The first song to hit number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, the industry standard in the U.S., was "Poor Little Fool" by Ricky Nelson on August 4, 1958, when the chart launched. Before this, various charts existed, but the Hot 100 became the definitive measure of a song's popularity.
"You Are Not Alone" was the first song in history to debut at number one on the Billboard Hot 100.
Al Martino's track "Here in My Heart" was the first single ever to top the UK Singles Chart, and the only single to reach number one during 1952.
The first No. 1 debut in the Hot 100's history? Michael Jackson's “You Are Not Alone,” on the chart dated Sept. 2, 1995 (after the list began in August 1958).
According to Guinness World Records, Bing Crosby's "White Christmas" (1942) is the best-selling single worldwide, with estimated sales of over 50 million copies.
The "most played song of all time" depends on the metric, but currently, The Weeknd's "Blinding Lights" is the most-streamed song ever on Spotify (over 5.2 billion streams). For recorded sales before streaming, Bing Crosby's "White Christmas" holds the Guinness World Record for best-selling single, while older, widely covered songs like George Gershwin's "Summertime" might be the most recorded,"Roadie Music" says Roadie Music.
It's a question that has rung out across dancefloors for more than 20 years. The answer, for The Killers' Mr Brightside, lies in breaking chart records... if not actually topping the charts.
#CHUpdates: #MariahCarey's “All I Want for Christmas Is You” returns to No.1 and breaks the all-time record for longest-running No.1 in Hot 100 history — 20 weeks. She first held the record in 1996 with “One Sweet Day” alongside Boyz II Men.
At just 13, Little Stevie Wonder became the youngest artist in the history of Billboard Hot 100 to earn a #1 with his song “Fingertips.” #classic_motown.
But it has some way to go before it catches the longest-running number ones of all time. Longest-running number ones in history: Frankie Laine, I Believe - 18 weeks, 1953. Bryan Adams, (Everything I Do) I Do It For You - 16 weeks, 1991.
The “Hurrian Hymn” is the earliest known song to be recorded in writing, dating to around the 13th century BCE. The text of this hymn is concerned with the promotion of fertility. It refers to the making of offerings and libations to the moon goddess, Nikkal.
They have also issued 47 singles, including two Billboard Hot 100 and three Adult Contemporary number ones. America's best-known song is their 1972 debut single, "A Horse with No Name". It was the lead-off single to their self-titled debut album and became their first number one on the Billboard Hot 100.
The song that takes over 600 years to play is John Cage's composition "Organ²/ASLSP (As Slow as Possible)," currently being performed on a specially built organ in Halberstadt, Germany, from 2001 to 2640, making it the longest musical piece in history. It features extremely long note durations, with chord changes happening over years or even decades, designed to stretch the piece out for 639 years.
“Stay” by Maurice Williams & The Zodiacs (USA) reached No. 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 singles chart on 21 November 1960. Lasting just 1 minute 38 seconds, it is the shortest of the 1,183 songs that have made it to No. 1 in the Hot 100 era to date (4 August 1958 to 11 October 2025).
A well-known 23-minute song is Pink Floyd's "Echoes," from their 1971 album Meddle, taking up an entire side of the original LP; other long tracks include Genesis' "Supper's Ready" (22:54) and Rush's "2112" (20:34), while modern artists also have long pieces like Black Emperor's "Mladic" or Sufjan Stevens' "Impossible Soul".
There's no single "number 1 artist of all time" as it's subjective, but Leonardo da Vinci often tops lists for visual art due to masterpieces like the Mona Lisa, while The Beatles are frequently cited as the best-selling music group ever, and Michael Jackson or Elvis Presley are often named as top solo music artists by sales and influence. Modern metrics like Spotify streams point to artists like Bad Bunny or Taylor Swift for recent dominance.
There's no single "song everyone knows," but universally recognized hits include holiday tunes like "Happy Birthday," timeless classics like Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" and Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You", and modern anthems like The Weeknd's "Blinding Lights" and Ed Sheeran's "Shape of You". Pop hits such as ABBA's "Mamma Mia", Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" (not in snippet, but implied), Bon Jovi's "Livin' on a Prayer", and Miley Cyrus's "Party in the U.S.A." are also famous for widespread recognition and singalong appeal.
If Ross's solo entries here were combined with those of the Supremes, it would bring her total of number one hits to 18, making her the female artist with the second most total number one hits, after only Mariah Carey with 19.
"Friday" has been widely described as the worst song ever recorded, attracting derision for its lyrical content and heavy use of Auto-Tune.
John Lennon refused to sing lead vocals on his own song, "Good Night," a tender lullaby written for his son Julian, ultimately giving the part to Ringo Starr because he felt it wasn't his style and might be too "soft" for his public image, despite singing it beautifully during teaching sessions, as noted by Paul McCartney, and Far Out Magazine,.
Led Zeppelin
There's only one milestone the band didn't claim over the years: a No. 1 hit single on the Billboard Hot 100. Here's why they never made the Billboard Top 100 list.