Astute followers of music history will know that in 1999, Cher set the record for the longest time between #1 songs when "Believe" topped the charts. It had been 25 years (1,302 weeks) since Cher was there with "Dark Lady".
But what about the other long droughts between #1 songs? We have those for you below (Note: When Manfred Mann hit #1 in 1977 with "Blinded By The Light", it was with an entirely different group than his 1964 #1 "Do Wah Diddy Diddy". Also, Patti Labelle is not eligible, since her 1975 #1 was with the group Labelle, and her next #1 ("On My Own") was a duet with Michael McDonald):
1969: Elvis Presley returned in a big way with his #1 song "Suspicious Minds", 391 weeks since his 1962 #1 "Good Luck Charm".
1969: Another '69 comeback was made by early 60's star Tommy Roe. It had been 339 weeks since Roe's "Sheila" was #1, but he returned with "Dizzy".
1973: When Stevie Wonder reached #1 with "Superstition", it halted a drought of 491 weeks since Little Stevie's 1963 #1 "Fingertips Part II". And he thought that was a long time...
1974: 50's crooner Paul Anka returned in 1974 with the #1 "Having My Baby". He had gone 785 weeks since last reaching #1 with "Lonely Boy" in 1959, a Rock Era record at the time.
1975: Neil Sedaka made a big comeback with his 1974 #1 "Laughter In The Rain". That broke a drought of 649 weeks since his 1962 #1 "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do".
1976: The 4 Seasons made a splash of their own in 1976 with the #1 "December, 1963 (Oh What A Night)". It had been 606 weeks since their last #1, "Rag Doll" in 1964.
1978: Neil Diamond went 334 weeks between the #1 songs "Song Sung Blue" in 1972 and his #1 duet with Barbra Streisand, "You Don't Bring Me Flowers".
1979: Herb Albert had heretofore only enjoyed one #1 song, "This Guy's In Love With You" in 1968. 587 weeks later, Herb's instrumental "Rise" did indeed rise to the top.
1979: Michael Jackson's career was actually just getting underway, but it had been 364 weeks between the #1's "Ben" in 1972 and "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough".
1983: Most people would find it hard to believe that David Bowie even had two #1 songs, but he did. He topped the charts with "Let's Dance", making 397 weeks since his only other #1, "Fame" in 1975.
1984: Stevie Wonder is the only artist to have two periods of over 300 weeks between #1 songs. Wonder's classic "I Just Called To Say I Love You" stopped his second streak at 383 weeks since the 1977 #1 song "Sir Duke".
1985: George Harrison's #1 "Got My Mind Set On You" broke a long dry spell of 758 weeks since his last #1, "Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth)".
1986: Dionne Warwick's charity single with Elton John, Stevie Wonder and Gladys Knight ("That's What Friends Are For") hit #1, making 585 weeks since Warwick's #1 "Then Came You" (with the Spinners).
1987: Aretha Franklin owned this record briefly, as she went 1,035 weeks between the #1's "Respect" in 1967 and "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)" (with George Michael).
1988: Beach Boys set the record prior to Cher with 1,142 weeks between "Good Vibrations" in 1966 and "Kokomo" in 1988.
1988: Their length between #1 songs paled compared to the Beach Boys, but Chicago stopped another streak in 1988, 324 weeks between the 1982 #1 "Hard To Say I'm Sorry" and "Look Away".
1989: The next year, Billy Joel returned to #1 with "We Didn't Start The Fire", marking 323 weeks since his 1983 #1 "Tell Her About It".
1992: Elton John hit #1 in his remake of "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me", a duet with George Michael. It had been 804 weeks since EJ was at the top with "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" (a duet with Kiki Dee) in 1986.
1974: 50's crooner Paul Anka returned in 1974 with the #1 "Having My Baby". He had gone 785 weeks since last reaching #1 with "Lonely Boy" in 1959, a Rock Era record at the time.
1994: Rod Stewart finally hit #1 in his song with Bryan Adams and Sting--"All For Love". That was the first time Mod Rod had reached #1 since his 1979 smash "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy" in 1979, a total of 776 weeks.
2008: Britney Spears is among those with the longest drought, hitting #1 with "Womanizer". It had been 506 weeks since Britney's "Baby...Hit Me One More Time" in 1999.
2009: Kelly Clarkson went 329 weeks between her breakthrough #1 "A Moment Like This" in 2002 and the #1 "My Life Would Suck Without You".
Here is how the droughts rank in order:
1. Cher (1,302 weeks) from "Dark Lady" in 1974 to "Believe" in 1999.
2. Beach Boys (1,142 weeks) from "Good Vibrations" in 1966 to "Kokomo" in 1988.
3. Aretha Franklin (1,035 weeks) from "Respect" in 1967 to "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)" in 1987.
4. Elton John (804 weeks) from "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" in 1976 to "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me" in 1992.
5. Rod Stewart (776 weeks) from "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy" in 1979 to "All For Love" in 1994.
6. George Harrison (758 weeks) from "Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth)" to "Got My Mind Set On You" in 1985.
7. Neil Sedaka (649 weeks) from "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do" in 1962 to "Laughter In The Rain" in 1974.
8. 4 Seasons (606 weeks) from "Rag Doll" in 1964 to "December, 1963 (Oh What A Night)" in 1976.
9. Herb Alpert (587 weeks) from "This Guy's In Love With You" in 1968 to "Rise" in 1979.
10. Dionne Warwick (585 weeks) from "Then Came you" in 1974 to "That's What Friends Are For" in 1986.
11. Britney Spears (506 weeks) from "Baby...Hit Me One More Time" in 1999 to "Womanizer" in 2008.
12. Stevie Wonder (491 weeks) from "Fingertips Part II" in 1963 to "Superstition" in 1973.
13. David Bowie (397 weeks) from "Fame" in 1975 to "Let's Dance" in 1983.
14. Elvis Presley (391 weeks) from "Good Luck Charm" in 1962 to "Suspicious Minds" in 1969.
15. Stevie Wonder (383 weeks) from "Sir Duke" in 1977 to "I Just Called To Say I Love You" in 1984.
16. Michael Jackson (364 weeks) from "Ben" in 1972 to "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" in 1979.
17. Tommy Roe (339 weeks) from "Sheila" in 1962 to "Dizzy" in 1969.
18. Neil Diamond (334 weeks) from "Song Sung Blue" in 1972 to "You Don't Bring Me Flowers" in 1978.
19. Kelly Clarkson (329 weeks) from "A Moment Like This" in 2002 to "My Life Would Suck Without You" in 2009.
20. Chicago (324 weeks) from "hard To Say I'm Sorry" in 1982 to "Look Away" in 1988.
21. Billy Joel (323 weeks) from "Tell Her About It" in 1983 to "We Didn't Start The Fire" in 1989.
But what about the other long droughts between #1 songs? We have those for you below (Note: When Manfred Mann hit #1 in 1977 with "Blinded By The Light", it was with an entirely different group than his 1964 #1 "Do Wah Diddy Diddy". Also, Patti Labelle is not eligible, since her 1975 #1 was with the group Labelle, and her next #1 ("On My Own") was a duet with Michael McDonald):
1969: Elvis Presley returned in a big way with his #1 song "Suspicious Minds", 391 weeks since his 1962 #1 "Good Luck Charm".
1969: Another '69 comeback was made by early 60's star Tommy Roe. It had been 339 weeks since Roe's "Sheila" was #1, but he returned with "Dizzy".
1973: When Stevie Wonder reached #1 with "Superstition", it halted a drought of 491 weeks since Little Stevie's 1963 #1 "Fingertips Part II". And he thought that was a long time...
1974: 50's crooner Paul Anka returned in 1974 with the #1 "Having My Baby". He had gone 785 weeks since last reaching #1 with "Lonely Boy" in 1959, a Rock Era record at the time.
1975: Neil Sedaka made a big comeback with his 1974 #1 "Laughter In The Rain". That broke a drought of 649 weeks since his 1962 #1 "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do".
1976: The 4 Seasons made a splash of their own in 1976 with the #1 "December, 1963 (Oh What A Night)". It had been 606 weeks since their last #1, "Rag Doll" in 1964.
1978: Neil Diamond went 334 weeks between the #1 songs "Song Sung Blue" in 1972 and his #1 duet with Barbra Streisand, "You Don't Bring Me Flowers".
1979: Herb Albert had heretofore only enjoyed one #1 song, "This Guy's In Love With You" in 1968. 587 weeks later, Herb's instrumental "Rise" did indeed rise to the top.
1979: Michael Jackson's career was actually just getting underway, but it had been 364 weeks between the #1's "Ben" in 1972 and "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough".
1983: Most people would find it hard to believe that David Bowie even had two #1 songs, but he did. He topped the charts with "Let's Dance", making 397 weeks since his only other #1, "Fame" in 1975.
1984: Stevie Wonder is the only artist to have two periods of over 300 weeks between #1 songs. Wonder's classic "I Just Called To Say I Love You" stopped his second streak at 383 weeks since the 1977 #1 song "Sir Duke".
1985: George Harrison's #1 "Got My Mind Set On You" broke a long dry spell of 758 weeks since his last #1, "Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth)".
1986: Dionne Warwick's charity single with Elton John, Stevie Wonder and Gladys Knight ("That's What Friends Are For") hit #1, making 585 weeks since Warwick's #1 "Then Came You" (with the Spinners).
1987: Aretha Franklin owned this record briefly, as she went 1,035 weeks between the #1's "Respect" in 1967 and "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)" (with George Michael).
1988: Beach Boys set the record prior to Cher with 1,142 weeks between "Good Vibrations" in 1966 and "Kokomo" in 1988.
1988: Their length between #1 songs paled compared to the Beach Boys, but Chicago stopped another streak in 1988, 324 weeks between the 1982 #1 "Hard To Say I'm Sorry" and "Look Away".
1989: The next year, Billy Joel returned to #1 with "We Didn't Start The Fire", marking 323 weeks since his 1983 #1 "Tell Her About It".
1992: Elton John hit #1 in his remake of "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me", a duet with George Michael. It had been 804 weeks since EJ was at the top with "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" (a duet with Kiki Dee) in 1986.
1974: 50's crooner Paul Anka returned in 1974 with the #1 "Having My Baby". He had gone 785 weeks since last reaching #1 with "Lonely Boy" in 1959, a Rock Era record at the time.
1994: Rod Stewart finally hit #1 in his song with Bryan Adams and Sting--"All For Love". That was the first time Mod Rod had reached #1 since his 1979 smash "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy" in 1979, a total of 776 weeks.
2008: Britney Spears is among those with the longest drought, hitting #1 with "Womanizer". It had been 506 weeks since Britney's "Baby...Hit Me One More Time" in 1999.
2009: Kelly Clarkson went 329 weeks between her breakthrough #1 "A Moment Like This" in 2002 and the #1 "My Life Would Suck Without You".
Here is how the droughts rank in order:
1. Cher (1,302 weeks) from "Dark Lady" in 1974 to "Believe" in 1999.
2. Beach Boys (1,142 weeks) from "Good Vibrations" in 1966 to "Kokomo" in 1988.
3. Aretha Franklin (1,035 weeks) from "Respect" in 1967 to "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)" in 1987.
4. Elton John (804 weeks) from "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" in 1976 to "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me" in 1992.
5. Rod Stewart (776 weeks) from "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy" in 1979 to "All For Love" in 1994.
6. George Harrison (758 weeks) from "Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth)" to "Got My Mind Set On You" in 1985.
7. Neil Sedaka (649 weeks) from "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do" in 1962 to "Laughter In The Rain" in 1974.
8. 4 Seasons (606 weeks) from "Rag Doll" in 1964 to "December, 1963 (Oh What A Night)" in 1976.
9. Herb Alpert (587 weeks) from "This Guy's In Love With You" in 1968 to "Rise" in 1979.
10. Dionne Warwick (585 weeks) from "Then Came you" in 1974 to "That's What Friends Are For" in 1986.
11. Britney Spears (506 weeks) from "Baby...Hit Me One More Time" in 1999 to "Womanizer" in 2008.
12. Stevie Wonder (491 weeks) from "Fingertips Part II" in 1963 to "Superstition" in 1973.
13. David Bowie (397 weeks) from "Fame" in 1975 to "Let's Dance" in 1983.
14. Elvis Presley (391 weeks) from "Good Luck Charm" in 1962 to "Suspicious Minds" in 1969.
15. Stevie Wonder (383 weeks) from "Sir Duke" in 1977 to "I Just Called To Say I Love You" in 1984.
16. Michael Jackson (364 weeks) from "Ben" in 1972 to "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" in 1979.
17. Tommy Roe (339 weeks) from "Sheila" in 1962 to "Dizzy" in 1969.
18. Neil Diamond (334 weeks) from "Song Sung Blue" in 1972 to "You Don't Bring Me Flowers" in 1978.
19. Kelly Clarkson (329 weeks) from "A Moment Like This" in 2002 to "My Life Would Suck Without You" in 2009.
20. Chicago (324 weeks) from "hard To Say I'm Sorry" in 1982 to "Look Away" in 1988.
21. Billy Joel (323 weeks) from "Tell Her About It" in 1983 to "We Didn't Start The Fire" in 1989.
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