Last week, we began our look at the titles that keep returning to the charts, with varying compositions, from the 1950s on.
This week, we’re counting down Numbers 30 to 21…
And there are several ties!
30. TIE! “Goodbye.” Its opposite, “Hello,” came in at No. 54 on the strength of No. 1 hits by Adele and Lionel Richie. Seven compositions share this parting greeting, including songs by the Spice Girls, Tevin Campbell, and Kristinia Debarge’s fun riff on the Steam classic.
Still, the sentimental side of me gives the nod to Night Ranger’s 1986 rock ballad.
And also tied at Number 30:“Dynamite.” Chart hits from Jermaine Jackson and “Little Miss Dynamite” herself, Brenda Lee, laid the groundwork. But the past decade brought monster hits with this title from Taio Cruz…
And, most recently, BTS. I have to admit, the latter is amazingly catchy.
29. “Beautiful.” Another title belonging to a wildly disparate set of artists, including four sets of collaborations. But it’s one of the two solos that stands out to me:
Christina Aguilera’s ballad that makes the best use of her melismatic tendencies. (The other solo, by the way, belongs to Gordon Lightfoot, not known for melisma.)
28. “My Love.” Three different No. 1’s – from Petula Clark in 1966, Paul McCartney & Wings seven years later, and Justin Timberlake and T.I. in 2006 – fuel this set.
But Lionel Richie’s countrified ballad from 1983 beats them all in my book.
27. TIE! “Because of You.” Of the five songs with this title, three of them rank about the same to me.
But Kelly Clarkson’s 2005 track takes precedence, largely because Clarkson’s wounded performance matches its lyrical sharpness.
And tied, also at Number 27: “Don’t.”
Two long chart runs – from Bryson Tiller (34 weeks) and Ed Sheeran (36) – power this title to this spot.
Billy Currington and Elvis Presley also recorded compositions with this title that had 20-week runs.
26. “Real Love.” A few serious contenders here among the eight songs that share this title – Jody Watley from 1989, and The Doobie Brothers from 1980.
But no one can really match Mary J. Blige’s Top 10 breakout from 1992.
25. “Tell Me.” A popular R&B title, with four of its six compositions crossing over from the R&B charts in the ’90s and ‘00s.
Of those, I’ll go with Groove Theory’s track from 1995.
24. TIE! “Love Song.” Of the five chart hits with this title, there’s something for practically everyone: The Cure, Tesla, Anne Murray, Tommy James.
I’m going to go with the 2008 AC behemoth from Sara Bareilles.
(The established guidelines get blurry here, as there’s evidence of the Cure’s tune being both “Lovesong” and “Love Song,” and evidence of the Murray hit being “Love Song” and “A Love Song.” Because I can find label evidence of each composition as “Love Song,” both will count.)
And also at Number 24: “Dance With Me.” I liked both Top 10 songs from the ’70s with this title about the same, though they’re quite different: Orleans’ light AC shuffle from 1975…
…and Peter Brown’s disco stomper of three years later.
23. “Photograph.” Five hits share this title. I’m in the minority when it comes to the Nickelback hit (that is, I like it), but it’s still third:
Behind Ringo Starr’s No. 1 from 1973 and Def Leppard’s 1983 rocker. I’d shift between either of those depending on the day.
22. “I Wish.” Of the seven songs with this title…
…None really comes close to dethroning Stevie Wonder’s 1977 No. 1. (Gabrielle’s 1994 song is pleasant, though.)
21. TIE! “Thinking of You.” None of these songs was a particularly big smash.
But Sa-Fire’s 1989 contemplative rock ballad was a pleasant surprise (coming from a freestyle dance artist) and is the song with that title I remember the most.
And also at Number 21: “Hero.” Of the songs with this title, I’d probably listen to either of the hit duets…
…David Crosby and Phil Collins from 1993, or Chad Kroeger and Josey Scott from 2002) before same-titled solo hits from Mariah Carey and Enrique Iglesias.
On the R&B chart, Gladys Knight and the Pips had a hit with this title but it missed the Hot 100. Still, it wasn’t gone forever. It would go to No. 1 for Bette Midler until the title “Wind Beneath My Wings.”
Here’s a Spotify collection of tunes from this week (sorry, Sa-Fire fans: “Thinking of You” isn’t on Spotify):
Next week: Into the Top 20 we go!
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I have to admit, I didn’t know many of these songs, but still lots to chew on here. There is a slight chance I could pick Sara over The Cure, and I say slight, but it always bothered me that she spent a whole song telling someone (her record label specifically) why she wasn’t going to write a song for them. Sure, it’s different than what they asked for, but she technically still wrote a song for them, so who really won there?
Our tastes diverge greatly on Photograph, as you saw coming. The Nickelback song annoys me to no end. Def Lep all the way!
Was initially surprised you didn’t mention the Beatles on Real Love, but then I remembered that it’s not that great, so maybe not.
If only Rufus didn’t leave the “h” off on Dance Wit Me. That is a colossal banger.
Yeah, no one is going to top Stevie. Like jersey numbers in sports, some song titles should have been retired, never to be used again.
Maybe that’s why my original composition “Bohemian Rhapsody” never really took off.
😶
I would very much like to hear that.
A lot of good music today! I was happiest to see the David Crosby/Phil Collins collaboration “Hero”, which I feel is a forgotten little song.
I’m no Nickelback fan, but if “Photograph” comes on, I don’t mind. I feel like it’s a legitimately good song to me. But there’s so much love for Def Leppard’s song. There’s a lot of great pre-chorus in that tune.
Fun stuff!
Was Skee-lo on the “I Wish” list? That’s the definitive one for my generation.
Some non-hits with the same names that come to mind:
“Love Song” by The Damned
“Hero” by Neu!
“Dynamite” by The dBs
“Real Love” by Swans
“Thinking of You” by Marissa Nadler
“Because of You” by Glaxo Babies
“Photograph” by Gary Numan
“Beautiful” by Belle & Sebastiane
“Dance With Me” by John Foxx
“Tell Me” by Galaxie 500
“Goodbye” by Pere Ubu
And…can’t think of any for “I Wish” and “My Lover.” Best I can do is “Wish” by NIN and “Oh My Lover” by PJ Harvey. Ah well…
Yes, Skee-lo’s “I Wish” is on the list. You’ll find it in the Spotify playlist.
Skee Lo was the first name to my mind when I saw I Wish. Couldn’t have named any others til Chuck pointed them out. Though in retrospect Stevie might just have the edge on that one.
I’m amazed Dynamite ranked so highly without Tony Camillo’s Bazuka
BTS did the trick!
Chuck, I have to say…
mt’s Photoshopping of you onto Gene Rayburn is a bit disturbing! You look better without the 70s hairstyle!!!
I owned Sa-Fire’s 45, it was fantastic!
Winners for each title:
“Goodbye” – Nightranger (that album is chock full o’hits!)
“Dynamite” – BTS
“Beautiful” – Snoop/Pharell
“My Love” – Wings
“Because of You” – Ne-Yo…maybe?
“Don’t” – Elvis
“Real Love” – Jodi Watley (though Blige’s is probably a better song, but Watley was one of my favorite artists back in the day)
“Tell Me” – Girl Ray (never charted, so I broke the rules)
“Love Song” – Tesla
“Dance With Me” – Ra Ra Riot (in the words of Britney, oops…I did it again)
“Photograph” – Def Leppard (we didn’t have MTV when they’d do their “Friday Night Fights” between songs, so we’d go over to the McDermotts, motorcycling friends of my parents. They had a cute daughter, Cindy, and we’d watch “Photograph” win week after week after week…
“I Wish” – Skee-Lo (remember Facebook, circa 2007? We could post a quote on my biography page, and I used Skee-Lo’s lyrics here)
“Thinking of You” – Sa-Fire (is it on Spotify? I couldn’t find it)
“Hero” – N/A
For “Hero” it’s Enrique all the way for me. It’s a sappy ballad but he sells it by being hammy in just the right amount.
Does the fact Goodbye ranks higher than Hello indicate people prefer the sad song pessimism of something ending rather than the optimism of a new start?
The extra ‘-ee’ disqualifies it but the lunacy of their Goodbye-ee was a #18 hit in 1965 for Dudley Moore and Peter Cook.
https://youtu.be/AHfIdJx-bLY?feature=shared
Why is Bryson Tiller’s modern classic near the end of the playlist lol
Winners for each title:
“Goodbye” – Nellie Melba
“Dynamite” – Brenda Lee
“Beautiful” – Youngbloods
“My Love” – Bing Crosby
“Because Of You” – Larry Clinton
“Don’t” – Elvis Presley
“Real Love” – Ruby Murray
“Tell Me” – Al Jolson
“Love Song” – Tommy James & the Shondells
“Dance With Me” – Drifters
“Photograph” – Ringo Starr
“I Wish” – Mills Brothers
“Thinking Of You” – Ruth Etting
“Hero” – David Crosby
I wonder if it’s an indictment of myself that I only know one of these (Ringo)
Probably just a sign that you don’t know older music very well. The David Crosby song is the only one more recent than Ringo. Some are over 100 years old!