened the door for some artists. You know, some of the artists I'm watching are a lot of Dominican dumbo artists, which is kind of, to give a quick explainer to people, a super sped up, almost version of reggaeton. There's artists like Kiko Crazy, Gailen lamoyeta. They're doing really amazing stuff out of the Dominican Republic. And obviously El Alpha was kind of the biggest name out of that so far. There's artists like Tokisha, who is just doing like this, you know, trap, and Dembo Sound out of Dominican Republic. There's Nino Augustine from Panama, who's someone everybody should be watching. Eladio Carrion, who's also on Bad Bunny's label, and he's actually the guy who, in a sense, discovered Bad Bunny. They were.

[Chris Melanfy]

Oh, interesting.

[Eduardo Cepeda]

He was working with Rima as a record label, and he knew Bad Bunny from college, and he introduced him to the label head at Rima's and said, hey, you should check out this kid. And then we have Bad Bunny. Now there's definitely a healthy, healthy ecosystem of artists in San Juan right now that are just magnificent and we should be keeping an eye out on.

[Chris Melanfy]

That's fantastic. Well, Eduardo, I can't thank you enough for joining us for this live episode of the Bridge. And where's the best place for folks to read your stuff?

[Eduardo Cepeda]

You know, I don't write as much anymore now that I'm the editor, but read what I edit, which is andremesva.com and of course, there's my picture. I post stories on my Twitter, which is Eduardo Cepedany.

[Chris Melanfy]

Great. We'll post links to that on the show page when this Bridge episode posts later this week. Well, for now, thank you, Eduardo, so, so much for being on Hit Parade, the Bridge. Now comes the moment in Hit Parade the Bridge, where we do some trivia. And joining us from Atlanta, Georgia, is Tina. Hi, Tina. How are you?

[Tina]

Hi. I'm great. Thanks for having me.

[Chris Melanfy]

Oh, thanks so much for joining us. I hope you're having better weather down there than I'm in New York today.

[Tina]

Last night was rough. Last night was rough. We were quarantined in the bathroom overnight with the tornado warning, so.

[Chris Melanfy]

Right.

[Tina]

But we're fine. Everybody's fine.

[Chris Melanfy]

Okay, glad to hear it. And I also hear that speaking of our current coronavirus existence, that you have postponed a musical event in your life until we are out of quarantine. Do you want to tell me about that?

[Tina]

Yes. It wasn't postponed by choice. It was postponed by coronavirus. But I was able to get tickets to the Rock and Roll hall of Fame induction ceremony this year, which is in my hometown of Cleveland, and my favorite band in the world, Depeche Mode, is being inducted, so I had to go.

[Chris Melanfy]

That's awesome. I am a Depeche Mode fan myself. I've seen them live a couple of times, and I'm a Rock hall voter, and I got to vote for them this year, and I was thrilled when they made it in. So that'll be exciting. Well, excellent. And I imagine that you are also a Slate plus member. Is that right, Tina?

[Tina]

Absolutely. Absolutely.

[Chris Melanfy]

Wonderful. Well, as I remind folks, every month we only open our trivia rounds to Slate plus members like Tina. So if you are a member and would like to be a trivia contestant, visit slate.com hitparadesignup that's slate.com hitparadesignUp all right, so, Tina, I think you know how this works. We've been doing this long enough. Gonna ask you three questions. The first will be a callback to our last episode of Hit Parade. And the next two will be a preview of the next episode of Hit Parade. Are you ready for some trivia?

[Tina]

I'm as ready as I'm gonna be.

[Chris Melanfy]

Here we go. Question one. Last month, I discussed Latin pop crossover hits from the early rock era, songs that even Americans with no Latin heritage would recognize. Which of these Latin standards was hot 100 hit between 1959 and 1971? A, the girl from Ipanema. B Juan Taramera. C, I like it like that or D, Oye como Va. Ooh, that's a good one.

[Tina]

I like it like that's gotta be one. Oye como Pa. I'm say guantanamera.

[Chris Melanfy]

I'm sorry. The correct answer was C, I like it like that. The 1967 salsa classic by Pete Rodriguez was a regional hit in New York City, but not on the Hot 100. Only the covers in later decades by the Blackout All Stars and Cardi B with J. Balvin and Bad Bunny became Hot 100 Hits. Okay, that was a tough one, but we're gonna jump to our Preview trivia question two. These four albums all came out in 1983, and each one generated multiple top 40 hits. On the Hot 100, however, which one generated the most hits? A, Billy Joel, An Innocent Man. B Lionel Richie, Can't Slow down. C the Police Synchronicity. Or D, Cyndi Lauper. She's so unusual.

[Tina]

This is my era here, too, so there's a lot of pressure. I know. They all had multiple top 40 hits. I want it to be the Police. So I'm gonna go with C, the Police. Synchronicity.

[Chris Melanfy]

I am sorry again. The correct answer was Billy Joel, an innocent man. Billy's homage to the music of his youth in the 50s and 60s spun off a staggering six Top 40 hits between late 1983 and early 1985. Richie's and Lauper's albums generated five hits apiece, and the polices generated four. All right, one more chance here. Are you ready for the third question? Okay, question three. Billy Joel topped the hot 103 times in his career, but not always with the songs for which he is most famous. Three of these hits peaked at number three on the Hot 100, which was the only one to reach number one. A, just the way you are, baby, my life C tell her about it or D uptown Girl.

[Tina]

I am. That's tough. Basing this solely on the music video play that I. I remember I'm going with D Upcount.

[Chris Melanfy]

Girl, you are so close. But the answer is C, tell her about it from the same album. It was the lead single single from an innocent man and it topped the chart in the fall of 83. Joel's follow up hit, Uptown Girl, spent more weeks on the chart, but couldn't get past number three. The same peak as Just the Way youy Are and My Life. Well, I am so sorry, Tina, that we threw such tough questions at you.

[Tina]

I mean, it was a perfect record, right?

[Chris Melanfy]

It is, it is. So now here's your opportunity to turn the tables and ask me a trivia question. I understand you have something for me.

[Tina]

I do, I do. So, you know, in 50 50, I hope we keep our perfect record going, but I also hope you get it right.

[Chris Melanfy]

Okay, fair.

[Tina]

All right. In the last episode of Hit Parade, it was all about the Latin and Spanish artists that crossed over into the US Charts. So I wanted to sort of flip the crossover direction.

[Chris Melanfy]

Okay.

[Tina]

The Spanish music producers chart, which is the Billboard equivalent in Spain, started in 1959. The results were based solely on retail music sales until January of 2015. My question for you is what song was the first English language number one hit on the Spanish charts?

[Chris Melanfy]

Interesting.

[Tina]

Was it A, are you Lonesome Tonight by Elvis, B a Hard Day's night by the Beatles, C diana by Paul Anka, or D, the Chipmunk song by the Chipmunks with David Seville.

[Chris Melanfy]

Wow. I have a feeling it's going to be something quirky. First of all, I have no idea. So I'm guessing, and I'm trying to use deductive logic, I'll just admit that right up Front. And something tells me it's not going to be something as obvious as the Beatles or Elvis, necessarily. I think it's going to be something quirkier. I'm not sure I'm going to go all the way to the Chipmunks, but why don't we go with Diana by Paul Anka?

[Tina]

Ding, ding, ding. You are correct.

[Chris Melanfy]

Wow.

[Tina]

It was Paul Anka, and it was in May, in the week of May 11, 1959. So it wasn't very long after the charts started.

[Eduardo Cepeda]

I'm so young and you're so old.

[Chris Melanfy]

This, my darling I've been told I was gonna say the top quite early. Right. And I think that's even before Are youe Lonesome Tonight?

[Slate Membership Announcer]

By Elvis, if I'm not mistaken, because.

[Chris Melanfy]

I think that's like a 1960s single. Yeah.

[Tina]

Yes. Are youe Lonesome Tonight topped the charts in 61. Hard days, night in 64. And I just threw the Chipmunks in because of the white and Nerdy episode.

[Chris Melanfy]

Well, don't we all love talking about the Chipmunks? I managed to get the Chipmunks into two consecutive episodes, the Christmas episode and the novelty hits episode. So I promise my listeners, there's not going to be any more Chipmunk songs for a very long time. Well, Tina, thank you for giving me a question that I could puzzle my way through. I'm sorry that you didn't get any of our questions right, but nonetheless, you took part in our Zoom Facebook Live experiment. So I'm very glad you were here with us today. I hope you had fun.

[Tina]

Thank you so much.

[Chris Melanfy]

For those of you who are listening, as you can probably tell from those trivia questions, our next episode of Hit Parade is going to be about the career of, yes, Billy Joel, a man who is commonly known as the Piano man, but who I prefer to refer to as the pastiche man. Four decades ago, Billy Joel topped the Hot 100 for the first time in 1980 with the song It's Still Rock and Roll to Me. We didn't mention it in our trivia questions, but it's the 40th anniversary of that and his Glass Houses album. And the interesting thing about Joel, whether it's that song or Tell her about it, which we did mention, is that all of his number one songs are rather odd. None of them feature the piano prominently, contrary to his common nickname. And, you know, throughout my life growing up in New York City, where Joel was very popular, I've met Billy Joel haters and worshipers. And here's the thing on which all of us, the haters and the worshipers can agree. Few hit acts tried on as many styles as he did. Joel has now been retired for more than a quarter century, even though he keeps playing concerts. Not currently, of course, under our coronavirus reality, but he's been playing a series of shows here in New York City at the at the Garden, Madison Square Garden. So his hit making career has been at a standstill since the early 90s. But he was a hitmaker to the end. And again, he did it by not sticking to any one thing, not even the instrument for which he is most famous. That's going to be our topic and our angle on the next episode of Hit Parade. I once again want to thank Eduardo Cepeda. I want to thank Tina for joining us for our trivia this episode of Hit Parade. The Bridge was produced by Asha Soludja and coordinated by the head of Slate Live, Faith Smith. Huge thanks to her and her entire team for making this happen. And I'm Chris Mullanthy. Keep on marching on the one Sam.