Here’s a sampling of charting singles (and B-Sides that charted) from rock and pop music from the 50s through the 80s – the BEST music ever made!
Entries are: Year • Artist • Track Title • Genre • Album • B-Side
(If a non-album single, then [Single]. If the charting track was the B-Side, then [B-Side]. Any “UK” entry designates a single different from its US counterpart).
May 24
1963 • Gerry & The Pacemakers • “I Like It” [UK] • Merseybeat • [Single] • “It Happened To Me”
1968 • The Rolling Stones • “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” [UK] • Rock ‘n’ Roll • [Single] • “Child Of The Moon”
1968 • Donovan • “Hurdy, Gurdy Man” [UK] • Folk-Rock • The Hurdy Gurdy Man • “Teen Angel”
1973 • Led Zeppelin • “Over The Hills And Far Away” • Hard Rock • Houses Of The Holy • “Dancing Days”
1974 • 10cc • “The Wall Street Shuffle” [UK] • Art Pop-Rock • Sheet Music • “Gismo My Way”
1974 • Elton John • “Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me” [UK] • Pop-Rock • Caribou • “Sick City”
1976 • The Beach Boys • “Rock And Roll Music” • Rock ‘n’ Roll • 15 Big Ones • “T M Song”
1982 • Glenn Frey • “I Found Somebody” • Pop-Rock • No Fun Aloud • “She Can’t Let Go”
1983 • Michael Jackson • “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin'” • Dance-Pop • Thriller • “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin'” [Instrumental]
1986 • AC/DC • “Who Made Who” • Hard Rock • Who Made Who • “Guns For Hire” [Live]
1993 • AC/DC • “Big Gun” • Hard Rock • Last Action Hero[Sndtrk] • “Back In Black” [Live]
2012 • Aerosmith • “Legendary Child” • Hard Rock • Music From Another Dimension! • “” [None]
May 25
1957 • Buddy Holly • “That’ll Be The Day” • Rock ‘n’ Roll • [Single] • “I’m Looking For Someone To Love”
1961 • Marvin Gaye • “Let Your Conscience Be Your Guide” • Soul • The Soulful Moods Of Marvin Gaye • “Never Let You Go (Sha-Lu Bop)”
1971 • Elvis Presley • “Life” • Gospel-Pop • [Single] • “Only Believe”
1973 • George Harrison • “Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth)” [UK] • Pop-Rock • Living In The Material World • “Miss O’Dell”
1973 • Mott The Hoople • “Honaloochie Boogie” [UK] • Glam Rock • Mott • “Rose”
1997 • Sublime • “Wrong Way” • Ska Punk • Sublime • “Wrong Way” [Album Version]
May 26
1961 • Jerry Lee Lewis • “Cold Cold Heart” • Rock ‘n’ Roll • [Single] • “It Won’t Happen With Me”
1965 • Elvis Presley • “(Such An) Easy Question” • Pop-Rock • [Single] • “It Feels So Right”
1967 • The Hollies • “Carrie Anne” • Pop-Rock • Evolution • “Signs That Will Never Change”
1967 • The Hollies • “Carrie Anne” [UK] • Pop-Rock • Evolution • “Signs That Will Never Change”
1971 • The Doobie Brothers • “Nobody” • Pop-Rock • The Doobie Brothers • “Slippery Paul”
1975 • Glen Campbell • “Rhinestone Cowboy” • Country-Pop • Rhinestone Cowboy • “Lovelight”
1978 • The Cars • “My Best Friend’s Girl” [UK] • New Wave Pop-Rock • The Cars • “Moving In Stereo”
1978 • Talking Heads • “Pulled Up” [UK] • New Wave Pop-Rock • Talking Heads: 77 • “Don’t Worry About The Government”
1978 • The Rolling Stones • “Miss You” [UK] • Disco-Pop • Some Girls • “Far Away Eyes”
1981 • J. Geils Band • “Angel In Blue” • Blues-Rock • Freeze-Frame • “River Blindness”
1987 • Richard Marx • “Don’t Mean Nothing” • AA Pop-Rock • Richard Marx • “The Flame Of Love “
May 27
1957 • The Del-Vikings • “Whispering Bells” • Doo Wop • [Single] • “Don’t Be A Fool”
1958 • The Crickets • “Think It Over” • Rock ‘n’ Roll • [Single] • “Fool’s Paradise”
1966 • The Beatles • “Paperback Writer” [UK] • Power Pop • [Single] • “Rain”
1966 • The Beatles • “Rain” [UK] • Pop-Rock • Hey Jude • [B-Side]
1966 • The Yardbirds • “Over, Under, Sideways, Down” [UK] • Blues Rock • Roger The Engineer • “Jeff’s Boogie”
1971 • Boz Scaggs • “Near You” • Blues-Rock • Moments • “Downright Women”
1976 • KC & The Sunshine Band • “(Shake, Shake, Shake) Your Booty” • Disco • Part 3 • “Boogie Shoes”
1976 • Aerosmith • “Last Child” • Funk Rock • Rocks • “Combination”
1977 • Supertramp • “Give A Little Bit” • Prog/Art Rock • Even In The Quietest Moments • “Downstream”
1977 • The Sex Pistols • “God Save The Queen” [UK] • Punk-Rock • Never Mind The Bollocks Here’s The Sex Pistols • “No Feeling”
1977 • Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers • “Anything That’s Rock ‘n’ Roll” [UK] • Album Rock • Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers • “Fooled Again (I Don’t Like It)”
1977 • Elvis Costello • “Alison” [UK] • New Wave Pop-Rock • My Aim Is True • “Welcome To The Working Week”
1982 • Billy Idol • “Hot In The City” • Hard Rock • Billy Idol • “Hole In The Wall”
1983 • Bryan Adams • “Cuts Like A Knife” • Pop-Rock • Cuts Like A Knife • “Lonely Nights”
1986 • Bruce Hornsby & The Range • “Every Little Kiss” • Pop-Rock • The Way It Is • “The Red Plains”
1986 • Janet Jackson • “Nasty” [UK] • Dance-Pop • Control • “You’ll Never Find (A Love Like Mine)”
1996 • Matchbox Twenty • “Push” • Post-Grunge • Yourself Or Someone Like You • “Busted” [Acoustic] / Tired
May 28
1965 • The Supremes • “Back In My Arms Again” [UK] • Soul-Pop • More Hits By The Supremes • “Whisper You Love Me Boy”
1965 • Donovan • “Colours” [UK] • Folk-Rock • Fairytale • “To Sing For You”
1965 • The Moody Blues • “From the Bottom of My Heart (I Love You)” [UK] • British Beat • [Single] • “And My Baby’s Gone”
1969 • Smokey Robinson & The Miracles • “Doggone Right” • Soul – Pop • Time Out For Smokey Robinson & The Miracles • “Here I Go Again”
1969 • Neil Diamond • “Sweet Caroline (Good Times Never Seemed So Good)” • Soft Rock • Neil Diamond • “Dig In”
1971 • Carpenters • “Rainy Days And Mondays” [UK] • Soft Pop • Carpenters • “Saturday”
1982 • The Cars • “Since You’re Gone” [UK] • Rock Ballad • Shake It Up • “Maybe Baby”
1982 • A Flock Of Seagulls • “Space Age Love Song” [UK] • New Wave Synth-Pop • A Flock Of Seagulls • “Windows”
May 29
1964 • Peter & Gordon • “Nobody I Know” [UK] • Merseybeat • [Single] • “You Don’t Have To Tell Me”
1964 • Dave Clark Five • “Can’t You See She’s Mine” • Brit Beat • Return! • “No Time To Lose”
1967 • Lulu • “The Boat That I Row” • Pop-Rock • Love Loves To Love Lulu • “Dreary Nights And Days”
1967 • The Tremeloes • “Silence Is Golden” • Brit Beat • Chip, Dave, Alan And Rick • “Let Your Hair Hang Down”
1971 • James Taylor • “You’ve Got A Friend” • Folk-Rock • Mud Slide Slim And The Blue Horizon • “You Can Close Your Eyes”
1971 • Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway • “You’ve Got A Friend” • Pop-Soul • Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway • “Gone Away”
1972 • Paul McCartney & Wings • “Mary Had A Little Lamb” • Pop/Children’s • [Single] • “Little Woman In Love”
1978 • The Cars • “Just What I Needed” • New Wave Pop-Rock • The Cars • “I’m In Touch With Your World”
1981 • Toni Basil • “Mickey” [UK] • Pop-Dance • Word Of Mouth • “Hanging Around”
1982 • Survivor • “Eye Of The Tiger” • Album Rock • Eye Of The Tiger • “Take You On A Saturday”
1985 • Fine Young Cannibals • “Johnny Come Home” [UK] • R&B Ska • Fine Young Cannibals • “Good Times And Bad”
1989 • Guns N’ Roses • “Sweet Child O’ Mine” [UK] • Hard Rock • Appetite For Destruction • “It’s So Easy” [Live]
May 30
1966 • The Beatles • “Paperback Writer” • Power Pop • Rubber Soul • “Rain”
1967 • The Rascals • “You Better Run” • Blue-Eyed Soul • Groovin’ • “Love Is A Beautiful Thing”
1969 • Procol Harum • “A Salty Dog” [UK] • Prog Rock • A Salty Dog • “Long Gone Geek”
1969 • The Beatles • “The Ballad Of John And Yoko” [UK] • Pop-Rock • [Single] • “Old Brown Shoe”
1969 • The Beatles • “Old Brown Shoe” [UK] • Pop-Rock • [Single] • [B-Side]
1969 • The Bee Gees • “Tomorrow Tomorrow” [UK] • Psychedelic Pop • [Single] • “Sun In My Morning”
1970 • The Beatles • “Rain” • Pop-Rock • Hey Jude • [B-Side]
1975 • Smokey [Smokie] • “If You Think You Know How To Love Me” [UK] • Soft Rock • [Single] • “‘Tis Me”
1987 • George Michael • “I Want Your Sex (Rhythm 1: Lust)” [UK] • Dance-Pop • Faith • “”I Want Your Sex” (“Rhythm Two: Brass in Love”)”