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JUMP TO:
• 1988 – FAITH / George Michael
• 1978 – HOW DEEP IS YOUR LOVE / The Bee Gees
• 1968 – HELLO GOODBYE / The Beatles
• 1958 – AT THE HOP / Danny and The Juniors
According to the eBook editions of the invaluable publications from Joel Whitburn’s Record Research of data from Billboard magazine’s music charts – widely used in both the radio and record industries because of their accuracy – there were 837 singles that topped the Hot 100 in the 40-year period between January, 1956 and December, 1995. And the deep music vault here at House of the Hits has every one of them!
So, rather than let them sit idle on the vault’s digital hard drives, I thought that I’d begin presenting them over them over the next 52 weeks (and into 2017) for your listening pleasure – and virtually all of them in crystal-clear HD audio!
Each of the blog posts (3-4 per week) will contain four #1 songs, in exact 10-year separations (e.g.1991-1981-1971-1961), so that the changing styles and genres of music from corresponding weeks/decades can be seen and compared.
By early ’17, all 837 chart-toppers from each of those years will comprise a permanent archive found HERE and you can bookmark this link for future instant access.
Clearly, 2016 at House of the Hits will embrace la crème de la crème!
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[Note] For fans of statistics, for the three complete decades in this time period (60’s-80’s) the Seventies decade had the most #1’s with 252 (ah, yes, the music decade where AOR meant ‘All-Over-the-Road’), the Eighties had 231 and the Sixties, with 202, had the least.
Furthermore, across the full 40-year span, 1974 and 1975 had the most chart-toppers (34 each) and 1994 the fewest with just 9.
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[NOTE]
Due to copyright issues, some audio song files may not play on tablets,
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#1 / January 8th, 1988
FAITH
George Michael
[1987]
Number One: 4 weeks
Replaced: HEAVEN IS A PLACE ON EARTH / Belinda Carlisle
Succeeded by: SO EMOTIONAL / Whitney Houston
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After achieving three #1 singles as a member of the duo Wham! with Andrew Ridgeley – Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go, Careless Whisper and Everything She Wants – George Michael‘s first number one as a solo artist occupied Billboard’s top spot on this date.
But it just as easily could have been his second solo chart topper.
His initial single after leaving Wham! was a controversial song titled I Want Your Sex. And although many felt it to be an overreaction, the record was totally banned by the BBC and also by some U.S. radio stations, plus the video required three different edited versions before MTV deemed it suitable for airing.
Those combined factors prohibited it from a long stay at #1, but it did reach the second highest position on Billboard and sell two million copies.
Released in 1987 and becoming a ‘crossover months’ record – i.e. success at #1 from the end of one year into the start of the next – Faith enjoyed a 4-week stay at the top and was Billboard’s #1 single for the year 1987.
[Note] The beginning of this song has a very low audio level, so “please do not adjust your set!”
Other #1 Singles by GEORGE MICHAEL (10)
• 1984 / WAKE ME UP BEFORE YOU GO-GO (WHAM!)
• 1985 / CARELESS WHISPER (WHAM! Featuring George Michael)
• 1985 / EVERYTHING SHE WANTS (WHAM!)
• 1987 / I KNEW YOU WERE WAITING (For Me) (Aretha Franklin and George Michael)
• 1988 / FATHER FIGURE
• 1988 / ONE MORE TRY
• 1988 / MONKEY
• 1990 / PRAYING FOR TIME
• 1992 / DON’T LET THE SUN GO DOWN ON ME (George Michael with Elton John)
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#1 / January 8th, 1978
HOW DEEP IS YOUR LOVE
The Bee Gees
[1977]
(Single Version)
Number One: 3 weeks
Replaced: YOU LIGHT UP MY LIFE / Debby Boone
Succeeded by: BABY COME BACK / Player
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As I’m sure you know, the years 1975 through 1979 were ones of monumental success for the Bee Gees, which saw them dominantly capture eight #1 singles, including four platinum sellers (2 million) and five which topped one million copies.
1977-78 in particular was “lights out” for the Brothers Gibb – Barry, Robin and Maurice.
The zenith of that unbelievable success was their music that was featured in the soundtrack – and resultant album – from the 1977 blockbuster flick Saturday Night Fever.
The trio of singles culled from that album – listed at #132 on Rolling Stone magazine’s ‘500 Greatest Albums Of All Time’ – were Stayin’ Alive, Night Fever and this one, How Deep Is Your Love.
[Trivia Bit] Combined, the above three mentioned singles spent a total of 80 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 over a four-plus month span, and an aggregate 15 weeks at the top.
Other #1 Singles by THE BEE GEES (9)
• 1971 / HOW CAN YOU MEND A BROKEN HEART
• 1975 / JIVE TALKIN’
• 1976 / YOU SHOULD BE DANCING
• 1978 / STAYIN’ ALIVE
• 1978 / NIGHT FEVER
• 1979 / TOO MUCH HEAVEN
• 1979 / TRAGEDY
• 1979 / LOVE YOU INSIDE OUT
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#1 / January 8th, 1968
HELLO GOODBYE
The Beatles
[1967]
(Official Video)
Number One: 3 weeks
Replaced: DAYDREAM BELIEVER / The Monkees
Succeeded by: JUDY IN DISGUISE (With Glasses) / John Fred and His Playboy Band
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Hello Goodbye became the fifteenth of ultimately twenty U.S. chart toppers for The Beatles, spending three weeks at #1 from late 1967 into early ’68.
The song, written primarily by Paul McCartney, was recorded in the fall of ’67 while the Fabs were concurrently producing their film Magical Mystery Tour, which eventually appeared in black and white when aired in the UK the day after Christmas by the BBC.
Here’s the newly remastered, absolutely pristine video version of HG from the Beatles 1 DVD Collection which was released last November – and in HD audio! Get your copy HERE
Despite the timing of its recording (during the making of MMT) only a short snippet of Hello Goodbye is actually heard in the film.
Other #1 Singles by THE BEATLES (20)
• 1964 / I WANT TO HOLD YOUR HAND
• 1964 / SHE LOVES YOU
• 1964 / CAN’T BUY ME LOVE
• 1964 / LOVE ME DO
• 1964 / A HARD DAY’S NIGHT
• 1964 / I FEEL FINE
• 1965 / EIGHT DAYS A WEEK
• 1965 / TICKET TO RIDE
• 1965 / HELP!
• 1965 / YESTERDAY
• 1966 / WE CAN WORK IT OUT
• 1966 / PAPERBACK WRITER
• 1967 / PENNY LANE
• 1967 / ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE
• 1968 / HEY JUDE
• 1969 / GET BACK (The Beatles with Billy Preston)
• 1969 / COME TOGETHER b/w SOMETHING
• 1970 / LET IT BE
• 1970 / THE LONG AND WINDING ROAD b/w FOR YOU BLUE
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#1 / January 8th, 1958
AT THE HOP
Danny and The Juniors
[1957]
Number One: 5 weeks
Replaced: APRIL LOVE / Pat Boone
Succeeded by: DON’T / Elvis Presley
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Led by vocalist Danny Rapp, At The Hop by Philadelphia’s Danny and The Juniors was the first #1 record of 1958, a time when Top 40 Rock’n’Roll was still in its infancy – just two and a half years after its unofficial inception.
At The Hop spent a whopping seven weeks at #1.
[Trivia Bit] The demo version of the song was originally named Do The Bop – after a current dance craze. But on the advice of the host of TV’s American Bandstand, legendary DJ Dick Clark, the title was changed. Clark revealed that “The Bop” was a dying fad and suggested they call it At The Hop – after which the tune was re-cut containing its new title.
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Produced & Written By: Rick Murray Hunter / HouseoftheHits.com
Songs Source: The Music Vault of HouseoftheHits Inc.
Billboard® Chart Data: Joel Whitburn’s Record Research (eBook Editions)
References: The Archives of RollingStone.com
The Billboard Book Of Number One Hits (5th Edition) by Fred Bronson
All The Songs: The Story Behind Every Beatles Release (Kindle Edition) by Philippe Margotin and Jean-Michel Guesdon
The Beatles’ Story On Capitol Records / Part One: The Singles (Digital Edition) by Bruce Spizer
The Beatles’ Story On Capitol Records / Part Two: The Albums (Digital Edition) by Bruce Spizer
The website BeatlesBible.com
Record Sleeve & Label Graphics: Courtesy of 45cat
Other #1 Songs on This Date Posts are HERE
