The 10 most-heard songs of the 20th century
Some songs are so deeply embedded in our culture that they feel like they’ve always been with us, perhaps even before we were born. You might not know the artist, or even all the lyrics, but you still know the song. That kind of universal familiarity is what we mean when we talk about the idea of a global songbook.
While every country has their own mega hits, like ‘Wonderwall’ to the UK is what ‘Nutbush City Limits’ is to Australia, there are songs that transcend all of that, wherein you could walk into any crowded pub around the world, start singing the tune, and voices will join in. For proof, simply go to any crowd, any gaggle of football fans, and start singing ‘Hey Jude’, and I’d bet you only make it one or two reprieves in before everyone is joining for the “na na na na-s”.
The mystery, though, is how a song graduates to that mythical level: sometimes it comes down to the cultural moment with a song that captures the zeitgeist so intensely that its grip never really fades, but most of the time, it’s exposure. When a song is such a hit that it’s played on repeat, it gets implanted in your brain, and if the song is genuinely catchy, it never fades, but then if it’s also just broadly good and beloved, even decades later, radio stations and party DJs will still be hitting play on an old faithful.
This means that some songs are kept ever-present, front and centre of the public mind, to which we can all still sing along because, really, too much time doesn’t pass between listens, which serves as a constant refresher. Broadcast Music Inc (BMI) did research on exactly this by looking through the stats from the entirety of the 20th century and pulling a list of the most heard songs, played on repeat to a truly mind-boggling extent.
The most insane stat naturally belongs to the number one spot, which is occupied by Barry Mann, Phil Spector, and Cynthia Weil’s ‘You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling’, and it’s a perfect example. You might not instantly be able to sing the tune off the top of your head, but hit play on The Righteous Brothers’ original recording, and you definitely know it.
You know it because, all in all, the song has been played for an equivalent of 45 years of back-to-back repeats since its release in 1964, racking up eight million performances, and considering its length, it means that the world has been listening to the song for years.
The rest of the top ten list includes all the classics, which sees ‘Never My Love’ coming in second place, thanks to the looming popularity of The Association’s cover, The Beatles’ ‘Yesterday’ taking the number three spot as one of the most well-known and well-loved songs ever written, as well as the most covered, standing testament to how many people have heard and been inspired by it.
Ben E King’s ‘Stand By Me’ sits at fourth place as another well-known track that has been covered again and again, adding to the number of times people have heard that track, as well as having over seven million airplays. Also on the list are hits from Simon & Garfunkel, the ever-joyous tune ‘Can’t Take My Eyes off You’, and easy listening picks like Otis Redding’s ‘(Sitting on) The Dock of the Bay’.
This definitive list of some of the best-known songs in modern history is proof of the fact that repetition works; if you hear the same song enough, you’ll never escape the sing-along.
The top 10 most-heard songs of the 20th century:
- The Righteous Brothers – ‘You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling’
- Donald & Richard Addrisi – ‘Never My Love’
- The Beatles – ‘Yesterday’
- Ben E King – ‘Stand By Me’
- Frankie Valli – ‘Can’t Take My Eyes off You’
- Otis Redding – ‘(Sitting on) The Dock of the Bay’
- Simon and Garfunkel – ‘Mrs Robinson’
- Four Tops – ‘Baby, I Need Your Loving’
- The Cascades – ‘Rhythm of the Rain’
- Hoagy Carmichael – ‘Georgia on My Mind’
