Dancing is back as the Disco wave crests and the Dance chart debuts, with Novelty hits and veteran Pop and Soul acts jumping on the bandwagon. Country Crossover fades but Soft Rockers and Balladeers continue to score massive hits, and the intentional irony epitomized by New York’s emerging downtown Punk scene starts showing up on the Pop charts.
#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
Rod Stewart – Tonight’s the Night (Gonna Be Alright)
Artists of the YearThe top three artists based on all charted songs during the calendar year
The Bee Gees
The Captain & Tennille
Hall & Oates
Artist with Most Charting SongsArtist(s) with the most Hot100 charting songs during the year (song count in parentheses)
Average #1 Artist AgeThe average of how old artists who scored #1 Hot100 hits during the year were when their songs first reached #1
32.0 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
C. W. McCall – Convoy (January, 1 wk)
Barry Manilow – I Write the Songs (January, 1 wk)
Diana Ross – Theme from “Mahogany” (Do You Know Where You’re Going To) (January, 1 wk)
Ohio Players – Love Rollercoaster (January, 1 wk)
Paul Simon – 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover (February, 3 wks)
Rhythm Heritage – Theme from S.W.A.T. (February, 1 wk)
The Miracles – Love Machine (Part 1) (March, 1 wk)
The Four Seasons – December 1963 (Oh, What a Night) (March, 3 wks)
Johnnie Taylor – Disco Lady (April, 4 wks)
Bellamy Brothers – Let Your Love Flow (May, 1 wk)
John Sebastian – Welcome Back (May, 1 wk)
Sylvers – Boogie Fever (May, 1 wk)
Wings – Silly Love Songs (May, 5 wks)
Diana Ross – Love Hangover (May, 2 wks)
Starland Vocal Band – Afternoon Delight (July, 2 wks)
Manhattans – Kiss and Say Goodbye (July, 2 wks)
Elton John & Kiki Dee – Don’t Go Breaking My Heart (August, 4 wks)
Bee Gees – You Should Be Dancing (September, 1 wk)
KC & The Sunshine Band – (Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty (September, 1 wk)
Wild Cherry – Play That Funky Music (September, 3 wks)
Walter Murphy & The Big Apple Band – A Fifth of Beethoven (October, 1 wk)
Rick Dees & His Cast of Idiots – Disco Duck (Part 1) (October, 1 wk)
Chicago – If You Leave Me Now (October, 2 wks)
Steve Miller Band – Rock’n Me (November, 1 wk)
Rod Stewart – Tonight’s the Night (Gonna Be Alright) (November, 8 wks)
Marilyn McCoo & Billy Davis Jr. – You Don’t Have to Be a Star (To Be in My Show) (January ’77, 1 wk)
Electronic Dance Music (EDM) festivals break attendance records and EDM triumphs on the U.S. charts as the Millennial generation’s “New Pop” unifies American music for the first time in ten years. Katy Perry and judges from The Voice are among the big chart winners, while Adele raises the bar for soulful female singers.
#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
LMFAO featuring Lauren Bennett & GoonRock – Party Rock Anthem
Artists of the YearThe top three artists based on all charted songs during the calendar year
Katy Perry
Rihanna
Bruno Mars
Artist with Most Charting SongsArtist(s) with the most Hot100 charting songs during the year (song count in parentheses)
Glee Cast (75)
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 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
Bruno Mars – Just the Way You Are (October ’10, 4 wks)
Millennials are driving pop culture as broadband internet juices music piracy into overdrive, but Ringtones are raking in $4 billion/year as Hip-Hop’s Bling Era endures, Kelly Clarkson confirms American Idol’s star-making prowess once and for all, and “Hollaback Girl” becomes the first song with a million paid downloads the year the Hot Digital Songs and Ringtones charts debut.
#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
Mariah Carey – We Belong Together
Artists of the YearThe top three artists based on all charted songs during the calendar year
Kelly Clarkson
50 Cent
Mariah Carey
Artist with Most Charting SongsArtist(s) with the most Hot100 charting songs during the year (song count in parentheses)
50 Cent (8)
Average #1 Artist AgeThe average of how old artists who scored #1 Hot100 hits during the year were when their songs first reached #1
27.7 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
Snoop Dogg feat. Pharrell – Drop It like It’s Hot (December ’04, 3 wks)
Mario – Let Me Love You (January, 9 wks)
50 Cent feat. Olivia – Candy Shop (March, 9 wks)
Gwen Stefani – Hollaback Girl (May, 4 wks)
Mariah Carey – We Belong Together (June, 14 wks)
Carrie Underwood – Inside Your Heaven (July, 1 wk)
The world bites its fingernails over the Y2K computer bug as females dominate the Pop charts like never before. Latins invade, TLC returns, Auto-Tune appears and teenaged Millennials launch idols Britney, Christina, Backstreet Boys and ‘NSYNC to Pop stardom with a little help from MTV’s new show, Total Request Live.
#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
702 – Where My Girls At?
Artists of the YearThe top three artists based on all charted songs during the calendar year
Whitney Houston
Backstreet Boys
Goo Goo Dolls
Artist with Most Charting SongsArtist(s) with the most Hot100 charting songs during the year (song count in parentheses)
3-WAY TIE: Shania Twain/Jay-Z/R. Kelly (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
28.3 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
Glam Metal arrives on the Pop charts after Bon Jovi’s Slippery When Wet album hits #1! But the Gen-X genres that defined the ’90s like Alt Rock and Hip-Hop are pushing at the ramparts, and MTV’s 120 Minutes, Yo! MTV Raps and Headbanger’s Ball are bringing niche sounds to America’s TV screens like never before.
#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
George Michael – Faith
Artists of the YearThe top three artists based on all charted songs during the calendar year
Madonna
Expose
U2
Artist with Most Charting SongsArtist(s) with the most Hot100 charting songs during the year (song count in parentheses)
3-WAY TIE: Madonna/Europe/Kool & The Gang (4)
Average #1 Artist AgeThe average of how old artists who scored #1 Hot100 hits during the year were when their songs first reached #1
29.4 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
Gregory Abbott – Shake You Down (January, 1 wk)
Billy Vera & The Beaters – At This Moment (January, 2 wks)
Madonna – Open Your Heart (February, 1 wk)
Bon Jovi – Livin’ on a Prayer (February, 4 wks)
Huey Lewis & The News – Jacob’s Ladder (March, 1 wk)
Club Nouveau – Lean on Me (March, 2 wks)
Starship – Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now (April, 2 wks)
Aretha Franklin & George Michael – I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me) (April, 2 wks)
Cutting Crew – (I Just) Died in Your Arms (May, 2 wks)
U2 – With or Without You (May, 3 wks)
Kim Wilde – You Keep Me Hangin’ On (June, 1 wk)
Atlantic Starr – Always (June, 1 wk)
Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam – Head to Toe (June, 1 wk)
Whitney Houston – I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me) (June, 2 wks)
Heart – Alone (July, 3 wks)
Bob Seger – Shakedown (August, 1 wk)
U2 – I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For (August, 2 wks)
Madonna – Who’s That Girl (August, 1 wk)
Los Lobos – La Bamba (August, 3 wks)
Michael Jackson & Siedah Garrett – I Just Can’t Stop Loving You (September, 1 wk)
Whitney Houston – Didn’t We Almost Have It All (September, 2 wks)
Whitesnake – Here I Go Again (October, 1 wk)
Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam – Lost in Emotion (October, 1 wk)
Michael Jackson – Bad (October, 2 wks)
Tiffany – I Think We’re Alone Now (November, 2 wks)
Billy Idol – Mony Mony “Live” (November, 1 wk)
Bill Medley with Jennifer Warnes – (I’ve Had) The Time of My Life (November, 1 wk)
Belinda Carlisle – Heaven Is a Place on Earth (December, 1 wk)
George Michael – Faith (December, 4 wks)
Whitney Houston – So Emotional (January ’88, 1 wk)
A “free-for-all” after Disco implodes and Studio 54 shuts down! Michael Jackson spectacularly survives “Disco Sucks,” but The Bee Gees and Chic have to retreat behind the glass to the producer’s booth. New Wave isn’t the next big thing (yet), but Queen and Pink Floyd are charting #1 singles, John Lennon is back in the studio, and Adult Contemporary continues to thrive.
#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
Blondie – Call Me
Artists of the YearThe top three artists based on all charted songs during the calendar year
Kenny Rogers
Air Supply
Queen
Artist with Most Charting SongsArtist(s) with the most Hot100 charting songs during the year (song count in parentheses)
Average #1 Artist AgeThe average of how old artists who scored #1 Hot100 hits during the year were when their songs first reached #1
33.8 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
Michael Jackson – Rock with You (January, 4 wks)
Captain & Tennille – Do That to Me One More Time (February, 1 wk)
Queen – Crazy Little Thing Called Love (February, 4 wks)
Pink Floyd – Another Brick in the Wall (Part II) (March, 4 wks)
Blondie – Call Me (April, 6 wks)
Lipps, Inc. – Funkytown (May, 4 wks)
Paul McCartney & Wings – Coming Up (Live at Glasgow) (June, 3 wks)
Billy Joel – It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me (July, 2 wks)
Olivia Newton-John – Magic (August, 4 wks)
Christopher Cross – Sailing (August, 1 wk)
Diana Ross – Upside Down (September, 4 wks)
Queen – Another One Bites the Dust (October, 3 wks)
Things are unraveling in America but great sound and new ways to listen have made music a true, immersive sanctuary like never before—in the car on eight-track tapes or at home on headphones. Country is surging, Singer-Songwriters are charting massive hits, and Rock and Soul artists are expanding music’s horizons on sprawling albums.
#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
Dawn featuring Tony Orlando – Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree
Artists of the YearThe top three artists based on all charted songs during the calendar year
Gladys Knight & The Pips
Elton John
Stevie Wonder
Artist with Most Charting SongsArtist(s) with the most Hot100 charting songs during the year (song count in parentheses)
James Brown (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
29.0 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
Carly Simon – You’re So Vain (January, 3 wks)
Stevie Wonder – Superstition (January, 1 wk)
Elton John – Crocodile Rock (February, 3 wks)
Roberta Flack – Killing Me Softly with His Song (February, 5 wks)
The O’Jays – Love Train (March, 1 wk)
Vicki Lawrence – The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia (April, 2 wks)
Dawn feat. Tony Orlando – Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree (April, 4 wks)
Stevie Wonder – You Are the Sunshine of My Life (May, 1 wk)
Edgar Winter Group – Frankenstein (May, 1 wk)
Paul McCartney & Wings – My Love (June, 4 wks)
George Harrison – Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth) (June, 1 wk)
Billy Preston – Will It Go Round in Circles (July, 2 wks)
Jim Croce – Bad, Bad Leroy Brown (July, 2 wks)
Maureen McGovern – The Morning After (August, 2 wks)
Diana Ross – Touch Me in the Morning (August, 1 wk)
Stories – Brother Louie (August, 2 wks)
Marvin Gaye – Let’s Get It On (September, 2 wks)
Helen Reddy – Delta Dawn (September, 1 wk)
Grand Funk – We’re an American Band (September, 1 wk)
Cher – Half-Breed (October, 2 wks)
The Rolling Stones – Angie (October, 1 wk)
Gladys Knight & The Pips – Midnight Train to Georgia (October, 2 wks)
Eddie Kendricks – Keep On Truckin’ (Part 1) (November, 2 wks)
Ringo Starr – Photograph (November, 1 wk)
Carpenters – Top of the World (December, 2 wks)
Charlie Rich – The Most Beautiful Girl (December, 2 wks)
Woodstock galvanizes the Boomer-Hippie counterculture with three days of peace, music and good vibes while NASA astronauts walk on the moon, Doomsday Folk and Cartoon Bubblegum Pop top the charts in the Summer, and Black artists score the top two songs of the year for the first time ever. Anxiety and paranoia simmer through the year, though, and the Altamont Festival disaster sets the stage for the ’70s.
#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
Marvin Gaye – I Heard It Through the Grapevine
Artists of the YearThe top three artists based on all charted songs during the calendar year
Creedence Clearwater Revival
Diana Ross & The Supremes
The Beatles
Artist with Most Charting SongsArtist(s) with the most Hot100 charting songs during the year (song count in parentheses)
James Brown (8)
Average #1 Artist AgeThe average of how old artists who scored #1 Hot100 hits during the year were when their songs first reached #1
29.6 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
Marvin Gaye – I Heard It Through the Grapevine (December ’68, 7 wks)
Tommy James & The Shondells – Crimson and Clover (February, 2 wks)
Sly & The Family Stone – Everyday People (February, 4 wks)
Tommy Roe – Dizzy (March, 4 wks)
The 5th Dimension – Aquarius/Let the Sunshine in (The Flesh Failures) (April, 6 wks)
The Beatles with Billy Preston – Get Back (May, 5 wks)
Henry Mancini, His Orchestra & Chorus – Love Theme from Romeo & Juliet (June, 2 wks)
Zager & Evans – In the Year 2525 (Exordium & Terminus) (July, 6 wks)
The Rolling Stones – Honky Tonk Women (August, 4 wks)
The Archies – Sugar, Sugar (September, 4 wks)
The Temptations – I Can’t Get Next to You (October, 2 wks)
Elvis Presley – Suspicious Minds (November, 1 wk)
The 5th Dimension – Wedding Bell Blues (November, 3 wks)
The Beatles – Come Together (November, 1 wk)
Steam feat. Garrett Scott – Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye (December, 2 wks)
Peter, Paul & Mary – Leaving on a Jet Plane (December, 1 wk)
Beatlemania, “Louie Louie” and The Supremes signal the Baby Boom generation’s arrival as a cultural force after the surreal shock of the Kennedy assassination. Motown, the British Invasion and the previously nonexistent concept of the “Rock band” permanently reshape the American Pop landscape.
#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 Beatles – I Want to Hold Your Hand
Artists of the YearThe top three artists based on all charted songs during the calendar year
The Beatles
The Dave Clark Five
The Four Seasons
Artist with Most Charting SongsArtist(s) with the most Hot100 charting songs during the year (song count in parentheses)
The Beatles (28)
Average #1 Artist AgeThe average of how old artists who scored #1 Hot100 hits during the year were when their songs first reached #1
27.3 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
Bobby Vinton – There! I’ve Said It Again (January, 4 wks)
The Beatles – I Want to Hold Your Hand (February, 7 wks)
The Beatles – She Loves You (March, 2 wks)
The Beatles – Can’t Buy Me Love (April, 5 wks)
Louis Armstrong & The All Stars – Hello, Dolly! (May, 1 wk)
Mary Wells – My Guy (May, 2 wks)
The Beatles – Love Me Do (May, 1 wk)
The Dixie Cups – Chapel of Love (June, 3 wks)
Peter & Gordon with Geoff Love’s Music – A World Without Love (June, 1 wk)
The Beach Boys – I Get Around (July, 2 wks)
The 4 Seasons feat. the Sound of Frankie Valli – Rag Doll (July, 2 wks)
The Beatles – A Hard Day’s Night (August, 2 wks)
Dean Martin – Everybody Loves Somebody (August, 1 wk)
The Supremes – Where Did Our Love Go (August, 2 wks)
The Animals – The House of the Rising Sun (September, 3 wks)
Roy Orbison & The Candy Men – Oh Pretty Woman (September, 3 wks)
Manfred Mann – Do Wah Diddy Diddy (October, 2 wks)
The Supremes – Baby Love (October, 4 wks)
The Shangri-Las – Leader of the Pack (November, 1 wk)
The Rock Era begins with “Rock Around the Clock” hitting #1 on the Pop charts and upstart labels scoring with “whitewashed” covers of R&B hits. TV passes two-thirds of households and Disney sparks a mass-cultural hysteria with Davy Crockett. Meanwhile, grownups are gearing up at hi-fi shops, buying Easy Listening records and dancing to Mambo, fresh-faced collegiate-styled Male Vocal quartets are all the rage, and Sinatra is back, baby!
#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
Perez “Prez” Prado & His Orchestra – Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White
Artists of the YearThe top three artists based on all charted songs that spent most of their chart runs in the year
The Four Aces
The McGuire Sisters
Al Hibbler
Artist with Most Charting SongsArtist(s) with the most charting songs during the year (song count in parentheses)
TIE: The McGuire Sisters/Bill Haley & His Comets (7)
Average #1 Artist AgeThe average of how old artists who scored #1 hits during the year were when their songs first reached #1
32.9
#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
The Chordettes – Mr. Sandman (December ’54, 5 wks)
Joan Weber – Let Me Go, Lover! (January, 4 wks)
The Fontane Sisters – Hearts of Stone (February, 1 wk)
The McGuire Sisters – Sincerely (February, 8 wks)
Bill Hayes – The Ballad of Davy Crockett (April, 4 wks)
Perez “Prez” Prado & His Orchestra, trumpet Billy Regis – Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White (May, 9 wks)
Bill Haley & His Comets – (We’re Gonna) Rock Around the Clock (July, 8 wks)
Mitch Miller Orchestra & Chorus – The Yellow Rose of Texas (September, 7 wks)
Four Aces feat. Al Alberts – Love Is a Many Splendored Thing (October, 6 wks)
“Tennessee” Ernie Ford – Sixteen Tons (December, 6 wks)
