Beech Tree News Network

This week, I’ll bring some music facts your way.  Some you may know.  Others you may not.  I was surprised by some.  The Billboard Hot 100 chart began in August 1958.  Michael Jackson’s “You Are Not Alone” was the first song to debut at #1 on the chart, appearing September 2, 1995.  The song was the second single from Jackson’s album HIStory: Past, Present and Future: Book I.  It always irked me that there was never a Book II.  Jackson’s feat happened nearly four decades after the chart’s inception.  The Beatles have the most #1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 with 20.  What’s more impressive is that these 20 #1’s happened within the 8 short years the group was together!  1962: “Love Me Do”, 1963: “She Loves You” and “I Want To Hold Your Hand” 1964: “Can’t Buy Me Love”, “A Hard Day’s Night”, “I Feel Fine”. 1965: “Eight Days A Week”, “Ticket To Ride”, “Help!”, “Yesterday” and “We Can Work It Out”.  1966: “Paperback Writer”.  1967: “Penny Lane”, “All You Need Is Love” and “Hello, Goodbye”.  1968: “Hey Jude”.  1969: “Get Back” and “Something” and 1970: “Let It Be” and their final single “The Long and Winding Road”.  The Beatles also have the most #1 hits on the Billboard 200, with 19, for a total of 39 #1 hits across both charts.  They’ve had the most since 1965, when they surpassed Elvis Presley, who scored 7 #1’s in the Hot 100 era. 

As of January 7, 2025, Lady Gaga has become the third artist to have multiple #1’s in three different decades.  Can you name them? “Die With a Smile” is Lady Gaga’s sixth #1 hit.  She first topped the chart with the one-two punch of “Just Dance” and “Poker Face” in 2009.  She returned to the #1 spot with 2011’s “Born This Way”, the 2019 duet with Bradley Cooper, “Shallow” and the Ariana Grande collab “Rain On Me”.  The only other artists to score at least two #1 hits per decade across three decades are Michael Jackson(‘70’s, ‘80’s and ‘90’s) and sister Janet(‘80’s, ‘90’s, ‘10’s). 

I’ll end the week with a song released in 1989(36 years ago).    I’ll first give you time to get over the shock that 1989 was 36 years ago.  Are we good? Okay, let’s roll.  A list song, “We Didn’t Start The Fire” by Billy Joel includes a series of brief references to 119 significant political, cultural, scientific and sporting events between 1949(Joel’s birth year) and 1989(when the song was released) in chronological order.  Of the 119 people mentioned in the song, only Brigitte Bardot, Bob Dylan, Chubby Checker and Bernhard (Bernie) Goetz are still with us. 

No vlog this week so no link.  I’ll be right back here next week!