Hot 100 Turns 60!-Top 600 Songs!!

[Gary]

Under this methodology they did one in 2008(50th anniversary)
2013 (55th anniversary)
2015
2018(60th anniversary)

Under prior methodologies lists were also produced for the 40th anniversary in 1998 and the 100th anniversary of the magazine in 1994



Looks like mostly anniversary dates or as in the case of 2015, whenever they feel like it

[iHype.]

www.billboard.com/charts/greatest-hot-100-artists

The All-Time Artists refreshed and Drake is missing.

That makes absolutely NO SENSE. Has to be a mistake/glitch....

Edit: He's #21! That one is missing.

[Gary]

Hot 100 Turns 60! Chubby Checker's 'The Twist' & The Beatles Reign, as Billboard Recaps the Chart's All-Time Top 600 Songs for First Time
by Gary Trust
August 02, 2018, 12:03pm EDT

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Checker's classic rules as the Hot 100's all-time No. 1 song, while The Beatles lead the recap of the Hot 100's top acts. Plus, Rihanna & Drake surge among the ranks of the chart's all-time top performers.

Upon the Billboard Hot 100's 60th anniversary, dating to its Aug. 4, 1958, inception, Chubby Checker's "The Twist" is the chart's all-time No. 1 song, while The Beatles are the Hot 100's top-performing act in the chart's history.

The chart champions are reflected in Billboard's latest recap of the tally's most successful songs and artists to date. For the first time, Billboard goes 600 titles deep in recapping the biggest hit songs of the survey's first six decades, along with ranking the chart's all-time top 100 artists.

Putting Checker and The Beatles' coronations in further perspective, over 27,000 titles, by over 7,500 artists, have hit the Hot 100 in the chart's six-decade history.
SiriusXM Studios on June 12, 2015 in New York City.
Read More
SiriusXM Announces Multi-Day Special Celebrating the 60th Anniversary of the Billboard Hot 100 Chart

Meanwhile, such current hitmakers as Drake, Maroon 5, Bruno Mars, Rihanna, Ed Sheeran and Taylor Swift shine on the all-time rankings. Billboard's latest review of the Hot 100 follows 2008's inaugural flashback (marking the chart's first 50 years) and retrospectives in 2013 and 2015. Each time, "The Twist" has ranked as the top Hot 100 title and The Beatles have led the artists ranking.

First, the math: The rankings of the all-time top Hot 100 songs and artists are based on actual performance on the weekly Hot 100, from its Aug. 4, 1958, launch through the July 21, 2018-dated chart. Songs are ranked based on an inverse point system, with weeks at No. 1 earning the greatest value and weeks at No. 100 earning the least. Due to changes in chart methodology over the years, eras are weighted differently to account for chart turnover rates over various periods. Artists are ranked based on the combined point totals, as outlined above, of all their Hot 100 chart entries.

ALL-TIME No. 1 HOT 100 SONG: "THE TWIST"

"I think what rock and roll didn't have was a dance," Chubby Checker told Billboard in 2016. "The young people were doing the dances of the 1930s and '40s. Then, Chubby Checker came along with 'The Twist.' For the first time, you [could] watch your girlfriend, fully dressed, exploiting her sexuality right in front of you."

Checker's transformative smash remains the No. 1 all-time Hot 100 hit, thanks in large part to its dual run atop the weekly chart in September 1960 (for one week) and January 1962 (for two frames). "The Twist" is the only song to have ruled the Hot 100 in separate release cycles, as it returned to the top after adults caught on to the song and its namesake dance that younger audiences had first popularized.

"That style of dancing wasn't there before," Checker, now 76, mused. "You're watching her, she's watching you...it was so explosive, it's never left the dance floor."

Santana's "Smooth," featuring Rob Thomas, ranks as the Hot 100's No. 2 all-time top title, bolstered by its 12-week reign in 1999-2000; Bobby Darin's "Mack the Knife," a nine-week No. 1 in 1959 ranks third; Mark Ronson's "Uptown Funk!," featuring Bruno Mars, places fourth, following its 14-week run at No. 1 in 2015; and LeAnn Rimes' "How Do I Live" rounds out a wide genre- and era-spanning top five. Notably, Rimes' hit never reached No. 1 on the weekly Hot 100, peaking at No. 2 for four weeks in 1997-98, but its 69 total chart weeks are fourth-best all-time.
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ALL-TIME No. 1 HOT 100 ACT: THE BEATLES

The Hot 100 began with Ricky Nelson's "Poor Little Fool" topping the first chart. (The total has grown to 1,077 No. 1s through Drake's current leader, "In My Feelings.") At the time, Elvis Presley was two years into his reign as the King of Rock and Roll. With 108 appearances, including 25 top 10s and seven No. 1s (with the Hot 100 having begun two years after his career's start), he's the No. 4 Hot 100 artist of all time.

In 1964, Beatlemania arrived on U.S. shores, via Liverpool, and, 71 hits (including a record 20 No. 1s, beginning with "I Want to Hold Your Hand") later, The Beatles rule as the top act in Hot 100's history. The band spaced 34 top 10s over more than 31 years, through 1995's "Free as a Bird" (featuring the late John Lennon's vocals).

Madonna, with a record 38 Hot 100 top 10s (including 12 No. 1s), ranks as the Hot 100's No. 2 artist, followed by Elton John, with 27 top 10s, including nine No. 1s, at No. 3. Below Presley, Mariah Carey places at No. 5. Carey has come closest to the Beatles' vaunted chart-topping mark, notching 18 No. 1s from her 1990 debut through 2008.

"SHAPE OF YOU," RIHANNA & DRAKE ROAR

While both Checker's "The Twist" and the Beatles became entrenched in American pop culture over a half-century ago, relative newbies also rank among the recaps of the Hot 100's all-time top songs and artists.

Among fairly recent hit titles, and those in Hot 100's top 100 songs list for the first time since the last historical recap in 2015, is Ed Sheeran's "Shape of You." With 12 weeks at No. 1 in 2017, it ranks as the No. 9 song to date. Also new to the top 100 since the 2015 tally: The Chainsmokers' 12-week 2016 No. 1 "Closer," featuring Halsey (No. 13); Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee's "Despacito," featuring Justin Bieber (No. 33), as the smash spent a record-tying 16 weeks at No. 1 in 2017; Post Malone's eight-week 2016 ruler "Rockstar," featuring 21 Savage (No. 88); and Sheeran's six-week 2017-18 No. 1 collaboration with Beyoncé, "Perfect " (No. 91).

Further, in the entire all-time top 600 songs chart are Cardi B's 2017 debut No. 1 "Bodak Yellow (Money Moves)" and two songs that ascended to the top of the Hot 100 in 2018: Camila Cabello's "Havana," featuring Young Thug, and Drake's "God's Plan."

While the bulk of the all-time top Hot 100 artists are veterans of multiple decades (unsurprisingly, since several years of hits naturally help acts' standings), more modern-day stars shine bright. Rihanna, a rookie in 2005, is the chart's No. 10 act, up from No. 13 in 2015, powered by her 14 No. 1s and 31 top 10s.

Meanwhile, Drake blasts onto the artists list at No. 21, as he boasts the most Hot 100 entries among soloists in the chart's history (187), since his debut on the ranking under a decade ago. Taylor Swift surges from No. 34 in 2015 to No. 24; Bruno Mars bounds 61-34; and Maroon 5 rises 44-37.

[Gary]

The Biggest Hits of All: The Hot 100's All-Time Top 100 Songs

News

By Billboard Staff | August 02, 2018 12:11 PM EDT
Hot 100 60th Anniversary


As part of Billboard's celebration of the 60th anniversary of our Hot 100 chart this week, we're taking a deeper look at some of the biggest artists and singles in the chart's history. Here, we revisit the ranking's 100 biggest hits of all-time.

On Aug. 4 1958, Billboard launched the Hot 100, forever changing pop music -- or at least how it's measured. Sixty years later, the chart remains the gold-standard ranking of America's top songs each week. And while what goes into a hit has changed (bye, bye jukebox play; hello, streaming!), attaining a spot on the list -- or better yet, a coveted No. 1 -- i s still the benchmark to which artists explore, from Ricky Nelson on the first to Drake on the latest. Which brings us to the hottest-of-the-hot list the 100 most massive smashes over the charts six decades.

Meet Our Pop Experts!
Annotations to the list from...

Diane Warren: Songwriter of “How Do I Live,” No. 5, and “Un-Break My Heart,” No. 15
Mark Ronson: Artist-songwriter-producer of "Uptown Funk!," No. 4
Billboard: Charts team members Gary Trust, Xander Zellner and Trevor Anderson

1. The Twist - 1960
Chubby Checker
The only song to rule the Billboard Hot 100 in separate release cycles (one week in 1960, two in 1962), thanks to adults catching on to the song and its namesake dance after younger audiences popularized them.

Chubby Checker
Chubby Checker
RB
/Redferns

2. Smooth - 1999
Santana Feat. Rob Thomas

3. Mack the Knife - 1959
Bobby Darin
“I love that eternally cool feel,” says Warren. “It’s a nostalgic thing: It brings me back to the songs my older sisters and my parents would play. I was writing something recently and thinking, ‘What would “Mack the Knife” be in 2018?’ ”

4. Uptown Funk! - 2015
Mark Ronson Feat. Bruno Mars

5. How Do I Live - 1997
Leann Rimes

6. Party Rock Anthem - 2011
LMFAO Feat. Lauren Bennett & GoonRock

7. I Gotta Feeling - 2009
The Black Eyed Peas

8. Macarena (Bayside Boys Mix) - 1996
Los Del Rio

9. Shape of You - 2017
Ed Sheeran
Sheeran’s first Hot 100 No. 1 ruled for 12 weeks in 2017, but even after its reign ended, it broke records, staying in the top 10 for 33 weeks — one more than The Chainsmokers’ “Closer” (featuring Halsey) and LeAnn Rimes’ “How Do I Live.”

10. Physical - 1981
Olivia Newton-John

11. You Light Up My Life - 1977
Debby Boone

12. Hey Jude - 1968
The Beatles

13. Closer - 2016
The Chainsmokers Feat. Halsey

14. We Belong Together - 2005
Mariah Carey

15. Un-Break My Heart - 1996
Toni Braxton

16. Yeah! - 2004
Usher Feat. Lil Jon & Ludacris
In 2004, R&B and hip-hop’s dominance was undeniable, and “Yeah!” perfectly captured the day’s hottest sounds: Usher’s smooth vocals, Ludacris’ light-hearted rhymes and Lil Jon’s crunk-R&B production. The Atlanta trio was rewarded with 12 weeks atop the Hot 100, but R&B and hip-hop were 2004’s real MVPs: A person of color performed every Hot 100 No. 1 that year.


17. Bette Davis Eyes - 1981
Kim Carnes

18. Endless Love - 1981
Diana Ross & Lionel Richie

19. Tonight’s the Night (Gonna Be Alright) - 1976
Rod Stewart

20. You Were Meant for Me/Foolish Games - 1997
Jewel

21. (Everything I Do) I Do It for You - 1991

Bryan Adams

22. I’ll Make Love to You - 1994
Boyz II Men

23. The Theme From “A Summer Place” - 1960
Percy Faith & His Orchestra

24. Le Freak - 1978
Chic

25. How Deep Is Your Love - 1977
Bee Gees
“The Bee Gees are some of the best songwriters ever in pop music, and this is one of their better songs,” says Warren of the first single from the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, which became the Gibbs’ top-charting hit.



26. Eye of the Tiger - 1982
Survivor

27. We Found Love - 2011
Rihanna Feat. Calvin Harris

28. Low - 2008
Flo Rida Feat. T-Pain

29. Just Want to Be Your Everything - 1977
Andy Gibb

30. Too Close - 1998
Next

31. Every Breath You Take - 1983
The Police
“It became this wedding song, but it’s about a stalker!” says Warren with a laugh. “You think it’s romantic, but it could be someone looking through your window! I like the subversiveness of that. And it had quite a life too, with Puffy’s version [“I’ll Be Missing You”]. If you put those two together, it’d be No. 1 on this list.” (This is true.)

Sting
Sting
Phil
Dent/Redferns/Getty Images

32. Somebody That I Used to Know - 2012
Gotye Feat. Kimbra

33. ​Despacito - 2017
Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee Feat. Justin Bieber

34. Flashdance… What a Feeling - 1983
Irene Cara

35. Rolling in the Deep - 2011
Adele

36. Tossin’ and Turnin’ - 1961
Bobby Lewis

37. The Battle of New Orleans - 1959
Johnny Horton

38. One Sweet Day - 1995
Mariah Carey & Boyz II Men

39. Truly Madly Deeply - 1998
Savage Garden

40. Silly Love Songs - 1976
Wings

41. Let’s Get It On - 1973
Marvin Gaye

42. Night Fever - 1978
Bee Gees

43. Another One Bites the Dust - 1980
Queen

44. Say Say Say - 1983
Paul McCartney & Michael Jackson

45. How You Remind Me - 2001
Nickelback

46. Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree - 1973
Dawn Feat. Tony Orlando

47. It's All in the Game - 1958
Tommy Edwards

48. I Want to Hold Your Hand - 1964
The Beatles
The all-time top act in Hot 100 history broke through in America with this single, the first of its record 20 No. 1s. The song reigned for seven weeks, setting the record for the longest-leading debut hit on the chart for a Capitol Records act. (Forty-four years later, Katy Perry tied the mark with “I Kissed a Girl.”)



49. Shadow Dancing - 1978
Andy Gibb

[readmore:8468184​]

50. Call Me Maybe - 2012
Carly Rae Jepsen

51. Blurred Lines - 2013
Robin Thicke Feat. T.I. + Pharrell

52. Candle in the Wind - 1997/Something About the Way You Look Tonight - 1997
Elton John

53. No One - 2007
Alicia Keys

54. I Will Always Love You - 1992
Whitney Houston

55. End of the Road - 1992
Boyz II Men

56. Boom Boom Pow - 2009
The Black Eyed Peas
Some years, the No. 1 spot on the Hot 100 belongs to one act for weeks on end (The Beatles in 1964, Drake in 2018). But no artist has achieved a streak like The Black Eyed Peas did in 2009, when the group ruled for a record 26 weeks in a row, thanks to the smashes “Boom Boom Bow” (12 weeks) and “I Gotta Feeling” (14).



57. Call Me - 1980
Blondie

58. Let Me Love You - 2005
Mario

59. Stayin’ Alive - 1978
Bee Gees

[readmore:]

60. Lady - 1980
Kenny Rogers

61. TiK ToK - 2010
KeSha

62. I’m a Believer -1966
The Monkees
TV and Hot 100 success have long been intertwined. By 1966, The Monkees had an eponymous NBC comedy, and over the next three years would land three No. 1s, leading longest (seven weeks) with “I’m a Believer,” written by Neil Diamond.

63. Gold Digger - 2005
Kanye West Feat. Jamie Foxx

64. Apologize - 2007
Timbaland Feat. OneRepublic

65. The Sign - 1994
Ace Of Base

66. Centerfold - 1982
The J. Geils Band

67. All About That Bass - 2014
Meghan Trainor

​68. (Just Like) Starting Over - 1980
John Lennon

69. Royals - 2013
Lorde
“It’s a little scary when you first hear it -- a little ominous and brooding,” says Ronson. “It sounds so big yet so cool and dark -- and it sounds like a f**king hit. As someone who makes music, that’s always the time I feel the most jealous.”Lorde
Lorde
Paul
R. Giunta/Getty Images

70. The Boy Is Mine - 1998
Brandy & Monica



71. Because I Love You (The Postman Song) - 1990
Stevie B

72. I Love Rock ’N Rolln - 1982
Joan Jett & the Blackhearts

73. Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In - 1969
The 5th Dimension

74. Whoomp! (There It Is) - 1993
Tag Team
“Whoomp!” never hit No. 1 on the Hot 100 -- it was blocked by UB40’s “Can’t Help Falling in Love” and Mariah Carey’s “Dreamlover.” But the dancefloor classic’s seven weeks at No. 2 secured its place on this list. It even spawned two more versions that subsequently hit the chart: “Addams Family (Whoomp!)” and “Whoomp (There It Went)” from Disney’s Mickey Unrapped.

75. Moves Like Jagger - 2011
Maroon 5 Feat. Christina Aguilera

76. Ebony and Ivory - 1982
Paul McCartney & Stevie Wonder

77. Rush Rush - 1991
Paula Abdul

78. That’s What Friends Are For - 1986
Dionne & Friends

79. Happy - 2014
Pharrell Williams

80. Upside Down - 1980
Diana Ross
“It’s such a tough-sounding record, with that Nile Rodgers/Bernard [Edwards] production,” says Ronson. “But it’s like club crack. As a DJ, I’ve probably played that record 23 million times. People still just go crazy for it -- even more so than ‘I’m Coming Out.’ ”


81. Sugar, Sugar - 1969
The Archies

82. Just the Way You Are - 2010
Bruno Mars

83. Dilemma - 2002
Nelly Feat. Kelly Rowland

84. I Heard It Through the Grapevine - 1968
Marvin Gaye

85. You’re Still the One - 1998
Shania Twain

86. Billie Jean - 1983
Michael Jackson

87. Hot Stuff - 1979
Donna Summer

88. Rockstar - 2017
Post Malone Feat. 21 Savage

89. Gangsta’s Paradise - 1995
Coolio Feat. L.V.

90. Abracadabra - 1982
The Steve Miller Band

91. Perfect - 2017
Ed Sheeran

92. You’re So Vain -1973
Carly Simon

93. Play That Funky Music - 1976
Wild Cherry

94. Say You, Say Me - 1985
Lionel Richie

95. My Sharona - 1979
The Knack
“Everything goes together to make this iconic riff: these crazy guitar tones, the drums are super boxy, and having come out of the warm ’70s sound, it stood out so much,” says Ronson. “It’s one of the greatest one-hit wonders ever.”

96. All Night Long (All Night) - 1983
Lionel Richie

97. Nothing Compares 2 U - 1990
SinÉad O’Connor
“Everything about it is pop perfection,” says Warren. “I usually like the version by the artist who wrote it, but you know what? She outdid [Prince]. It’s all in the performance, in those words and that melody and what it makes you feel. You don’t need all the bells and whistles.”

98. I Swear - 1994
All-4-One

99, Family Affair - 2001
Mary J. Blige

100. Waiting for a Girl Like You - 1981
Foreigner
Foreigner’s lush ballad (co-written by Ronson’s stepdad, guitarist Mick Jones) zoomed to No. 2, then stayed there for 10 weeks. “He tries to say he wrote it for my mom, and she’s like, ‘Dude, it came out three years before we met,’ ” says Ronson with a laugh. To date, only one other song has peaked at No. 2 for that long: Missy Elliott’s “Work It,” in 2002 and 2003.

Methodology: The Greatest of All-Time 60th Anniversary Billboard Hot 100 Songs and Artists rankings are based on weekly performance on the Hot 100 (from its inception on Aug. 4, 1958, through July 21, 2018). Songs are ranked based on an inverse point system, with weeks at No. 1 earning the greatest value and weeks at lower spots earning the least. Due to changes in chart methodology over the years, eras are weighted differently to account for chart turnover rates during various periods. Artists are ranked based on a formula blending performance, as outlined above, of all of their Hot 100 chart entries.

This article originally appeared in the Aug. 4 issue of Billboard.

[Gary]

Hot 100 Artists


1 Beatles
2 Madonna
3 Elton John
4 Elvis Presley
5 Mariah Carey
6 Stevie Wonder
7 Janet Jackson
8 Michael Jackson
9 Whitney Houston
10 Rihanna
11 The Rolling Stones
12 Paul McCartney
13 Bee Gees
14 Usher
15 Chicago
16 The Supremes
17 Prince
18 Hall & Oates
19 Rod Stewart
20 Olivia Newton-John
21 Drake
22 Aretha Franklin
23 Marvin Gaye
24 Taylor Swift
25 Katy Perry
26 Phil Collins
27 Billy Joel
28 Diana Ross
29 The 4 Seasons
30 The Temptations
31 Donna Summer
32 The Beach Boys
33 Lionel Richie
34 Bruno Mars
35 Neil Diamond
36 Carpenters
37 Maroon 5
38 Boyz II Men
39 The Jacksons
40 Connie Francis
41 Beyonce
42 Brenda Lee
43 Kenny Rogers
44 Barbra Streisand
45 Bryan Adams
46 Cher
47 George Michael
48 The Black Eyed Peas
49 P!nk
50 Bobby Vinton
51 John Mellencamp
52 Three Dog Night
53 Huey Lewis & The News
54 Gloria Estefan
55 Bon Jovi
56 Chubby Checker
57 Ray Charles
58 Foreigner
59 Chris Brown
60 Kool & The Gang
61 Gladys Knight And The Pips
62 Ricky Nelson
63 Duran Duran
64 Justin Timberlake
65 Commodores
66 Eagles
67 Lady Gaga
68 TLC
69 Paul Anka
70 Barry Manilow
71 Dionne Warwick
72 Heart
73 Nelly
74 The Everly Brothers
75 Bobby Darin
76 R. Kelly
77 James Brown
78 Paula Abdul
79 Eminem
80 Alicia Keys
81 Kelly Clarkson
82 Linda Ronstadt
83 Richard Marx
84 Starship
85 Destiny's Child
86 Kanye West
87 Celine Dion
88 JAY-Z
89 The Miracles
90 Bob Seger
91 Fleetwood Mac
92 Neil Sedaka
94 Bruce Springsteen
95 The Pointer Sisters
96 John Denver
97 Four Tops
98 Tony Orlando & Dawn
99 50 Cent
100 The 5th Dimension

[Gary]

What is this "top 600" stuff they are talking about? I don't see it

[Gary]

The Hot 100's Top Artists of All Time

8/2/2018 by Billboard Staff


Fiona Adams/Redferns
(L-R) Ringo Starr, George Harrison, Paul McCartney and John Lennon of The Beatles photographed in 1963.

As part of Billboard's celebration of the 60th anniversary of our Hot 100 chart this week, we're taking a deeper look at some of the biggest artists and singles in the chart's history. Here, we revisit the ranking's 100 biggest artists of all-time.

On Aug. 4 1958, Billboard launched the Hot 100, forever changing pop music -- or at least how it's measured. Sixty years later, the chart remains the gold-standard ranking of America's top songs each week. And while what goes into a hit has changed (bye, bye jukebox play; hello, streaming!), attaining a spot on the list -- or better yet, a coveted No. 1 -- is still the benchmark to which artists explore, from Ricky Nelson on the first to Drake on the latest. Which brings us to this hottest-of-the-hot list: the 100 most massive artists over the charts six decades.

1. The Beatles

2. Madonna

3. Elton John

4. Elvis Presley

5. Mariah Carey

6. Stevie Wonder

7. Janet Jackson

8. Michael Jackson

9. Whitney Houston

10. Rihanna

11. The Rolling Stones

12. Paul McCartney

13. Bee Gees

14. Usher

15. Chicago

16. The Supremes

17. Prince

18. Daryl Hall & John Oates

19. Rod Stewart

20. Olivia Newton-John

21. Drake

22. Aretha Franklin

23. Marvin Gaye

24. Taylor Swift

25. Katy Perry


26. Phil Collins

27. Billy Joel

28. Diana Ross

29. The Four Seasons

30. The Temptations

31. Donna Summer

32. The Beach Boys

33. Lionel Richie

34. Bruno Mars

35. Neil Diamond

36. Carpenters

37. Maroon 5

38. Boyz II Men

39. The Jacksons

40. Connie Francis

41. Beyoncé

42. Brenda Lee

43. Kenny Rogers

44. Barbra Streisand

45. Bryan Adams

46. Cher

47. George Michael

48. The Black Eyed Peas

49. P!nk

50. Bobby Vinton

51. John Mellencamp

52. Three Dog Night

53. Huey Lewis & The News

54. Gloria Estefan

55. Bon Jovi


56. Chubby Checker

57. Ray Charles

58. Foreigner

59. Chris Brown

60. Kool & The Gang

61. Gladys Knight & The Pips

62. Ricky Nelson

63. Duran Duran

64. Justin Timberlake

65. Commodores

66. Eagles

67. Lady Gaga

68. TLC

69. Paul Anka

70. Barry Manilow


71. Dionne Warwick

72. Heart

73. Nelly

74. The Everly Brothers

75. Bobby Darin

76. R. Kelly

77. James Brown

78. Paula Abdul

79. Eminem

80. Alicia Keys

81. Kelly Clarkson

82. Linda Ronstadt

83. Richard Marx

84. Starship

85. Destiny's Child

86. Kanye West

87. Céline Dion

88. Jay-Z

89. The Miracles

90. Bob Seger

91. Fleetwood Mac

92. Neil Sedaka

93. Justin Bieber

94. Bruce Springsteen

95. The Pointer Sisters

96. John Denver

97. Four Tops

98. Tony Orlando & Dawn

99. 50 Cent

100. The 5th Dimension

Methodology: The Greatest of All-Time 60th Anniversary Billboard Hot 100 Songs and Artists rankings are based on weekly performance on the Hot 100 (from its inception on Aug. 4, 1958, through July 21, 2018). Songs are ranked based on an inverse point system, with weeks at No. 1 earning the greatest value and weeks at lower spots earning the least. Due to changes in chart methodology over the years, eras are weighted differently to account for chart turnover rates during various periods. Artists are ranked based on a formula blending performance, as outlined above, of all of their Hot 100 chart entries.

[jebsib]

I know this is not feasible, but I really wish BB would retroactively include the Best Seller charts from 1955 to 1958 as "Honorary Hot 100"s and just call it a day.

Those three years saw the birth of Rock era, the bulk of Elvis's big hits and the transformation of popular culture forever.

Casey K got it right… "Rock Era" vs "Hot 100's random start date" just feels better.

[Gary]

Aug 2, 2018 11:30:18 GMT -5 jebsib said:

I know this is not feasible, but I really wish BB would retroactively include the Best Seller charts from 1955 to 1958 as "Honorary Hot 100"s and just call it a day.

Those three years saw the birth of Rock era, the bulk of Elvis's big hits and the transformation of popular culture forever.

Casey K got it right… "Rock Era" vs "Hot 100's random start date" just feels better.

Elvis doesn't exist before 1958
108 hits - 7 #1's -- not gonna measure up - LOL



(obviously I am kidding)

[Gary]

Top 60 Males



Hot 100 Turns 60! The Top 60 Male Artists of All-Time, From Elton John to Elvis Presley & More



Elton, Elvis & Stevie Wonder rank at Nos. 1, 2 & 3, respectively.

As we celebrate the Billboard Hot 100's 60th anniversary, Billboard looks at the top-performing solo male artists in the chart's history, dating to its Aug. 4, 1958, inception.

The No. 1 spot belongs to the Rocket Man himself, Elton John. The legend has forged one of the most consistent and dominant musical resumes ever, logging 67 total Hot 100 entries between 1970 and 2000. Among them, he's earned nine No. 1s as well as 27 top 10s.

John's biggest Hot 100 hit, his 1997 reworking of his 1973 track "Candle in the Wind," in memory of Princess Diana (paired on a double-sided physical single with then-new song "Something About the Way You Look Tonight"), spent 14 weeks at No. 1. The single set a Nielsen Music-era record of 3.4 million physical singles sold in the first week of its U.S. release, sparking its launch atop the Oct. 11, 1997-dated Hot 100.

Elvis Presley, Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney (based on their solo careers) round out the top five, fro Nos. 2 through 5, respectively.

Elsewhere on the list are 10 hip-hop artists, led by Drake at No. 9. The MC boasts the most entries among all soloists (187), as well as six No. 1s, including three in 2018, with his "In My Feelings" atop the tally for three weeks running.

Here's a look at the top-performing solo male artists over the Hot 100's first 60 years.

60. The Weeknd

59. T.I.

58. Rick Springfield

57. Glen Campbell

56. Johnny Rivers

55. Eric Clapton

54. Ludacris

53. Ed Sheeran

52. Bobby Brown

51. Lil Wayne

50. Michael Bolton

49. Brook Benton

48. John Lennon

47. Tommy James

46. Billy Ocean

45. Dion

44. Roy Orbison

43. Andy Gibb

42. Flo Rida

41. 50 Cent

40. John Denver

39. Bruce Springsteen

38. Justin Bieber

37. Neil Sedaka

36. Bob Seger

35. JAY-Z

34. Kanye West

33. Richard Marx

32. Eminem

31. James Brown

30. R. Kelly

29. Bobby Darin

28. Nelly

27. Barry Manilow

26. Paul Anka

25. Justin Timberlake

24. Ricky Nelson

23. Chris Brown

22. Ray Charles

21. Chubby Checker

20. John Mellencamp

19. Bobby Vinton

18. George Michael

17. Bryan Adams

16. Kenny Rogers

15. Neil Diamond

14. Bruno Mars

13. Lionel Richie

12. Billy Joel

11. Phil Collins

10. Marvin Gaye

9. Drake

8. Rod Stewart

7. Prince

6. Usher

5. Paul McCartney

4. Michael Jackson

3. Stevie Wonder

2. Elvis Presley

1. Elton John

The Top 60 Male Artists of All-Time on the Billboard Hot 100 ranking is based on weekly performance on the Hot 100 from its Aug. 4, 1958, inception through July 21, 2018. All songs are ranked based on an inverse point system, with cumulative weeks at No. 1 earning the greatest value and weeks at lower spots earning the least. Due to changes in chart methodology over the years, eras are weighted differently to account for chart turnover rates over various periods. Artists are then ranked based on a formula blending performance, as outlined above, of all their Hot 100 chart entries.
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[Gary]

Hot 100 Turns 60! The Top 60 Female Artists of All-Time, From Madonna to Mariah Carey & More
by Xander Zellner
August 02, 2018, 1:00pm EDT


Madonna, Mariah & Janet Jackson rank at Nos. 1, 2 & 3, respectively.

As we celebrate the Billboard Hot 100's 60th anniversary, Billboard looks at the top-performing solo female artists in the chart's history, dating to its Aug. 4, 1958, inception.

With 57 Hot 100 entries and 12 No. 1s, Madonna rules as the chart's all-time top female artist. The pop icon also lands seven songs in the Hot 100 all-time top 600 songs recap, led by her first No. 1, "Like a Virgin," which spent six weeks atop the Hot 100 beginning on Dec. 22, 1984. Madonna holds the record for the most Hot 100 top 10s among all acts: 38.

Mariah Carey ranks at No. 2, powered by her 18 Hot 100 No. 1s, the most among soloists, as well as the most cumulative weeks at No. 1 (79) among all acts.

Janet Jackson, Whitney Houston and Rihanna, the lattermost having landed 14 Hot 100 No. 1s (dating to her 2005 debut), the third-best sum in the chart's history, round out the top five.

Further in the top 10 are two other artists whose chart careers began in the 2000s: Taylor Swift (No. 8) and Katy Perry (No. 9).

Here's a look at the top-performing solo female artists over the Hot 100's first 60 years.

60. Juice Newton

59. Carole King

58. Stevie Nicks

57. Amy Grant

56. Missy Elliott

55. Faith Hill

54. Chaka Khan

53. Jody Watley

52. Avril Lavigne

51. Pat Benatar

50. Anne Murray

49. Ashanti

48. Bette Midler

47. Aaliyah

46. Natalie Cole

45. Fergie

44. Petula Clark

43. Miley Cyrus

42. Brandy

41. Carly Simon

40. Sheena Easton

39. Debbie Gibson

38. Kesha

37. Tina Turner

36. Mary J. Blige

35. Taylor Dayne

34. Roberta Flack

33. Nicki Minaj

32. Cyndi Lauper

31. Helen Reddy

31. Monica

30. Christina Aguilera

29. Jennifer Lopez

28. Adele

27. Toni Braxton

26. Britney Spears

25. Celine Dion

24. Linda Ronstadt

23. Kelly Clarkson

22. Alicia Keys

21. Paula Abdul

20. Dionne Warwick

19. Lady Gaga

18. Gloria Estefan

17. P!nk

16. Cher

15. Barbra Streisand

14. Brenda Lee

13. Beyoncé

12. Connie Francis

11. Donna Summer

10. Diana Ross

9. Katy Perry

8. Taylor Swift

7. Aretha Franklin

6. Olivia Newton-John

5. Rihanna

4. Whitney Houston

3. Janet Jackson

2. Mariah Carey

1. Madonna

The Top 60 Female Artists of All-Time on the Billboard Hot 100 ranking is based on weekly performance on the Hot 100 from its Aug. 4, 1958, inception through July 21, 2018. All songs are ranked based on an inverse point system, with cumulative weeks at No. 1 earning the greatest value and weeks at lower spots earning the least. Due to changes in chart methodology over the years, eras are weighted differently to account for chart turnover rates over various periods. Artists are then ranked based on a formula blending performance, as outlined above, of all their Hot 100 chart entries.

[Deleted]

[Baby Yoda Hot100Fan]

BTW, they updated the Greatest of All-Time Hot 100 singles and artists charts with the 60th Anniversary charts, except on the latter Drake at #21 is not listed ...

[Gary]

yes - he shows up in the articles though

[Gary]

Hot 100 Turns 60! The Top 60 Duos/Groups Of All Time, From The Beatles to Maroon 5 & More
by Xander Zellner
August 02, 2018, 1:27pm EDT

The Fab Four, The Rolling Stones & Bee Gees ranks at Nos. 1, 2 & 3, respectively.

As we celebrate the Billboard Hot 100's 60th anniversary, Billboard looks at the top-performing duos and groups in the chart's history, dating to its Aug. 4, 1958, inception.

With a record 20 Hot 100 No. 1s, logged between 1964 and 1970, it should come as no surprise that The Beatles are the No. 1 duo or group, as well as the top act overall.

The quartet's biggest Hot 100 hit, "Hey Jude," spent nine weeks at No. 1 beginning on Sept. 28, 1968, and ranks at No. 12 on the recap of the chart's all-time top 600 songs. The group is the only act to ever occupy the entire top five of the Hot 100 in a week, having achieved the feat on April 4, 1964, with, in order from Nos. 1 to 5, "Can't Buy Me Love," "Twist and Shout," "She Loves You," "I Want to Hold Your Hand" and "Please Please Me."

Rounding out the top five duos/groups ranking from Nos. 2 through 5, respectively, are The Rolling Stones, Bee Gees, Chicago and The Supremes. At No. 6 is the top-performing duo, Daryl Hall and John Oates.

Just outside the top 10 is the highest-ranking act whose chart career began in the 2000s: Maroon 5, at No. 11. The Adam Levine-led group's latest hit, "Girls Like You," featuring Cardi B, currently stands at its No. 3 high on the Hot 100. The band has tallied 14 top 10s, including three No. 1s.

Here's a look at the top-performing solo female artists over the Hot 100's first 60 years.

60. REO Speedwagon

59. Wham!

58. The Doobie Brothers

57. The Righteous Brothers

56. Survivor

55. Electric Light Orchestra

54. The Rascals

53. Nickelback

52. The Steve Miller Band

51. Creedence Clearwater Revival

50. Santana

49. Journey

48. Genesis

47. New Kids on the Block

46. The Monkees

45. Roxette

44. KC and The Sunshine Band

43. Simon & Garfunkel

42. Herman's Hermits

41. Styx

40. Earth, Wind & Fire

39. Aerosmith

38. Queen

37. The Spinners

36. Air Supply

35. Captain & Tennille

34. The 5th Dimension

33. Tony Orlando & Dawn

32. Four Tops

31. The Pointer Sisters

30. Fleetwood Mac

29. The Miracles

28. Destiny's Child

27. Starship

26. The Everly Brothers

25. Heart

24. TLC

23. Eagles

22. The Commodores

21. Duran Duran

20. Gladys Knight & The Pips

19. Kool & The Gang

18. Foreigner

17. Bon Jovi

16. Huey Lewis & The News

15. Three Dog Night

14. The Black Eyed Peas

13. The Jacksons

12. Boyz II Men

11. Maroon 5

10. Carpenters

9. The Beach Boys

8. The Temptations

7. The Four Seasons

6. Hall & Oates

5. The Supremes

4. Chicago

3. Bee Gees

2. The Rolling Stones

1. The Beatles

The Top 60 Duos/Groups of All-Time on the Billboard Hot 100 ranking is based on weekly performance on the Hot 100 from its Aug. 4, 1958, inception through July 21, 2018. All songs are ranked based on an inverse point system, with cumulative weeks at No. 1 earning the greatest value and weeks at lower spots earning the least. Due to changes in chart methodology over the years, eras are weighted differently to account for chart turnover rates over various periods. Artists are then ranked based on a formula blending performance, as outlined above, of all their Hot 100 chart entries.

[Gary]

Chubby Checker's 'The Twist': The Improbable Life and Legacy of the Hot 100's All-Time Number One Song

8/2/2018 by Brad Shoup


As part of Billboard's celebration of the 60th anniversary of our Hot 100 chart this week, we're taking a deeper look at some of the biggest artists and singles in the chart's history. Here, we revisit Chubby Checker's "The Twist," which finished at No. 1 in our all-time Hot 100 singles ranking.

It’s astounding that the Billboard Hot 100 is not much older than its biggest hit. Over the last 60 years, the chart has borne witness to Beatlemania and disco fever, arena titans and viral sensations, Michael and Mariah and Rihanna. Yet whenever Billboard singles are tallied, twistin’ time is here.

Anyone not around during either of the song’s stays atop the chart -- by now, most folks -- may think of the song as an oldies curio, a relic from the dreary interregnum between Private Presley and the Fab Four. And that’s a shame. This era had its share of wonderful chart hits, many of which were written and performed by the creators of rock ‘n’ roll: black artists.

Adele, Rihanna, Ed Sheeran, Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Elton John, Chubby Checker, Mariah Carey, Shania Twain & Whitney Houston
Read More
The Biggest Hits of All: The Hot 100's All-Time Top 100 Songs

Hank Ballard was one of those artists. With the Midnighters, he scored a massive pre-Hot 100 hit with 1954’s “Work With Me Annie,” a raunchy R&B number that achieved that era’s version of virality: spawning answer records. After a few years of diminishingly racuous returns, the Midnighters staked their comeback hopes on 1959’s weepy ballad “Teardrops on Your Letter”. The song -- written by their producer, King Records’ Henry Glover -- was a minor hit, but not as popular as the flipside. Officially, “The Twist” is Ballard’s composition. Still, some people -- including a couple Midnighters -- have credited a member of the Sensational Nightingales (opinions differ on which one), who went anonymous for fear or risking his reputation in gospel music.

Ballard’s “Twist” peaked inside the top 30, picking up an influential fan along the way: Dick Clark wanted the song performed on his influential hit-parade program, American Bandstand. Stories differ as to whether the Midnighters couldn’t perform due to a lingering reputation or just a scheduling conflict. Instead, Clark pinch-hit a young acquaintance of his: Ernest “Chubby” Evans, an 18-year-old South Carolinian by way of Philly. Chubby was a born entertainer and -- more importantly for Clark -- a decent mimic. His first single, “The Class,” had him imitating Fats Domino, Elvis, and The Coasters. So it wasn’t any big thing for Chubby to cut a “Twist” that copied Ballard’s honking tenor.

To call Chubby’s version a knockoff, though, would be unfair. Rock and roll, like pop music as a whole, thrives on borrowing and homage: great ideas scaling the ladder of fame. And Chubby Checker, whose first single was a parody and whose very name was a facsimile, knocked the song out of the park. He dug into it with a teen’s enthusiasm, turing Ballard’s “eee-yah” into a positively eldritch cry. His joy underscores just how fascinating the text is. Why is the singer’s momma not around, but his little sister is? Why is he asking someone to take him by his “little hand?" Is he singing from the perspective of a teenage girl? The track (reportedly cut before Checker was even recruited to sing) is similarly focused, with the Midnighters’ bouncy piano sanded down and Ellis Tollin splashing his cymbals throughout.

“The Twist” eventually topped the Hot 100 in September, thanks to Clark’s constant promotion and -- as Checker has noted ever since -- the accompanying dance move. He’s described the twist as someone toweling himself off while grinding a cigarette butt with his toes, and that’s about perfect. It was a simple dance that didn’t require touching, or even a partner: perfect for kids looking to cut loose. The dance was so popular, in fact, that after “The Twist” left the charts, twisting stayed on the floor. With a slowness impossible to imagine today, the dance (and song) eventually caught on with adults. In the fall of 1961, believing that lightning could strike twice, Checker’s label took out a full-page ad in Billboard: “The Twist, America’s Newest Adult Dance Rage, Is Here,” it shouted, and sure enough, in January 1962, Checker’s tune sat atop the Hot 100 for two more weeks. (In neither of its chart runs, amazingly, did it ever top the R&B chart.)

In that pre-Beatles age, “The Twist” affirmed the viability of teen culture and the power of television. It didn’t invent the dance phenomenon, but it did remind an industry, still weaning itself from crooning, of the force of motion. Countless twist songs appeared on the Hot 100 in the next few years. Checker’s second stay at No. 1, in fact, was ended by Joey Dee and the Starlighters’ “Peppermint Twist,” a reference to New York’s Peppermint Lounge, where the Twist craze was broadcast to a nation of grown-ups. Delightfully, “Peppermint Twist” was co-written by the Midnighters’ old producer, Henry Glover.

As for Checker, he was both made and ruined by “The Twist”. He hung around the charts with a series of dance songs (“Let’s Twist Again,” “Slow Twist,” “Pony Time,” “The Hucklebuck,” “Limbo Rock”), and his fame was such that he married Catharina Lodders, a Dutch model and 1962’s Miss World. But as rock and roll turned into rock, he found it hard to adapt. He released an infamous psychedelic album in the early ‘70s, re-recorded his old hits, guested on the Fat Boys’ 1988 hip-hop “Twist” cover, and argued for his place in the pop pantheon with anyone who would listen.

In 2001, he made news for another full-page Billboard ad, written to the Nobel Committee. “Dancing Apart to the Beat is the dance that we do when we dance apart to the beat of anybody’s music,” he wrote, “and before ‘Chubby Checker’ it could not be found!” The year before, “The Twist” was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, but no matter: Checker called for the erection of a statue in the Rock and Roll Hall’s courtyard. (This year, the song joined the inaugural Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Singles class.)

In recent years, Checker seems to have made his peace with his legacy. Still the only performer to have a song hit No. 1 in two different chart runs, he maintains an impressive live schedule, and is always ready to demonstrate the dance that set a country on fire. The perfect confluence of writers, promoters, and performer, “The Twist” is a testament to the notion that a hit song can come from anywhere, and that a song’s hold on the collective imagination can’t always be predicted. And Checker seems confident that this hold won’t be released any time soon: a picture on his website calls “The Twist” “Billboard’s First #1 Song of All Time until 2065”.

[Verisimilitude]

[Gary]

Happy 60th Birthday, Hot 100: Santana & Rob Thomas' 'Smooth' Is Still Your Second-Biggest Song Ever

8/2/2018 by Chris Payne


Carlos Santana and Rob Thomas at the 2000 Grammy Awards held in Los Angeles on Feb. 23, 2000.
The absurd 1999 single trails only ‘The Twist’ by Chubby Checker on our all-time countdown.

It was massive before the memes.

As the Billboard Hot 100 celebrates its 60th birthday this Saturday (Aug. 4), “Smooth” -- by Santana, featuring Rob Thomas of Matchbox Twenty -- remains the chart’s No. 2 song of all-time. When we unveiled past all-encompassing Hot 100s, it held the title in 2015, 2013, and 2008, too. This was before “Smooth” The Meme and fully taken off, back when your Facebook friends from high school were still reveling in Rick Astley and Nickelback jokes instead more refined fare, like “Smooth” coffee mugs and t-shirts.

“Smooth” was always an anomaly. When it came out in June 1999, Santana hadn’t logged a Hot 100 hit in 14 years, and hadn’t broken its top 10 since 1970. That’s kind of like a Phil Collins comeback song with a Shawn Mendes feature becoming a huge hit later this year -- vaguely possible, yet still… strange. Santana was loved by Boomers, but wasn’t a presence in the late-‘90s pop game until he released Supernatural, a feature-heavy Latin rock album that paired the legendary band with numerous contemporary artists: Thomas, Dave Matthews, Lauryn Hill, CeeLo Green, and Wyclef Jean, who co-produced its other No. 1 hit, “Maria Maria.” “Smooth,” the lead single, sailed to No. 1 on Oct. 23 and stayed at the summit for 12 consecutive weeks. It was the 1990s’ last No. 1 song, and the new millennium’s first.

Odd as it all was, there were some factors that at least guided "Smooth" towards success. It arrived at a time when -- much like today -- Latin pop was crossing over into Top 40 more frequently than usual. Ricky Martin's "Livin' La Vida Loca" was a Hot 100 No. 1 for five consecutive weeks in Spring 1999. Enrique Iglesias' "Bailamos" dropped in June and topped the Hot 100 for two weeks that September, about a month before "Smooth" did the same. And as awkward a pairing Santana and Rob Thomas were, it was sort of ingenious how they connected to fans of so many genres, young and old, without either being so unwelcome in the other's world they'd cancel them out. They were basically Sylvester Stallone and Michael B. Jordan in Creed.



In 2000, digital music consumption was nothing compared to the commercial force of radio. Napster was a year old and you could often listen to a whole album in the time it took to download one song. Alongside its Hot 100 journey, “Smooth” also topped Pop Songs, Adult Pop, and Triple A, while charting on Mainstream Rock and Alternative. Pop kids, rockers, their parents, and their parents’ parents got to hear Thomas croon in his raspy, white guy voice about his “Spanish Harlem Mona Lisa.” It wouldn’t have been improbable to hear “Smooth” three times in one trip across your radio dial. It was everywhere.

While “Smooth” reinvigorated Santana’s career, Thomas’ was already going strong. Matchbox Twenty’s 1996 debut Yourself or Someone Like You had produced three top-five Pop Songs hits, and the Florida-based lite-rock band was gearing up to release its follow-up in early 2000. “Smooth” kept Thomas’ voice on the radio in between cycles, during an era when this sort of feature-play was far less typical (and voila, Matchbox Twenty's "Bent," their next single, became their first Hot 100 No. 1). The strategy -- and the whole concept behind Supernatural -- actually has a lot in common with today’s pop songwriting game. Santana, the lead artist, made the music and paired songs off with hitmaker features, much the same way Calvin Harris or Kygo do today. The track listings of modern-day DJ Khaled albums are essentially Supernatural on steroids; Khaled's “Wild Thoughts” even takes it to another level and samples the main riff from “Maria Maria.”


So Santana kind of invented the features era. Three years after Supernatural, Santana repeated the process with Shaman, and gave us two more Top 40 hits: the Michelle Branch team-up “Game of Love,” and “Why Don’t You & I,” featuring Chad Kroeger. Somehow, the Santana single with the guy from Nickelback didn’t become the dominant meme, which speaks to the galaxy-brained levels of Thomas’ musings when it came to white-washed Latin romance and the moon’s gravitational force.

“Smooth” still generates about a million on-demand streams per week, according to Nielsen Music. It logs around a thousand sales every week, considerably more than other turn-of-the-century No. 1s. It inspired an iconic Onion article, and an also-pretty-funny (fake) GQ oral history that’s trying to be a Clickhole article. It’s Billboard’s second-biggest song of all-time. It is eternal.
Billboard Video

[brady47]

YES! So we're getting an updated 90s decade list? That original list was a mess!

[Gary]

Why Janet Jackson Outranks Michael Among the Top 100 Artists of All Time

8/2/2018 by Gary Trust



Scott Flynn/AFP/Getty Images
Janet and Michael Jackson at the 1993 Grammy Awards, where she presented him with the Grammy Legend honor.

As part of Billboard's celebration of the 60th anniversary of our Hot 100 chart this week, we're taking a deeper look at some of the biggest artists and singles in the chart's history. Here, we revisit Janet Jackson, who finished at No. 7 in our all-time Hot 100 artist ranking.

Michael Jackson got a head start -- so why does Janet narrowly outrank him on the list of the top-performing artists in Hot 100 history? (She’s No. 7; he’s No. 8.) Michael boasts 13 No. 1s among his 30 top 10s, both higher sums than Janet’s respective totals of 10 and 27. (Michael’s numbers reflect only his solo career, not the four No. 1s, among 11 top 10s, that he earned as a member of The Jackson 5 and The Jacksons.)


But the more weeks an artist spends in the chart’s upper echelons, the better his or her all-time tally, and Janet has racked up 219 weeks in the top 10 compared with Michael’s 183. Between the two, Janet has also spent the most time at No. 1 with any single: “That’s the Way Love Goes” ruled for eight weeks in 1993, topping the career-best seven-week reigns of Michael’s “Billie Jean” in 1983 and “Black or White” in 1991 and 1992.

This article originally appeared in the Aug 4 issue of B

[Gary]

What Carly Rae Jepsen Superfans Really Think of 'Call Me Maybe'

8/2/2018 by Steven J. Horowitz



Kevin Mazur/AMA2012/WireImage
Jepsen sang “Call Me Maybe” at the 2012 American Music Awards in Los Angeles.

As part of Billboard's celebration of the 60th anniversary of our Hot 100 chart this week, we're taking a deeper look at some of the biggest artists and singles in the chart's history. Here, we revisit Carly Rae Jepsen's "Call Me Maybe," which finished at No. 50 in our all-time Hot 100 singles ranking.

Carly Rae Jepsen is not, technically, a one-hit wonder. After “Call Me Maybe,” she climbed to No. 8 with the Owl City collab “Good Time,” and six of her singles have appeared on the Billboard Hot 100. But “Call Me Maybe” was the second-best-selling song of 2012 (according to Nielsen Music) and Jepsen’s breakthrough after a third-place Canadian Idol finish and little-heard 2007 debut. Topping the Hot 100 for nine consecutive weeks and reaching No. 50 on this list, the song was so massive, so memorable, so, well, perfect, that Jepsen may never escape the burden of its legacy.

Yet unlike other artists who won’t ever completely step out of one song’s shadow, like Radiohead (“Creep”) or Beck (“Loser”), Jepsen does not have a tortured relationship with her hit. In fact, it’s still a staple in her live performances, and she’s just as bubbly and earnest performing it as she was in its campy music video. To her loyal and passionate fans -- the “Jepfriends” she has cultivated over the years since her breakthrough by writing similarly impeccable songs -- “Call Me Maybe” is the sum of Jepsen’s talents wrapped up in a neat, three-and-a-half-minute tune so immediately recognizable that even nonfans know it from its opening string-plucks. While those outside of Jepfriend-dom might have been surprised by the sophistication of her third album, 2015’s E-mo-tion, her fans knew better. We had already glimpsed the pop savant Jepsen was on “Call Me Maybe.” (Not coincidentally, the biggest hit off E-mo-tion was “I Really Like You,” a joyous banger in the “Maybe” mold.)

If “Call Me Maybe” is a supposed one-hit-wonder’s one hit, it is arguably the most fiercely beloved random smash on this entire list. Jepfriends don’t advertise their special relationship to Jepsen’s discography by rejecting the song everyone else knows or trying to justify how deep her talents run beyond it. It’s the foundation of her career and catalog, and as such, we don’t just continue to embrace it -- we embrace it as a key part of what makes Jepsen the pop star we love.

I tested that idea recently when I tweeted a question to my fellow Jepfriends: Does “Call Me Maybe” hold up? Over half a decade since this earworm entered the airwaves, the responses were overwhelmingly affirmative. “Still one of the most intoxicating songs of all time ... Still somehow sounds fresh,” wrote one user. “It’s beyond love. It’s sacred canon,” responded another. “It’s amazing, and on its own, it still slaps,” another observed, though he, like some other respondents, did note that it can feel “out of place” with respect to the rest of Jepsen’s output. When I interviewed Jepsen in 2015, she seemed to share that sentiment. “ ‘Call Me Maybe’ was such a gift, but I don’t need that to happen again in my life,” she said, her big brown eyes hidden behind pink sunglasses. To her fans, too, it’s still a gift -- and what she has done since continues to prove its promise.

This article originally appeared in the Aug 4 issue of Billboard.

[Gary]

Hot 100 Turns 60! The Top 60 Songs That Never Reached No. 1
by Xander Zellner
August 02, 2018, 2:33pm EDT

LeAnn Rimes' "How Do I Live" leads the best-of-the-next-bests ranking.

As we celebrate the Billboard Hot 100's 60th anniversary, Billboard looks at the silver medalists, the runners-up, and third-, fourth-, fifth- or, in one case, sixth-place finishers, i.e., the hits that didn't reach No. 1 on the weekly ranking, but were huge hits nonetheless.

LeAnn Rimes' "How Do I Live" ranks at No. 1 on the list below, as the smash ballad peaked at No. 2 on the Hot 100 in 1997-98. It had the unfortunate timing of being blocked by Elton John's biggest hit, "Candle in the Wind"/"Something About the Way You Look Tonight," which spent 14 weeks at No. 1. Still, "Live" logged 32 weeks in the top 10 and 69 total weeks on the chart, both records at the time. Its sustainability on the chart helped it land at No. 5 on the recap of the Hot 100's top 600 songs of all time, marking one of only two non-No. 1s in the top 50.

Also notable on the list below is Foreigner's 1981 single "Waiting for a Girl Like You." The song spent 10 weeks at No. 2, without ever reaching No. 1, barricaded by Olivia Newton-John's "Physical" and Daryl Hall and John Oates' "I Can't Go for That (No Can Do)." In 2002-03, Missy Elliott's "Work It" tied "Waiting" for the most weeks at No. 2 for a song that has peaked at that position.

Among hits on the list below is one that never hit the top five on the weekly Hot 100: Jason Mraz's 2008 hit "I'm Yours." The track shows in large part because it spent a then-record 76 total weeks on the Hot 100 (breaking Rimes' record with "Live"). The longevity mark has since been broken twice, by AWOLNATION's "Sail" (79 weeks) and current record-holder Imagine Dragons' "Radioactive" (87 weeks), both in 2014.
Adele, Rihanna, Ed Sheeran, Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Elton John, Chubby Checker, Mariah Carey, Shania Twain & Whitney Houston


This list is based on actual performance on the weekly Hot 100, through the July 21, 2018 ranking. Songs are ranked based on an inverse point system, with weeks at No. 1 earning the greatest value and weeks at No. 100 earning the least. Due to changes in chart methodology over the years, eras are weighted to account for different chart turnover rates over various periods.

Without further ado, here, from No. 60 to No. 1, are the biggest hits in the Hot 100's 60-year history that never reached No. 1, although their legacies as smashes are ensured regardless.

Rank, Title, Artist, Peak Position, Peak Date

60. "High Enough," Damn Yankees, No. 3, Jan. 12, 1991

59. "Don't Know Much," Linda Ronstadt feat. Aaron Neville, No. 2, Dec. 23, 1989

58. "Pump Up the Jam," Technotronic feat. Felly, No. 2, Jan. 20, 1990

57. "Don't Let Go (Love)," En Vogue, No. 2, Jan. 18, 1997

56. "Donna," Ritchie Valens, No. 2, Feb. 23, 1959

55. "The Rubberband Man," The Spinners, No. 2, Dec. 4, 1976

54. "I'm Yours," Jason Mraz, No. 6, Sept. 20, 2008

53. "Party All the Time," Eddie Murphy, No. 2, Dec. 28, 1985

52. "Harden My Heart," Quarterflash, No. 3, Feb. 13, 1982

51. "Get Up and Boogie (That's Right)," Silver Convention, No. 2, June 12, 1976

50. "Bird Dog," The Everly Brothers, No. 2, Sept. 15, 1958

49. "Bad Romance," Lady Gaga, No. 2, Dec. 5, 2009

48. "Exodus," Ferrante & Teicher, No. 2, Jan. 23, 1961

47. "All That She Wants," Ace of Base, No. 2, Nov. 6, 1993

46. "1, 2, Step," Ciara feat. Missy Elliott, No. 2, Jan. 8, 2005

45. "Where My Girls At?," 702, No. 4, June 19, 1999

44. "How to Save a Life," The Fray, No. 3, Oct. 7, 2006

43. "Stay With Me," Sam Smith, No. 2, Aug. 16, 2014

42. "Woman," John Lennon, No. 2, March 21, 1981

41. "Some Nights," fun., No. 3, Sept. 29, 2012

40. "It's All Coming Back to Me Now," Celine Dion, No. 2, Oct. 26, 1996

39. "Gloria," Laura Branigan, No. 2, Nov. 27, 1982

38. "The Way I Are," Timbaland feat. Keri Hilson, No. 3, Aug. 25, 2007

37. "I Love You Always Forever," Donna Lewis, No. 2, Aug. 24, 1996

36. "Dancing Machine," Jackson 5, No. 2, May 18, 1974

35. "Twisted," Keith Sweat, No. 2, Aug. 17, 1996

34. "Nobody's Supposed to Be Here," Deborah Cox, No. 2, Dec. 5, 1998

33. "If I Ain't Got You," Alicia Keys, No. 4, July 3, 2004

32. "You Belong With Me," Taylor Swift, No. 2, Aug. 22, 2009

31. "Limbo Rock," Chubby Checker, No. 2, Dec. 22, 1962

30. "Quit Playing Games (With My Heart)," Backstreet Boys, No. 2, Sept. 6, 1997

29. "Since U Been Gone," Kelly Clarkson, No. 2, April 9, 2005

28. "Y.M.C.A.," Village People, No. 2, Feb. 3, 1979

27. "Don't Let Me Down," The Chainsmokers feat. Daya, No. 3, July 16, 2016

26. "Wake Me Up!," Avicii, No. 4, Oct. 5, 2013

25. "I'd Really Love to See You Tonight," England Dan & John Ford Coley, No. 2, Sept. 25, 1976

24. "Poison," Bell Biv DeVoe, No. 3, June 9, 1990

23. "Kryptonite," 3 Doors Down, No. 3, Nov. 11, 2000

22. "Hey, Soul Sister," Train, No.3, April 10, 2010

21. "Dynamite," Taio Cruz, No. 2, Aug. 21, 2010

20. "From a Distance," Bette Midler, No. 2, Dec. 15, 1990

19. "Thinking Out Loud," Ed Sheeran, No. 2, Jan. 31, 2015

18. "I Wanna Sex You Up," Color Me Badd, No. 2, June 8, 1991

17. "Need You Now," Lady Antebellum, No. 2, March 20, 2010

16. "He'll Have to Go," Jim Reeves, No. 2, March 7, 1960

15. "Trap Queen," Fetty Wap, No. 2, May 16, 2015

14. "Hanging by a Moment," Lifehouse, No. 2, June 16, 2001

13. "Breathe," Faith Hill, No. 2, April 22, 2000

12. "Counting Stars," OneRepublic, No. 2, Jan. 18, 2014

11. "Radioactive," Imagine Dragons, No. 3, July 6, 2013

10. "Nobody Knows," The Tony Rich Project, No. 2, March 23, 1996

9. "Another Night," Real McCoy, No. 3, Nov. 12, 1994

8. "You Make Me Wanna," Usher, No. 2, Oct. 25, 1997

7. "Hurts So Good," John Mellencamp, No. 2, Aug. 7, 1982

6. "Waiting for a Girl Like You," Foreigner, No. 2, Nov. 28, 1981

5. "You're Still the One," Shania Twain, No. 2, May 2, 1998

4. "Whoomp! (There It Is)," Tag Team, No. 2, July 31, 1993

3. "Apologize," Timbaland feat. OneRepublic, No. 2, Nov. 10, 2007

2. "You Were Meant for Me"/"Foolish Games," Jewel, No. 2, April 19, 1997

1. "How Do I Live," LeAnn Rimes, No. 2, Dec. 13, 1997

[Gary]

Hot 100 Turns 60! Artists With the Most No. 1s, From The Beatles to Rihanna & More
by Xander Zellner
August 02, 2018, 2:00pm EDT
The Beatles reign with a record 20 toppers.

Over 27,000 songs have graced the Billboard Hot 100 in the chart's 60-year history. Of those, 1,077 have reached No. 1 -- a select 3.8 percent.

In honor of the Hot 100's 60th anniversary, we're looking at the best of the best, including the artists with the most No. 1s in the chart's archives. More specifically, we're highlighting the nine acts with at least 10 No. 1s each; call it the 10-Timers Club, if you will.

The list features seven solo artists and two groups. The Beatles, unsurprisingly, lead the way with a record 20 No. 1s, all earned between 1964 and 1970. The Fab Four also scored 34 top 10s (second only to Madonna's 38), hitting No. 1 in over half their visits to the top 10.

Notably missing from the list is Elvis Presley, who, in the Hot 100 era, scored seven No. 1s. The start of Presley's career predated the Hot 100, which launched on Aug. 4, 1958, meaning that some of his classics, such as "Don't Be Cruel," "Hound Dog" and "Jailhouse Rock," preceded the chart's existence. He did, however, reach the summit with "A Big Hunk O' Love," "Stuck on You," "It's Now or Never," "Are You Lonesome Tonight," "Surrender," "Good Luck Charm " and "Suspicious Minds."

Here are all nine members of the 10-Timers Club, along with each act's No. 1 hits.

Title, Weeks at No. 1, Peak Date

The Beatles, 20 No. 1s
"I Want to Hold Your Hand," seven weeks beginning Feb. 1, 1964
"She Loves You," two, March 21, 1964
"Can't Buy Me Love," five, April 4, 1964
"Love Me Do," one, May 30, 1964
"A Hard Day's Night," two, Aug. 1, 1964
"I Feel Fine," three, Dec. 26, 1964
"Eight Days a Week," two, March 13, 1965
"Ticket to Ride," one, May 22, 1965
"Help!," three, Sept. 4, 1965
"Yesterday," four, Oct. 9, 1965
"We Can Work It Out," three, Jan. 8, 1966
"Paperback Writer," two, June 25, 1966
"Penny Lane," one, March 18, 1967
"All You Need Is Love," one, Aug. 19, 1967
"Hello Goodbye," three, Aug. 19, 1967
"Hey Jude," nine, Sept. 28, 1968
"Get Back," with Billy Preston, five, May 24, 1969
"Come Together"/"Something," one, Nov. 29, 1969
"Let It Be," two, April 11, 1970
"The Long and Winding Road"/"For You Blue," two, June 13, 1970

Mariah Carey, 18 No. 1s
"Vision of Love," four weeks beginning Aug. 4, 1990
"Love Takes Time," three, Nov. 10, 1990
"Someday," two, March 9, 1991
"I Don't Wanna Cry," two, May 25, 1991
"Emotions," three, Oct. 12, 1991
"I'll Be There," two, June 20, 1992
"Dreamlover," eight, Sept. 11, 1993
"Hero," four, Dec. 25, 1993
"Fantasy," eight, Sept. 30, 1995
"One Sweet Day," with Boyz II Men, 16, Dec. 2, 1995
"Always Be My Baby," two, May 4, 1996
"Honey," three, Sept. 13, 1997
"My All," one, May 23, 1998
"Heartbreaker," feat. JAY-Z, two, Oct. 9, 1999
"Thank God I Found You," feat. Joe & 98 Degrees, one, Feb. 19, 2000
"We Belong Together," 14, June 4, 2005
"Don't Forget About Us," two, Dec. 31, 2005
"Touch My Body," two, April 12, 2008

Rihanna, 14 No. 1s
"SOS," three weeks beginning May 13, 2006
"Umbrella," feat. JAY-Z, seven, June 9, 2007
"Take a Bow," one, May 24, 2008
"Disturbia," two, Aug. 23, 2008
"Live Your Life," T.I. feat. Rihanna, six, Oct. 18, 2008
"Rude Boy," five, March 27, 2010
"Love the Way You Lie," Eminem feat. Rihanna, seven, July 31, 2010
"What's My Name?," feat. Drake, one, Nov. 20, 2010
"Only Girl (In the World)," one, Dec. 4, 2010
"S&M," feat. Britney Spears, one, April 30, 2011
"We Found Love," feat. Calvin Harris, 10, Nov. 12, 2011
"Diamonds," three, Dec. 1, 2012
"The Monster," Eminem feat. Rihanna, four, Dec. 21, 2013
"Work," feat. Drake, nine, March 5, 2016


Michael Jackson, 13 No. 1s
"Ben," one week beginning Oct. 14, 1972
"Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough," one, Oct. 13, 1979
"Rock With You," four, Jan. 19, 1980
"Billie Jean," seven, March 5, 1983
"Beat It," three, April 30, 1983
"Say Say Say," with Paul McCartney, six, Dec. 10, 1983
"I Just Can't Stop Loving You," with Siedah Garrett, one, Sept. 19, 1987
"Bad," two, Oct. 24, 1987
"The Way You Make Me Feel," one, Jan. 23, 1988
"Man in the Mirror," two, March 26, 1988
"Dirty Diana," one, July 2, 1988
"Black or White," seven, Dec. 7, 1991
"You Are Not Alone," one, Sept. 2, 1995

Madonna, 12 No. 1s
"Like a Virgin," six weeks beginning Dec. 22, 1984
"Crazy for You," one, May 11, 1985
"Live to Tell," one, June 7, 1986
"Papa Don't Preach," two, Aug. 16, 1986
"Open Your Heart," one, Feb. 7, 1987
"Who's That Girl," one, Aug. 22, 1987
"Like a Prayer," three, April 22, 1989
"Vogue," three, May 19, 1990
"Justify My Love," two, Jan. 5, 1991
"This Used to Be My Playground," one, Aug. 8, 1992
"Take a Bow," seven, Feb. 25, 1995
"Music," four, Sept. 16, 2000

The Supremes, 12 No. 1s
"Where Did Our Love Go," two weeks beginning Aug. 22, 1964
"Baby Love," four, Oct. 31, 1964
"Come See About Me," two, Dec. 19, 1964
"Stop! In the Name of Love," two, March 27, 1965
"Back in My Arms Again," one, June 12, 1965
"I Hear a Symphony," two, Nov. 20, 1965
"You Can't Hurry Love," two, Sept. 10, 1966
"You Keep Me Hangin' On," two, Nov. 19, 1966
"Love Is Here and Now You're Gone," one, March 11, 1967
"The Happening," one, May 13, 1967
"Love Child," with Diana Ross, two, Nov. 30, 1968
"Someday We'll Be Together," Diana Ross & The Supremes, one, Dec. 27, 1969

Whitney Houston, 11 No. 1s
"Saving All My Love for You," one week beginning Oct. 26, 1985
"How Will I Know," two, Feb. 15, 1986
"Greatest Love of All," three, May 17, 1986
"I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)," two, June 27, 1987
"Didn't We Almost Have It All," two, Sept. 26, 1987
"So Emotional," one, Jan. 9, 1988
"Where Do Broken Hearts Go," two, April 23, 1988
"I'm Your Baby Tonight," one, Dec. 1, 1990
"All The Man That I Need," two, Feb. 23, 1991
"I Will Always Love You," 14, Nov. 28, 1992
"Exhale (Shoop Shoop)," one, Nov. 25, 1995

Janet Jackson, 10 No. 1s
"When I Think of You," two weeks beginning Oct. 11, 1986
"Miss You Much," four, Oct. 7, 1989
"Escapade," three, March 3, 1990
"Black Cat," one, Oct. 27, 1990
"Love Will Never Do (Without You)," one, Jan. 19, 1991
"That's The Way Love Goes," eight, May 15, 1993
"Again," two, Dec. 11, 1993
"Together Again," two, Jan. 31, 1998
"Doesn't Really Matter," three, Aug. 26, 2000
"All for You," seven, April 14, 2001

Stevie Wonder, 10 No. 1s
"Fingertips – Pt 2," Little Stevie Wonder, three weeks beginning Aug. 10, 1963
"Superstition," one, Jan. 27, 1973
"You Are the Sunshine of My Life," one, May 19, 1973
"You Haven't Done Nothin," one, Nov. 2, 1974
"I Wish," one, Jan. 22, 1977
"Sir Duke," three, May 21, 1977
"Ebony and Ivory," with Paul McCartney, seven, May 15, 1982
"I Just Called to Say I Love You," three, Oct. 13, 1984
"Part Time Lover," one week, Nov. 2, 1985
"That's What Friends Are For," Dionne & Friends, four, Jan. 18, 1986

[Gary]

Hot 100 Turns 60! The Ten Most Interesting Songs on 1958's First-Ever Chart (Critic's Picks)

8/2/2018 by Andrew Unterberger


Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
Ricky Nelson poses for a portrait in the late 1950's.

Sixty years ago this week, Billboard launched the first-ever Billboard Hot 100: a consolidated, all-genre, multi-metric singles chart that continues to be the industry standard for measuring the biggest songs in the U.S> each week.

In the six decades since, the chart has gone on to document the reigns of the biggest artists and songs in all of popular music, with records and benchmarks being set by the eternal likes of The Beatles, The Supremes, Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Madonna, Mariah Carey, and other superstars on through Drake in 2018.

What about that first-ever Hot 100 chart on Aug. 4, 1958, though? Who and what appeared on that first draft? Plenty of big names, of course, many with songs that have endured as pop classics over the years to come, The Coasters' "Yakkety Yak" (No. 7), Peggy Lee's "Fever" (No. 10), Big Bopper's "Chantilly Lace" (No. 31), The Everly Brothers' "All I Have to Do Is Dream" (No. 49) and Chuck Berry's "Johnny B. Goode" (No. 80) all among them.

But also present: a handful of historical curiosities, buried gems, then-contemporary hits that would seem unimaginable today, even some songs that even those around for the chart 60 years ago probably haven't thought about since 1958. Here, we dive deep into the first-ever Hot 100 to find the 10 most interesting songs from a 2018 vantage point -- some of which have aged more noticeably than others, but all are worth three minutes of your time as we flashback to a critical week in Billboard history.

Ricky Nelson, "Poor Little Fool" (No. 1)

It might not be as familiar to modern audiences as other Ricky Nelson hits like the Pulp Fiction-featured "Lonesome Town," the rock-name-dropping "Garden Party" or the oldies radio standard "Travelin' Man," but the singer's heartbroken acoustic jaunt "Poor Little Fool" does have the historic distinction of being the Hot 100's first-ever No. 1. Though the song is relatively straightforward for late-'50s pop-rock, its backstory is fascinating: The song was penned by then-teenage songwriter Sharon Sheeley, who told Nelson that the song had originally been written by her godfather for Elvis Presley for fear of not being taken seriously as a young girl. Nelson was irate when he found out the truth, but by that point, the song was already climbing the charts.

(The first-ever Hot 100 No. 2 hit, by the way? "Patricia" by Perez Prado and His Orchestra -- a fiery mambo instrumental you might either recognize from its use in the classic 1960 Federico Fellini film La Dolce Vita, or as the theme song to HBO's '90s late-night series Real Sex, depending.)

Jody Reynolds, "Endless Sleep" (No. 17)

Few songwriting trends were more pervasive in the pre-British Invasion rock era than the teen tragedy anthem, most often featuring a young singer lamenting the unexpected death of a loved one, exemplified by such later Hot 100-toppers as Mark Dinning's "Teen Angel" and The Shangri-Las' "Leader of the Pack." One of the songs credited for kicking off the trend was "Endless Sleep," a "Heartbreak Hotel"-inspired swaying ballad featuring the Colorado rocker Reynolds being beckoned to the titular state by his girl -- from the bottom of the sea, where she's headed after a lovers' quarrel.

Unlike most of the songs it later inspired, however, this one has a happy ending -- a twist demanded by the song's publisher, Herb Montel -- Reynolds jumps in the water after her, and the song closes with him boasting, "I saved my baby from an endless sleep."

The Olympics, "Western Movies" (No. 23)

Difficult in 2018 to imagine a time when westerns were so popular on TV and in the movies that a doo-wop outfit could have a top 10 hit about a girl being too preoccupied with the genre to spend time with the group, but such was the case with The Olympics 60 years ago. The quintet complains about being unable to pry its baby away from the television, painting her as almost sociopathically obsessed -- when lead singer Walter Ward calls her to moan that "half my head was gone" after being in the head with a brick; she thanks him for reminding him it's time to tune into Maverick. The song went on to peak at No. 8 on the Hot 100, but paved the way for a single that reached No. 1 30 years later: The Escape Club's "Wild Wild West," which even opens with similar-sounding gunshot effects.

The Poni-Tails, "Born Too Late" (No. 26)

The golden age of the girl group wouldn't really kick off in earnest for another couple years, but The Poni-Tails were an all-female trio from Ohio that scored a top 10 hit in 1958 with the sweetly harmonized "Born Too Late." Written by Charles Strouse (composer of Bye Bye Birdie and other musicals) and Fred Tobias, the song's subject -- of young girls wishing to be older so they could start dating already -- feels minorly cringeworthy in 2018, though not necessarily when compared to songs that approach the same topic from the other perspective, like future '60s smashes for Steve Lawrence and Gary Puckett & The Union Gap.

The Rinky-Dinks, "Early in the Morning" (No. 52)

As was much more common back in the late-'50s than it is today, the rave-up "Early in the Morning" appeared on the first Hot 100 in two separate versions, the higher of which (No. 41) came from early rock legend Buddy Holly. The more interesting one, though, was courtesy of the Rinky-Dinks -- an alias of rising star Bobby Darin, who'd originally released the song through Brunswick Records under the name "The Ding-Dongs," before the label was forced to turn the masters over to Darin's original label ATCO, which re-released it under the new name. Though Darin would soon become best known as a crooner on pop standards like "Mack the Knife" and "Beyond the Sea," the relatively unpolished "Early in the Morning" showcases his bonafides as an early rock star, as well.

Bobby Day, "Over and Over" (No. 60)

This wasn't Texas R&B singer Bobby Day's biggest hit, even on the original Hot 100 -- that'd be "Rockin' Robin" (originally titled "Rock-In Robin"), No. 35 on that week's listing, eventually hitting No. 2 that October (and then peaking in the runner-up spot again 14 years later with a version by Michael Jackson). But the song's B-side, the party-starting "Over and Over," appeared at No. 60 on the inaugural Hot 100 -- eventually reaching a No. 41 peak -- and then again 36 spots lower, with a version by Thurston Harris (of "Little Bitty Pretty One" fame), which was released contemporaneously, but only lasted on the chart for one week. Like "Rock-In Robin," "Over and Over" also inspired a smash cover in later years: British Invasion stars The Dave Clark Five went to No. 1 with it in 1965, the only of their eight top 10 hits to crown the chart.


Jim Backus & Friend, "Delicious!" (No. 66)

Sixty years later, and you still might not need two hands to count the Hot 100 hits that are more surreal than Jim Backus & Friend's "Delicious!" Calling it a song at all is somewhat misleading -- though the cut features a lounge piano backing track, the vocals feature a spoken-word bit between Backus (yes, that Jim Backus, James Dean's father in Rebel Without a Cause and Thurston Howell III on Gilligan's Island) and "Friend" Henrietta Backus, his real-life wife, as they drink champagne and laugh. Like, a lot. In fact, the song was often subtitled "The Laughing Song": appropriate, considering the song is three minutes long, and the two spend over two of those minutes howling and cackling, over nothing in particular. The not-that-novel novelty hit's minor success remains perplexing six decades on, but if ever there was a Hot 100 entry you could say "They don't make 'em like this anymore" about, it's this one.

Frank Gallup, "Got a Match?" (No. 71)

Only marginally less confounding than "Delicious!" is the success of this similarly bizarre one-off from Frank Gallop -- credited as "Gallup" on this record, for reasons seemingly unclear -- who was best known as a radio and TV personality, most prominently serving as the announcer on the titular programs of star entertainers Milton Berle and Perry Como. The song is a rollicking bass-and-organ-driven instrumental, punctuated by Gallup's baritone sporadically interrupting to ask "Hey there... got a match?" (At song's end, he changes course: "Hey there... never mind.") Strangest of all? A second version of "Got a Match?" also appeared on the Hot 100 that week at No. 86, courtesy of The Daddy-O's.

(L-R) Sinead O'Connor, Ed Sheeran, Bruno Mars & Michael Jackson
Read More
Chart Beat Podcast: The Hot 100's All-Time Top 100 Hits, Nos. 100-76, From Ed Sheeran to Michael Jackson & More

Lee Andrews and the Hearts, "Try the Impossible" (No. 83)

Philly doo-wop quintet Lee Andrews and the Hearts scored the final of their pre-Hot 100 chart hits with "Try the Impossible," a lovely, understated ballad ("Try the impossible, try to understand the way I feel about you" go the song's opening lyrics) whose popularity was already on the wane by the time of the chart's debut. Andrews' post-Hearts recording success was limited, but his touring days made an impression on his son: Amir "Questlove" Thompson, who rose to stardom a generation later, both as drummer for Grammy-winning rap outfit The Roots, and one of the music industry's preeminent pop, rock and soul scholars.

Joe South, "The Purple People Eater Meets the Witch Doctor" (No. 91)

The late '50s were high times for novelty songs, one of the biggest of which was actor/singer Sheb Wooley's "The Purple People Eater," about a monster who comes to Earth to join a rock band. That song, which peaked in popularity earlier in 1958, was still No. 24 on the Hot 100 -- and 67 spots lower was this spinoff, courtesy of country singer-songwriter Joe South, which introduced the "Purple People Eater" to the "Witch Doctor," title character from a concurrent novelty smash for David Seville, fictional invention of Alvin and the Chipmunks creator Ross Bagdasarian. The layers of novelty were nearly overwhelming, but South survived to have a successful recording career of less-gimmicky singles, including the top 20 Hot 100 hits "Games People Play" and "Walk a Mile in My Shoes."

[Gary]

The Story of Tommy Edwards, the Hot 100's First Black Artist to Hit No. 1

8/2/2018 by Carl Wilson


PoPsie Randolph/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
Edwards onstage at the New York Paramount in 1952.

As part of Billboard's celebration of the 60th anniversary of our Hot 100 chart this week, we're taking a deeper look at some of the biggest artists and singles in the chart's history. Here, we revisit Tommy Edwards' “It’s All in the Game,” which finished at No. 47 in our all-time Hot 100 singles ranking.

The first No. 1 song by a black performer on the Billboard Hot 100 -- which arrived merely a month after the chart’s inception -- tells one of those tales that finds American music slipping the bounds of genre. Tommy Edwards’ 1958 song, “It’s All in the Game,” wasn’t rock’n’roll or R&B, but a tune-up of Edwards’ own 1951 version of a swelling, croony ballad -- itself an adaptation of a four-decade-old ditty by an amateur parlor tunesmith. That last detail also makes it the only pop hit ever written by a top White House official and improbably ties a 1925 Nobel Peace Prize winner to the 2016 literary Nobel laureate.

“It’s All in the Game” draws its sweet tune from “Melody in A Major,” written in 1911 by a banking executive named Charles G. Dawes, who would soon be a military general and later a federal budget chief. By the mid-1920s, Dawes would be Calvin Coolidge’s vice president, though reputedly a lousy one. His Nobel was for his earlier work on the Dawes Plan, which (temporarily) helped Germany stave off postwar economic collapse. But in his off-hours, Dawes was an avid light-classical flautist-pianist. “Melody” is his only known composition, and it’s dumb luck it’s known at all: He handed off the score to a friend who, to Dawes’ amazement, got it published. It became a piano-roll hit, renowned violinist Fritz Kreisler made it his curtain closer, and by the 1930s, it was in the repertoire of big-band orchestras like Tommy Dorsey’s -- though the first attempt to set it to words, as “Let Me Dream,” fell flat. Over time, Dawes found himself vexed by the song, which bands “manhandled” in his honor everywhere he went, according to his biographer Bascom N. Timmons in Portrait of an American.

Whatever made New York lyricist Carl Sigman think to use “Melody” as raw material in 1951, when he did he made a crucial change. He extended Dawes’ initial trilled figure into a seven-note staircase that the first line climbs and descends, with the words, “Many a tear has to fall.” It gave singers a great showboating moment off the top, but it also set up the song’s main tension, musically acting out an arc of anticipation and letdown, pivoting on a teardrop.

Alas, Dawes never got to hear the lyrics that immortalized his tune: As Sigman’s son recently recounted in American Songwriter, Dawes died the same day Sigman turned the song in to his publisher, Mac Goldman, who cracked, “Your lyric must have killed him.”


By 1951, the dapper, Nat “King” Cole-influenced songwriter-crooner Tommy Edwards, from Richmond, Va., had been kicking around New York for several years with tepid success (his life is traced in a recent documentary, Tommy Edwards: Henrico’s Hit Maker). Now, his languid original version of “It’s All in the Game” with MGM briefly made the pop top 20, quickly followed by covers from Cole himself, Dinah Shore, Louis Armstrong and others. Still, both singer and song likely would have faded had MGM not had Edwards recut it as a “beat ballad” in 1958 -- perhaps swayed by how Connie Francis earlier that year had turned moldy ’20s chestnut “Who’s Sorry Now” into a teen-friendly No. 4 hit. With a new bottom end, rhythm section and stylistic nods to doo-wop, the rearrangement seemed to unleash something definitive and magnetic in Edwards’ voice. Suddenly “Game” was everywhere, a staple of slow dances and roadster cruises for years, as fans still reminisce today in the comments on its unofficial YouTube page.

There’s nothing dated about the puzzle it poses: Is love just “the game,” a psyche-wrecking battle (“Once in a while he will call...”) out of the nightmare 1990s dating guide The Rules? Or perhaps it is the dream held out by the song’s climax, all the dreamier for its delay: “Then he’ll kiss your lips/And caress your waiting fingertips/And your hearts will fly away.” Sung the way Edwards does it, the song sustains both visions, the realist’s and the romantic’s.


That’s the test undertaken by the countless musicians who’ve covered it since. The best include a crackling 1970 soul version by the Four Tops, a poignant 1984 country cover by Merle Haggard and an inspired Van Morrison take on his 1979 album, Into the Music, that segues into a long improvisation called “You Know What They’re Writing About” -- deservedly treating “It’s All in the Game” as the prototypical love song that can sum up the whole genre. As for the Nobel connection, Bob Dylan performed the song 10 times on tour in 1981 -- and then never again, though some renditions survive on bootlegs.

In an eerie parallel to Dawes, though, Edwards never witnessed these tributes. He could not duplicate the success of “Game” -- his greatest-hits collections are like hearing the same song repeated in ever-weaker echoes. His smash had been caught between eras, and his talents never found another niche. By the mid-’60s, Edwards was back in Richmond, where he would die at age 47, likely from complications of alcoholism, in 1969. In show business, such tragic twists are, too often, all in the game.

[Gary]

Still hoping they post the top 600 songs list

[HolidayGuy]

^Yes- it made several references to it. Would be nice if it posted 101-600- maybe they will, over time.

Thanks for posting all the info in this thread.

[korbel16]

Day 6437272737263 of still thinking about bad romance being robbed from number 1 *sigh*

[hot100predictions]

How is Hello by Adele not on the list?

[Gary]

How Ace of Base's 'The Sign' Kickstarted the Swedish Pop Machine

News

By Nolan Feeney | August 02, 2018 4:12 PM EDT
Ace of Base’s “The Sign”



As part of Billboard's celebration of the 60th anniversary of our Hot 100 chart this week, we're taking a deeper look at some of the biggest artists and singles in the chart's history. Here, we revisit Ace of Base’s “The Sign,” which finished at No. 65 in our all-time Hot 100 singles ranking.

In Ace of Base’s 1994 hit “The Sign,” vocalists Jenny and Linn Berggren sing about rebounding from a bad relationship so dramatically that their lives are practically cleaved in two: pre-breakup and post-breakup, before and after they saw the sign. The song itself had a similar bisecting effect on music history. “The Sign” led pop into a new era, putting Sweden on the map as a credible hitmaking hub, pushing electronic production closer to the forefront of popular music and helping ignite a collaborative approach to songwriting that has become an industry standard.

According to writer John Seabrook, whose The Song Machine chronicles the history of the modern pop songwriting system, “The Sign” crucially linked three people: Denniz Pop, the track’s producer and the co-founder of Sweden’s legendary Cheiron Studios; Clive Davis, who broke Ace of Base stateside and helped make “The Sign” a chart-topper here; and Clive Calder, the Jive Records founder who later sent some of his acts, like Backstreet Boys and Britney Spears, to Stockholm to work with Denniz Pop’s crew. “A Swedish hit factory for U.S. and British artists had never happened before,” says Seabrook. “ ‘The Sign’ really was the sign that that could happen.”


One of Denniz Pop’s protégés at Cheiron was Max Martin. “When ‘The Sign’ was being produced, Max was a gopher, getting coffee,” says Seabrook. Martin would go on to write and produce 22 No. 1s on the Billboard Hot 100 -- the third-most in history after Paul McCartney and John Lennon -- and his career trajectory would have a ripple effect on the rest of pop. While Martin himself isn’t credited on any of the Hot 100’s all-time top 100 songs, his track record as a hitmaker means that several artists on the list (Usher, Bryan Adams, Adele) have worked with him at some point. He’s also responsible for career-defining smashes from Taylor Swift and Katy Perry, respectively Nos. 24 and 25 on the list of the 100 biggest artists of all time.

He’s present, too, through the writer-producers he mentored, including fellow Swede Shellback, who co-produced Maroon 5’s “Moves Like Jagger” featuring Christina Aguilera (No. 75 on the songs list) and Dr. Luke, who co-produced Kesha’s “TiK ToK” (No. 61). In the mid to late 2000s, Martin and Luke ushered in a wave of guitar-driven anthems for P!nk (No. 49 on the artists list) and Kelly Clarkson (No. 81).

Listening to “The Sign” now, there’s nothing that hints at what was to come -- no musical trail of bread crumbs connecting a goofy quartet to today’s top pop stars. Denniz Pop died in 1998 at the age of 35 from stomach cancer; following a few more top 20 hits, Ace of Base dropped off the Hot 100 that year. Yet the impact of what “The Sign” set in motion is undeniable. “That’s what hits often are,” says Seabrook. “Certain combinations of people come together almost accidentally and also at the right time.” The Berggren sisters told us as much: “The Sign” works in mysterious ways.