Top songs of 1969

What was the number one song of 1969?

The number one song of 1969 was “Sugar, Sugar” by The Archies, the top song on Billboard's year-end Hot 100 for 1969. It spent 4 weeks at number one on the weekly chart, starting with the chart dated September 20, 1969.

“Medley: Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In (The Flesh Failures)” by The 5th Dimension and “In the Year 2525 (Exordium and Terminus)” by Zager and Evans were each number one for 6 weeks of 1969, the most of any song that year.

Born in 1969? The birthday number one finder shows the song at number one in the exact week of your birthday, and the number one on every birthday since.

Chart data: Billboard Hot 100, as compiled on Wikipedia (number ones of 1969, year-end Hot 100 of 1969).

How many songs reached number one in 1969?

16 songs reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time in 1969. Counting “I Heard It Through the Grapevine”, which was already at number one when the year began, 17 songs held the top spot across the year's 52 weekly charts.

Of the songs that first reached number one in 1969, “Medley: Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In (The Flesh Failures)” by The 5th Dimension stayed there longest: 6 weeks in total, from the chart dated April 12, 1969.

Weeks at No. 1 counts every week the song spent at the top, including weeks in other years; the number in brackets is the weeks on charts dated 1969. Dates are chart issue dates.

Which artists had more than one number one in 1969?

2 acts had more than one number one in 1969, counting lead and featured credits. The 5th Dimension and The Beatles had 2 each.

• The 5th Dimension: “Medley: Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In (The Flesh Failures)” and “Wedding Bell Blues”
• The Beatles: “Get Back” and “Come Together / Something”

What were the biggest songs of 1969?

The five biggest songs of 1969 on Billboard’s year-end Hot 100 were “Sugar, Sugar” by The Archies, “Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In” by The 5th Dimension, “I Can't Get Next to You” by The Temptations, “Honky Tonk Women” by The Rolling Stones and “Everyday People” by Sly and the Family Stone.

The year-end chart ranks songs by how they performed on the weekly Hot 100 across Billboard’s chart year, so a song that peaked late in the year can rank lower than its weekly peak suggests, or count toward the next year’s list. The top 30 below show each song’s length where we could match the recording.

Numbers 31 to 100

31. “Green River” Creedence Clearwater Revival
32. “My Cherie Amour” Stevie Wonder
33. “Easy to Be Hard” Three Dog Night
34. “Baby It's You” Smith
35. “In the Ghetto” Elvis Presley
36. “A Boy Named Sue” Johnny Cash
37. “Baby, Baby Don't Cry” The Miracles
38. “Only the Strong Survive” Jerry Butler
39. “Time of the Season” The Zombies
40. “Wedding Bell Blues” The 5th Dimension
41. “Little Woman” Bobby Sherman
42. “Love (Can Make You Happy)” Mercy
43. “Good Morning Starshine” Oliver
44. “These Eyes” The Guess Who
45. “You've Made Me So Very Happy” Blood, Sweat & Tears
46. “Put a Little Love in Your Heart” Jackie DeShannon
47. “Do Your Thing” Charles Wright & the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band
48. “I'd Wait a Million Years” The Grass Roots
49. “Touch Me” The Doors
50. “More Today Than Yesterday” Spiral Starecase
51. “I've Gotta Be Me” Sammy Davis Jr.
52. “Lay Lady Lay” Bob Dylan
53. “Atlantis” Donovan
54. “Traces” Classics IV
55. “It's Getting Better” "Mama" Cass Elliot
56. “This Magic Moment” Jay and the Americans
57. “Runaway Child, Running Wild” The Temptations
58. “Hawaii Five-O” The Ventures
59. “Galveston” Glen Campbell
60. “I'm Gonna Make You Mine” Lou Christie
61. “Gitarzan” Ray Stevens
62. “Can I Change My Mind” Tyrone Davis
63. “Time Is Tight” Booker T. & the M.G.'s
64. “This Girl's in Love With You” Dionne Warwick
65. “Color Him Father” The Winstons
66. “Black Pearl” Checkmates, Ltd.
67. “Indian Giver” 1910 Fruitgum Company
68. “Mother Popcorn” James Brown
69. “Twenty-Five Miles” Edwin Starr
70. “Things I'd Like to Say” New Colony Six
71. “When I Die” Motherlode
72. “That's the Way Love Is” Marvin Gaye
73. “Everybody's Talkin'” Harry Nilsson
74. “Worst That Could Happen” The Brooklyn Bridge
75. “The Chokin' Kind” Joe Simon
76. “Smile a Little Smile for Me” The Flying Machine
77. “Polk Salad Annie” Tony Joe White
78. “Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town” Kenny Rogers and The First Edition
79. “Games People Play” Joe South
80. “You Showed Me” The Turtles
81. “Tracy” The Cuff Links
82. “Oh, What a Night” The Dells
83. “Something” The Beatles
84. “This Girl Is a Woman Now” Gary Puckett & The Union Gap
85. “Come Together” The Beatles
86. “Ramblin' Gamblin' Man” Bob Seger System
87. “I'm Gonna Make You Love Me” The Supremes & The Temptations
88. “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” Marvin Gaye
89. “Gimme Gimme Good Lovin'” Crazy Elephant
90. “Hang 'Em High” Booker T. & the M.G.'s
91. “Your Good Thing (Is About to End)” Lou Rawls
92. “Baby, I'm for Real” The Originals
93. “Oh Happy Day” Edwin Hawkins Singers
94. “Love Me Tonight” Tom Jones
95. “Mr. Sun, Mr. Moon” Paul Revere & the Raiders
96. “Laughing” The Guess Who
97. “My Whole World Ended (The Moment You Left Me)” David Ruffin
98. “Soul Deep” The Box Tops
99. “Hooked on a Feeling” B.J. Thomas
100. “Let Me” Paul Revere & the Raiders
100. “Sweet Cream Ladies” The Box Tops

Chart data: Billboard Hot 100, as compiled on Wikipedia (number ones of 1969, year-end Hot 100 of 1969).

What songs should go on a 1969 mix CD?

A 1969 mix that fits one 80-minute CD holds 25 of the year's biggest songs, opening with “Hot Fun in the Summertime” by Sly and the Family Stone and closing with “Going in Circles” by The Friends of Distinction, for 77:19 of music.

We built it from the year-end top 30 and every number one of 1969, taking songs in year-end order until the disc was full, then sequenced it to follow the year: the number ones in the order they reached the top, with the year’s other big hits placed between them. With a 2-second gap before each track it runs 78:09, under the 79 minutes we fill a CD to.

Lengths are the recordings matched in Deezer’s catalog. Single edits, album versions and remasters can run a little longer or shorter, so check your own playlist before you burn it.

Turn 1969 into a CD. Send us this list, or your own 1969 songs, and we burn it to a real audio CD, test-play it and post it. It makes a good gift for a birth year, a graduation year or a wedding year.

To change the songs, paste the list into the playlist length calculator to keep it under 80 minutes, then print an insert with the CD case template. Our guide to making a mixtape covers sequencing, and nostalgic gift ideas has more ways to give a year as a present.

What was popular music like in the 1960s?

Popular music in the 1960s moved from teen idols, girl groups and dance crazes to the British Invasion, Motown and folk rock. The Beatles' first US number one, "I Want to Hold Your Hand", topped the chart dated February 1, 1964, and Motown acts such as the Supremes and the Temptations reached number one through the rest of the decade.

From 1960 to 1969, 203 songs reached number one on the Hot 100, and no song stayed there for 10 weeks or more. Of those 203, “Theme from A Summer Place” by Percy Faith and his orchestra and “Hey Jude” by The Beatles spent the most weeks at number one, 9 each. The Beatles had the most number ones that reached the top in these years, with 18. The typical number one of these years ran 2:41 (the median of the 184 with a known length).