No. 1 Hit Songs That Are All But Forgotten Now

Throughout generations, the music industry has seen No. 1 hits come and go. Some remain at the top spot for several weeks and break records, while others merely make an appearance before sliding back down the list and fading away from our memory. 

Every week, Billboard releases its list of Hot 100 songs based on popularity. This list also indicates which songs have moved up or down from the week prior. This list is based on several factors including sales, downloads, streaming play time, and radio airtime. This ranking system from Billboard has been in effect since 1958, giving us nearly 70 years of No. 1 hits to review. 

The songs below aren’t necessarily considered “one-hit wonders.” Many of these artists produced numerous top 40 hits throughout their careers. However, this list does include songs that have slowly faded from pop culture. From Sinead O’Connor’s moving lyrics of “Nothing Compares 2 U” to Anita Ward’s upbeat tempo in “Ring My Bell,” the songs below span several decades and music genres. (For related content, check out the most popular artists that never had a No. 1 hit.)

To compile this list of hit songs, 24/7 Tempo gathered information from various resources in the music industry. These include Spotify, Billboard, Apple Music, as well as USA Today and Business Insider. Here are 15 No. 1 hit songs that are now all but forgotten. 

How Bizarre

Source: Getty Images / Hulton Archive via Getty Images

• Recording Artist: OMC
• Release Date: Dec. 15, 1995
• Weeks at No. 1: 5

While OMC never technically hit No. 1 in the United States with their single “How Bizarre,” they did manage to hit No. 1 in five other countries. These include Canada, Austria, Ireland, Australia (where they had the longest streak in this No. 1 position), and their home country of New Zealand. This song was also the first release from the band’s album of the same name. Additionally, OMC struggled to hit No. 1 status with any of their other songs, leaving this one to be a bit of a one-hit wonder for the group. 

Nothing Compares 2 U

• Recording Artist: Sinead O’Connor
• Release Date: Jan. 8, 1990
• Weeks at No. 1: 4

The song “Nothing Compares 2 U” has an interesting history. It was first written by Prince and recorded with his band The Family in 1984. However, it was the Irish singer-songwriter Sinead O’Connor’s cover of the song that brought it to No. 1 on the charts. O’Connor, who had never experienced a No. 1 hit before, changed the song to a ballad and released it on her 1990 album “I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got.” This song was named Billboard’s Number 1 Song of the Year in 1990 and reached success in numerous countries, including O’Connor’s home country of Ireland. 

While O’Connor never went on to see another No. 1 hit, this is a song that many remembered after her passing in July of 2023. 

You Light Up My Life

• Recording Artist: Debby Boone
• Release Date: Aug. 15, 1977
• Weeks at No. 1: 10

Debby Boone saw instant success with her cover of “You Light Up My Life” in 1977. The song was originally written for a movie of the same name and recorded by Kasey Cisyk. However, Boone’s rendition of the song is what brought it to worldwide fame. Her single was released in 1977 as the first from her album of the same name. It reached No. 1 and remained there for 10 straight weeks, breaking records and almost beating out a record previously held by Elvis Presley. 

This love song also became one of the most popular of the year in 1977. It remained atop the Record World’s chart for an astonishing 13 straight weeks, a record that has yet to be broken by any other artist. 

The Purple People Eater

• Recording Artist: Sheb Wooley
• Release Date: May 1958
• Weeks at No. 1: 6

In the first year of the Billboard Hot 100 chart, “The Purple People Eater” by Sheb Wooley became a No. 1 hit for six straight weeks. The song was written by Wooley and tells the tale of a fictional character who has come to Earth. While the lyrics are humorous and were originally rejected by Wooley’s first recording company, the song went on to become quite popular and catchy. Additionally, “The Purple People Eater” has been featured in pop culture over the years. In the 1970s, this was the nickname of the Minnesota Vikings defensive line. 

If It Makes You Happy

• Recording Artist: Sheryl Crow
• Release Date: Sept. 3, 1996
• Weeks at No. 1: 1 

While Sheryl Crow’s rock song “If It Makes You Happy” only reached No. 10 on the U.S. Billboard chart, it went straight to No. 1 in Canada. From her self-titled album, this single also took home the Grammy award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performace in 1998. Both Billboard and The Guardian have ranked this song in the top 10 of Sheryl Crow’s greatest hits as well. 

Play That Funky Music

• Recording Artist: Wild Cherry
• Release Date: April 1976
• Weeks at No. 1: 3

Legend has it that this rock band wrote and recorded “Play That Funky Music” in order to step into the popular disco genre of their time. The lead singer, Rob Parissi, quickly wrote the lyrics which describe the band’s challenging time booking gigs as a rock band in a time of dance and disco. The song peaked at No. 1 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and the Billboard Hot Soul Singles in 1976. It was also the only song from the band to hit No. 1 and was the only song they produced that reached the top 40. 

Additionally, in 1990, Vanilla Ice recorded a cover of the song to be released on his album “To the Extreme.” His cover saw marginal success, reaching No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100. 

If You Could Only See

• Recording Artist: Tonic
• Release Date: March 18, 1997
• Weeks at No. 1: 5

While Tonic’s rock hit “If You Could Only See” only reached No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100, it spent five weeks atop the Billboard Mainstream Rock Chart in 1997. It also spent an astonishing 63 weeks on the Hot 100 list, making it one of the most notable songs of the year. Lead singer Emerson Hart wrote the lyrics, telling the true story of the turmoil he had with his family due to his romantic involvement with an older woman. The song went on to be the band’s most successful track to date. 

Kiss From a Rose

• Recording Artist: Seal
• Release Date: July 18, 1994
• Weeks at No. 1: 1

This song was originally written by Seal in 1987. However, it wasn’t recorded until 1994 and finally saw traction as a No. 1 hit in 1995 due to its rerelease on the “Batman Forever” movie soundtrack. As a single from Seal’s second album (entitled “Seal II”), the song saw success in both the U.S. and other countries, hitting the top 10 in Canada, Ireland, and France, among others. Additionally, in 1996, the song helped Seal win three Grammy awards, including Best Male Pop Vocal Performance, Song of the Year, and Record of the Year. 

Ring My Bell

• Recording Artist: Anita Ward
• Release Date: 1979
• Weeks at No. 1: 2

Though this song was originally written for 11-year-old singer Stacey Lattisaw, the writer, Frederick Knight, gave it to Anita Ward when Lattisaw signed with a different record label. As a disco song, “Ring My Bell” went on to hit No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 as well as No. 1 on the U.K. chart. It was also Ward’s only chart-topping song to ever be produced. 

Everything You Want

• Recording Artist: Vertical Horizon
• Release Date: Oct. 19, 1999
• Weeks at No. 1: 1

Though it was released at the end of 1999, it took Vertical Horizon’s “Everything You Want” several weeks to finally reach the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2000. This song was the first single from the group’s third album of the same name. It also topped other charts like the Billboard Adult Top 40 and Canada’s RPM Rock/Alternative chart. Additionally, the song was written by the band’s lead singer, Matt Scannell, who created the lyrics based on a personal experience in one of his relationships. This song is also the group’s most popular song to date. 

Hold On

• Recording Artist: Wilson Phillips
• Release Date: Feb. 27, 1990
• Weeks at No. 1: 1

Despite being at No. 1 for just one week in 1990, Wilson Phillips’ “Hold On” went on to be ranked by Billboard as the hottest single of the year. The song also saw worldwide success, hitting the top 10 charts in countries like Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Germany. Additionally, the single received two Grammy nominations, one for Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group and one for Song of the Year, though it lost in both categories. The lyrics were written by Chynna Phillips and stem from her experience with substance abuse. 

The group also went on to create several other chart-topping hits throughout the early ’90s, though this song is one that tends to stick with pop culture the most. It also was featured in the 2011 blockbuster hit “Bridesmaids” where the group sang the song near the end of the film. 

A View to Kill

• Recording Artist: Duran Duran
• Release Date: May 6, 1985
• Weeks at No. 1: 2

Though this song was written and recorded for a James Bond movie, Duran Duran saw their hit top the charts in 1985. To date, “A View to Kill” is the only James Bond theme song to ever reach No. 1 on the charts. The song was written by the group with the inclusion of composer John Barry. 

Crazy

• Recording Artist: Gnarls Barkley
• Release Date: March 13, 2006
• Weeks at No. 1: 9

Though this song from the duo Gnarls Barkley never hit No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 (it only reached the No. 2 spot), it saw huge success worldwide. In the United Kingdom, this single stayed in the No. 1 position for nine weeks, which was the longest streak a song had seen in nearly 10 years. It was also hugely popular in Austria, Australia, Canada, Denmark, and various other areas of Europe. 

Gnarls Barkley is a duo made up of Ceelo Green and Danger Mouse. The two earned themselves a 2007 Grammy Award for Best Urban/Alternative Performance due to this song’s popularity. 

Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)

• Recording Artist: C+C Music Factory
• Release Date: Nov. 18, 1990
• Weeks at No. 1: 2

Featuring Martha Wash and Freedom Williams, “Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)” was the first single released by the C+C Music Factory. The song topped charts in countries like the U.S., the U.K., Austria, Canada, and Germany, among others. Additionally, it led to the group’s album of the same name to reach certified platinum status. 

We Are Young

• Recording Artist: Fun.
• Release Date: Sept. 20, 2011
• Weeks at No. 1: 6

As the most recent No. 1 hit on our list of songs that have been forgotten, Fun.’s “We Are Young” was a chart-topping smash in 2012. The song, which features R&B singer Janelle Monáe, was the group’s first single from their album “Some Nights,” which was also released in 2012. Additionally, it earned Fun. a Grammy win in 2013 for Song of the Year. Fun. entered a hiatus in 2015, leaving “We Are Young” as their most popular song to date. (For more reading, click here to see rock music’s biggest one-hit wonders.)