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ADULT (CONTEMPORARY) EDUCATION

Hi Gary,
 
After reading about the 50th anniversary of Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart, I noticed that there are many songs that didn't hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 but did reach the top spot on AC.

For instance, here are some well-known No. 2 Hot 100 hits that led on AC:

"Can't Help Falling in Love," Elvis Presley (1962)
"Daniel," Elton John (1973)
"All Those Years Ago," George Harrison (1981)
"The Girl Is Mine," Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney (1982)
"Cherish," Madonna (1989)
"Can't Let Go," Mariah Carey (1992)
"Tears in Heaven," Eric Clapton (1992)
"How Do I Live," LeAnn Rimes (1997)
"Beautiful," Christina Aguilera (2003)
"Need You Now," Lady Antebellum (2010)

Happy 50th, AC chart!

Thanks,

Mackenzie (Mac) Scott
Fajardo, Puerto Rico
 

Hi Mac,

Thanks. You can find our entire spotlight on the AC chart's first half-century in the Chart Beat landing page. (And, props to a billboard.biz commenter who noted that the late Bill Gavin, founder of the now-defunct radio and records trade publication the "Gavin Report," coined the term "adult contemporary" in the '70s).

How about feting the rest of the songs that, while they fell shy of the Hot 100's apex, peaking at No. 2, received their due by reigning on AC. The list starts with the very first of the 756 AC No. 1s to-date:

"The Boll Weevil Song," Brook Benton (1961)
"You Don't Know Me," Ray Charles (1962)
"Ramblin' Rose," Nat King Cole (1962)
"Puff (The Magic Dragon)," Peter, Paul & Mary (1963)

"Blowin' in the Wind," Peter, Paul & Mary (1963)
"Washington Square," the Village Stompers (1963)
"The Good, the Bad and the Ugly," Hugh Montenegro, His Orchestra and Chorus (1968)
"We've Only Just Begun," Carpenters (1970)
"Rainy Days and Mondays," Carpenters (1971)
"Dueling Banjos," Eric Weissberg & Steve Mandell (1973)
"Yesterday Once More," Carpenters (1973)
"When Will I See You Again," Three Degrees (1974)
"You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine," Lou Rawls (1976)
"I'd Really Love to See You Tonight," England Dan & John Ford Coley (1976)
"Nobody Does It Better," Carly Simon (1977)
"Longer," Dan Fogelberg (1980)
"Shame on the Moon," Bob Seger (1983)
"All I Need," Jack Wagner (1985)
"Cherish," Kool & the Gang (1985)
"Friends and Lovers," Carl Anderson & Gloria Loring (1986)
"Shattered Dreams," Johnny Hates Jazz (1988)

"Don't Know Much," Linda Ronstadt featuring Aaron Neville (1989)
"From a Distance," Bette Midler (1990)
"Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough," Patty Smyth (1992)
"I'll Remember," Madonna (1994)
"All I Wanna Do," Sheryl Crow (1994)
"It's All Coming Back to Me Now," Celine Dion (1996)
"You Were Meant for Me," Jewel (1997)
"You're Still the One," Shania Twain (1998)
"Breathe," Faith Hill (2000)
"You Sang to Me," Marc Anthony (2000)
"You Belong With Me," Taylor Swift (2009)