Thursday, January 12, 2023

United States: Biggest #1 Songs

USA’s Biggest #1 Pop Songs:

1890-2022

These are the biggest #1 pop songs in the history of the United States pop charts from 1890 to present. Songs could have hit #1 on any of the following charts:

Links go to specific lists of the biggest songs of all time for that chart.

All songs with 10 or more weeks on any of these charts are listed. If a song hit #1 on more than chart, only the chart where the song had the most weeks is noted. However, at times Hit Parade and Cashbox did not designate a specific artist with the #1 song. For example, “Some Enchanted Evening” was a #1 song on Hit Parade in 1949, but because there were multiple versions of the song out at the time, it wasn’t credited to any specific artist. In such cases, this list attributes the song only to an artist if that artist also hit #1 on another of the noted charts.

One last note – in the event of ties, songs are ranked according to most overall points in Dave’s Music Database. For songs which hit #1 multiple times, the version which accumulated the most points is used.

See other chart-based lists here.

Spotify Podcast:

Check out Dave’s Music Database podcast: The Biggest #1 Songs in Billboard Hot 100 History based on this list. It debuts September 7, 2021 at 7pm CST. New episodes based on Dave’s Music Database lists are posted every Tuesday at 7pm CST.

    26 weeks:

  1. The Weeknd “Blinding Lights” (BA: 2020)

    20 weeks:

  2. Lil Nas X with Billy Ray Cyrus “Old Town Road” (ST: 2018)

    18 weeks:

  3. Goo Goo Dolls “Iris” (BA, 1998)
  4. BTS “Dynamite” (DG: 2020)
  5. Mariah Carey “All I Want for Christmas Is You” (ST: 1994)

    17 weeks:

  6. Luis Fonsi with Daddy Yankee & Justin Bieber “Despacito” (DG: 2017)
  7. Francis Craig with Bob Lamm “Near You” (BB: 1947)

    16 weeks:

  8. Mariah Carey “We Belong Together” (BA: 2005)
  9. Mariah Carey with Boyz II Men “One Sweet Day” (BB: 1995)
  10. No Doubt “Don’t Speak” (BA: 1996)
  11. Maroon 5 with Cardi B “Girls Like You” (BA: 2017)

    15 weeks:

  12. Harry Styles “As It Was” (BB: 2015)

    14 weeks:

  13. Bing Crosby with the Ken Darby Singers “White Christmas” (BB: 1942)
  14. Whitney Houston “I Will Always Love You” (BB: 1992)
  15. Mark Ronson with Bruno Mars “Uptown Funk!” (BB: 2014)
  16. Black Eyed Peas “I Gotta Feeling” (BB: 2009)
  17. Elton John “Candle in the Wind 1997 (Goodbye England’s Rose)” (BB: 1997)
  18. Los Del Rio “Macarena (Bayside Boys Mix)” (BB: 1995)
  19. Boyz II Men “I’ll Make Love to You” (BB: 1994)
  20. Celine Dion “Because You Loved Me” (BA: 1996)
  21. Alicia Keys “No One” (BA: 2001)
  22. Iggy Azalea with Charli XCX “Fancy” (ST: 2014)

  23. Post Malone with 21 Savage “Rockstar” (ST: 2017)
  24. Panic! At the Disco “High Hopes” (BA: 2018)
  25. Desiigner “Panda” (ST: 2015)

    13 weeks:

  26. Glenn Miller “In the Mood” (BB: 1939)
  27. Gene Austin “My Blue Heaven” (BB: 1927)
  28. Patti Page “Tennessee Waltz” (BB: 1950)
  29. The Chainsmokers with Halsey “Closer” (DG: 2016)
  30. Debby Boone “You Light Up My Life” (HR: 1977)
  31. Ben Selvin “Dardanella” (BB: 1920)
  32. Artie Shaw “Frenesi” (BB: 1940)

  33. The Weavers with Gordon Jenkins’ Orchestra “Goodnight Irene” (BB: 1950)
  34. Harry James with Helen Forrest “I’ve Heard That Song Before” (BB: 1943)
  35. The Ink Spots “The Gypsy” (BB: 1946)
  36. Boyz II Men “End of the Road” (BB: 1992)
  37. Ted Weems with Elmo Tanner “Heartaches” (BB: 1947)
  38. Ace of Base “The Sign” (BA: 1994)
  39. TLC “No Scrubs” (BA: 1999)
  40. Donna Lewis “I Love You Always Forever” (BA: 1996)
  41. Brandy with Monica “The Boy Is Mine” (BB: 1998)
  42. Miley Cyrus “Wrecking Ball” (ST: 2013)
  43. Roddy Rich “The Box” (ST: 2019)
  44. BTS “Butter” (DG: 2021)
  45. Encanto Cast “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” (ST: 2022)

    12 weeks:

  46. Ed Sheeran “Shape of You” (BB: 2017)
  47. Eminem “Lose Yourself” (BB: 2002)
  48. Usher with Lil’ Jon & Ludacris “Yeah!” (BB: 2004)
  49. Tommy Dorsey & His Orchestra with Frank Sinatra & the Pied Pipers “I’ll Never Smile Again” (BB: 1940)
  50. Robin Thicke with T.I. & Pharrell Williams “Blurred Lines” (BB: 2013)
  51. Santana with Rob Thomas “Smooth” (BB: 1999)
  52. Rihanna with Calvin Harris “We Found Love” (BA: 2011)
  53. The Mills Brothers “Paper Doll” (BB: 1943)

  54. Wiz Khalifa with Charlie Puth “See You Again” (BB: 2015)
  55. Black Eyed Peas “Boom Boom Pow” (BB: 2009)
  56. Vernon Dalhart “The Prisoner’s Song” (BB: 1925)
  57. Vaughn Monroe “Riders in the Sky (A Cowboy Legend)” (BB:1949)
  58. Jo Stafford “You Belong to Me” (BB: 1952)
  59. Al Jolson “Sonny Boy” (BB: 1928)
  60. Nelly with Kelly Rowland “Dilemma” (BA: 2002)
  61. Nat “King” Cole “Too Young” (HP: 1951)

    11 weeks:

  62. Elvis Presley “Don’t Be Cruel” (BB: 1956) /
  63. Elvis Presley “Hound Dog” (BB: 1956)
  64. Leo Reisman & His Orchestra with Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers “Cheek to Cheek” (BB: 1935)

  65. Pharrell Williams “Happy” (DG: 2013)
  66. Paul Whiteman’s Orchestra “Whispering” (BB: 1920)
  67. Al Jolson “April Showers” (BB: 1922)
  68. Adele “Hello” (BA: 2015)
  69. Bryon G. Harlan “School Days (When We Were a Couple of Kids)” (BB: 1907)
  70. Drake “God’s Plan” (BB: 2018)
  71. American Quartet with Billy Murray “Casey Jones” (BB: 1910)
  72. Puff Daddy with Faith Evans & 112 “I’ll Be Missing You” (BB: 1997)
  73. Beyoncé “Irreplaceable” (BA: 2006)

  74. Justin Bieber “Love Yourself” (BA: 2015)
  75. Haydn Quartet “Put on Your Old Grey Bonnet” (BB: 1909)
  76. Natalie Imbruglia “Torn” (BA: 1997)
  77. Toni Braxton “Un-Break My Heart” (BB: 1996)
  78. All-4-One “I Swear” (BB: 1994)
  79. Johnnie Ray & the Four Lads “Cry” (BB: 1951)
  80. Arthur Collins “The Preacher and the Bear” (BB: 1905)
  81. Paul Whiteman & His Orchestra with Franklyn Baur “Valencia (A Song of Spain)” (BB: 1926)
  82. Destiny’s Child “Independent Women” (BB: 2000)
  83. Les Paul with Mary Ford “Vaya Con Dios (May God Be with You)” (BB: 1953)

  84. Henry Burr “Just a Baby’s Prayer at Twilight (For Her Daddy Over There)” (BB: 1918)
  85. Anton Karas “The Third Man Theme” (BB: 1950), also by Guy Lombardo
  86. Tony Bennett “Because of You” (HP: 1951)
  87. Mariah Carey “Dreamlover” (BB: 1993)
  88. Frankie Carle & Marjorie Hughes “Oh What It Seemed to Be” (BB: 1946)
  89. Len Spencer “The Arkansaw Traveler” (BB: 1902)
  90. Post Malone “Circles” (BA: 2019)
  91. Mario “Let Me Love You” (BA: 2004)
  92. Boyz II Men “On Bended Knee” (BA: 1994)
  93. 24K Goldn with Iann Dior “Mood” (BA: 2020)

  94. Khalid “Talk” (BA: 2019)
  95. Miley Cyrus “We Can’t Stop” (ST: 2013)

    10 weeks:

  96. Arthur Collins & Bryon G. Harlan “Alexander’s Ragtime Band” (BB: 1911)
  97. Leo Reisman’s Orchestra with Fred Astaire “Night and Day” (BB: 1932)
  98. Celine Dion “My Heart Will Go On” (BA: 1997)
  99. Billy Murray “You’re a Grand Old Flag (aka “The Grand Old Rag”)” (BB: 1906)
  100. Ella Fitzgerald with Chick Webb & His Orchestra “A-Tisket, A-Tasket” (BB: 1938)
  101. Haydn Quartet “Sweet Adeline (You’re the Flower of My Heart)” (BB: 1904)
  102. Flo Rida with T-Pain “Low” (BB: 2007)
  103. Bing Crosby with George Stoll’s Orchestra “Pennies from Heaven” (BB: 1936)

  104. Kanye West with Jamie Foxx “Gold Digger” (BB: 2005)
  105. Bing Crosby with John Scott Trotter’s Orchestra “I’ll Be Seeing You” (HP: 1944), also by Tommy Dorsey with Frank Sinatra
  106. George J. Gaskin “After the Ball” (BB: 1893)
  107. Olivia Newton-John “Physical” (BB: 1981)

  108. Dinah Shore & Her Harper Valley Boys “Buttons and Bows” (BB/HP: 1948)
  109. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis with Wanz “Thrift Shop” (DG: 2012)
  110. Leona Lewis “Bleeding Love” (RR: 2007)
  111. The Harmonicats “Peg O’ My Heart” (HP: 1947)
  112. Drake with Wizkid & Kyla “One Dance” (BB: 2016)
  113. Justin Timberlake “Can’t Stop the Feeling!” (DG: 2016)

  114. Bryon G. Harlan “My Gal Sal” (BB: 1907)
  115. Meghan Trainor “All About That Bass” (ST: 2014)
  116. Perry Como “Some Enchanted Evening” (HP: 1949)
  117. Nick Lucas “Tip-Toe Thru the Tulips with Me” (BB: 1929)
  118. The Andrews Sisters with Vic Schoen’s Orchestra “Rum and Coca-Cola” (BB: 1945)
  119. Seal “Kiss from a Rose” (BA: 1994)
  120. Bing Crosby with Lani McIntire & His Hawaiians “Sweet Leilani” (BB: 1937)
  121. Perry Como “Till the End of Time” (BB: 1945)
  122. Lady Gaga with Bradley Cooper “Shallow” (DG: 2018)

  123. Rudy Vallee & His Connecticut Yankees “Stein Song (University of Maine)” (BB: 1930)
  124. Drake “In My Feelings” (BB: 2018)
  125. Ted Lewis & His Band “In a Shanty in Old Shanty Town” (BB: 1932)
  126. Guy Mitchell “Singing the Blues” (BB: 1956)
  127. Pat Boone “Love Letters in the Sand” (HP: 1957)
  128. Jimmy Dorsey & His Orchestra with Bob Eberly & Helen O’Connell “Amapola (Pretty Little Poppy)” (BB: 1941)
  129. Janet Jackson “That’s the Way Love Goes” (BA: 1993)
  130. George J. Gaskin “On the Banks of the Wabash” (BB: 1897)
  131. Dan Quinn “The Band Played On” (BB: 1895)
  132. Vaughn Monroe’s Orchestra “Ballerina” (BB: 1947)

  133. Percy Faith with Felicia Sanders “Where Is Your Heart (Song from “Moulin Rouge”)” (BB: 1953)
  134. The McGuire Sisters “Sincerely” (BB: 1955)
  135. N Sync “Bye Bye Bye” (RR: 2000)
  136. Lil Wayne with Static Major “Lollipop” (BA: 2008)
  137. Perez “Prez” Prado “Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White” (BB: 1955)
  138. Silentó “Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae)” (ST: 2015)
  139. Glenn Miller Orchestra with Ray Eberle & The Modernaires “Moonlight Cocktail” (BB: 1942)
  140. Mariah Carey “Hero” (BA: 1993)
  141. Kay Starr “Wheel of Fortune” (BB: 1952)
  142. Ashanti with Ja Rule “Foolish” (BB: 2002)

  143. Bing Crosby with the Ken Darby Singers “Now Is the Hour (Maori Farewell Song)” (HP: 1948)
  144. Rosemary Clooney “Hey There” (HP: 1954)
  145. George W. Johnson “The Laughing Song” (BB: 1891)
  146. Margaret Whiting “A Tree in the Meadow” (HP: 1948)
  147. George J. Gaskin “My Old New Hampshire Home” (BB: 1898)
  148. Santana with the Product G&B “Maria Maria” (BB: 2000)
  149. Debbie Reynolds “Tammy” (HP: 1957)
  150. Eileen Barton “If I Knew You Were Comin’ I’d’ve Baked a Cake” (BB: 1950)
  151. Perry Como “If (They Made Me a King)” (HP: 1951)
  152. Patti Page “I Went to Your Wedding” (BB: 1952)

  153. Mariah Carey “Someday” (BA: 1990)
  154. Usher “U Got It Bad” (BA: 2001)
  155. Jimmy Dorsey with Bob Eberly “I Hear a Rhapsody” (HP: 1941), also by Charlie Barnet with Bob Carroll
  156. DaBaby with Roddy Rich “Rockstar” (ST: 2020)
  157. Migos with Lil Uzi Vert “Bad and Boujee” (ST: 2016)
  158. Cardi B with Megan Thee Stallion “WAP” (ST: 2020)
  159. Bruno Mars with Anderson.Paak as Silk Sonic “Leave the Door Open” (BA: 2021)
  160. Adele “Easy on Me” (BB: 2021)

Resources/Related Links:

First posted 10/29/2017; last updated 1/12/2023.

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3 comments:

  1. UnknownApril 14, 2017 at 10:31 PM

    I'd hate to hear this one as a playlist.

    ReplyDelete
  2. JamesOctober 29, 2020 at 11:43 PM

    Hmmm, not a single song from the 60s and only 1 song from the 70s and one from the 80s.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dave WhitakerNovember 27, 2020 at 2:24 AM

      That's because of the different chart methologies employed by Billboard over the years. Songs typically didn't stay at #1 more than a few weeks at a time because the radio airplay lists factored into the charts were taken from radio station's self-stated playlists. The problem was that once songs peaked, radio stations tended to stop reporting them, even though they were still playing them. During the '90s, Billboard implemented new technology that allowed them to track actual radio plays, which revealed that songs stuck around much longer on radio than previously thought.

      Delete

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