#1 Songs Of The Past 40 Years
A new year means new music. Who will emerge as 2019’s biggest hitmaker? That remains to be seen. And heard. In the meantime, let’s look back at the #1 songs of the past 40 years.
Every December, Billboard compiles a list of the year’s top hits based on their cumulative chart performance in the U.S. These are the songs that spent the most weeks on the Hot 100 in each given year from 1979 through 2018:
1979: “My Sharona” – The Knack
1980: “Call Me” – Blondie
1981: “Bette Davis Eyes” – Kim Carnes
1982: “Physical” – Olivia Newton-John
1983: “Every Breath You Take” – The Police
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1984: “When Doves Cry” – Prince
1985: “Careless Whisper” – Wham!
1986: “That’s What Friends Are For” – Dionne Warwick, Elton John, Gladys Knight, Stevie Wonder
1987: “Walk Like An Egyptian” – The Bangles
1988: “Faith” – George Michael
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1989: “Look Away” – Chicago
1990: “Hold On” – Wilson Phillips
1991: “(Everything I Do) I Do It For You” – Bryan Adams
1992: “End Of The Road” – Boyz II Men
1993: “I Will Always Love You” – Whitney Houston
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1994: “The Sign” – Ace of Base
1995: “Gangsta’s Paradise” – Coolio
1996: “Macarena (Bayside Boys Mix)” – Los Del Rio
1997: “Something About The Way You Look Tonight/Candle In The Wind 1997” – Elton John
1998: “Too Close” – Next
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1999: “Believe” – Cher
2000: “Breathe” – Faith Hill
2001: “Hanging By A Moment” – Lifehouse
2002: “How You Remind Me” – Nickelback
2003: “In Da Club” – 50 Cent
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2004: “Yeah!” – Usher feat. Lil Jon and Ludacris
2005: “We Belong Together” – Mariah Carey
2006: “Bad Day” – Daniel Powter
2007: “Irreplaceable” – Beyonce
2008: “Low” – Flo Rida feat. T-Pain
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2009: “Boom Boom Pow” – Black Eyed Peas
2010: “TiK ToK” – Ke$ha
2011: “Rolling In The Deep” – Adele
2012: “Somebody That I Used To Know” – Gotye feat. Kimbra
2013: “Thrift Shop” – Macklemore and Ryan Lewis feat. Wanz
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2014: “Happy” – Pharrell Williams
2015: “Uptown Funk” – Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars
2016: “Love Yourself” – Justin Bieber
2017: “Shape Of You” – Ed Sheeran
2018: “God’s Plan” – Drake
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