Song: White Christmas Artist: Bing Crosby Released: 1942 Sales: 100 Million
1. Originally released in 1942, "White Christmas" is an Irving Berlin song reminiscing about an old-fashioned Christmas setting. The song was written by Berlin for the musical film Holiday Inn. The composition won the Academy Award for Best Original Song at the 15th Academy Awards.Since its release, "White Christmas" has been covered by many artists, the version sung by Bing Crosby being the world's best-selling single (in terms of sales of physical media) with estimated sales in excess of 50 million copies worldwide. When the figures for other versions of the song are added to Crosby's, sales of the song exceed 100 million.
Song: White Christmas Artist: Elton John Released: 1997 Sales: 33 Million
2. "Candle in the Wind 1997", also known as "Goodbye England's Rose" and "Candle in the Wind '97", is a song by English musician Elton John and songwriter Bernie Taupin, a re-written and re-recorded version of their 1973 song "Candle in the Wind". It was released on 13 September 1997 as a tribute single to Diana, Princess of Wales, with the global proceeds from the song going towards Diana's charities. In many countries, it was pressed as a double A-side with "Something About the Way You Look Tonight". It was produced by Sir George Martin.
Song: In the Summertime Artist: Mungo Jerry Released: 1970 Sales: 30 Million
3. "In the Summertime" is the debut single by British rock band Mungo Jerry. Written and composed by its lead singer, Ray Dorset, it celebrates the carefree days of summer. In 1970, it reached number one in charts around the world, including seven weeks on the UK Singles Chart, two weeks on one of the Canadian charts, and number three on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in the US. It became one of the best-selling singles of all-time, eventually selling 30 million copies.
Song: Rock Around The Clock Artist: Bill Haley & His Comets Released: 1954 Sales: 25 Million
4. "Rock Around the Clock" is a rock and roll song in the 12-bar blues format written by Max C. Freedman and James E. Myers (the latter being under the pseudonym "Jimmy De Knight") in 1952. The best-known and most successful rendition was recorded by Bill Haley & His Comets in 1954 for American Decca. It was a number one single for two months and did well on the United Kingdom charts; the recording also reentered the UK Singles Chart in the 1960s and 1970s.It was the first rock and roll record to reach #1 on the US charts. (Bill Haley had American chart success with "Crazy Man, Crazy" in 1953, and in 1954, "Shake, Rattle and Roll" sung by Big Joe Turner reached No. 1 on the Billboard R&B chart). Haley's recording became an anthem for rebellious 1950s youth, particularly after it was included in the 1955 film Blackboard Jungle. It was Number 1 on the pop charts for two months and went to Number 3 on the R&B chart. The recording is widely considered to be the song that, more than any other, brought rock and roll into mainstream culture around the world. The song is ranked No. 159 on the Rolling Stone magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
Song: I Always love you Artist: Whitney Houston Released: 1992 Sales: 20 Million
5. In 1992, American singer Whitney Houston recorded a new arrangement of "I Will Always Love You" for the soundtrack to The Bodyguard, her film debut. The song has a saxophone solo by Kirk Whalum. She was originally to record Jimmy Ruffin's "What Becomes of the Brokenhearted" as the lead single from The Bodyguard. However, when it was discovered the song was to be used for Fried Green Tomatoes, Houston requested a different song. It was her co-star Kevin Costner who suggested "I Will Always Love You", playing her Linda Ronstadt's 1975 version from her album Prisoner in Disguise. Producer David Foster and Houston re-arranged the song as a soul ballad. Her record company did not feel a song with an a cappella introduction would be as successful; however, Houston and Costner insisted on retaining it. When Parton heard that Houston was using Ronstadt's recording as a template, she called Foster to give him the final verse, which was missing from the Ronstadt recording, as she felt it was important to the song. Her rendition of the song was issued as the soundtrack's leading single on November 3, 1992, by Arista Records.
Song:It's Now or Never Artist: Elvis Presley Released: 1960 Sales: 20 Million
6. In 1960, "It's Now or Never" was a number-one record in the U.S. for Elvis Presley, spending five weeks at number one and the UK, where it spent eight weeks at the top in 1960 and an additional week at number one in 2005 as a re-issue, and numerous other countries, selling in excess of 20 million physical copies worldwide, Elvis Presley's biggest international single ever. Its British release was delayed for some time because of rights issues, allowing the song to build up massive advance orders and to enter the UK Singles Chart at number one, a very rare occurrence at the time. "It's Now or Never" peaked at number seven on the R&B charts.
Song: We Are the World Africa Artist: USA for Africa Released: 1985 Sales: 20 Million
7. "We Are the World" is a charity single originally recorded by the supergroup USA for Africa in 1985. It was written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie and produced by Quincy Jones and Michael Jackson for the album We Are the World. With sales in excess of 20 million copies, it is the eighth best-selling physical single of all time.Soon after the UK-based Band Aid group released "Do They Know It's Christmas?" in December 1984, musician and activist Harry Belafonte began to think about an American benefit single for African famine relief. He enlisted fundraiser Ken Kragen to help bring the vision to reality. The duo contacted several musicians, and ultimately, Jackson and Richie were assigned to write the song. The duo completed the writing of "We Are the World" seven weeks after the release of "Do They Know It's Christmas?", and only one night before "We Are the World"'s first recording session, on January 21, 1985. The historic event brought together some of the era's best-known music industry artists.The song was released on March 7, 1985, as the first single from the album by Columbia Records. A worldwide commercial success, it topped music charts throughout the world and became the fastest-selling U.S. pop single in history. "We Are the World" received a Quadruple Platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America, becoming the first single to be certified multi-platinum.
Song:If I Didn't Care Artist: The Ink Spots Released: 1939 Sales: 19 Million
8. The Ink Spots recording became the 10th best selling single of all time with over 19 million copies sold making it one of the fewer than forty all-time singles to have sold 10 million (or more) physical copies worldwide.[1] According to Lawrence, he mailed the song before showing it to some of his friends. His friends' reaction to the song was almost unanimously negative, but he remained positive on it and later it became one of his biggest successes.[2] It was added to the Grammy Hall of Fame and was number 271 on the "Songs of the Century" list. In 2018, the Ink Spots' recording of the song was selected for preservation in the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or artistically significant."[3] The song was also used in the 1994 film The Shawshank Redemption.
Song:Yes Sir, I can Boogie Artist: Baccara Released: 1977 Sales: 18 Million
9. "Yes Sir, I Can Boogie" is a 1977 hit single by the Spanish vocal duo Baccara. Written by Frank Dostal and Rolf Soja, and produced by Soja, this disco song was a hit across Europe and became the duo's sole number one single in the United Kingdom, spending a single week at the top of the UK Singles Chart in October 1977. Baccara were Spanish flamenco dancers Mayte Mateos and Maria Mendiola. They were discovered on the island of Fuerteventura in the Canary Islands by RCA Records executive Leon Deane, who saw them dancing flamenco and singing traditional songs for tourists and signed them to the label.
Song:My Heart Will Go On Artist: Celine Dion Released: 1997 Sales: 18 Million
10. "My Heart Will Go On" is a song recorded by Canadian singer Celine Dion. The song serves as the main soundtrack to James Cameron's blockbuster film Titanic, based on an account of the transatlantic ocean liner of the same name which sank in 1912 after colliding with an iceberg in the North Atlantic Ocean. The song's music was composed by James Horner, its lyrics were written by Will Jennings, while the production was handled by Walter Afanasieff, Horner and Simon Franglen. Released as a single from Dion's fifth English-language studio album, Let's Talk About Love (1997), and the film's soundtrack, the love power ballad peaked at the top of the RPM Top Singles Chart. Outside Canada, "My Heart Will Go On" became a global hit, topping the charts in over twenty countries, including Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, the Republic of Ireland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. "My Heart Will Go On" is considered to be Dion's signature song.
Sources:
Wikipedia 2022, Billboard 2022, AFP 2022