Featured Top 500 Song*: "Rolling in the Deep" by Adele

Last week, we showcased one of the classics of the Rock Era--"Light My Fire" by the Doors, which has been a solid member of The Top 500 Songs of the Rock Era* since it was released in1967.  We told the importance of a song's competition in any legitimate ranking of songs, especially over many months and many years.  We pointed out that 1967 was one of the best-ever years in music.

But the last two years, music has come out of the doldrums that it has been in for 15-20 years, and a lot of the credit has to go to this young British phenomenon.  Her first hit remained at #1 for 7 weeks overall, but it was even stronger in the more-important Adult Contemporary chart, which has held on to the biggest market share of the radio market for many years.  There, this song was #1 for a sensational 19 weeks. 

But the song has much more going for it than chart performance.  The single has now sold over 16 million copies, and the album 21 has sold over 10 million.  Very few artists today sell over one million copies, so 10 million is so far ahead of the field that she's in the stratosphere with that total.  While the 60's and 70's were the most talented in the Rock Era, Adele has proven that its possible to crack The Top 500* with a release in the new millennium.