The oldest known song in the world is the Hurrian Hymn to Nikkal, a hymn to the goddess Nikkal, discovered on cuneiform tablets in ancient Ugarit (modern-day Syria) and dating back to approximately 1400 BCE, making it nearly 3,400 years old. While other older fragments exist, this anonymous hymn is the most complete piece of ancient notated music, containing lyrics, musical notation, and tuning instructions for a Babylonian lyre, allowing scholars to reconstruct and perform it today.
There's no single "number one song of all time" as it depends on the criteria (sales, streams, cultural impact, critics' choice), but top contenders include The Weeknd's "Blinding Lights" (most streamed on Spotify), Bob Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone" (Rolling Stone's pick for greatest), and songs like The Beatles' "Yesterday", Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas Is You", or Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean" often cited for massive sales, charts, or influence.
"You Are Not Alone" was the first song in history to debut at number one on the Billboard Hot 100.
Known as the world's oldest playable song, the “Hurrian Hymn No. 6” was discovered by archaeologists in the 1950s among the ruins of the ancient city of Ugarit, in what is now modern-day Syria.
It's impossible to name who composed the first song. But what was the first song “written?” The first song ever notated (to our limited knowledge of history) was the “Hurrian Hymn.” Discovered in 1950, 3,400 years after its debut on the ancient clay charts from the 13th Century BC.
Nikkal is a Goddess of Fruits, honored by the Hittites and Canaanites. She derives from the Sumerian Ningal, wife of the Moon God and mother of Inanna; as Nikkal, She is also the wife of the Moon God. She was known in Egypt as a healer. She is shown here with a lap full of fruits, before a date-palm tree.
This is one of the oldest songs ever discovered, known as the Hurrian Hymn No. 6. It was found on a clay tablet in the ancient Syrian city of Ugarit, dating back over 3,400 years to around 1400 B.C. Written in the Hurrian language, the tablet contains both lyrics and musical notation intended for a nine-string lyre.
Patty Hill was a kindergarten principal in Louisville, Kentucky, developing teaching methods at the Little Loomhouse; her sister Mildred was a pianist and composer. The sisters used "Good Morning to All" as a song that young children would find easy to sing.
There's no way to know the first song ever made, but the oldest surviving piece of music with notation is the Hurrian Hymn No. 6, an ode to the goddess Nikkal, written in cuneiform on clay tablets around 1400 BCE in ancient Ugarit (modern-day Syria). While older musical instruments (bone flutes from 40,000 years ago) exist, this hymn provides lyrics and instructions for a nine-stringed lyre, making it the earliest substantially complete, interpretable musical composition.
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.
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 Guinness World Records named the holiday single "White Christmas" (1942) by Bing Crosby as the best-selling single worldwide. According to Guinness, "White Christmas" sold over 50 million copies. The single is known as the "best-selling single of all time".
Martin has written the second-most number-one singles on the chart, behind only Paul McCartney (32), having surpassed John Lennon (26) with his 27th number one in March 2024. Many of Martin's hits were used in the 2019 jukebox musical & Juliet.
The Church does not have a doctrine on birthdays, for or against. We are aware of the claim that celebrating them has pagan roots but not aware of proof for that claim. It is certain that birthdays were noted in Bible times, for that's the means of telling a person's age.
The Police's song that was the number one hit of 1983 was "Every Breath You Take," topping the Wikipedia chart and becoming the biggest US and UK hit of the year, staying at #1 on the Billboard for eight weeks.
Gen Z uses a mix of acronyms like HBD, gaming-inspired phrases like "Happy Level Up Day," and current slang like "Slay," "Bet," or adding words like "Rizz" to express birthday wishes, often paired with emojis or memes for a personalized, viral touch, though classic "Happy Birthday" still works.
However, one contender for the title is the "Hurrian Hymn No. 6," also known as the "Hurrian Hymn to Nikkal." This ancient hymn dates back to around 1400 BCE and was discovered in the ancient city of Ugarit, located in modern-day Syria.
The oldest known lullaby is a Babylonian lullaby from around 2000 BC, discovered on a cuneiform clay tablet, which features a somewhat menacing tone, warning the baby about disturbing household gods, unlike the soothing modern versions. Another contender for ancient lullabies is the Welsh song "Dinogad's Smock," from the 7th century, found in a manuscript, which describes the father's hunting prowess.
'Shri Ramcharitmanas' lasts a whopping 138 hours, 41 minutes and 20 seconds. The song is based on the Ramayana, an epic of Hindu poetry in the Awadhi language composed by the 16th-century Indian bhakti poet Tulsidas.
Name and character
Nikkal was derived from the Mesopotamian goddess Ningal (Sumerian: "great lady"), wife of the moon god Nanna. Similarly to deities such as Ea, Damkina, Aya or Pinikir she was introduced from Mesopotamia to Hurrian areas possibly as early as in the third millennium BCE.
Pomona was the goddess of fruit trees, gardens, and orchards. Unlike many other Roman goddesses and gods, she does not have a Greek counterpart, though she is commonly associated with Demeter.
Goddess Nikkal in Hittite's gods community is of Mesopotamia origin. It is understood that the aforementioned goddess is an important Hurri goddess from the Hittite cult texts. This goddess, the wife of Moon God and the mother of Sun God, got her name from Sumerian NIN. GAL's “older sister”.