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Three-Decade Wonders: 10 Songs, 35 Top 40 Hits
We loved these ridiculously enduring classics more times than “Satisfaction.”
I recently listened to a 1981 episode of Casey Kasem’s American Top 40 countdown, and one of Casey’s trivia tangents changed the way I see pop history.
When I think of the biggest vintage songs of the rock & roll era, a few always have immediately popped into mind: “I Want to Hold Your Hand” by The Beatles, “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” by The Rolling Stones, “Respect” by Aretha Franklin — you know, those usual 1960s suspects.
When Casey revealed the five songs that made the Top 40 via different versions in the ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s, though, he kind of blew me away. They were songs that were so beloved they entered the Top 40 again … and again … and again. Still, I’ve only ever thought of one of them (number two below) as being among the quintessential classics from the last 50-plus years.
I mean, the Stones’ “Satisfaction” is the band’s signature single, and it’s been covered by artists as diverse as Franklin, Otis Redding, Devo, and Britney Spears, yet it’s only enjoyed one Top 40 trip on Billboard’s Hot 100. How is that possible?
Even if one considers the ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s triple-players that…
