Paul Simon is an American singer-songwriter, known not only for his solo work, but also as a member of the folk-duo Simon & Garfunkel with Art Garfunkel. He has released studio albums, live albums, compilation albums and singles. His music career has spanned over 50 years. He started recording music in the 1950s and his most recent album, In the Blue Light, was released on September 7, 2018.
Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, actor and producer. Simon’s musical career has spanned over six decades. He is widely regarded as one of the most acclaimed songwriters in popular music history.
Arthur Ira Garfunkel (born November 5, 1941) is an American singer, poet, and actor. He is best known for his partnership with Paul Simon in the folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel.
Daryl Hall and John Oates are an American pop rock duo formed in 1970 in Philadelphia. Daryl Hall is generally the lead vocalist; John Oates primarily plays electric guitar and provides backing vocals. The two write most of the songs they perform, separately or in collaboration. They achieved their greatest fame from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s with a fusion of rock and roll and rhythm and blues.
Credited as Daryl Hall & John Oates (or Daryl Hall John Oates) on all of their US releases, the duo reached the US Top 40 with 29 of their 33 singles charting on Billboard’s Hot 100 between 1974 and 1991. Six of these peaked at number one: “Rich Girl” (1977), “Kiss on My List” (1980), the two 1981 releases “Private Eyes”, and “I Can’t Go for That (No Can Do)” (also a Hot Soul No. 1), “Maneater” (1982) and “Out of Touch” (1984). Their overall 16 US Top Tens also include “She’s Gone”, “Sara Smile”, “You Make My Dreams”, “Family Man”, “Say It Isn’t So”, and “Method of Modern Love”. Seven of their albums have been RIAA-certified platinum and six of them gold. In the United Kingdom, they have achieved success with two Top Ten albums and six Top 40 singles, two of which – “I Can’t Go for That (No Can Do)” and “Maneater” – reached the Top Ten. The duo have spent 120 weeks in the UK Top 75 albums chart and 84 weeks in the UK Top 75 singles chart.
While employing a wide variety of session musicians on their recordings, they did have a long working relationship with several musicians who appeared on many of their works and have toured with them. They include guitarist G.E. Smith, bassist Tom “T-Bone” Wolk, and multi-instrumentalist Charles DeChant. In addition, they collaborated with sisters Sara Allen and Janna Allen on songwriting and composing.
In 2003, Hall & Oates were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. In August 2018, in a 60th-anniversary celebration of Billboard’s Hot 100, the duo ranked 18 in a list of the top Hot 100 artists of all time and six in a list of the Hot 100’s top duos/groups. They remain the most successful duo, ahead of the Carpenters, the Everly Brothers, and Simon & Garfunkel. In September 2010, VH1 placed the duo at no. 99 in their list of the 100 greatest artists of all time. In April 2014, they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and on September 2, 2016, they received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
John J. Mellencamp (born October 7, 1951), previously known as Johnny Cougar, John Cougar, and John Cougar Mellencamp, an American singer-songwriter with over four decades in the recording industry, has released 23 studio albums, two live albums, four compilation albums, 65 singles and has appeared on one tribute album and one guest single respectively.
His 1976 debut album Chestnut Street Incident (credited to the stage name Johnny Cougar) failed to make any significant impact and was therefore considered a major disappointment for his then record label Mainman. Consequently, Johnny Cougar (the artist) was dropped by Mainman, but his story did not end there. John Mellencamp refused to give up, and was eventually re-signed, (this time to Riva records) although he would continue to record under the John Cougar moniker for several more years. Mellencamp’s first album to chart on the Billboard 200 was the (then self-titled) John Cougar album in 1979, which was certified Gold by the RIAA. Mellencamp’s major commercial breakthrough came in 1982 with American Fool, which reached number one on the Billboard 200 and yielded two singles, “Hurts So Good” and “Jack & Diane”, which reached number two and number one respectively on the Billboard Hot 100. American Fool would eventually sell ten million copies worldwide (5 million in the US alone). From 1983 to 1987, Mellencamp released three consecutive albums—Uh-Huh (1983), Scarecrow (1985), and The Lonesome Jubilee (1987)—which were all certified Triple Platinum by the RIAA. Combined, the three albums spawned sixteen singles, six of which—”Crumblin’ Down”, “Pink Houses”, “Lonely Ol’ Night”, “Small Town”, “Paper in Fire” and “Cherry Bomb”—became top ten hits in the US. In 1997, Mellencamp released his first ever greatest hits collection entitled The Best That I Could Do 1978–1988. To date, this compilation has sold six million copies worldwide.
Mellencamp has charted twenty eight singles on the Billboard Hot 100, including twenty two hits in the Top 40, seventeen of which made the Top 20 and ten of those would crack the Top 10. He has scored twenty two albums on the Billboard 200, including seventeen in the Top 20 and eleven in the Top 10. Mellencamp has sold about thirty million albums in the US and over sixty million worldwide.
Dame Olivia Newton-John AC DBE (born September 26, 1948) is a British-Australian singer, songwriter, actress, entrepreneur and activist. She is a four-time Grammy Award winner whose chart career includes five US number ones and another ten Top Tens on Billboard’s Hot 100 and two Billboard 200 number-one albums, If You Love Me, Let Me Know (1974) and Have You Never Been Mellow (1975). Eleven of her singles (including two platinum) and 14 of her albums (including two platinum and four 2× platinum) have been certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). She has sold an estimated 100 million records worldwide, making her one of the best-selling music artists of all time.
Newton-John has released Seventy-four singles, seven featured artist and eighteen promotional recordings. She is a four-time Grammy award winner who has amassed five number-one and ten other Top Ten Billboard Hot 100 singles, seven Top Ten Billboard Hot Country singles, and two number-one Billboard 200 solo albums. Ten of her singles have topped Billboard’s adult contemporary music singles chart; only five acts have had more number ones. Eleven of her singles (including two platinum) and fourteen of her albums (including two platinum and four double platinum) have been certified gold by the RIAA. She has sold an estimated 100 million records worldwide, making her one of the world’s best-selling artists of all time. She starred in Grease, which featured one of the most successful soundtracks in Hollywood history.
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. He has released twenty studio albums, many of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is one of the originators of the heartland rock style of music, combining mainstream rock musical style with narrative songs about working class American life. During a career that has spanned five decades, Springsteen has become known for his poetic, socially conscious lyrics and energetic stage performances, sometimes lasting up to four hours in length. He has been nicknamed “the Boss”.
Springsteen has released records steadily since 1973, and is widely known for his brand of heartland rock infused with pop hooks, poetic lyrics, and Americana sentiments centered on his native New Jersey. The E Street Band have been Springsteen’s primary backing band since 1972 and have appeared on a majority of his studio albums and live releases. Springsteen also released one studio and live album with The Sessions Band.
Springsteen’s recordings have tended to alternate between commercially accessible rock albums and somber folk-oriented works. His most commercially successful period occurred between 1975’s Born to Run and 1987’s Tunnel of Love. 1984’s Born in the U.S.A. launched Springsteen into superstardom and the album went on to become one of the biggest selling albums of all time. It produced seven top-10 hit singles, tied for the most ever with Michael Jackson’s Thriller and Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation 1814. Springsteen has steadily maintained a loyal audience since his 80s success, and experienced a renewed commercial strength since 2002’s The Rising, the first in a string of consecutive successful albums following a 1999 reunion with The E Street Band with whom he parted ways in 1988. 2014’s High Hopes was Springsteen’s eleventh #1 album placing him at third all-time for most #1 albums ever trailing only Jay-Z (13) and The Beatles (19). He achieved his eleventh #1 album in the UK with his next release, 2019’s Western Stars, which saw him join Elvis Presley and Robbie Williams on eleven UK #1s, trailing only Madonna (12) and The Beatles (15). On October 25, 2019, Springsteen released a theatrical film for Western Stars which marked his directorial debut. The film was accompanied by the Western Stars – Songs from the Film soundtrack. On October 23, 2020, Springsteen released his twentieth studio album, Letter to You.
Overall, Springsteen has released 20 studio albums, 73 singles, eight extended plays, 23 live albums, seven box sets, eight compilation albums, one soundtrack, 61 music videos and 17 home videos. He has sold 64.5 million albums in the US, making him the 15th highest-selling artist of all time and seventh highest-selling male artist overall behind Garth Brooks (135 million), Elvis Presley (134.5 million), Billy Joel (81.5 million), Michael Jackson (81 million), Elton John (73.5 million) and George Strait (69 million). In 2014, Springsteen opened the Bruce Springsteen Archives and announced that he will release various shows from his past that have been digitally restored and remastered and, unlike the bootleg releases, officially endorsed by Springsteen himself.
Patricia Lynn Yearwood (born September 19, 1964) is an American singer, actress, author and television personality. She rose to fame with her 1991 debut single “She’s in Love with the Boy,” which became a number one hit on the Billboard country singles chart. Its corresponding self-titled debut album would sell over two million copies. Yearwood continued with a series of major country hits during the early to mid-1990s, including “Walkaway Joe” (1992), “The Song Remembers When” (1993), “XXX’s and OOO’s (An American Girl)” (1994), and “Believe Me Baby (I Lied)” (1996).
Yearwood’s 1997 single “How Do I Live” reached number two on the U.S. country singles chart and was internationally successful. It appeared on her first compilation (Songbook) A Collection of Hits (1997). The album certified quadruple-platinum in the United States and featured the hits “In Another’s Eyes” and “Perfect Love.” Yearwood had a string of commercial successes over the next several years including the hit singles “There Goes My Baby” and “I Would’ve Loved You Anyway.” She released her tenth studio record Jasper County in 2005, which debuted at number one on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart and the top ten of the Billboard 200. It would become her fastest-selling album in the United States. Yearwood signed with Big Machine Records in 2007 and released the critically acclaimed Heaven, Heartache and the Power of Love the same year.
Yearwood spent several years on hiatus from her own musical career to focus on other projects. She published three successful cookbooks, which appeared on The New York Times Best Seller list. In 2012, she began a culinary television series on the Food Network called Trisha’s Southern Kitchen, which later won a Daytime Emmy Award. Yearwood has sold over 15 million records worldwide. Her work has earned her several awards and nominations, including three Grammy Awards, three awards from the Academy of Country Music, and three awards from the Country Music Association. Yearwood has also been a cast member of the Grand Ole Opry since 1999.
Aerosmith has released 72 singles. Some of their singles have been officially released to the public, while others have been released as album cuts only to radio. Twenty-one of their songs have reached the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 and the band has long been a stalwart of the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, achieving nine number-one hits on that chart to date. An additional 28 of the band’s songs have reached the Top 40 on various charts worldwide.
American singer Michael Jackson has released 63 of his songs as singles, including eight as a featured artist. He has 13 solo US #1s including 1 with Paul McCartney, and one with USA for Africa “We Are the World” (14 total). His first solo entry on the US Billboard Hot 100 was “Got to Be There” (1971), which peaked at number four. Jackson’s first number-one hit was “Ben” (1972). Jackson continued to release singles through the 1970s. The album Off the Wall spawned five singles, including the chart-topping “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough” (1979) and “Rock with You” (1979). Both are certified platinum by the Recording Industry of America (RIAA) sales in excess of 4 million and 2 million copies respectively. Jackson’s first single to be certified by the RIAA was “The Girl Is Mine” (1982), a collaboration with Paul McCartney. The single peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100. “Billie Jean”, released as the second single from his sixth studio album Thriller, topped the charts in 13 countries. The single sold more than six million copies in the United States and over 1,440,000 in the United Kingdom. “Beat It”, released a month later, peaked at number one in nine countries and sold more than five million copies in the US. “Thriller” was released in November 1982 and peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100. The single sold seven million copies in the US alone, making it Jackson’s best-selling single.
Jackson’s seventh album Bad (1987) produced nine singles with seven charting in the United States. Five of these singles (“I Just Can’t Stop Loving You”, “Bad”, “The Way You Make Me Feel”, “Man in the Mirror”, and “Dirty Diana”) reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100, a record for most number-one Hot 100 singles from any one album. In 1991, he released his eighth album, Dangerous, co-produced with Teddy Riley. The album produced four top ten singles on the Billboard Hot 100, including one number-one hit “Black or White”, “Remember the Time”, “In the Closet” and “Will You Be There” which produced and performed by Jackson the theme for the film Free Willy. In June 1995, Jackson released his ninth album, HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I, a double album. The first disc, HIStory Begins, is a 15-track greatest hits album. The second disc, HIStory Continues, contains 13 original songs and two cover versions. The album features the hits “Scream”, a duet with Jackson’s youngest sister Janet Jackson, “Earth Song”, “They Don’t Care About Us”, and “You Are Not Alone”. “You Are Not Alone” holds the Guinness World Record for the first song ever to debut at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. “Earth Song” was the third single released from HIStory, and it topped the UK Singles Chart for six weeks over Christmas 1995 and it sold a million copies, making it Jackson’s most successful single in the UK. Jackson worked with collaborators including Teddy Riley and Rodney Jerkins to produce his tenth solo album, Invincible (2001). Invincible spawned three singles, “You Rock My World”, “Cry”, and “Butterflies”.
1
Black or White
1991
2
Billie Jean
1983
3
Beat It
1983
4
Bad
1987
5
Say Say Say (with Paul McCartney)
1983
6
You Are Not Alone
1995
7
Scream (with Janet Jackson)
1995
8
I Just Can’t Stop Loving You (with Siedah Garrett)
1987
9
Remember the Time
1992
10
Thriller
1984
11
Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough
1979
12
You Rock My World
2001
13
Dirty Diana
1988
14
The Way You Make Me Feel
1987
15
Blood on the Dance Floor
1997
16
Heal the World
1992
17
In the Closet
1992
18
Love Never Felt So Good (solo or with Justin Timberlake)
The Bee Gees were a pop music group formed in 1958 that consisted principally of brothers Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. Born on the Isle of Man to English parents, the Gibb brothers lived in Chorlton, Manchester, England until the late 1950s. There, in 1955, they formed the skiffle/rock and roll group The Rattlesnakes. The family then moved to Redcliffe, in the Moreton Bay Region, Queensland, Australia, and then to Cribb Island. The trio were successful for most of their decades of recording music, but they had two distinct periods of exceptional success: as a rock act in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and as prominent performers of the disco-music era in the late 1970s.
Eilleen “Shania” Twain OC (born Eilleen Regina Edwards; August 28, 1965) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. She has sold over 100 million records, making her the best-selling female artist in country music history and one of the best-selling music artists of all time. Her success garnered her several honorific titles including the “Queen of Country Pop”. Billboard named her as the leader of the ’90s country-pop crossover stars.
Raised in Timmins, Ontario, Twain pursued singing and songwriting from a young age before signing with Mercury Nashville Records in the early 1990s. Her self-titled debut studio album was a commercial failure upon release in 1993. After collaborating with producer and later husband Robert John “Mutt” Lange, Twain rose to fame with her second studio album, The Woman in Me (1995), which brought her widespread success. It sold over 20 million copies worldwide, spawned eight singles, including “Any Man of Mine” and earned her a Grammy Award. Her third studio album, Come On Over (1997), became the best-selling studio album by a female act in any genre and the best-selling country album of all time, selling over 40 million copies worldwide. Come On Over produced twelve singles, including “You’re Still the One”, “From This Moment On”, “That Don’t Impress Me Much” and “Man! I Feel Like a Woman!” and earned Twain four Grammy Awards. Her fourth studio album, Up! (2002), spawned eight singles, including “I’m Gonna Getcha Good!”, “Ka-Ching!” and “Forever and for Always”, selling over 20 million copies worldwide, also being certified Diamond in the United States.
In 2004, after releasing her Greatest Hits album, which produced three new singles including “Party for Two”, Twain entered a hiatus, revealing years later that diagnoses with Lyme disease and dysphonia led to a severely weakened singing voice. She chronicled her vocal rehabilitation on the OWN miniseries Why Not? with Shania Twain, released her first single in seven years in 2012, “Today Is Your Day”, and published an autobiography, From This Moment On. Twain returned to performing the following year with an exclusive concert residency at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace, Shania: Still the One, which ran until 2014. In 2015, she launched the North American Rock This Country Tour, which was billed as her farewell tour. Twain released her first studio album in 15 years in 2017, Now, and embarked on the Now Tour in 2018. In 2019, she started her second Las Vegas residency, Let’s Go! at the Zappos Theater.
1
That Don’t Impress Me Much
1998
2
I’m Gonna Getcha Good!
2002
3
Man! I Feel Like a Woman!
1999
4
You’re Still the One
1998
5
Forever and for Always
2003
6
Party for Two (with Billy Currington or Mark McGrath)
Madonna has released 88 singles and 24 promotional singles and charted with 16 other songs. She has sold more than 350 million singles worldwide. According to Billboard, Madonna is the most successful solo artist in the Hot 100 chart history, second overall behind the Beatles. In the United Kingdom, Madonna scored a total of 63 top-ten hits (more than any other female artist) and 12 number-two peaks (more than any other act). In 2012, she was ranked as the best-selling singles female artist in the UK (fourth general) with 17.6 million singles sold. At the 40th anniversary of the GfK Media Control Charts, Madonna was ranked as the most successful singles artist in German chart history.
1
Like a Prayer
1989
2
4 Minutes (featuring Justin Timberlake and Timbaland)
2008
3
Hung Up
2005
4
Music
2000
5
Frozen
1998
6
Papa Don’t Preach
1986
7
Express Yourself
1989
8
Die Another Day
2002
9
Justify My Love
1990
10
American Pie
2000
11
Don’t Cry for Me Argentina
1997
12
True Blue
1986
13
Secret
1994
14
Me Against the Music (Britney Spears featuring Madonna)
The Doobie Brothers are an American rock band from San Jose, California, known for their flexibility in performing across numerous genres and their vocal harmonies. Active for five decades, with their greatest success in the 1970s, the group’s current lineup consists of founding members Tom Johnston (guitars, vocals) and Patrick Simmons (guitars, vocals), alongside Michael McDonald (keyboards, vocals) and John McFee (guitars, pedal steel, violin, backing vocals), and touring musicians including John Cowan (bass, vocals), Bill Payne (keyboards), Marc Russo (saxophones), Ed Toth (drums), and Marc Quiñones (percussion). Other long-serving members of the band include guitarist Jeff “Skunk” Baxter (1972–1979), bassist Tiran Porter (1972–1980, 1987–1992) and drummers John Hartman (1970–1979, 1987–1992), Michael Hossack (1971–1973, 1987–2012), and Keith Knudsen (1973–1982, 1993–2005).
Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer and actress. She is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, with sales of over 200 million records worldwide. Her powerful and soulful vocal performances, as well as her prominence on the music charts, have inspired many other singers.
Houston began singing in church as a child and became a background vocalist while in high school. She was one of the first black women to appear on the cover of Seventeen magazine after becoming a teen model in 1981. With the guidance of Arista Records chairman Clive Davis, Houston signed to the label at age 19. Her first two studio albums, Whitney Houston (1985) and Whitney (1987), both peaked at number one on the Billboard 200 and are among the best-selling albums of all time. She is the only artist to have seven consecutive number-one singles on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, from “Saving All My Love for You” in 1985 to “Where Do Broken Hearts Go” in 1988. Her third studio album, I’m Your Baby Tonight (1990), was certified quintuple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and yielded two Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles: the title track “I’m Your Baby Tonight” and “All the Man That I Need”.
Houston reportedly appeared “disheveled” and “erratic” in the days immediately prior to her death. On February 9, 2012, Houston visited singers Brandy and Monica, together with Clive Davis, at their rehearsals for Davis’s pre-Grammy Awards party at The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills. That same day, she made her last public performance when she joined Kelly Price on stage in Hollywood, California and sang “Jesus Loves Me”.
Two days later, on February 11, Houston was found unconscious in Suite 434 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, submerged in the bathtub. Beverly Hills paramedics arrived at approximately 3:30 p.m., found Houston unresponsive, and performed CPR. Houston was pronounced dead at 3:55 p.m. The cause of death was not immediately known; local police said there were “no obvious signs of criminal intent”. On March 22, 2012, the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office reported that Houston’s death was caused by drowning and the “effects of atherosclerotic heart disease and cocaine use”. The office stated the amount of cocaine found in Houston’s body indicated that she used the substance shortly before her death. Toxicology results revealed additional drugs in her system: diphenhydramine (Benadryl), alprazolam (Xanax), cannabis, and cyclobenzaprine (Flexeril). The manner of death was listed as an “accident”.
1
I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)
1987
2
I’m Your Baby Tonight
1990
3
I’m Every Woman
1993
4
I Will Always Love You
1992
5
My Love Is Your Love
1999
6
Step by Step
1997
7
How Will I Know
1985
8
One Moment in Time
1988
9
When You Believe (with Mariah Carey)
1998
10
Exhale (Shoop Shoop)
1995
11
Greatest Love of All
1986
12
Saving All My Love for You
1985
13
It’s Not Right but It’s Okay
1999
14
Could I Have This Kiss Forever (with Enrique Iglesias)
2000
15
I Have Nothing
1993
16
All the Man That I Need
1990
17
Love Will Save the Day
1988
18
So Emotional
1987
19
Higher Love (with Kygo)
2019
20
Didn’t We Almost Have It All
1987
21
I Learned from the Best
1999
22
Whatchulookinat
2002
23
Heartbreak Hotel (with Faith Evans and Kelly Price)
Canadian country music artist Terri Clark has released 12 studio albums, 1 live album, 3 compilation albums, 27 music videos and 41 singles. In 1994, she signed her first recording contract with Mercury Nashville Records. Her self-titled debut studio album was released in 1995. Its first three singles became top 10 hits on both the Billboard and Canadian country charts: “Better Things to Do”, “When Boy Meets Girl”, and “If I Were You”. Clark’s second studio album Just the Same was released in 1996. “Poor Poor Pitiful Me” was issued as the lead single, peaking at number 5 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. In 1998, Clark’s third studio album How I Feel was released. The album spawned four singles including “You’re Easy on the Eyes”, which topped both the American and Canadian country charts. How I Feel would also become Clark’s third album to certify platinum in sales from the RIAA and the MC.
American rock band Collective Soul releases consist of 10 studio albums, one live album, one compilation album, two extended plays, 38 singles and 23 music videos.
