Music Legends Without A #1 Song

In 8 years, the Beatles both wrote and charted a record breaking 20 No1 hit songs, setting a new standard for how legends are measured. Other notables had a long list of best sellers including Elvis (18), Michael Jackson (13), Madonna (12), and Frank Sinatra (3) to mention but a few. The comparisons in this article are based on the much coveted US Billboard Hot 100 chart, the music standard for the US record industry which encompasses multiple genres. In other words, if a country song has enough cross-over appeal, it would register on this chart as well as on the Hot Country Songs chart.

There are a numerous legendary musicians who never scored a No1 hit on this, the most important chart, and a few others who did, but with a song that was joke-worthy compared to their high quality discography. So, let’s get started.

1. Chuck Berry — The Father of Rock N’ Roll influenced generations of bands with his distinct guitar riffing and his easy to relate to songs, many of which he wrote, including “Maybelline”, “Roll Over Beethoven”, “Rock and Roll Music”, “Johnny B. Goode”, “You Never Can Tell” and many others. But well past his prime, the rock n’ roll pioneer’s only No1 hit is his suggestive 1972 song “My Ding-a-Ling”. Due to the lyric’s sexual double entendre, the song was initially censored by some radio stations, but it surprisingly climbed to the top of the charts…