Showing posts with label Kenny Rogers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kenny Rogers. Show all posts

Friday, January 12, 2024

Dolly Parton: Top 100 Songs

Dolly Parton

Top 100 Songs

Country singer/songwriter born on 1/19/1946 in Sevier County, Tennessee. She has charted more than 100 times on the country chart, making her the top female country artist of all time. One of the few people to receive Oscar, Grammy Tony, and Emmy nominations.

By age 10, she was performing on local radio and television programs. She recorded her first single at age 13. Moved to Nashville the day after her high school graduation in 1964. Started out co-writing songs with her uncle, Bill Owens. Signed with Monument Records in 1965. Replaced Norma Jean on The Porter Wagoner Show in 1967; she and Wagoner regularly worked as a duo from 1967-76 while also working solo. Joined the Grand Ole Opry in 1969. Starred in the movies 9 to 5, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Steel Magnolias, Rhinestone, and Straight Talk.

Whitney Houston’s cover of “I Will Always Love You” is featured in the DMDB book The Top 100 Songs of the Rock Era 1954-1999.

Click here to see other acts’ best-of lists.

Awards:

Top 100 Songs

Dave’s Music Database lists are determined by song’s appearances on best-of lists as well as chart success, sales, radio airplay, streaming, and awards. Songs which hit #1 on various charts are noted. (Click for codes to charts.)

DMDB Top 1%:

1. 9 to 5 (1980) #1 US,CW,AC

DMDB Top 5%:

2. Islands in the Stream (w/ KR, 1983) #1 US,CW,AC
3. Here You Come Again (1977) #1 CW

DMDB Top 10%:

4. I Will Always Love You (1974) #1 CW
5. Jolene (1973) #1 CW
6. I Will Always Love You (rerecording, 1982) #1 CW

DMDB Top 20%:

7. Coat of Many Colors (1971)
8. But You Know I Love You (1980) #1 CW

Beyond the DMDB Top 20%:

9. Heartbreaker (1978) #1 CW
10. Winter Wonderland/Sleigh Ride (1984)

11. Starting Over Again (1980) #1 CW
12. You’re the Only One (1979) #1 CW
13. Baby It’s Cold Outside (w/ Rod Stewart, 2004)
14. Baby, I’m Burnin’ (1978)
15. Save the Last Dance for Me (1983)
16. Two Doors Down (1977)
17. The Bargain Store (1975) #1 CW
18. Love Is Like a Butterfly (1974) #1 CW
19. Romeo (w/ Billy Ray Cyrus, Tanya Tucker, Kathy Mattea, & Mary Chapin Carpenter, 1993)
20. When I Get Where I’m Going (w/ Brad Paisley, 2005) #1 CW

21. Joshua (1970) #1 CW
22. Sweet Summer Lovin’ (1979)
23. Real Love (w/ KR, 1985) #1 CW
24. It’s All Wrong, But It’s All Right (1977) #1 CW
25. Please Don’t Stop Loving Me (w/ PW, 1974) #1 CW
26. The House of the Rising Sun (1980)
27. Old Flames Can’t Hold a Candle to You (1980) #1 CW
28. Don’t Call It Love (1985)
29. Everything’s Beautiful in Its Own Way (w/ Willie Nelson, 1982)
30. My Tennessee Mountain Home (1973)

31. I Really Got the Feeling (1978) #1 CW
32. Mule Skinner Blues (Blue Yodel No. 8) (1970)
33. Downtown (1984)
34. Tennessee Homesick Blues (1984) #1 CW
35. Just Because I’m a Woman (1968)
36. The Last Thing on My Mind (w/ PW, 1967)
37. We’ll Get Ahead Someday (w/ PW, 1968)
38. To Know Him Is to Love Him (w/ Linda Ronstadt & Emmylou Harris, 1987) #1 CW
39. Touch Your Woman (1972)
40. Dumb Blonde (1967)

41. Holdin’ on to Nothin’ (w/ PW, 1968)
42. Just Someone I Used to Know (w/ PW, 1969)
43. In the Good Old Days When Times Were Bad (1968)
44. Daddy Was an Old Time Preacher Man (w/ PW, 1970)
45. Why’d You Come in Here Lookin’ Like That (1989) #1 CW
46. Light of a Clear Blue Morning (1977)
47. Tomorrow Is Forever (w/ PW, 1970)
48. Better Move It on Home (w/ PW, 1971)
49. Puppy Love (1959)
50. Telling Me Lies (w/ Linda Ronstadt & Emmylou Harris, 1987)

51. Lost Forever in Your Kiss (w/ PW, 1972)
52. The Seeker (1975)
53. Yours Love (w/ PW, 1969)
54. Something Fishy (1967)
55. The Greatest Gift of All (w/ KR, 1984)
56. All I Can Do (1976)
57. Traveling Man (1971)
58. We Used To (1975)
59. If Teardrops Were Pennies (w/ PW, 1973)
60. My Blue Ridge Mountain Boy (1969)

61. Burning the Midnight Oil (w/ PW, 1971)
62. My Blue Tears (1971)
63. Together Always (w/ PW, 1972)
64. Heartbreak Express (1982)
65. Think About Love (1985) #1 CW
66. Always, Always (w/ PW, 1969)
67. Comin’ for to Carry Me Home (1971)
68. Daddy, Come and Get Me (1970)
69. Rockin’ Years (w/ Ricky Van Shelton, 1991) #1 CW
70. Is Forever Longer Than Always (w/ PW, 1976)

71. Jeannie’s Afraid of the Dark (w/ PW, 1968)
72. The Right Combination (w/ PW, 1971)
73. Say Forever You’ll Be Mine (w/ PW, 1975)
74. Single Women (1982)
75. Yellow Roses (1989) #1 CW
76. Making Plans (w/ PW, 1980)
77. Daddy (1969)
78. Washday Blues (1972)
79. I Will Always Love You (w/ Vince Gill, 1995)
80. God Won’t Get You (1984)

81. In the Ghetto (1969)
82. If You Go, I’ll Follow You (w/ PW, 1980)
83. Hard Candy Christmas (1982)
84. Jolene (w/ Mindy Smith, 2004)
85. Potential New Boyfriend (1983)
86. Hey Lucky Lady (1976)
87. We Found It (w/ PW, 1973)
88. The River Unbroken (1987)
89. Those Memories of You (w/ Linda Ronstadt & Emmylou Harris, 1987)
90. Wildflowers (w/ Linda Ronstadt & Emmylou Harris, 1987)

91. Tie Our Love in a Double Knot (1985)
92. Silver and Gold (1991)
93. I Know You by Heart (w/ Smokey Robinson, 1987)
94. Girl Left Alone (1959)
95. We Had It All (1986)
96. Time for Me to Fly (1989)
97. Love Is Strange (w/ KR, 1990)
98. Straight Talk (1992)
99. It’s Sure Gonna Hurt (1962)
100. The Love You Gave (1962)

Resources and Related Links:

First posted 6/2/2019; updated 1/12/2024.
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Sunday, November 12, 2023

The Top 200 Country Songs of All Time

Country Music:

Top 200 Songs

The DMDB’s list of the top 100 country songs of all time was created by aggregating 90 best-of lists focused on country songs. This included awards for Best Song and/or Single from the Academy of Country Music, Country Music Association, the Grammys. See the resources at the bottom of this page. This was first posted on the DMDB Facebook page on April 3, 2011 and then on the blog on August 28, 2011.

Click here to see other genre-specific song lists.

1. Patsy Cline “Crazy” (1961)
2. George Jones “He Stopped Loving Her Today” (1980)
3. Tammy Wynette “Stand by Your Man” (1968)
4. Garth Brooks “Friends in Low Places” (1990)
5. Willie Nelson “Always on My Mind” (1982)
6. Randy Travis “Forever and Ever, Amen” (1987)
7. Johnny Cash “I Walk the Line” (1956)
8. Johnny Cash “Ring of Fire” (1963)
9. Lee Ann Womack with Sons of the Desert “I Hope You Dance” (2000)
10. Hank Williams “Your Cheatin’ Heart” (1953)

11. Marty Robbins “El Paso” (1959)
12. Charlie Daniels Band “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” (1979)
13. Roger Miller “King of the Road” (1965)
14. Kenny Rogers “The Gambler” (1978)
15. Tim McGraw “Live Like You Were Dying” (2004)
16. Lonestar “Amazed” (1999)
17. Hank Williams “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” (1949)
18. Conway Twitty “Hello Darlin’” (1970)
19. Dolly Parton “Jolene” (1973)
20. Loretta Lynn “Coal Miner’s Daughter” (1970)

21. Garth Brooks “The Dance” (1990)
22. Merle Haggard “Mama Tried” (1968)
23. Patsy Cline “I Fall to Pieces” (1961)
24. Dolly Parton “I Will Always Love You” (1974)
25. Glen Campbell “Rhinestone Cowboy” (1975)
26. Lady Antebellum “Need You Now” (2009)
27. Johnny Cash “Folsom Prison Blues” (1955)
28. Merle Haggard “Okie from Muskogee” (1969)
29. Carrie Underwood “Before He Cheats” (2006)
30. Waylon Jennings & Willie Nelson “Mammas, Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys” (1978)

31. Charlie Rich “Behind Closed Doors” (1973)
32. Jeannie C. Riley “Harper Valley P.T.A.” (1968)
33. Tennessee Ernie Ford “Sixteen Tons” (1955)
34. Willie Nelson “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain” (1975)
35. Alan Jackson “Where Were You When the World Stopped Turning” (2001)
36. Charley Pride “Kiss an Angel Good Mornin’” (1971)
37. Kitty Wells “It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky-Tonk Angels” (1952)
38. Waylon Jennings “Luckenbach, Texas (Back to the Basics of Love)” (1977)
39. Ernest Tubb “Walking the Floor Over You” (1941)
40. Ray Price “For the Good Times” (1970)

41. Hank Williams “Hey, Good Lookin’” (1951)
42. Sammi Smith “Help Me Make It Through the Night” (1971)
43. Kenny Rogers with Dolly Parton “Islands in the Stream” (1983)
44. Jim Reeves “He’ll Have to Go” (1959)
45. Lynn Anderson “I Never Promised You a Rose Garden” (1970)
46. Billy Ray Cyrus “Achy Breaky Heart” (1992)
47. Faith Hill “Breathe” (1999)
48. Alan Jackson “Chattahoochee” (1992)
49. Eddy Arnold “Make the World Go Away” (1965)
50. Hank Williams “Lovesick Blues” (1949)

51. George Strait “Amarillo by Morning” (1983)
52. Faron Young “Hello Walls” (1961)
53. Florida Georgia Line with Nelly “Cruise” (2012)
54. Waylon Jennings with Willie Nelson “Good Hearted Woman” (1975)
55. Shania Twain “You’re Still the One” (1998)
56. Ray Price “Crazy Arms” (1956)
57. John Denver “Take Me Home, Country Roads” (1971)
58. Buck Owens “Act Naturally” (1963)
59. The Carter Family “Can the Circle Be Unbroken (By and By)” (1935)
60. Lee Greenwood “God Bless the U.S.A.” (1984)

61. LeAnn Rimes “Blue” (1996)
62. Roy Acuff & the Smoky Mountain Boys “Wabash Cannonball” (1938)
63. Glen Campbell “Wichita Lineman” (1968)
64. Crystal Gayle “Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue” (1977)
65. Tim McGraw with Faith Hill “It’s Your Love” (1997)
66. Reba McEntire “Fancy” (1991)
67. Deanna Carter “Strawberry Wine” (1996)
68. Johnny Horton “The Battle of New Orleans” (1959)
69. Brooks & Dunn “Boot Scootin’ Boogie” (1991)
70. Hank Snow “I’m Moving On” (1950)

71. Martina McBride “Independence Day” (1993)
72. Johnny Paycheck “Take This Job and Shove It” (1977)
73. The Oak Ridge Boys “Elvira” (1981)
74. Don Gibson “Oh Lonesome Me” (1958)
75. Ronnie Milsap “Smokey Mountain Rain” (1980)
76. Dixie Chicks “Wide Open Spaces” (1998)
77. Willie Nelson “On the Road Again” (1980)
78. John Michael Montgomery “I Swear” (1993)
79. Patsy Cline “Sweet Dreams of You” (1963)
80. Dolly Parton “Coat of Many Colors” (1971)

81. Patsy Cline “Walkin’ After Midnight” (1957)
82. Keith Whitley “When You Say Nothing at All” (1988)
83. Alan Jackson “Don’t Rock the Jukebox” (1991)
84. Johnny Cash “A Boy Named Sue” (live, 1969)
85. Buck Owens “I’ve Got a Tiger by the Tail” (1965)
86. Bill Monroe “Blue Moon of Kentucky” (1947)
87. Freddy Fender “Before the Next Teardrop Falls” (1975)
88. The Statler Brothers “Flowers on the Wall” (1965)
89. Patti Page “Tennessee Waltz” (1950)
90. Jack Greene “There Goes My Everything” (1966)

91. Sons of the Pioneers “Tumbling Tumbleweeds” (1934)
92. The Carter Family “Wildwood Flower” (1928)
93. Leroy Van Dyke “Walk on By” (1961)
94. Tammy Wynette “D-I-V-O-R-C-E” (1968)
95. Taylor Swift “Love Story” (2008)
96. Faith Hill “This Kiss” (1998)
97. David Allen Coe “You Never Even Call Me by My Name” (1975)
98. Glen Campbell “Galveston” (1969)
99. Lefty Frizzell “Long Black Veil” (1959)
100. Ray Charles “I Can’t Stop Loving You” (1962)

101. Hank Locklin “Please Help Me, I’m Falling” (1960)
102. Jimmie Davis “You Are My Sunshine” (1940)
103. George Jones “She Thinks I Still Care” (1962)
104. Alan Jackson with Jimmy Buffett “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere” (2003)
105. Randy Travis “On the Other Hand” (1985)
106. Miranda Lambert “The House That Built Me” (2010)
107. Rascal Flatts “Bless the Broken Road” (2004)
108. Hank Williams “Jambalaya on the Bayou” (1952)
109. Sugarland “Stay” (2007)
110. Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys “Faded Love” (1950)

111. George Strait “All My Ex’s Live in Texas” (1987)
112. Eric Church “Springsteen” (2011)
113. David Houston “Almost Persuaded” (1966)
114. Keith Urban “Somebody Like You” (2002)
115. Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash “Jackson” (1967)
116. Tanya Tucker “Delta Dawn” (1972)
117. Hank Williams “Cold, Cold Heart” (1951)
118. Gretchen Wilson “Redneck Woman” (2004)
119. Freddie Hart “Easy Loving” (1971)
120. The Band Perry “If I Die Young” (2010)

121. Dolly Parton “9 to 5” (1980)
122. Trisha Yearwood “She’s in Love with the Boy” (1991)
123. Bobbie Gentry “Ode to Billie Joe” (1967)
124. Osborne Brothers “Rocky Top” (1968)
125. Kenny Chesney “The Good Stuff” (2002)
126. Johnny Cash “Hurt” (2002)
127. Vince Gill “Go Rest High on That Mountain” (1994)
128. Hank Williams Jr. “Family Tradition” (1979)
129. Johnny Cash “Sunday Mornin’ Coming Down” (1970)
130. Jimmy Dean “Big Bad John” (1961)

131. Jimmie Rodgers “Blue Yodel #1 (T for Texas)” (1928)
132. The Highwaymen (Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, & Kris Kristofferson) “The Highwayman” (1984)
133. Eddy Arnold “Bouquet of Roses” (1948)
134. Rosanne Cash “Seven Year Ache” (1981)
135. Tom T. Hall “Old Dogs, Children, and Watermelon Wine” (1972)
136. Dwight Yoakam “Guitars, Cadillacs” (1986)
137. Alabama “Mountain Music” (1982)
138. Thomas Rhett “Die a Happy Man” (2015)
139. Johnny Lee “Lookin’ for Love” (1980)
140. Sam Hunt “Body Like a Back Road” (2017)

141. Hank Thompson “The Wild Side of Life” (1952)
142. Donna Fargo “The Happiest Girl in the Whole U.S.A.” (1972)
143. Kenny Rogers “Lucille” (1977)
144. Loretta Lynn “Don't Come Home A’Drinkin’ with Lovin’ on Your Mind” (1967)
145. Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs “Foggy Mountain Breakdown” (1950)
146. George Strait “Check Yes or No” (1995)
147. Kathy Mattea “Eighteen Wheels and a Dozen Roses” (1988)
148. Patsy Cline “She’s Got You” (1962)
149. Brad Paisley with Alison Krauss “Whiskey Lullaby” (2004)
150. Connie Smith “Once a Day” (1964)

151. Darius Rucker “Wagon Wheel” (2013)
152. Kacey Musgraves “Follow Your Arrow” (2013)
153. Carrie Underwood “Jesus Take the Wheel” (2005)
154. Kenny Rogers “Coward of the County” (1979)
155. Zac Brown Band “Chicken Fried” (2008)
156. George Strait “Love Without End, Amen” (1990)
157. Eddy Arnold “The Cattle Call” (1945)
158. Alabama “Love in the First Degree” (1981)
159. Lefty Frizzell “If You’ve Got the Money, I’ve Got the Time” (1950)
160. Vince Gill “When I Call Your Name” (1990)

161. Patsy Montana & the Prairie Ramblers “I Want to Be a Cowboy's Sweetheart” (1936)
162. Vern Gosdin “Chiseled in Stone” (1988)
163. Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys “San Antonio Rose” (1939)
164. Hank Williams “Kaw-Liga” (1953)
165. Ray Price “Heartaches by the Number” (1959)
166. Dolly Parton “Here You Come Again” (1977)
167. Garth Brooks “If Tomorrow Never Comes” (1989)
168. C.W. McCall “Convoy” (1975)
169. John Denver “Thank God I’m a Country Boy” (1974)
170. Johnny Cash “Daddy Sang Bass” (1968)

171. Elvis Presley “Heartbreak Hotel” (1956)
172. Clint Black “A Better Man” (1989)
173. Little Big Town “Girl Crush” (2015)
174. The Everly Brothers “Bye Bye Love” (1957)
175. Kenny Rogers “Lady” (1980)
176. Gene Autry “Back in the Saddle” (1939)
177. Travis Tritt “Here’s a Quarter, Call Someone Who Cares” (1991)
178. Tim McGraw with Patty Loveless “Please Remember Me” (1999)
179. Glen Campbell “Gentle on My Mind” (1967)
180. Bebe Rexha with Florida Georgia Line “Meant to Be” (2017)

181. The Judds “Grandpa, Tell Me ‘Bout the Good Old Days” (1985)
182. Hank Williams “I Saw the Light” (1948)
183. Sonny James “Young Love” (1956)
184. The Judds “Mama He’s Crazy” (1984)
185. Don Gibson “I Can’t Stop Loving You” (1958)
186. Buck Owens “Together Again” (1964)
187. Hank Williams Jr. “A Country Boy Can Survive” (1981)
188. Carl Butler & Pearl “Don’t Let Me Cross Over” (1962)
189. Toby Keith “How Do You Like Me Now?!” (1999)
190. Charlie Rich “The Most Beautiful Girl” (1973)

191. Dan + Shay “Tequila” (2018)
192. Porter Wagoner “Green, Green Grass of Home” (1965)
193. Dixie Chicks “Cowboy Take Me Away” (1999)
194. Brooks & Dunn “My Maria” (1996)
195. Tex Williams “Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! (That Cigarette)” (1947)
196. Merle Haggard & the Strangers “Today I Started Loving You Again” (1968)
197. Shania Twain “Man! I Feel Like a Woman” (1997)
198. Hunter Hayes “Wanted” (2011)
199. Roger Miller “Dang Me” (1964)
200. Randy Travis “Three Wooden Crosses” (2003)

Resources/Related Links:

First posted 8/3/2011; last updated 11/12/2023.

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Dave's Faves: My Top 100 Country Songs

Dave’s Faves:

My Top 100 Country Songs

Here are my personal top 100 favorite country songs. Note: year of release is when song was first released, whether it be as a single or part of an album. Links on songs will take you to a DMDB page dedicated to that song.

To qualify as a country song, the song had to reach the Billboard country chart, rank on the DMDB list of the top 200 country songs, or be by an artist who achieved one or both of those feats. I excluded Christmas songs and a lot of the crossover hits of the 1950s which were also successful on the pop and R&B charts.

Click here to see other Dave’s Faves song lists.

1. Lyle Lovett “Step Inside This House” (1998)
2. Eagles “Seven Bridges Road” (live, 1980)
3. Kenny Rogers “Coward of the County” (1979)
4. Eagles “Desperado” (1973)
5. Willie Nelson with Lukas Nelson “Just Breathe” (2012)
6. Alan Jackson “Where Were You When the World Stopped Turning” (2001)
7. Johnny Cash “Hurt” (2002)
8. Alabama “Mountain Music” (1982)
9. Kenny Rogers “The Gambler” (1978)
10. Eagles “Take It Easy” (1972)

11. Woody Guthrie “This Land Is Your Land” (1944)
12. Sturgill Simpson “In Bloom” (2016)
13. Charlie Daniels Band “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” (1979)
14. Sturgill Simpson “The Promise” (2014)
15. Hank Williams “Your Cheatin’ Heart” (1953)
16. Lyle Lovett “Nobody Knows Me” (1989)
17. Patsy Cline “Crazy” (1961)
18. Tammy Wynette “Stand by Your Man” (1968)
19. Johnny Cash “Ring of Fire” (1963)
20. Dolly Parton “9 to 5” (1980)

21. John Denver “Rocky Mountain High” (1972)
22. John Denver “Sunshine on My Shoulders” (1971)
23. Johnny Cash “I Walk the Line” (1956)
24. Lyle Lovett “Friend of the Devil” (1991)
25. Kenny Rogers “Lady” (1980)
26. Waylon Jennings “Just the Good Ol’ Boys (Theme from The Dukes of Hazzard)” (1980)
27. Lyle Lovett “Pontiac” (1988)
28. Willie Nelson “On the Road Again” (1980)
29. John Denver “Take Me Home, Country Roads” (1971)
30. Johnny Paycheck “Take This Job and Shove It” (1977)

31. Eagles “Lyin’ Eyes” (1975)
32. Waylon Jennings & Willie Nelson “Mammas, Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys” (1978)
33. John Denver “Thank God I’m a Country Boy” (1974)
34. Willie Nelson “My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys” (1980)
35. Jimmie Davis “You Are My Sunshine” (1940)
36. Lyle Lovett “She’s Hot to Go” (1988)
37. Olivia Newton-John “I Honestly Love You” (1974)
38. Roger Miller “King of the Road” (1965)
39. Lyle Lovett “She’s No Lady” (1988)
40. Kacey Musgraves “Follow Your Arrow” (2013)

41. Lyle Lovett “12th of June” (2022)
42. Lil Nas X with Billy Ray Cyrus “Old Town Road” (2018)
43. Willie Nelson “Live Forever” (2022)
44. Dolly Parton “Jolene” (1973)
45. Dixie Chicks “Travelin’ Soldier” (2002)
46. Johnny Cash “Folsom Prison Blues” (live, 1968)
47. Flatt & Scruggs “The Ballad of Jed Clampett” (1962)
48. Lee Ann Womack with Sons of the Desert “I Hope You Dance” (2000)
49. Garth Brooks “Friends in Low Places” (1990)
50. Eagles “Tequila Sunrise” (1973)

51. The Dirt Band with Linda Ronstadt “An American Dream” (1979)
52. Glen Campbell “Rhinestone Cowboy” (1975)
53. George Jones “He Stopped Loving Her Today” (1980)
54. George Strait “Love Without End, Amen” (1990)
55. Jimmy Dean “Big Bad John” (1961)
56. Hank Snow “I’m Movin’ On” (1950)
57. Glen Campbell “Wichita Lineman” (1968)
58. Pure Prairie League “Falling in and Out of Love” / “Amie” (1975)
59. The Highwaymen (Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, & Kris Kristofferson) “The Highwayman” (1985)
60. Patti Page “Tennessee Waltz” (1950)

61. Marty Robbins “El Paso” (1959)
62. Kenny Rogers “Lucille” (1977)
63. Eddie Rabbitt “I Love a Rainy Night” (1980)
64. Mac Davis “It’s Hard to Be Humble” (1980)
65. Alabama “Love in the First Degree” (1981)
66. Ray Charles “I Can’t Stop Loving You” (1962)
67. Olivia Newton-John “Hopelessly Devoted to You” (1978)
68. Mary Chapin Carpenter “It Don’t Bring You” (1989)
69. Merle Haggard “Okie from Muskogee” (1969)
70. Tim McGraw “Live Like You Were Dying” (2004)

71. Alabama “Take Me Down” (1982)
72. Johnny Cash “A Boy Named Sue” (live, 1969)
73. Juice Newton “Queen of Hearts’ (1981)
74. Kenny Rogers & the First Edition “Ruby, Don’t Take Your Love to Town” (1969)
75. Randy Travis “Forever and Ever, Amen” (1987)
76. Willie Nelson “Always on My Mind” (1982)
77. Kenny Rogers & Dolly Parton “Islands in the Stream” (1983)
78. Hank Williams “Hey Good Lookin’” (1951)
79. Alabama “Dixieland Delight” (1983)
80. Billy Ray Cyrus “Achy Breaky Heart” (1992)

81. The Artists of Then, Now & Forever “Forever Country” (2016)
82. Tennessee Ernie Ford “Sixteen Tons” (1955)
83. Hank Williams “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” (1949)
84. The Oak Ridge Boys “Elvira” (1981)
85. Conway Twitty “Hello Darlin’” (1970)
86. Lyle Lovett “L.A. County” (1988)
87. Kenny Rogers & Sheena Easton “We’ve Got Tonight” (1983)
88. Elvis Presley “Blue Moon of Kentucky” (1954)
89. Patsy Cline “I Fall to Pieces” (1961)
90. Dixie Chicks “Silent House” (2006)

91. Ronnie Milsap “Smokey Mountain Rain” (1980)
92. Collin Raye “Love, Me” (1991)
93. Jeannie C. Riley “Harper Valley P.T.A.” (1968)
94. Lady Antebellum “Need You Now” (2009)
95. Hank Williams “Move It on Over” (1947)
96. Lyle Lovett “Here I Am” (1989)
97. Alabama “My Home’s in Alabama” (1980)
98. John Anderson “Swingin’” (1983)
99. Juice Newton “Angel of the Morning” (1981)
100. Alabama “Forty Hour Week for a Livin’” (1985)

Resources and Related Links:

First posted 11/11/2023; last updated 11/12/2023.
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Saturday, September 23, 2023

The Top 100 Adult Contemporary Songs of All Time


No, this isn’t what “soft rock” means.

Adult Contemporary, 1961-2023:

Top 100 Songs

It’s been called “soft rock,” “light rock,” “middle of the road,” and “adult contemporary.” By any name, this genre celebrates songwriters and balladry and music that skews toward a generally older audience.

This post originated in 2011 when Billboard magazine celebrated the 50th anniversary of their adult contemporary charts with a list of “The Top 100 Adult Contemporary Songs Ever.” They weighted the list so that the last decade’s trend toward longer stays at #1 (and longer stays on the chart) didn’t completely dominate the list. I posted a new ranking on my Facebook page that showed the biggest AC hits based solely on weeks at #1.

Still not satisfied, I went to my music database and sorted all songs to hit #1 on the adult contemporary charts. Then I sorted those songs based on total points in Dave’s Music Database. The results made for what I consider the most balanced of the three lists and acknowledging some bonafide classics which may not have had longevity at #1 or on the charts, but have had long-lasting impact.

One last thing – the pics are for the top-ten ranked AC acts according to Billboard. Click on the photos for the acts DMDB music makers encyclopedia entries.

Click here to see other genre-specific song lists.

1. Whitney Houston “I Will Always Love You” (1992)
2. Simon & Garfunkel “Bridge Over Troubled Water” (1970)
3. Bryan Adams “(Everything I Do) I Do It for You” (1991)
4. Don McLean “American Pie” (1971)
5. The Beatles “Let It Be” (1970)
6. The Righteous Brothers “Unchained Melody” (1965)
7. Ed Sheeran “Shape of You” (2017)
8. Celine Dion “My Heart Will Go On” (1997)
9. Adele “Rolling in the Deep” (2010)
10. Pharrell Williams “Happy” (2013)


Elton John

11. Gotye with Kimbra “Somebody That I Used to Know” (2011)
12. Lionel Richie & Diana Ross “Endless Love” (1981)
13. Ray Charles “I Can’t Stop Loving You” (1962)
14. U.S.A. for Africa “We Are the World” (1985)
15. Whitney Houston “I Wanna Dance with Somebody Who Loves Me” (1987)
16. Adele “Hello” (2015)
17. Coldplay “Viva La Vida” (2008)
18. The Weeknd “Blinding Lights” (2019)
19. Boyz II Men “I’ll Make Love to You” (1994)
20. Lionel Richie “All Night Long (All Night)” (1983)


Neil Diamond

21. Ed Sheeran “Thinking Out Loud” (2014)
22. Jason Mraz “I’m Yours” (2008)
23. Debby Boone “You Light Up My Life” (1977)
24. Adele “Someone Like You (2011)
25. Bee Gees “How Deep Is Your Love” (1977)
26. Ed Sheeran with Beyoncé “Perfect” (2017)
27. Bruno Mars “Just the Way You Are (Amazing)” (2010)
28. John Legend “All of Me” (2013)
29. George Michael “Careless Whisper” (1984)
30. Elvis Presley “Can’t Help Falling in Love” (1961)


Barbra Streisand

31. Taylor Swift “Shake It Off” (2014)
32. Kenny Rogers “Lady” (1980)
33. Stevie Wonder “I Just Called to Say I Love You” (1984)
34. Leona Lewis “Bleeding Love” (2007)
35. Roberta Flack “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” (1969)
36. Mariah Carey with Boyz II Men “One Sweet Day” (1995)
37. Shania Twain “You’re Still the One” 1998)
38. Tony Orlando & Dawn “Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree” (1973)
39. Barbra Streisand “The Way We Were” (1973)
40. Justin Timberlake “Can’t Stop the Feeling!” (2016)


Barry Manilow

41. Eric Clapton “Tears in Heaven” (1992)
42. Cyndi Lauper “Time After Time” (1983)
43. Katy Perry “Roar” (2013)
44. Henry Mancini with Audrey Hepburn “Moon River” (1961)
45. Justin Bieber “Love Yourself” (2015)
46. Lady Antebellum “Need You Now” (2009)
47. Katy Perry “Firework” (2010)
48. Harry Nilsson “Without You” (1971)
49. The Fifth Dimension “Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In” (1969)
50. Commodores “Three Times a Lady” (1978)


Kenny Rogers

51. James Blunt “You’re Beautiful” (2005)
52. Carly Simon “You’re So Vain” (1972)
53. Celine Dion “Because You Loved Me” (1996)
54. Maroon 5 with Cardi B “Girls Like You” (2017)
55. Taylor Swift “Love Story” (2008)
56. Taylor Swift “Blank Space” (2014)
57. Terry Jacks “Seasons in the Sun” (1974)
58. Seal “Kiss from a Rose” (1994)
59. Carole King “It’s Too Late” (1971)
60. Toni Braxton “Un-Break My Heart” (1996)


Chicago

61. Phil Collins “Another Day in Paradise” (1989)
62. One Republic “Counting Stars” (2013)
63. Bill Medley & Jennifer Warnes “I’ve Had the Time of My Life” (1987)
64. Dionne Warwick & Friends “That's What Friends Are For” (1985)
65. Sam Smith “Stay with Me” (2014)
66. Daniel Powter “Bad Day” (2005)
67. Captain & Tennille “Love Will Keep Us Together” (1975)
68. Fergie “Big Girls Don’t Cry (Personal)”
69. Harry Styles “As It Was” (2022)
70. Dolly Parton “9 to 5” (1980)


Billy Joel

71. Rick Astley “Never Gonna Give You Up” (1987)
72. Olivia Newton-John “I Honestly Love You” (1974)
73. Stevie Wonder “You Are the Sunshine of My Life” (1973)
74. Glen Campbell “Rhinestone Cowboy” (1975)
75. Kenny Rogers & Dolly Parton “Islands in the Stream” (1983)
76. Billy Joel “Just the Way You Are” (1977)
77. Train “Hey, Soul Sister” (2009)
78. Lee Ann Womack with Sons of the Desert “I Hope You Dance” (2000)
79. Gilbert O’Sullivan “Alone Again (Naturally)” (1972)
80. Sheryl Crow “All I Wanna Do” (1994)


Carpenters

81. B.J. Thomas “Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head” (1969)
82. Snow Patrol “Chasing Cars” (2006)
83. Magic! “Rude” (2013)
84. Frank Sinatra “Strangers in the Night” (1966)
85. The Lumineers “Ho Hey” (2012)
86. Lionel Richie “Say You Say Me” (1985)
87. Glen Campbell “Wichita Lineman” (1968)
88. Passenger “Let Her Go” (2012)
89. Mariah Carey “Vision of Love” (1990)
90. Louis Armstrong “Hello, Dolly!” (1964)


Lionel Richie

91. Backstreet Boys “I Want It That Way” (1999)
92. Taylor Swift “You Belong with Me” (2008)
93. Paul McCartney & Stevie Wonder “Ebony and Ivory” (1982)
94. Stan Getz with Joao & Astrud Gilberto “The Girl from Ipanema” (1964)
95. Jimmy Dean “Big Bad John” (1961)
96. Roger Miller “King of the Road” (1965)
97. Post Malone “Circles” (2019)
98. Savage Garden “Truly Madly Deeply” (1997)
99. Carpenters “They Long to Be Close to You” (1970)
100. Chicago “If You Leave Me Now” (1976)


Anne Murray

Resources/Related Links:

First posted 7/22/2011; last updated 9/23/2023.

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Tuesday, May 24, 2022

Lionel Richie/Commodores: Top 50 Songs

Lionel Richie/Commodores

Top 50 Songs

Lionel Richie was born June 20, 1949 in Tuskegee, Alabama. As a freshman at Tuskegee Institute in 1968, he met the other members of what was to become the Commodores. The group signed with Motown in 1972 and became hugely successful on the pop and R&B charts.

In 1980, Richie penned “Lady” for Kenny Rogers and it was a huge crossover hit. The following year, “Endless Love,” his duet with Diana Ross, was even bigger. It paved the way for his solo career, which he launched in 1982.

Richie became one of chart history’s most successful crossover artists, landing #1 songs on the pop, R&B, adult contemporary charts and even the country chart (if you count “Lady”). His 1983 album, Can’t Slow Down, won the Grammy for Album of the Year. “Endless Love” is featured in the DMDB book The Top 100 Songs of the Rock Era, 1954-1999.

Click here to see other acts’ best-of lists.

Spotify Podcast:

Check out the Dave’s Music Database podcast episode The Best of Lionel Richie based on this list. Premiere: May 24, 2022 at 7pm CST. New episodes based on Dave’s Music Database lists are posted every Tuesday at 7pm CST.

Awards (Lionel Richie):

Awards (Commodores):

Top 50 Songs

Dave’s Music Database lists are determined by song’s appearances on best-of lists as well as chart success, sales, radio airplay, streaming, and awards. Songs are solo hits by Richie unless marked otherwise. Songs which hit #1 on various charts are noted. (Click for codes to charts.)

DMDB Top 1%:

1. Endless Love (with Diana Ross, 1981) #1 US, #1 AC, #1 RB
2. We Are the World (written by Lionel Richie and Michael Jackson, recorded by U.S.A. for Africa) #1 US, #1 AC, #1 RB
3. Lady (written by Lionel Richie, recorded by Kenny Rogers, 1980) #1 US, #1 AC, #1 CW
4. All Night Long (All Night) (1983) #1 US, #1 AC, #1 RB
5. Three Times a Lady (Commodores, 1978) #1 US, #1 AC, #1 RB
6. Brick House (Commodores, 1977)
7. Say You Say Me (1985) #1 US, #1 AC, #1 RB
8. Hello (1984) #1 US, #1 AC, #1 RB

DMDB Top 2%:

9. Truly (1982) #1 US, #1 AC

DMDB Top 5%:

10. Easy (Commodores, 1977) #1 RB
11. Still (Commodores, 1979) #1 US, #1 RB
12. Sail On (Commodores, 1979)
13. Stuck on You (1984) #1 AC
14. You Are (1983) #1 AC

DMDB Top 10%:

15. Lady (You Bring Me Up) (Commodores, 1981)
16. Dancing on the Ceiling (1986)
17. Running with the Night (1983)
18. Night Shift (Commodores, 1985)
19. Penny Lover (1984) #1 AC
20. My Love (1983) #1 AC
21. Machine Gun (Commodores, 1974)
22. Love Will Conquer All (1986) #1 AC

DMDB Top 20%:

23. Oh No (Commodores, 1981)
24. Sweet Love (Commodores, 1975)
25. Just to Be Close to You (Commodores, 1976) #1 RB
26. Ballerina Girl (1986) #1 AC
27. Deep River Woman (with Alabama, 1986)
28. Do It to Me (1992) #1 RB
29. Se La (1986)
30. Don’t Wanna Lose You (1996)
31. Too Hot ta Trot (Commodores, 1977) #1 RB
32. Wonderland (Commodores, 1979)
33. Old-Fashion Love (Commodores, 1980)

Beyond the DMDB Top 20%:

34. Slippery When Wet (Commodores, 1975) #1 RB
35. Heroes (Commodores, 1980)
36. Fancy Dancer (Commodores, 1976)
37. Flying High (Commodores, 1978)
38. Only You (Commodores, 1983)
39. I Call It Love (2006)
40. Why You Wanna Try Me (Commodores, 1981)

41. Angel (2000)
42. My Destiny (1992)
43. I Feel Sanctified (Commodores, 1974)
44. This Is Your Life (Commodores, 1975)
45. Goin’ to the Bank (Commodores, 1986)
46. Animal Instinct (Commodores, 1985)
47. Janet (Commodores, 1985)
48. Painted Picture (Commodores, 1982)
49. Just for You (2004)
50. Zoom (Commodores, 1977)

Resources and Related Links:

First posted 6/20/2017; updated 5/24/2022.
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