In the history of rock music, there have been some remarkable records for songs and albums that have held the public’s attention for a long time.
For instance, the album “Dark Side of the Moon” by the British band Pink Floyd was on the Billboard Hot 100 albums for an astonishing 958 weeks. That’s five years longer than the next closest album in terms of longevity.
The recent Lil Nas X song “Old Town Road” was #1 on the charts for an amazing 19 weeks. Interestingly, it edged out a song by the woman whose Christmas song has drawn so much attention again this year. Mariah Carey and Boys II Men charted for 16 weeks at #1 with their hit “One Sweet Day”, tying for second place with Luis Fonsi, Daddy Yankee, and Justin Beiber for their hit “Despacito.”
That Mariah Magic
But an amazing and seemingly unbreakable record was established by Mariah Carey in 2020. Her hit single “All I Want for Christmas is You” was first recorded and released in 1994, only recently entered the chart, rising all the way to #1 in 2019 … an amazing 25 years after it was released.
In this sudden surprise, the song that everyone loves to listen to all Christmas long stayed for three weeks in the #1 position.
Then in 2020 it AGAIN climbed to #1 for a week, tying it for the longest a Christmas song has ever been #1.
That record is also held by a distinctly different Christmas song. The Chipmunks and David Seville recorded The Chipmunk Song in 1958, and released it to eager audiences. The popularity of the animated rodents propelled the song to four weeks in the top position on the charts, a record that stood for more than 70 years, until Mariah’s hit song zombied its way back into the #1 spot.
Billboard determines its charts from a mix of streaming numbers, sales numbers, and actual airplay. With the popularity of Christmas music that starts for some people as soon as November 1st, look for this amazing hit to start climbing the charts once again.
Will it again climb the charts this Christmas season, making it the all-time longest #1 Christmas song in Billboard and music history? Time will tell.
Screen capture by author