The pop music world is certainly fickle.

Beyonce dropped her new country single, “Texas Hold ‘Em” during the Grammy Awards three weeks ago. It shot to number 1 immediately.

This morning, “Texas Hold “Em” couldn’t hold ’em off. It’s dropped to number 2 behind Benson Boone’s surprise hit rocker “Beautiful Things.” Her other singe, “16 Carriages,” is already down to number 51.

Boone is a TikTok star who’s just 21 years old. He auditioned for “American Idol” but dropped out because he thought he’d have a bigger career on the social platform. Warner Music signed him, and now he’s on his way.

Meantime, Beyonce has done no actual publicity. She doesn’t do interviews or perform on TV. The Queen Bey is 42 and has no clue what’s going on in the music world. She may not care. She has a great publicist, but you can only lead a horse to water. On the cover of her last album, Beyonce sat almost naked on a clear horse. Maybe it was a sign.

You really don’t mess around with Jim.

Literally 50 years (and 6 months) after his tragic death in a plane crash, singer songwriter Jim Croce is ruling the charts.

Croce’s album of hits, called “Greatest,” has risen to number 2 on the album charts. It’s been in the top 10 for all of January and February.

“Greatest” has survived a slew of new releases that have come and gone.

In the space of maybe two years in 1972-74, Croce was a phenom on radio. His acoustic guitar driven hits included “You Don’t Mess Around with Jim,” “Bad Bad Leroy Brown,” “Time in a Bottle,” “Operator,” “I Got a Name,” “I’ll Have to Say I Love You in a Song,” and many others.

Croce (pronounced Crow-chee) with his memorable handlebar mustache was the talk of the town. And then on September 20, 1973, Croce, just 30, saw it all end in a plane crash in Louisiana. Back then we were certainly in the era of rock star deaths after Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, and Jim Morrison. But this one was hard to understand since Croce was such a vibrant, overnight sensation. It was really cruel.

According to Luminate, “Greatest” is the number 3 best selling digital album right now. It looks like it’s sold the equivalent of 35,000 copies in 8 weeks, but that number may still be revised. “Tin a Bottle” is the leader among its individual tracks, largely because it’s unparalleled piece of beautiful music. When Croce died, it was already on the charts. The irony of the song’s message propelled it to number 1.

Well, real songs are back in fashion with performers like Taylor Swift and Noah Kahan. Maybe a new generation is reaching back to find their predecessors. (I’d love to see Jorma Kakounen’s “Genesis” get the same reception — and he’s alive!)

So kudos to Jim Croce! He’d have been a great 80 year old! But timeless music lives on!