Top of the Pops

Billboard magazine first released the list of the nation's top singles in 1958. Dubbed the Hot 100, over the past 60-odd years there have been some 1,000 different #1 hits.

In the new issue of Applied Economics, Canadian economist David Giles looks at #1 songs between 1955 to 2003 to try to find out what makes a #1 hit stay on top. (free version)

(Prior to 1958, other lists of the most popular songs existed, all using different criteria such as store sales, radio play, and jukebox play. Giles uses a composite of these to extend his study to 1955 so he can capture the beginning of the rock and roll era. Click here to find out how Billboard compiles the current list.)

Giles tracks whether a song is sung by a male or a female, performed by a solo act or a group, and if it's an instrumental.

His findings:

• The average duration for a #1 hit is 2.76 weeks.
• The average Elvis #1 song had a longer shelf life than the average Beatles #1. The Beatles had 20 number one hits with an average of 2.95 weeks at the top while Elvis had 17 #1s with an average longevity of 5.29 weeks. Giles speculated that the "Elvis effect", which was stronger before 1958, is due to the fact the Beatles were often competing with themselves for the top spot. For example, in one week in 1964 the top five songs on the Hot 100 were by the Beatles.
• In 1998, Billboard started to include any song from an artist's album in the Hot 100, not just songs officially released as singles. This had the effect of adding 1.6 weeks to the average shelf life of a #1 song. Between 1955 and 1998, there were typically 20.5 different #1s each year, but after the change that dropped to 12.6.
• There have been nine different occasions where a song recorded by two different artists made it to the top between 1955 and 2003.
• The longevity of a top song is enhanced if a female solo artist records the song.
• Duration is also enhanced if it's an instrumental piece or if a song is able to reclaim the top spot after faltering.

Also of note is that, despite the fact they stay on top longer, there haven't been any instrumental #1s in over twenty years. Can you guess the last one? (Hint: It was #1 for one week in November 1985) Click the video below to find out.

And what was the first #1 hit on the Hot 100 in August 1958?

UPDATE: (3:24 P.M.)
For another take on what makes a #1 song, check out this Columbia University project which uses a technique called time-lapse phonography to create a 37 minute piece based on the #1 Billboard hits between 1958 and 2000. This from the artist's description of the piece: "The spectral average of each song used in Billboard plays for one second for each week it stayed at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100."