They say that your birthday year, month, day, time and even moon cycle can say a lot about who you are as a person. And while the jury is still out on whether or not that hold true, we have a new question to pose to you. Do you think that the most popular song in the year you were born in says anything about your life? Find out below.
1940: White Christmas – Bing Crosby
It is rather wild to think that this song still has chart topping potential today, but that is what you get when you put the theme of Christmas and Bing Crosby together. Though you do have to wonder, if you were born in 1940 would you have any recollection of this song being released?
1941: Chattanooga Choo Choo – Glenn Miller
It is rather sad how our music today has lost the concept of a driving rhythmical device, which as you can see was used not only to create the music itself, but also the titles.
1942: Moonlight Cocktail – The Glenn Miller Orchestra
Well, this sure does create an image of a different time. A more refined time, when people would come home from work, sip a cocktail and read the newspaper as if it was TikTok.
1943: Paper Doll – Mills Brothers
It seems that the idea of falling in love with a non-human entity has been long engrained in our minds seeing as this classic spoke exactly of that all the way back in 1943, far before we have any concept of artificial intelligence.
1944: Swinging On A Star – Bing Crosby
No matter what this man came out with, it almost always felt like you were being read a story by a revered older male role-model. With a voice like deep honey that worked to soothe the senses.
1945: Rum & Coca-Cola – The Andrews Sisters
Who said that women in the 40s did not get to have fun… Well, much as it was likely patriarchally approved fun, they got out there and enjoyed it nonetheless.
1946: Prisoner Of Love – Perry Como
Well, we can certainly say that this has not aged all too well, considering that there are most certainly no more prisoners of love, they have been rebranded and most certainly do not get any sort of respect when they are behind bars.
1947: Near You – Francis Craig
One of the truly wonderful things about music from this era is that it was innocent, naïve and fun. If you wanted to show your steady girl that you love her and want to be near her, that’s all you had to say. No fancy metaphors, no comparing her to a summers day.
1948: Twelfth Street Rag – Pee Wee Hunt
Even for the time, this was rather a shocker to reach the top of the charts. Mainly because it contained no words, this was a completely instrumental piece, performed by some of the most proficient practitioners of music of the day.
1949: Riders In The Sky – Vaughn Monroe
Now this has wild west American classic written all over it, and it is of little surprise that this made it to the top of the charts. Telling the tale of a cowboy headed into a storm “Riders in the Sky” tells of the damned cowboys our protagonist sees through the storm, doomed to chase their herd forever.
1950: Goodnight Irene – Gordon Jenkins and The Weavers
While The Weavers did indeed get to number one with this release, the reality is that the song was not their original creation, instead it is a 20th Century American folk standard, first recorded by Lead Belly in 1933.
1951: Too Young – Nat King Cole
Treading on the line that Robin Thicke stepped too close to in his day, “Too Young” begs the question of why a young couple in love are deemed to be too young to truly be in love?
1952: Blue Tango – Leroy Anderson
Another instrumental piece that managed to top the charts, it got its name from the styles of music that were mashed together to create the song. Those styles being blues and tango, giving the song a distinct sound that blended the best from North and South America.
1953: Song From ‘Moulin Rouge’ – Percy Faith
This might have first gotten to the top of the charts in 1953, but it would go on to be covered, adapted and replayed a million different ways until today, where Moulin Rouge is still one of the most critically acclaimed musicals to have ever hit Broadway.
1954: Little Things Mean A Lot – Kitty Kallen
One of the beautiful things about these older songs is that they hark back to a time when things were indeed simpler, as Kitty Kallen so succinctly puts it. There were no mobile phones to compete with for attention, no internet to distract the world, just artistry wherever you could physically find it.
1955: Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White – Perez Prado
Yet another instrumental masterpiece that made it to the top of the charts, “Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White” was probably one of the most danced to numbers of the day. Are you mature enough to remember the days when people just danced for the heck of it?
1956: Heartbreak Hotel – Elvis Presley
You might be able to say that 1956 was the year that America, and the world, truly began to feel deep feelings. Elvis brought his bold and energetic style to the stage and his soulful lyrics to the mic, changing the social forum forever.
1957: All Shook Up – Elvis Presley
And just when you might have thought that Elvis might have had his fifteen minutes back in 1956, he comes back with a blistering follow-up chart topper.
1958: Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu (Volare) – Domenico Modugno
A song that screams nostalgia of the ‘Bella vita’ even today, Volare has gone down in history as one of the most influential songs to come out of Italy.
1959: The Battle Of New Orleans – Johnny Horton
If you ever thought that a satirical history telling song would make it to the tippy top of the charts, then you were a genius because that is what happened when Johnny Horton’s classic was released. Who’d of thought that a battle could adapt so brilliantly to a song?
1960: Theme From ‘A Summer Place’ – Percy Faith
It is truly surprising, considering how the charts look today, that so many hits songs in the not so distant past of the 50s were instrumental, this being another one of them. Perhaps showing the slowly shifting tides of society at the time.
1961: Tossin’ And Turnin – Bobby Lewis
Love can cause you to lose a lot of things, but for Bobby Lewis, the main thing he lost was his ability to sleep. Which is explained in great detail in his chart topping hit “Tossin’ and Turnin’. We can only hope that he managed to get some sleep after hitting number one.
1962: Stranger On The Shore – Mr. Acker Bilk
Well, it seems the 60s were not going to let go of the instrumental number one hit either, with this chart topper coming in 1962. Though unlike the dance numbers featured before, this instrumental piece is a sad reflection of the loneliness, longing and quiet contemplation of a stranger on the shore.
1963: Sugar Shack – Jimmy Gilmer and the Fireballs
Where would the world of music be with young love? So misunderstood, unrequited, or whatever the case may be, the longing for love from the lips of a young person has a certain allure to it that we are consistently brought back to.
1964: I Want To Hold Your Hand – The Beatles
The only musical group who needs no introduction wherever and whenever they go, The Beatles, who burst onto the American charts in 1964 with this timeless classic.
1965: Wooly Bully – Sam The Sham and The Pharaohs
Playing off their instrumental counterparts, “Wolly Bully” is not actually a song about anything. Most of the lyrics are nonsensical, and the idea was to make a danceable song with atmosphere more than anything else. Funny that eh?
1966: The Ballad Of The Green Berets – Sgt. Barry Sadler
A true descriptor of the times, especially that it made it to number one, it is important to remember that even with the upbeat nature of many of the top musical acts of the time, this was still a time in the world when war ruled and young men were sent to fight against their will.
1967: To Sir With Love – Lulu
Teachers, this one is for you. Telling a story of gratitude towards a teacher who helped their students grow into adulthood, this might literally be the only thanks that our precious teachers have ever received on a public scale.
1968: Hey Jude – The Beatles
What more can be said about the song that literally every human on the planet has heard at least once in their life, if not millions of times, and can recite the words from memory.
1969: Sugar, Sugar – The Archies
Finishing things off here with what can only be called a lovely sweet treat, “Sugar Sugar” by The Archies is still one of the sweetest and funnest songs to put on when you are in a good mood.
