Number 1 Hits Trivia
1. Buddy Holly was the first artist to have a posthumous number one when ‘It Doesn’t Matter Anymore’ topped the charts in April 1959.
2. ‘Little Red Rooster’ by The Rolling Stones is the only blues song to reach the top of the British chart.
3. American drummer and session musician Hal Blaine has played on 40 number one hit singles including hits for Elvis Presley, Simon & Garfunkel, The Carpenters, The Beach Boys and The Monkees.
4. Paul McCartney has scored 25 number ones as a member of The Beatles, Wings and a solo artist.
5. ‘Something’ Stupid’ by Frank Sinatra and his daughter Nancy Sinatra is the first and only instance of a father-daughter number-one song in America.
6. The Bee Gees number one hit ‘I’ve Gotta Get A Message To You’ is about a man who, awaiting his execution in the electric chair, begs the prison chaplain to pass a final message on to his wife.
7. Roger Miller recalled that his number one hit ‘King Of The Road’ was inspired when he saw a sign on the side of a barn that read, ‘Trailers for sale or rent’. This would become the opening line of the song.
8. The first single to reach number one by downloads only on the UK charts was Gnarls Barkley’s ‘Crazy’ in early 2006.
9. In 2012, Psy became the first South Korean musician to score a UK number one with ‘Gangnam Style’.
10. Troggs singer Reg Presely who wrote the song ‘Love Is All Around’ (15 weeks at number for Wet Wet Wet) used his royalties to fund research subjects such as alien spacecraft, lost civilisations and crop circles.
11. During live performances British singer Arthur Brown performed his 1968 number one hit ‘Fire’ wearing a burning helmet with a metal dish that held lighter fluid.
12. ‘I’d Do Anything For Love (But I Wont Do That)’ by Meat Loaf reached number one in 28 countries.
13. Mouldy Old Dough by Lieutenant Pigeon is the only British number one single to feature a mother and son on the track.
14. ‘Don’t Go Breaking My Heart’ by Elton John & Kiki Dee was originally intended to be a duet with Dusty Springfield.
15. The record for the longest wait from an artist’s US debut entry to its first number one belongs to Santana, with 30 years between their first hit with ‘Jingo’ (1969) and ‘Smooth,’ featuring Rob Thomas in 1999.
16. In 1986 Falco became the first German artist to score a UK number one with ‘Rock Me Amadeus’.
17. On 26 May 1962, ‘Stranger on the Shore’ by Mr. Acker Bilk became the first British artist to reach number one on the US.
18. George Harrison originally gave his song ‘My Sweet Lord’ to his fellow Apple Records artist Billy Preston to record.
19. The oldest female solo artist to have a number 1 single is Cher, who was 52 when her single ‘Believe’ reached number 1.
20. The longest playing time for a UK number one is the 1998 ‘All Around the World’ by Oasis at 9:38.
21. The Beatles scored a record breaking 20 number one singles on the US charts.
22. In 1995 Michael Jackson became the first artist to debut a single at number one when ‘You Are Not Alone’ enter the charts in pole position.
23. The 2024 single ‘Texas Hold ‘Em’ by Beyoncé was a groundbreaking success and marked several historical achievements. It debuted at No.1 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs, making Beyoncé the first Black woman to reach No.1. and Beyoncé became the first black female artist in the chart’s history to top the Billboard chart with a country song.
24. Brenda Lee is the oldest artist ever to top the Hot 100 at the age of 79 with ‘Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree’. The song also set the record for the longest period of time between an original release and its topping the Hot 100 (65 years).
25. ‘A Bar Song (Tipsy)’ by Shaboozey tied with ‘Old Town Road’ by rapper Lil Nas Xas as the longest-running No.1 song of all time on the US Billboard Hot 100 with 19 weeks at the top of the chart, the most for a song by a solo artist.
