Hot 100 55th Anniversary: The All-Time Top 100 Songs

Co-writer Babyface composed this song for the film "Boomerang" and was tempted to keep it for himself, but felt Boyz II Men "would take it further." When the single spent 13 weeks at No. 1, it established a then-new longevity record atop the Hot 100.

Producer David Foster wanted Houston to cover Jimmy Ruffin's "What Becomes of the Brokenhearted" for "The Bodyguard," but when Paul Young sang that Motown classic in "Fried Green Tomatoes," music supervisor Maureen Crowe had Foster listen to Linda Ronstadt's version of Dolly Parton's "I Will Always Love You." Houston's single returned to the Hot 100 after her death in February 2012.

The third of her four No. 1s, all of which have been on top for five or six weeks, no more, no less. "No One" had a five-week reign, as did "Empire State of Mind." "Fallin'" and "My Boo" each ruled for six weeks.

Lady Sarah McCorqudale asked Elton John to sing at the funeral of her sister, Princess Diana. "Your Song" was considered and Elton thought about writing a new song. Through a misunderstanding, Bernie Taupin thought Elton wanted him to write new lyrics to their 1973 song "Candle in the Wind." More than 2.5 billion people all over the globe watched Elton sing the song at Diana's funeral. With worldwide sales of 33 million, "Candle in the Wind 1997" is the best-selling single of the rock era. Bing Crosby's "White Christmas," first released in 1942, is reported to have sold 50 million copies worldwide.

Jepsen's hook-laden pop hit ruled the Hot 100 for nine weeks. It is the biggest hit by any "Idol" finalist, as Jepsen finished third in the fifth season of "Canadian Idol." She is the highest-ranking Canadian female on the all-time Hot 100.

While his older brothers Barry, Robin and Maurice were filming the movie "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" in Hollywood, Andy joined them for a writing session. Within 10 minutes, they were singing the chorus to what became "Shadow Dancing."

Despite selling millions of records in the U.K. for EMI, the company's American label, Capitol, declined to release the Fab Four in the U.S. – until they heard "I Want to Hold Your Hand." A Washington, D.C. DJ broke the song, forcing Capitol to move the release date from Jan. 13, 1964 to Dec. 26, 1963 and to increase the run from 200,000 copies to one million.

The only No. 1 song written by a Vice President of the United States. Charles Dawes was a banker when he wrote the music in 1912; the lyrics were penned by Carl Sigman in 1951. Tommy Edwards recorded the song that year, but it was a 1958 re-recording in the new format called "stereo" that topped the Hot 100.

Dawn was ready to disband at the end of 1972 after three consecutive singles failed to make the top 60 of the Hot 100. Then producers Hank Medress and Dave Appell asked Telma Hopkins and Joyce Wilson to meet them and Tony Orlando in the studio to record this song, based on a true story.

"I'd been living with a girl for a couple of years and the relationship was on its way down," says Chad Kroeger. "…after I don't know how many fights…(I) was going to give her the f*** you song and I wrote 'How You Remind Me.'"

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