Mariah has most Billboard No. 1

Rick Nelson’s Poor Little Fool was the first on Aug. 4, 1958. Mariah Carey has spent the most weeks in No. 1. Go Away Little Girl was a hit twice over, the first time by Steve Lawrence and the second time by Donny Osmond. And Elvis Presley had, or maybe I should say has, because the departed King of Rock ’n Roll still manages to come up with hit singles from time to time, the most number of hits in the Hot 100.

I learned all these while browsing Billboard Magazine on-line and finding out that the Hot 100 list turned 50 years old this month. Billboard devised this way of tracking singles movement in the stores and radio stations to give the music industry a clear picture about market trends. Since then it has evolved into one of the most watched tabulations all over the world. You may live in Timbuktu or the Antarctic but if you like pop music you must surely have taken note of what tunes are on the list at one time or another. And if you work in the music industry or in a related field, then no week passes by without your checking out the Hot 100.

So time now to get a recap of all those items you have been reading about and of course listening to for half a century. The people at Billboard have compiled statistics about the top-notchers in assorted categories, all of which pertain to the Hot 100. Some should be taken seriously. The Beatles and not Mariah have the most No. 1 songs. And that Elvis might have more than anybody, but most of his hits happened in the pre-Hot 100 era.

Other lists merely amuse. Creedence Clearwater Revival of Proud Mary fame, had the most No. 2’s without reaching No. 1. But no matter, reading the list feels like entering a music museum and finding all those treasures properly catalogued and well-preserved. Take a look at some of those who made the grade.

Artists who spent the most weeks in No. 1: Mariah Carey with 79 weeks. Her One Sweet Day with Boyz 2 Men was No. 1 for 16 weeks: The Beatles with 59 weeks with Hey Jude a No. 1 for nine weeks; Boyz 2 Men with 50 weeks, 16 of them with One Sweet Day with Mariah.

Artists with the most songs in the Hot 100 not necessarily at No. 1: Elvis Presley with 108. His first was Hard Headed Woman for four weeks in 1958; James Brown with 89 starting with Try Me for 48 weeks in 1958; Aretha Franklin with 73 beginning with Won’t be Long for 76 weeks in 1961.

Artists with the most No. 2’s but without reaching No. 1: Creedence Clearwater Revival with five; Blood, Sweat & Tears with three; and En Vogue also with three.

Songs with the most weeks in the Hot 100 without reaching No. 1: Waiting for a Girl Like You by Foreigner for 10 weeks; Work It by Missy Elliot also for 10 weeks; and I Love You Forever by Donna Lewis with nine.

Different songs with the same titles that reached No. 1: All for Love by Color Me Badd in 1992 and by Bryan Adams, Sting and Rod Stewart in 1994; Best of My Love by the Eagles in 1975 and by the Emotions in 1977; Big Girls Don’t Cry by the Four Seasons in 1962 and Fergie in 2007.

Same songs that made No. 1 twice by different artists: Go Away Little Girl by Steve Lawrence in 1963 and Donny Osmond in 1971; I’ll Be There by the Jackson 5 in 1970 and Mariah Carey in 1992; and Lady Marmalade by LaBelle in 1975 and Christina Aguilera, Lil Kim, Mya and Pink in 2001.

Most No. 1’s by an artist: the Beatles with 20 starting with I Wanna Hold Your Hand in 1964; Mariah Carey with 18 beginning with Visions of Love in 1990; and Michael Jackson with 13 starting with Ben in 1972.

This is as far as the lists go for now. Billboard promises to add more every week until the special Hot 100 anniversary issue comes out. Next week will have the One Hit Wonders with songs and artists who made No. 1 once and never again and the songs that spent the most weeks spent in No. 1.