Massive Attack Hit No. 1

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Massive Attack's third album, Mezzanine, scored the Bristol act its first U.K. No. 1 this week and went straight to the top of the Irish and Australian charts.

On Music & Media's Top 100 Albums chart, the Circa/Virgin release is second only to the Titanic soundtrack, while it sits at No. 3 in France, Italy, Norway, and Portugal. In Austria and Sweden, it is No. 4, and in Germany, Europe's biggest market, it is No. 6.

Released in the U.K. and internationally outside the U.S. the week of April 20, it has shipped 550,000 copies, says Virgin Records U.K. A single, "Teardrop," was out April 27 in the U.K. North American release is set for May 12, although Virgin Canada has already issued 10,000 limited-edition sets.

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Song Stories

“Everyday People”

Sly and the Family Stone | 1968

"Everyday People" managed to trailblaze in two different ways -- it was one of the first pop hits to deal with the subject of racial harmony, and it utilized Larry Graham's "slap" technique on the bass guitar, which would soon be copied by countless other bassists. Graham once said about his pulsating style, "I'd never done that before … that's where the freedom of creativity came in for the band, that we'd be allowed to do that." In 1978, the song's line "Different strokes for different folks" would be borrowed for the title of the hit television show Diff'rent Strokes.

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