Ask Billboard: Who's The Hot 100's King? Elvis Presley Vs. Lil Wayne

I can usually count on you. But, comparing
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CHRISTINA AGUILERA'S CAREER SALES

Hi Gary,

I'm a big
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THE 'ONE'S THAT WE'VE LOVED

Dear Gary,

"One More Night" by
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BUILDING A CASE FOR THE CARPENTERS

Gary,

Your list of same titles/different songs that have topped the Hot 100 is missing one entry. The Carpenters' "(They Long to Be) Close to You" reached No. 1 in 1970, while "Close to You" by Maxi Priest reached the apex in 1990.

OK, the Carpenters added a subtitle, but I think it's still a legit entry. (Hey, you let "All 4/for You" pass!)

Also, "Venus," the Shocking Blue/Bananarama tune (but not the same as Frankie Avalon's 1959 leader) has been part of a third No. 1: it's the first song heard on Stars on 45's chart-topping 1981 "Medley" and is listed among the songs included in the single in its full title.

Thanks,

Pat Kelly
Brampton, Canada

Thanks Pat.

And, nice to give a shout-out to Maxi Priest. (Timely, too, as "Night" sports a reggae touch.) Priest and UB40 were the only reggae acts welcomed into top 40 when I first started listening in the late '80s and I always liked his cover of Cat Stevens' "Wild World," which became his first Hot 100 hit, reaching No. 25 in 1988.

In addition to "Close to You," the British-born singer of Jamaican descent scaled the top 10 with Roberta Flack on "Set the Night to Music," which began its run to No. 6 this week in 1991 (three years after Starship had taken it to No. 9 on Adult Contemporary.)

Fans may be interested to know that Priest's latest album of new music, the holiday set "Time of the Year," is available
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THE ABCs OF THE BILLBOARD 200

Hi Gary,

With Maroon 5 on top of the Hot 100 with "One More Night," that makes consecutive No. 1s for writer Max Martin. He also co-wrote the previous ruler, Taylor Swift's "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together." Impressively, "Night" is Martin's 15th Hot 100 No. 1 as a writer.

Oh, and how curious that "Coexist" debuts at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 and "La Futura" debuts at No. 6. The xx and ZZ Top, then, are back-to-back in the top 10.

Pablo Nelson
Berkeley, California

Hi Pablo,

Great observations.

And, that's yy it's fun to follow the charts.