On the strength of a few albums in the mid-90s and early 00s, Shania Twain became the top-selling female country artist of all time, a title she holds to this day.
Her 1997 album Come On Over received a rare double-Diamond designation and remained on the Billboard 200 for more than a year while topping the country chart for 50 weeks. It was a crossover blockbuster, with pop country songs everybody knew by heart and memorable music videos showcasing Twain’s pin-up appeal.
Backstreet Boys are the most successful boy band of all time, having sold more than 100 million albums worldwide since their 1996 debut. They are one of just a few acts in history to have released multiple Diamond albums.
They have received nine Grammy nominations and embarked on several record-breaking world tours.
What Backstreet Boys haven’t done, however, is put a song atop the Billboard Hot 100.
The revelation in yesterday’s post that Bruce Springsteen has never had a #1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 got me wondering how many other major artists are in the same boat.
Turns out it’s quite an extensive and surprising list, long enough for me to dedicate the next three weeks to the topic.
The week of June 30, 1984, belonged to New Wave band Duran Duran, whose ‘The Reflex’ gave them their first #1 hit in the U.S. I would have guessed that honor belonged to ‘Hungry Like the Wolf,’ but that song peaked at #3 a couple of years earlier.
Fans have speculated about the meaning of ‘The Reflex’ since it was released, with popular theories suggesting it is about gambling, addiction, or ejaculation. Simon Le Bon has never clarified one way or the other.
Throwing back to the week of June 29, 1974, we find Canadian folk rocker Gordon Lightfoot atop the Billboard Hot 100 with ‘Sundown.’ This was Lightfoot’s only #1 hit in the U.S., though he reached #2 with ‘The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald’ and #5 with ‘If You Could Read My Mind.’
I like Lightfoot’s sound and I’m only familiar with those hits, so maybe I’ll add him to the potential deep dive list. He released 20 studio albums, however, so perhaps a shallow dive is a better idea.
Meet Me In Montauk 