RockOnTheNet.com
presents The Top Pop Songs
Of All Time !
We have ranked the top pop songs that have charted over the past
50+ years on The ARC Weekly Top 40 and Billboard Hot 100, and
come up with
a definitive list that will continue to expand as we add to it,
and continue to modify as new songs chart on The ARC Weekly Top
40.
"I am
not a good enough writer to have an agenda or
come up with a message and try to put it in a
song."
- Eddie Vedder, Pearl Jam
TIMELINE
Pearl Jam hail from Seattle
and consists of Eddie Vedder (vocals), Stone
Gossard (guitar), Mike McCready (guitar), Jeff
Ament (bass), and Dave Krusen, replaced by Dave
Abbruzzese who was later replaced by Jack Irons.
Pearl Jam has been credited by fans and critics
as bring credibility back to alternative rock in
the 90s. By delivering pure rock with an
alternative edge, the band has become one of the
most respected rock bands in the world, and also
one of the catalysts for what is now known as
"grunge rock." The origins of Pearl Jam
began in Seattle when Gossard and Ament belonged
to a hard rock band named Green River. In 1988,
the 2 joined up with Andrew Wood and Jeff Turner
to form Mother Love Bone which
released 2 LPs by 1990. After Wood overdosed on
heroin, and Mother Love Bone as a band was no
more, Gossard brought in McCready and Krusen, and
eventually Vedder - and Pearl Jam was formed. The
band's name was created in honor of Vedder's Aunt
Pearl's homemade preserves.
August 20: Pearl Jam released their
debut LP Ten. Ten sold moderately at first
but really took off in 1992 on the strength of
the tracks "Evenflow,"
"Alive," "Black," and the
classic "Jeremy." Fans hungry for pure,
hard rock with intense lyrics and an angry facade
had found their band. Pearl Jam found success
with rock and alternative radio and delivered
videos that were heavily rotated on MTV. The band
also gained in popularity when the toured with
Lollapalooza and showed that they were even
stronger in concert - as demonstrated with their
18-month tour.
October 19: Pearl Jam's eccentric
attitude became more prominent with the release
of Vs.In an effort to
continue their anti-sellout persona, the band did
not release any singles or videos from the LP,
yet the LP was a major hit with retail and
critics. Certain tracks, such as "Daughter," "Dissident,"
"Animal," and "Go" did make
it to radio and became fan favorites. The LP
hailed more critical praise than their debut LP,
and introduced Abbruzzese as the band's new
drummer.
October 28: Pearl Jam appeared on the
cover of Rolling Stone.
November 6: Pearl Jam topped the
Billboard 200 LP chart for 5 weeks with Vs.
December 4: Pearl Jam topped the
Billboard Album Rock Track chart for 8 weeks with
"Daughter."
December 31: Pearl Jam topped the Billboard Year-End
Charts as the Top Pop Artist - Duo/Group
(singles & albums) and Top Billboard 200
Album Artist - Duo/Group.
April 16: Pearl Jam performed
"Not For You," "Rearview
Mirror," and "Daughter" on Saturday Night Live.
June: The band cancelled their
summer tour protesting the high prices of tickets
and the inability to keep their ticket costs
down. Ticketmaster was the band's main target and
they asked the U.S. Justice Department to look
into the agency's business tactics. Gossard and
Ament later testified before a House Subcommittee
on the issue of ticket agencies. The cancellation
of the tour was also said to reflect the band's
anguish over the suicide of Nirvana's Kurt Cobain earlier in
the year. Once rivals for the same fan base, the
two bands had settled their grievances and had
become friends and admirers of each other.
December 6: Pearl Jam released Vitalogy and the LP continued the
band's multi-platinum status. A few tracks on the
LP became Top 40 hits including "Spin The
Black Circle" and "Tremor Christ" and one of the
band's biggest LP tracks, "Better Man." Rolling
Stone
magazine called the LP "excellent: ...it's a
wildly uneven and difficult record, sometimes
maddening, sometimes ridiculous, often
powerful..."
January: Pearl Jam officially
replaced Abbruzzese with drummer, Jack Irons
(originally from the Red
Hot Chili Peppers) - Abbruzzese had been
fired by the band in late 1994. Pearl Jam's
problems with Ticketmaster continued and a ruling
handed down by the Justice Department favored
Ticketmaster.
January 7: Pearl Jam topped the
Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart for 8 weeks
with "Better Man."
August 27: Pearl Jam released No
Code
which showed a slowing in the sales and much less
interest than previous LPs. Some feel that Pearl
Jam's tendency to take themselves too seriously
may have hampered their fame and success. Eddie
Vedder's acceptance of awards are often laced
with derogatory comments about awards, yet he
shows up. Some critics also felt the LP was too
hard and angry - the band had been accused of
trying to imitating themselves. Vedder's response
to critical backlash and lackluster record sales:
"It's great. We can be a little more normal
now."
September 7: Pearl Jam topped the
Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart for 1 week
with "Who You Are."
September 14: Pearl Jam topped the
Billboard 200 LP chart for 2 weeks with No
Code.
June: Pearl Jam's guitarist,
Mike McCready reportedly broke his collarbone
playing baseball. McCready was not able to play
with the band for about 6 weeks.
Pearl Jam found their work used in a
Washington court room. The video for Pearl Jam's
hit "Jeremy" was being equated with a
teenager who killed three people at his high
school in 1996. Attorneys for the teenager claim
that their client's life paralleled the boy
depicted in the "Jeremy" video, and has
a direct causation to the teenagers actions. In
the "Jeremy" video, the teen is
believed to kill himself at the end of the video,
and not his fellow students.
January 24: Pearl Jam hit the ARC Weekly Top 40 with "Given To Fly." The first single,
"Given
To Fly"
officially hit U.S. airwaves and sparked some
interest in terms of "having I heard this
before?" It has been pointed out numerous
times that the single sounds very similar to Led
Zeppelin's "Going To California."
Jeff Ament talked with MTV about the new LP:
"I think the last couple records, Eddie has
really been at the helm of those records. I
remember at the end of the last record, he said,
'Y'know, this was really a lot of work for me,
and next time, it would be great if I didn't have
to work so hard on the arrangements, and if
people came in with more complete ideas, and even
more complete songs, that would really help me
out a lot,' and I think everybody took that to
heart."
January 24: Pearl Jam topped the
Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart for 6
weeks with "Given To Fly."
February 3: Pearl Jam released Yield but the new tracks were
already being spread across the Internet. All 13
tracks of Yield were played on a New York
radio station at the beginning of December
without authorization from the band or their
record company. Portions of 5 of the tunes were
then found and subsequently removed from a web
site. The songs, along with many other Pearl Jam
songs on web sites, are often CD quality when in
a format known as mp3. The Recording Industry
Association of America (RIAA) and several record
companies have been taking action against many
Internet sites that offer mp3s on hundreds of
major music artists throughout the year.
June: Pearl Jam announced tour
dates in North America beginning in June and
running into September. Their first tour in 2
years used local ticket agencies for a bulk of
their sales.
July: Basketball star, Dennis
Rodman, showed up at a Pearl Jam concert in
Dallas on stage dancing, and trying to sing with
the band for 45 minutes - much to the dismay of
many critics. Rodman was described as wearing no
shirt or shoes and drinking wine to which Vedder
said, "I'm guessing you've been drinking for
about 3 days straight."
August 4: Pearl Jam released their
first home video: Single
Video Theory- a documentary of the
band rehearsing songs from Yield.
September: Pearl Jam played a
benefit concert in Washington, D.C. for Voters
For Choice (which raises funds for political
candidates who favor abortion rights). Vedder
said at the concert: "If we lived in a world
where men got pregnant but still had the same
drive and mindset, this would not be an issue...
men would not allow this kind of
oppression..."
November 12: Pearl Jam released their
first live LP, Live
On Two Legs. The 15 live tracks were taken from
the band's Yield tour.
June 30: Tragedy struck at a Pearl
Jam performance in Copenhagen when 8 people were
crushed to death as concert goers surged forward
to the stage during the band's performance. The
band was taking part in the Roskilde summer rock
festival and reportedly asked the crowd to move
back from the stage several times. A few days
later the band issued a statement: "This is
so painful... I think we are all waiting for
someone to wake us and say it was just a horrible
nightmare. And there are absolutely no words to
express our anguish in regard to the parents and
loved ones of these precious lives that were
lost. We have not yet been told what actually
occurred, but it seemed to be random and
sickeningly quick... it doesn't make sense. When
you agree to play at a festival of this size and
reputation it is impossible to imagine such a
heart-wrenching scenario. Our lives will never be
the same, but we know that is nothing compared to
the grief of the families and friends of those
involved. It is so tragic... there are no words.
Devastated, Pearl Jam." The band also
cancelled their last 2 European dates.
May 1: Pearl Jam released a DVD
- Pearl
Jam: Touring Band 2000 - with close to 3 hours of
live footage. The video topped the Billboard Top
Music Videos chart withfor 5 weeks.
November: Vedder told VH1: "We
aren't rock stars. The closest we get to
it is playing in front of a bunch of people. Even
then, it feels like we're musicians. I think it's
probably healthier that way. I think even
avoiding two-year long tours helps us. It keeps
us in touch with our laundry. I feel like being a
dog runner has more to do with my life than being
a rock star... or as anything other than a human
being. It's a good place to write from, too. I
don't know what a rock star writes about.
February: Pearl Jam started touring
- kicking off in Australia.
April: At a Denver concert,
dozens of fans walk out of the concert after
Vedder impaled a George Bush mask on a microphone
stand in protest of Bush's policies.
May: Pearl Jam announced they
had left their record label, Epic Records.
October: Pearl Jam toured as part
of the 'Vote For Change' tour. The tour featuring
several major acts will be performing in key
"battleground" states with the goal of
getting citizens out to vote, and vote to change
the current administration.
September 10: Pearl Jam performed on ReAct
Now: Music & Relief - a benefit program
shown on music video channels to raise money for
those affected by Hurricane Katrina.
January 11: Vedder won a Golden Globe
Awards for Best Original Score for the film Into
The Wild and Best Original Song
("Guaranteed").
February 10: Vedder was
nominated for a Grammy
Award for Best Song Written for
a Motion Picture, Television or Visual Media
(awarded to the songwriter)
("Guaranteed").
September 20: Pearl Jam released Backspacer through Target and iTunes
with the single "The Fixer."
October 10: Pearl Jam topped the
Billboard 200 LP chart for 1 week, Digital Albums
chart for 1 week, Rock Albums chart for 1 week,
Top Hard Rock Albums chart for 1 week, and
Alternative Albums chart for 1 week with Backspacer. The LP sold over 189,000
copies its first week of release in the US.
November 2: Pearl Jam topped the
Billboard 200 LP chart for 1 week, Digital Albums
chart for 1 week, Rock Albums chart for 2 weeks,
Hard Rock Albums chart for 6 weeks, and
Alternative Albums chart for 2 weeks with Lightning
Bolt.
The LP sold over 166,000 copies its first week of
release in the US.
November 23: Pearl Jam topped the
Billboard Adult Alternative Songs chart for 3
weeks with "Sirens."
April 7: Pearl Jam were inducted
into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
September 30: Pearl Jam released Let's
Play Two. The live set precedes the concert
film of the same name released in November and
was recorded from 2 performances at Wrigley Field
in 2016.
Released: February 3, 1998 US: Platinum Billboard Top
200 LPs
peak: # 2 Rolling Stone: - Entertainment
Weekly: B Tracks: "Brain Of
J." - "Faithful" - "No
Way" - "Given
To Fly"
- "Wishlist" - "Pilate" -
"Do The Evolution" - "Red
Dot" - "MFC" - "Low
Light" - "In Hiding" -
"Push Me, Pull Me" - "All
Those Yesterdays"
Released: July 27, 2004 Billboard Top
200 LPs
peak: # 18 Billboard #1: Internet Albums Rolling Stone: Live Tracks: "Ofthegirl"
- "Low Light" - "Thumbing My
Way" - "Thin Air" -
"Fatal" - "Nothing As It
Seems" - "Man Of The Hour" -
"Immortality" - "Off He
Goes" - "Around The Bend" -
"I Believe In Miracles" -
"Sleight Of Hand" - "All Or
None" - "Luckin" -
"Parting Ways" - "Down" -
"Can't Keep" - "Dead Man"
- "Masters Of War" -
"Black" - "Crazy Mary" -
"25 Minutes To Go" - "Daughter" - "Yellow
Ledbetter"
Released: November 16, 2004 US: Platinum Billboard Top
200 LPs
peak: # 15 Billboard #1: Rock Albums, Hard
Rock Albums, Alternative Albums Rolling Stone: Tracks: "Once" -
"Alive" - "Even Flow" -
"Jeremy" - "State Of Love And
Trust" - "Animal" -
"Go" - "Dissident" -
"Rearviewmirror" - "Spin The
Black Circle" - "Corduroy" -
"Not For You" - "I Got
S***" - "Hail, Hail" -
"Do The Evolution" - "Save
You" - "Black" -
"Breath" - "Daughter" - "Elderly
Woman Behind The Counter In A Small
Town" - "Immortality" - "Better Man" -
"Nothingman" - "Who You Are" - "Off He
Goes" - "Given
To Fly"
- "Wishlist" - "Last
Kiss"
- "Nothing As It Seems" -
"Light Years" - "I Am Mine" - "Man Of
The Hour" - "Yellow Ledbetter"
Released: September 20, 2009 US: Gold Billboard Top
200 LPs
peak: # 1 (for 1
week) Billboard #1: Digital Albums, Rock
Albums, Alternative Albums, Hard Rock Albums Grammy Nominee: Best Rock Album Rolling Stone: - Entertainment
Weekly: B Tracks: "Gonna See My
Friend" - "Got Some" -
"The Fixer" - "Johnny
Guitar" - "Just Breathe" -
"Amongst The Waves" -
"Unthought Known" -
"Supersonic" - "Speed Of
Sound" - "Force Of Nature" -
"The End"
Released: January 18, 2011 Billboard Top
200 LPs
peak: # 21 Rolling Stone: Live Tracks: "Arms
Aloft" - "World Wide Suicide"
- "Animal" - "Got Some" -
"State Of Love And Trust" - "I
Am Mine" - "Unthought Known" -
"Rearview Mirror" - "The
Fixer" - "Nothing As It Seems"
- "In Hiding" - "Just
Breathe" - "Jeremy" -
"Public Image" - "Spin The
Black Circle" - "Porch" -
"Alive" - "Yellow
Ledbetter"
Released: September 20, 2011 Billboard Top
200 LPs
peak: # 10 Billboard #1: Alternative Albums,
Hard Rock Albums Rolling Stone: Live Tracks: "Release" -
"Alive" - "Garden" -
"Why Go" - "Black" -
"Blood" - "Last Exit" -
"Not For You" - "Do The
Evolution" - "Thumbing My Way"
- "Crown Of Thorns" - "Let Me
Sleep (Christmas Time)" - "Walk
With Me" (With Neil Young) - "Just
Breathe" - Demos/Tracks: "Say Hello 2
Heaven" - "Times Of Touble" -
"Acoustic #1" - "It Ain't Like
That" - "Need To Know" -
"Be Like Wind" - "Given
To Fly"
- "Nothing As It Seems" -
"Nothing As It Seems" (live) -
"Indifference" (live) - "Of
The Girl" - "Faithfull" -
"Bushleaguer" (live) - "Better Man" (live)
"rearviewmirror" (live)
Released: October 15, 2013 Billboard Top
200 LPs
peak: # 1 (for 1
week) Rolling Stone: - Entertainment
Weekly: B+ Billboard #1: Digital Albums, Rock
Albums, Alternative Albums, Hard Rock Albums Tracks: "Getaway" -
"Mind Your Manners" - "My
Father's Son" - "Sirens" -
"Lightning Bolt" -
"Infallible" - "Pendulum"
- "Swallowed Whole" - "Let The
Records Play" - "Sleeping By
Myself" - "Yellow Moon" -
"Future Days"
Released: September 29, 2017 Billboard Top
200 LPs
peak: # 31 Billboard #1: Hard Rock Albums Live Tracks: "Low Light"
- "Better Man" - "Elderly
Woman Behind The Counter In A Small
Town" - "Last Exit" -
"Lightning Bolt" - "Black,
Red, Yellow" - "Black" -
"Corduroy" - "Given
To Fly"
- "Jeremy" - "Inside Job"
- "Go" - "Crazy Mary" -
"Release" - "Alive" -
"All The Way" - "I've Got A
Feeling" - "
Released: March 27, 2020 Billboard #1: Rock Albums, Hard
Rock Albums, Alternative Albums Tracks: "Who Ever
Said" - "Superblood Wolfman" -
"Dance Of The Clairvoyants" -
"Quick Escape" -
"Alright" - "Seven
O'Clock" - "Never Destination"
- "Take The Long Way" -
"Buckle Up" - "Comes Then
Goes" - "Retrograde" -
"River Cross"
Note: Song title and position
links lead you to the song's ARC Weekly Top 40 chart run, LP links take
you to Amazon.com for that LP's info (often
including track listings and track samples), and
single cover art takes you to Amazon.com for that CD single (if
available). Songs charting prior to 1980 have
information from Billboard magazine.