Smooth, low-key Crooning is out and emotive singing is in as the Silent Generation thinks global and ethnic sounds score big. But A&R visionary Mitch Miller mines Country for Pop hits and starts a genre gold rush. Meanwhile Nat “King” Cole targets Teens and sells millions, Les Paul takes studio tech next-level, and the year’s top hit mirrors anxieties about new threats, shocking betrayals and “progress.”
#1 Song of the YearThe top song according to our Chartcrush ranking of all songs that earned the majority of their chart ranking points in the year
Patti Page – The Tennessee Waltz
Artists of the YearThe top three artists based on all charted songs that spent most of their chart runs in the year
Tony Bennett
Mario Lanza
Patti Page
Artist with Most Charting SongsArtist(s) with the most charting songs during the year (song count in parentheses)
Guy Mitchell (10)
Average #1 Artist AgeThe average of how old artists who scored #1 hits during the year were when their songs first reached #1
31.1
#1 SongsList of #1 songs that earned the majority of their chart ranking points in the year, and (in parentheses), the month the song first hit #1 and the total number of weeks it was #1
Patti Page – The Tennessee Waltz (December ’50, 13 wks)
Perry Como – If (March, 9 wks)
Les Paul & Mary Ford – How High the Moon (May, 8 wks)
Nat “King” Cole – Too Young (June, 5 wks)
Rosemary Clooney – Come On-a My House (July, 8 wks)
Tony Bennett – Because of You (September, 9 wks)
Tony Bennett – Cold, Cold Heart (November, 2 wks)
Eddy Howard & His Orchestra, vocal Eddy Howard – (It’s No) Sin (December, 4 wks)
Atlanta, Hip-Hop and Crunk ‘n B rule in a year when every #1 is by a Black artist. Filesharing and mixtapes skew the charts, but along with reality TV and social media, Usher’s Confessions quenches Millennials’ thirst for deeper connections, sells a million its first week and scores three #1s. And Maroon 5 breaks out with two songs on the chart for 40+ weeks while everyone shakes it like a Polaroid picture listening to Outkast!
#1 Song of the YearThe top song according to our Chartcrush ranking of all songs that earned the majority of their chart ranking points in the year
Usher featuring Lil Jon and Ludacris – Yeah!
Artists of the YearThe top three artists based on all charted songs during the calendar year
Usher
Alicia Keys
Maroon 5
Artist with Most Charting SongsArtist(s) with the most charting songs during the year (song count in parentheses)
4-WAY TIE: Usher/Twista/Kenny Chesney/Nelly (4)
Average #1 Artist AgeThe average of how old artists who scored #1 hits during the year were when their songs first reached #1
27.0 years
#1 SongsList of #1 songs that earned the majority of their chart ranking points in the year, and (in parentheses), the month the song first hit #1 and the total number of weeks it was #1
OutKast – Hey Ya! (December ’03, 9 wks)
OutKast feat. Sleepy Brown – The Way You Move (February, 1 wk)
Euro-Disco and Paula Abdul arrive the year the Cold War ends, Teen Pop peaks, Arsenio debuts on late night and some of Boomerdom’s biggest latter-day stars score their final big hits. Milli Vanilli’s lip-syncing shocks pop culture more than Madonna’s blasphemy or 2 Live Crew’s obscenity, Janet Jackson scores the first of seven top 5’s from her new album, and Billboard‘s top 3 songs of the year are all from… 1988?
#1 Song of the YearThe top song according to our Chartcrush ranking of all Hot100 songs that earned the majority of their chart ranking points in the year
Phil Collins – Another Day in Paradise
Artists of the YearThe top three artists based on all charted songs during the calendar year
New Kids on the Block
Bobby Brown
Paula Abdul
Artist with Most Charting SongsArtist(s) with the most Hot100 charting songs during the year (song count in parentheses)
New Kids on the Block (6)
Average #1 Artist AgeThe average of how old artists who scored #1 Hot100 hits during the year were when their songs first reached #1
28.8 years
#1 SongsList of Hot100 #1 songs that earned the majority of their chart ranking points in the year, and (in parentheses), the month the song first hit #1 and the total number of weeks it was #1
Phil Collins – Two Hearts (January, 2 wks)
Sheriff – When I’m with You (February, 1 wk)
Paula Abdul – Straight Up (February, 3 wks)
Debbie Gibson – Lost in Your Eyes (March, 3 wks)
Mike + The Mechanics – The Living Years (March, 1 wk)
Bangles – Eternal Flame (April, 1 wk)
Roxette – The Look (April, 1 wk)
Fine Young Cannibals – She Drives Me Crazy (April, 1 wk)
Madonna – Like a Prayer (April, 3 wks)
Bon Jovi – I’ll Be There for You (May, 1 wk)
Paula Abdul – Forever Your Girl (May, 2 wks)
Michael Damian – Rock On (June, 1 wk)
Bette Midler – Wind Beneath My Wings (June, 1 wk)
New Kids on the Block – I’ll Be Loving You (Forever) (June, 1 wk)
Richard Marx – Satisfied (June, 1 wk)
Milli Vanilli – Baby Don’t Forget My Number (July, 1 wk)
Fine Young Cannibals – Good Thing (July, 1 wk)
Simply Red – If You Don’t Know Me by Now (July, 1 wk)
Martika – Toy Soldiers (July, 2 wks)
Prince – Batdance (August, 1 wk)
Richard Marx – Right Here Waiting (August, 3 wks)
Paula Abdul – Cold Hearted (September, 1 wk)
New Kids on the Block – Hangin’ Tough (September, 1 wk)
Gloria Estefan – Don’t Wanna Lose You (September, 1 wk)
Milli Vanilli – Girl I’m Gonna Miss You (September, 2 wks)
Janet Jackson – Miss You Much (October, 4 wks)
Roxette – Listen to Your Heart (November, 1 wk)
Bad English – When I See You Smile (November, 2 wks)
Milli Vanilli – Blame It on the Rain (November, 2 wks)
Billy Joel – We Didn’t Start the Fire (December, 2 wks)
Phil Collins – Another Day in Paradise (December, 4 wks)
The payola scandal chills Rock ‘n Roll on radio and adult genres like Easy Listening, Soundtracks, Jazz and Rat Pack Swing dominate music with albums (now in stereo!) outselling singles, and hi-fi’s debuting in the Sears catalog. But Elvis is back from the Army, The Nashville Sound puts Country front and center, and American Bandstand starts a wave of dance crazes with “The Twist.”
#1 Song of the YearThe top song according to our Chartcrush ranking of all Hot100 songs that earned the majority of their chart ranking points in the year
Percy Faith – Theme from “A Summer Place”
Artists of the YearThe top three artists based on all charted songs during the calendar year
Connie Francis
Brenda Lee
Bobby Rydell
Artist with Most Charting SongsArtist(s) with the most Hot100 charting songs during the year (song count in parentheses)
Fats Domino (10)
Average #1 Artist AgeThe average of how old artists who scored #1 Hot100 hits during the year were when their songs first reached #1
24.5 years
#1 SongsList of Hot100 #1 songs that earned the majority of their chart ranking points in the year, and (in parentheses), the month the song first hit #1 and the total number of weeks it was #1
Frankie Avalon – Why (December ’59, 1 wk)
Marty Robbins – El Paso (January, 2 wks)
Johnny Preston – Running Bear (January, 3 wks)
Mark Dinning – Teen Angel (February, 2 wks)
Percy Faith & His Orchestra – The Theme from “A Summer Place” (February, 9 wks)
Elvis Presley with The Jordanaires – Stuck on You (April, 4 wks)
The Everly Brothers – Cathy’s Clown (May, 5 wks)
Connie Francis – Everybody’s Somebody’s Fool (June, 2 wks)
Trump v. Hillary politicizes Pop like never before and countless stars are #WithHer while the GOP’s celeb hopeful can’t even play records at his events! Streaming reverses the music industry’s 15-year free-fall from online filesharing as Tropical House and Dancehall sounds top the charts, Justin Bieber grows up, a genre-bending Rock duo from Ohio breaks through, and one-namers Adele, Drake and Rihanna all reach new heights.
#1 Song of the YearThe top song according to our Chartcrush ranking of all Hot100 songs that earned the majority of their chart ranking points in the year
Drake featuring WizKid & Kyla – One Dance
Artists of the YearThe top three artists based on all charted songs during the calendar year
Drake
Twenty One Pilots
The Chainsmokers
Artist with Most Charting SongsArtist(s) with the most Hot100 charting songs during the year (song count in parentheses)
Drake (22)
Average #1 Artist AgeThe average of how old artists who scored #1 Hot100 hits during the year were when their songs first reached #1
27.9 years
#1 SongsList of Hot100 #1 songs that earned the majority of their chart ranking points in the year, and (in parentheses), the month the song first hit #1 and the total number of weeks it was #1
Adele – Hello (November ’15, 10 wks)
Justin Bieber – Sorry (January, 3 wks)
Justin Bieber – Love Yourself (February, 2 wks)
Zayn – Pillowtalk (February, 1 wk)
Rihanna feat. Drake – Work (March, 9 wks)
Desiigner – Panda (May, 2 wks)
Drake feat. WizKid & Kyla – One Dance (May, 10 wks)
Justin Timberlake – Can’t Stop the Feeling! (May, 1 wk)
Sia feat. Sean Paul – Cheap Thrills (August, 4 wks)
Big Band Swing is all but extinct but the record biz prospers and ’20s superstar Al Jolson is cool again as a nostalgia wave sweeps the nation and the year’s top hit is a record from 1933! A recently-unemployed bandleader’s B-side sells millions, studio gimmickry becomes a thing, and upstart indies do an end run around the big-4’s monopoly on Tin Pan Alley’s A-list “plug songs” with under-the-radar “material hits” like the breakthrough smash by a trailblazing emotive Crooner.
#1 Song of the YearThe top song according to our Chartcrush ranking of all songs that earned the majority of their chart ranking points in the year
Ted Weems & His Orchestra (Whistling by Elmo Tanner) – Heartaches
Artists of the YearThe top three artists based on all charted songs that spent most of their chart runs in the year
Eddy Howard & His Orchestra
Ted Weems & His Orchestra
Frankie Laine
Artist with Most Charting SongsArtist(s) with the most charting songs during the year (song count in parentheses)
Frank Sinatra (8)
Average #1 Artist AgeThe average of how old artists who scored #1 hits during the year were when their songs first reached #1
37.2
#1 SongsList of #1 songs that earned the majority of their chart ranking points in the year, and (in parentheses), the month the song first hit #1 and the total number of weeks it was #1
Swing and Sway with Sammy Kaye, vocal Billy Williams – The Old Lamp-Lighter (December ’46, 8 wks)
Eddy Howard & His Orchestra, vocal Eddy Howard – (I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons (February, 1 wk)
Count Basie & His Orchestra, vocal Harry Edison & Bill Johnson – Open the Door, Richard! (February, 1 wk)
Freddy Martin & His Orchestra, vocal Stuart Wade – Managua, Nicaragua (March, 1 wk)
Gen-X lifts a raunchy Hip-Hop track that radio can’t play during the day to #1 as Billboard ditches its ancient survey system and takes the charts digital in the first year of the “Soundscan Era.” Underground sounds surface and crossover becomes the norm, but Michael Jackson finds Pop’s new sweet spot, the decade’s top Girl Group debuts, Boyz II Men breaks the record for weeks at #1, and Eurodance notches one last big early ’90s smash.
#1 Song of the YearThe top song according to our Chartcrush ranking of all Hot100 songs that earned the majority of their chart ranking points in the year
Boyz II Men – End of the Road
Artists of the YearThe top three artists based on all charted songs during the calendar year
En Vogue
TLC
Boyz II Men
Artist with Most Charting SongsArtist(s) with the most Hot100 charting songs during the year (song count in parentheses)
TIE: Ce Ce Peniston/Prince (5)
Average #1 Artist AgeThe average of how old artists who scored #1 Hot100 hits during the year were when their songs first reached #1
26.8 years
#1 Songs on the Weekly Hot100List of Hot100 #1 songs that earned the majority of their chart ranking points in the year, and (in parentheses), the month the song first hit #1 and the total number of weeks it was #1
Michael Jackson – Black or White (December ’91, 7 wks)
Color Me Badd – All 4 Love (January, 1 wk)
George Michael & Elton John – Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me (February, 1 wk)
Right Said Fred – I’m Too Sexy (February, 3 wks)
Mr. Big – To Be with You (February, 3 wks)
Vanessa Williams – Save the Best for Last (March, 5 wks)
Kris Kross – Jump (April, 8 wks)
Mariah Carey – I’ll Be There (Live-Unplugged) (June, 2 wks)
Sir Mix-a-Lot – Baby Got Back (July, 5 wks)
Madonna – This Used to Be My Playground (August, 1 wk)
Boyz II Men – End of the Road (August, 13 wks)
The Heights – How Do You Talk to an Angel (November, 2 wks)
Elton John can do no wrong at his pinnacle of fame and success, but other established acts and their fans are moving in bold new directions. Soppy ballads flood the charts but Disco dancing starts to emerge as America’s preferred escape from ecomonic, political and social woes as unemployment hits 9%, domestic terrorism spikes, New York City collapses and ’70s “malaise” deepens.
#1 Song of the YearThe top song according to our Chartcrush ranking of all Hot100 songs that earned the majority of their chart ranking points in the year
The Captain & Tennille – “Love Will Keep Us Together”
Artists of the YearThe top three artists based on all charted songs during the calendar year
Elton John
John Denver
Freddy Fender
Artist with Most Charting SongsArtist(s) with the most Hot100 charting songs during the year (song count in parentheses)
4-WAY TIE: John Denver/Linda Ronstadt/Tony Orlando & Dawn/Gloria Gaynor (5)
Average #1 Artist AgeThe average of how old artists who scored #1 Hot100 hits during the year were when their songs first reached #1
30.8 years
#1 SongsList of Hot100 #1 songs that earned the majority of their chart ranking points in the year, and (in parentheses), the month the song first hit #1 and the total number of weeks it was #1
Elton John – Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds (January, 2 wks)
Barry Manilow – Mandy (January, 1 wk)
Carpenters – Please Mr. Postman (January, 1 wk)
Neil Sedaka – Laughter in the Rain (February, 1 wk)
Ohio Players – Fire (February, 1 wk)
Linda Ronstadt – You’re No Good (February, 1 wk)
AWB – Pick Up the Pieces (February, 1 wk)
Eagles – Best of My Love (March, 1 wk)
Olivia Newton-John – Have You Never Been Mellow (March, 1 wk)
The Doobie Brothers – Black Water (March, 1 wk)
Frankie Valli – My Eyes Adored You (March, 1 wk)
LaBelle – Lady Marmalade (Voulez-Vous Coucher Avec Moi) (March, 1 wk)
Minnie Riperton – Lovin’ You (April, 1 wk)
Elton John Band – Philadelphia Freedom (April, 2 wks)
B.J. Thomas – (Hey Won’t You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song (April, 1 wk)
Tony Orlando & Dawn – He Don’t Love You (Like I Love You) (May, 3 wks)
Earth, Wind and Fire – Shining Star (May, 1 wk)
Freddy Fender – Before the Next Teardrop Falls (May, 1 wk)
John Denver – Thank God I’m a Country Boy (June, 1 wk)
America – Sister Golden Hair (June, 1 wk)
Captain & Tennille – Love Will Keep Us Together (June, 4 wks)
Wings – Listen to What the Man Said (July, 1 wk)
Van McCoy & The Soul City Symphony – The Hustle (July, 1 wk)
Eagles – One of These Nights (August, 1 wk)
Bee Gees – Jive Talkin’ (August, 2 wks)
Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds – Fallin’ in Love (August, 1 wk)
KC & The Sunshine Band – Get Down Tonight (August, 1 wk)
Elvis Presley debuts with “Heartbreak Hotel,” scandalizes the media with “Hound Dog,” wins over adults with “Love Me Tender,” and comes to personify Rock ‘n Roll in the first full year of the Rock Era. Meanwhile, upstart indie labels continue scoring big hits, Dean Martin croons his way to his first #1, and “hi-fi” hitmakers Nelson Riddle and Les Baxter sell millions as top-40 radio explodes, teens become record collectors and Seeburg unveils the 200-selection jukebox.
#1 Song of the YearThe top song according to our Chartcrush ranking of all songs that earned the majority of their chart ranking points in the year
Elvis Presley – Don’t Be Cruel
Artists of the YearThe top three artists based on all charted songs that spent most of their chart runs in the year
Elvis Presley
The Platters
Pat Boone
Artist with Most Charting SongsArtist(s) with the most charting songs during the year (song count in parentheses)
Elvis Presley (9)
Average #1 Artist AgeThe average of how old artists who scored #1 hits during the year were when their songs first reached #1
28.7
#1 SongsList of #1 songs that earned the majority of their chart ranking points in the year, and (in parentheses), the month the song first hit #1 and the total number of weeks it was #1
Dean Martin – Memories Are Made of This (January, 5 wks)
The Platters – The Great Pretender (February, 2 wks)
Kay Starr – Rock and Roll Waltz (March, 3 wks)
Les Baxter, His Chrous & Orchestra – The Poor People of Paris (La Goualante du Pauvre Jean) (March, 6 wks)
Elvis Presley – Heartbreak Hotel (May, 7 wks)
Gogi Grant – The Wayward Wind (June, 7 wks)
Pat Boone – I Almost Lost My Mind (August, 2 wks)
The Platters – My Prayer (August, 2 wks)
Elvis Presley – Don’t Be Cruel (September, 10 wks)
The new millennium begins a lot like the ’90s ended: with The Latin Invasion, Boy Bands and Britney v. Christina all over MTV’s Total Request Live and the Pop and Album charts. But Country unexpectedly lands two hits among the year’s top ten, Post-Grunge makes 2000 the best year for Rock on the Hot100 since the ’80s, and Urban R&B Pop goes next-level with multiple hits by Destiny’s Child.
#1 Song of the YearThe top song according to our Chartcrush ranking of all songs that earned the majority of their chart ranking points in the year
Santana featuring Rob Thomas – Smooth
Artists of the YearThe top three artists based on all charted songs during the calendar year
Faith Hill
Destiny’s Child
Santana
Artist with Most Charting SongsArtist(s) with the most charting songs during the year (song count in parentheses)
Average #1 Artist AgeThe average of how old artists who scored #1 hits during the year were when their songs first reached #1
28.0 years
#1 SongsList of #1 songs that earned the majority of their chart ranking points in the year, and (in parentheses), the month the song first hit #1 and the total number of weeks it was #1
Santana feat. Rob Thomas – Smooth (October ’99, 12 wks)
Christina Aguilera – What a Girl Wants (January, 2 wks)
Savage Garden – I Knew I Loved You (January, 4 wks)
Mariah Carey feat. Joe & 98° – Thank God I Found You (February, 1 wk)
Lonestar – Amazed (March, 2 wks)
Destiny’s Child – Say My Name (March, 3 wks)
Santana feat. The Product G&B – Maria, Maria (April, 10 wks)
Aaliyah – Try Again (June, 1 wk)
Enrique Iglesias – Be with You (June, 3 wks)
Vertical Horizon – Everything You Want (July, 1 wk)
matchbox twenty – Bent (July, 1 wk)
N’Sync – It’s Gonna Be Me (July, 2 wks)
Sisqo – Incomplete (August, 2 wks)
Janet – Doesn’t Really Matter (August, 3 wks)
Madonna – Music (September, 4 wks)
Christina Aguilera – Come on Over Baby (All I Want Is You) (October, 4 wks)
Creed – With Arms Wide Open (November, 1 wk)
Destiny’s Child – Independent Women Part I (November, 11 wks)
