Songs That Were Famous the Year You Were Born

Since 1958 Billboard rankings provided music fans with a record of the biggest hits each year with its Hot 100 list. While some tunes might get the feet tapping others might bring back long lost memories. Check out which songs became the most popular the year you were born.

2018: DRAKE - "GOD'S PLAN"

After Drake's song "One Dance" became a big hit in 2016, he made it to the top spot with the release of "God's Plan" in 2018, the following year he got awarded Best Rap Song at the Grammys.

2017: ED SHEERAN - "SHAPE OF YOU"

Ed Sheeran scored his first top-ranking song on the Hot 100 list with "Shape of You," which stayed at No. 1 for twelve weeks, deservingly the Billboard Hot 100 song of the year.

Apart from the song regularly being played everywhere, it set an impressive record as the song that spent the most weeks, 33 in total, in the Top 10.

2016: THE CHAINSMOKERS FEATURING HALSEY - "CLOSER"

The Chainsmokers' song "Closer" became a huge success. Not only did it spend twelve weeks at the No. 1 spot, but it also got three Billboard Music Awards, among others.

2015: MARK RONSON FEATURING BRUNO MARS - "UPTOWN FUNK!"

While it's not the first time Bruno Mars and Mark Ronson collaborated, their song "Uptown Funk!" became a huge hit.

2014: MEGHAN TRAINOR - "ALL ABOUT THAT BASS"

Meghan Trainor got the feet moving with her song, "All About That Bass," which rocketed to the Top of the Hot 100 list. The son remained in the top 10 for twenty-five weeks and received to Grammy nominations the following year.

2013: ROBIN THICKE FEATURING T.I. & PHARRELL - "BLURRED LINES"

From the lyrics to the song's music video, "Blurred Lines" became a hugely controversial song which marked R&B singer, Robin Thicke's cross-over into pop music. Nonetheless, it became the biggest hit of 2013.

2012: GOTYE FEATURING KIMBRA - "SOMEBODY THAT I USED TO KNOW"

With a little bit of soul and its relatability, the breakup song "Somebody That I Used To Know" kept its No. 1 spot for eight weeks. Later the song won two Grammy Awards, including Record of the Year.

2011: LMFAO FEATURING LAUREN BENNETT & GOONROCK - "PARTY ROCK ANTHEM"

When SkyBlue and RedFoo came together to form LMFAO, they released a string of hits that got people dancing since 2006, with "Party Rock Anthem" their biggest hit to date.

2010: KE$HA - "TIK TOK"

Being Ke$ha's first solo single, "Tik Tok" went straight to the No. 1 spot. She may have brushed her teeth with a bottle of Jack, but it's others who got drunk dancing to her song.

2009: THE BLACK EYED PEAS - "I GOTTA FEELING"

Feeling good all the way to the top, The Black Eyed Peas released "I Gotta Feeling" on the heels of their previous hit "Boom Boom Pow" with even bigger success, as the group dominated 2009 with their feel-good, upbeat songs.

2008: FLO RIDA FEATURING T-PAIN - "LOW"

As the American rapper's debut single, "Low" featured on the soundtrack of the 2008 film, "Step Up 2: The Streets," and became a massive hit that had everyone dropping to the floor.

2007: ALICIA KEYS - "NO ONE"

From Alica Keys' third studio album As I Am, came her power ballad "No One," which also earned her two Grammy awards.

2006: BEYONCE - "IRREPLACEABLE"

Beyonce didn't miss a beat after Destiny's Child split up in 2005, even though there had been talks of a reunion. The following year her song "Irreplaceable" quickly rose to the top spot while Beyonce later performed the song live at the American Music Awards.

2005: MARIAH CAREY - "WE BELONG TOGETHER"

Having been without hit songs for a few years, Mariah made what Billboard called the "grandest comeback of her career" with "We Belong Together," a song she knew would make it big. Mariah stole the show when she performed her hit at a Music Festival in Las Vegas in 2018.

2004: USHER FEATURING LIL JON & LUDACRIS - "YEAH!"

Usher struck gold with the release of "Yeah!" from his fourth studio album, Confessions. It became the longest-running No. 1 single and got dethroned by another one of his singles, "Burn" after twelve weeks.

The song also featured on television series including "Getaway" and "House," while it also famously appeared in the Will Smith movie "Hitch," "The Interview," and "The Hangover."

2003: OUTKAST - "HEY YA!"

From their fifth album, Speakerboxxx/The Love Below, "Hey Ya!" became a huge commercial success. Since it gave rise to the famous phrase "shake it like a Polaroid picture," the Polaroid Corporation used the song to change the way the public related to their products.

2002: NELLY FEATURING KELLY ROWLAND - "DILEMMA"

The song about forbidden love not only became reached the top spot in 2002 but also got named by Billboard Hot 100 Songs of the Decade as the eleventh best song from 2000 until 2009.

2001: NICKELBACK - "HOW YOU REMIND ME"

Nickelback rocked 2001 with their massive hit "How You Remind Me," even though it became their only song to reach No. 1, other songs like "Too Bad" and "Never Again" from the album, Silver Side Up, also became popular.

2000: SANTANA FEATURING THE PRODUCT G&B - "MARIA MARIA"

With a Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals for Santana's performance of "Maria Maria," the song have since become somewhat of a classic that has been sampled by several artists, including Marc Anthony and DJ Kaled.

1999: SANTANA FEATURING ROB THOMAS - "SMOOTH"

Not only did "Smooth" top the Billboard Hot 100 for 12 weeks, but it also became the only song to appear on two decade-end Billboard charts. The song became the 1990s final No. 1 hit and the first number No. 1 single of the 2000s.

1998: NEXT - "TOO CLOSE"

As the R&B trio's only No. 1 hit, "Too Close" became the producer, Ray Ruffin's first No. 1 single in the UK when the boy band Blue released a cover version of the song in 2001.

1997: LEANN RIMES - "HOW DO I LIVE"

The country/pop ballad came shortly after LeAnn Rimes won a Grammy for Best New Artist. While the song also got nominated for a Grammy in 1997, it became Tricia Yearwood's version the following year that snagged an award.

1996: LOS DEL RIO - "MACARENA"

Los Del Rio got their inspiration for the "Macarena" from a dancer named Diana Patricia Cubilla. The song's release took the world by storm, and soon the new dance became a fun new thing for anyone who enjoyed shaking their booty.

1995: MARIAH CAREY AND BOYZ II MEN - "ONE SWEET DAY"

"One Sweet Day" became one sweet year for Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men, who wrote the song together about specific people in their lives.

Inspired by those who have AIDS, the song tells the tale of losing a loved one but finally able to see them in heaven. The song kept the record as the longest-running No.1 song for 23 years, as it spent 16 weeks in the top spot of the Billboard Hot 100 in the US.

1994: BOYS II MEN - "I'LL MAKE LOVE TO YOU"

With their smooth harmonies and seductive lyrics, Boys II Men had their biggest hit with "I'll Make Love To You." The single spent 14 weeks at No. 1 and became one of two singles from Boys II Men that spent over ten weeks on top, the other song being "End of the Road."

1993: TAG TEAM - "WHOOMP (THERE IT IS)"

While the song never reached the top of the Billboard charts throughout the year, it nevertheless became the song of the year, a firm favorite to get the joints moving.

1992: WHITNEY HOUSTON - "I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU"

Made for the movie "The Bodyguard," Whitney's song became the ultimate love song at the time that blared over many a teen's stereos.

"I Will Always Love You" set a record when it held steady at the No.1 spot for 14 weeks, and again climbed the charts after Whitney's death in 2012.

1991: BRYAN ADAMS - "(EVERYTHING I DO) I DO IT FOR YOU"

The song featured on the soundtrack of the "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves" movie and became Bryan's most successful song after it sold over 15 million copies worldwide, which also made it one of the best-selling singles of all time.

1990: STEVIE B - "BECAUSE I LOVE YOU (THE POSTMAN SONG)"

While the song deviated from his typical style of music, the ballad became a colossal hit that spent four weeks on the top of the chart.

1989: PHIL COLLINS - "ANOTHER DAY IN PARADISE"

As Phil Collins' seventh and final single at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart, Phil addressed the deeper issue of homelessness through the song "Another Day in Paradise."

Sung from a third-person perspective, Phil saw a man willfully ignore a homeless woman and cautioned listeners not to do the same because "it's just another day for you and me in paradise."

1988: POISON - "EVERY ROSE HAS ITS THORN"

Penning his personal heartbreak into a song had band frontman Bret Michaels create the bands most successful hit.

While sitting in a Dallas laundromat one evening waiting for his clothes to dry, Bret decided to give his girlfriend a call, but when she answered, he heard a male voice in the background. Devastated, Bret went back into the laundromat and wrote, "Every Rose Has Its Thorn."

1987: GEORGE MICHAEL - "FAITH"

From George's debut solo album by the same name, "Faith" spent four weeks at the top of the chart and another nine weeks in the top 10.

1986: DIONNE AND FRIENDS - "THAT'S WHAT FRIENDS ARE FOR"

Originally recorded by Rod Stewart in 1982, the song "That's What Friends Are For" didn't become a major hit until Dionne Warwick decided to cover the song with fellow artists Gladys Knight, Elton John, and Stevie Wonder.

While the song got released as a charity single for AIDS research and prevention. It not only raised over $3 million for the cause but also won Grammy Awards for Song of the Year and Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.

1985: LIONEL RICHIE - "SAY YOU, SAY ME"

Lionel Richie wrote and recorded the song for the movie "White Nights," which went on to win a Golden Globe and an Oscar for best original song.

1984: MADONNA - "LIKE A VIRGIN"

Madonna turned into a sex symbol with the chart-topping hit "Like A Virgin" that somewhat deviated from her previous poppy tunes.

Laced with ambiguous lyrics open to various interpretations, music critics referred to it as her most career-defining song and became her first single to top the charts in the US, Canada, Japan, and Australia.

1983: THE POLICE - "EVERY BREATH YOU TAKE"

The Police's biggest and last hit before they broke up spent eight weeks at No. 1. The song actually refers to an obsessed ex-lover and is not the love song some people perceive it to be.

"I think the song is very, very sinister and ugly and people have actually misinterpreted it as being a gentle little love song when it's quite the opposite," Sting told BBC Radio 2.

1982: SURVIVOR - "EYE OF THE TIGER"

"Eye of The Tiger" became somewhat synonymous with Sylvester Stallone and his film "Rocky III" as its theme song.

The song remained at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart for six weeks in the US and spent another fifteen weeks in the top 10.

1981: OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN - "PHYSICAL"

Donning a leotard and sweatband while attending aerobics class became a thing after Olivia released her hit song "Physical."

As Olivia's biggest American hit, the song kept its No. 1 position for ten weeks. The music video comically depicted Olivia in a tight leotard trying to make overweight men lose weight. When they initially failed, Olivia left to take a shower but found them transformed into hunky muscular men upon her return.

1980: QUEEN - "ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST"

As one of many of Queen's songs to be covered, sampled, and mixed over the years, "Another One Bites The Dust" spent three weeks at No. 1 and another fifteen weeks in the Billboard top 10.

Interestingly enough, the song also got used in a study to train medical professionals. Because the bassline has close to 110 beats per minute, and the British Heart Foundation recommends chest compressions between 100-120 per minute, its a useful tool in learning to provide the correct number of compressions when performing CPR.

1979: DONNA SUMMER - "HOT STUFF"

The upbeat song spent three weeks at the top of the US chart and another fourteen weeks in the top ten while it also rose to No. 1 on the US Dance Club Songs chart.

"Hot Stuff" also made it into the 1997 film "The Full Monty" and the science fiction movie "The Martian" in 2015.

1978: CHIC - "LE FREAK"

As the American R&B band's third single, and the first to reach the top of the charts, it stayed there for seven weeks.

In 2018, the song got selected by the Library of Congress for preservation as being "culturally, historically, or artistically significant."

1977: DEBBY BOONE - "YOU LIGHT UP MY LIFE"

While Kasey Cisyk originally recorded the song as the soundtrack to a film of the same name, Debby recorded the best-known version which set a new record at the time when it stayed on the top of the chart of ten consecutive weeks.

1976: ROD STEWART - "TONIGHT'S THE NIGHT (GONNA BE ALRIGHT)"

As Rod's second chart-topping hit, the song remained on the No. 1 spot for eight weeks. Since then, artists such as Nicky Moore, Anthony Kavanagh, Linda Clifford, and Terry Steele remade the song.

1975: GLEN CAMPBELL - "RHINESTONE COWBOY"

Glen's song became hugely popular among pop and country music fans. While "Rhinestone Cowboy" spent three weeks at the top of the Billboard chart, it climbed the chart again after Glen's death in August 2017 and reached No. 12 on the Country Digital Song chart.

1974: BARBRA STREISAND - "THE WAY WE WERE"

As part of Barbra's fifteenth studio album, "The Way We Were" spent only three weeks on top of the chart but remained on Billboard's Hot 100 chart for 23 consecutive weeks.

1973: MARVIN GAYE - "LET'S GET IT ON"

Being the soul musician's most successful single for Motown, and one of his most well-known songs, "Let's Get It On" spent a total of thirteen weeks on the Billboard Hot 100's top ten and two weeks at No. 1.

1972: GILBERT O'SULLIVAN - "ALONE AGAIN (NATURALLY)"

The Irish-English singer/songwriter had big success with the introspective ballad. While the song remained at the top of the chart for 6 weeks, it got ranked the fifth most popular song of the decade.

1971: THREE DOG NIGHT - "JOY TO THE WORLD"

Jeremiah may have been a bullfrog, but apart from this epic song, Three Dog Night is also responsible for two other classics, "Black & White" and "Mama Told Me (Not To Come)."

The song received Gold status from the Recording Industry Association of America less than two months after its release and later got nominated for a Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo Or Group.

1970: B.J. THOMAS - "RAINDROPS KEEP FALLIN' ON MY HEAD"

Specially written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David for the 1969 movie "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," the song won an Oscar as Best Original Song and spent four weeks at the top of the chart.

1969: THE 5TH DIMENSION - "AQUARIUS/LET THE SUNSHINE IN"

Having spent six weeks at No. 1, the two-song medley went on to receive Grammy's for both Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Group and Record of the Year.

1968: THE BEATLES - "HEY JUDE"

With a whopping nine-week consecutive run at the top of the chart, the iconic song "Hey Jude" became the top-selling single in the US, Canada, UK, and Australia.

Paul McCartney originally wrote a ballad titled "Hey Jules" to comfort John Lennon's son, Julian after John left his mother for Yoko Ono, which evolved into "Hey Jude."

1967: LULU - "TO SIR WITH LOVE"

Written by Don Black and Mark London, the song is the theme to the James Clavell film with the same name. The song ranked No. 1 for five weeks and became the best selling song for 1967.

British pop singer Lulu climbed the charts for her song that bore the same title as the 1967 film To Sir, With Love. We heard the song most recently in January 2017, when Saturday Night Live's Cecily Strong and Sasheer Zamata bid farewell to President Barack Obama.

1966: THE MONKEES - "I'M A BELIEVER"

The Monkees covered and released "I'm A Believer" after Neil Diamond had already recorded the song. They had great success with the song, which even played at Ibrox Stadium every time Marvin Andrews won Man of the Match or scored for the Rangers.

1965: THE ROLLING STONES - "(I CAN'T GET NO) SATISFACTION"

The song gave the English rock band their first No. 1 single in the US. Keith Richards actually wrote the song and recorded a rough version thereof in his sleep without knowing.

When he came across and listened to the recording the following morning, it featured roughly two minutes of acoustic guitar before he snored for the next forty minutes.

1964: THE BEATLES - "I WANT TO HOLD YOUR HAND"

While the song remained on the Billboard chart for fifteen weeks, it became the British band's best selling song of all time having sold over 12 million copies.

1963: JIMMY GILMER THE FIREBALLS - "SUGAR SHACK"

The popular song, written by Keith McCormack came to life after he asked his aunt, Faye Voss what "those tight pants are that girls wear" to which she said "leotards."

1962: RAY CHARLES - "I CAN'T STOP LOVING YOU"

Originally written and composed by country musician Don Gibson for RCA Victor Records in 1957, Ray Charles' cover of the song in 1962 became hugely successful and stayed at the top of the Billboard chart of five weeks.

1961: BOBBY LEWIS - "TOSSIN' AND TURNIN'"

Ranked by Billboard Magazine as the 27th greatest song of all time that charted on the Hot 100, the single spent seven weeks at the top and also featured in the 1978 film "Animal House."

1960: CHUBBY CHECKER - "THE TWIST"

The song makes "The Twist" irresistible to do, even if you have no clue how to do it. By early 1962, the twist dance craze had even caught on in high society and made hit hugely popular with youngsters and adults alike.

1959: BOBBY DARIN - "MACK THE KNIFE"

Louis Armstrong originally introduced the song to the United States hit parade in 1956, before Bobby Darin recorded his version in New York in 1958.

Initially reluctant to have the song released as a single, it earned Bobby Darin the top spot on the Billboard chart and a Grammy Award for Record of the Year.

1958: TOMMY EDWARDS - "IT'S ALL IN THE GAME"

The song made history as the only No.1 song in the United States ever to be co-written by a Nobel Peace Prize laureate and U.S. Vice President.

Charles G. Dawes became both after initially composing the song in 1911 and it is often referred to as "Dawes Melody."

Just goes to show, there is a first time for everything.