American Top 40 - Notable Songs Played On American Top 40

Notable Songs Played On American Top 40

  • The first song played on the very first American Top 40 show in 1970 at #40 was "The End of Our Road" by Marvin Gaye. It would remain and peak at #40 the following week.
  • The first #1 song on American Top 40 's inaugural 1970 broadcast was "Mama Told Me Not to Come" by Three Dog Night.
  • The first top 10 countdown on the first American Top 40 show featured songs by both Elvis Presley ("The Wonder of You") and The Beatles ("The Long and Winding Road"). These are the top two artists of the entire rock era according to AT40's original source, Billboard magazine.
  • Rick Dees had the #1 song "Disco Duck" on American Top 40 in 1976 long before Dees would launch a rival countdown show, "Rick Dees Weekly Top 40".
  • When American Top 40 expanded from three to four hours in October 1978, the #1 song was "Kiss You All Over" by Exile.
  • The very first "Long-Distance Dedication" ever played in 1978 was Neil Diamond's "Desirée".
  • When Shadoe Stevens replaced Casey Kasem as host in August 1988, the first song he played was "Don't Worry, Be Happy" by Bobby McFerrin which debuted at number 40. The #1 song was "Roll With It" by Steve Winwood.
  • When American Top 40 switched from the Billboard Hot 100 to the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay in November 1991, the #1 song was "When a Man Loves a Woman" by Michael Bolton.
  • When American Top 40 switched from the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay to the Billboard Top 40 Mainstream in January 1993, the #1 song was "I Will Always Love You" by Whitney Houston.
  • The last #1 song on American Top 40 on July 9, 1994, when the show was pulled from American stations, was "Don't Turn Around" by Ace of Base.
  • The last #1 song on American Top 40 in January 1995 before its 3-year hiatus was "On Bended Knee" by Boyz II Men.
  • Before playing the #1 song on the final original-run episode of American Top 40, Shadoe Stevens played a special Long-Distance Dedication to his fans: "So Tired of Standing Still, We Got to Move On" by James Brown. As Stevens did his closing at the end of the show, the song "Happy Trails" by Roy Rogers was played in the background.
  • When American Top 40 returned in March 1998, the #1 song was "My Heart Will Go On" by Celine Dion.
  • The #1 song on Casey Kasem's final AT40 show in January 2004 was "Hey Ya!" by Outkast. It stayed at #1 when Ryan Seacrest replaced Kasem.
  • On July 5, 2009, the final #1 song on American Top 20 was "Second Chance" by Shinedown. The final #1 song on American Top 10 was "Love Story" by Taylor Swift.
  • The youngest artist to enter the chart is Willow, when her song "Whip My Hair" debuted at #35 on chart week of December 11, 2010.
  • On March 5, 2011, "Born This Way" by Lady Gaga recorded the highest debut since Ryan Seacrest began hosting, entering at #9.
  • The song that charted on American Top 40 the longest was "Dynamite" by Taio Cruz. It charted for 72 weeks in 2010-11.
  • "Scream" by Usher scored the biggest upward movement of the show on May 26, 2012, rising 25 spots from #40 to #15.
  • The #1 song of the 1970s was "You Light Up My Life" by Debby Boone.
  • The #1 song of the 1980s was "Physical" by Olivia Newton-John.
  • The #1 song of the 1990s was "I Love You Always Forever" by Donna Lewis.
  • The #1 song of the 2000s was "Yeah!" by Usher.
  • The #1 song of 2010 was "Tik Tok" by Ke$ha.
  • The #1 song of 2011 was "Give Me Everything" by Pitbull.
  • The 1000th episode aired on Saturday, September 30, 1989. The number one song was Girl I'm Gonna Miss You by Milli Vanilli.
  • The 2000th episode aired on Saturday, January 14, 2012. The number one song was We Found Love by Rihanna.

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