RockOnTheNet
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.
"...pop
music is about fantasy, escaping from the
real world... we do things in a
tongue-in-cheek way..." - Geri Halliwell, Spice
Girls
TIMELINE
The Spice Girls were the
latest British imports to take the U.S. and the
world by storm in 1997. The Spice Girls consist
of: Geri Halliwell, Melanie Brown, Emma Bunton,
Victoria Adams, and Melanie Chisholm, but you may
know them as Ginger (not Sexy) Spice, Scary
Spice, Baby Spice, Posh Spice, and Sporty Spice.
After dominating the charts in Britain, the Spice
Girls decided to dominate the world in 1997. With
the intensity of New Kids On The
Blockand the intrigue
of Milli
Vanilli, the Spice Girls became one of the
most loved and most hated new pop sensations. The
Spice Girls formed when 4 of them responded to an
advertisement looking for 5 "lively
girls" for a musical group ("R. U.
18-23 with the ability to sing/dance? R.U.
streetwise, outgoing, ambitious, and
dedicated?"). 5 girls were selected and
formed into a band called Touch. Soon after, a
member named Michelle had to quit for family and
personal reasons. This allowed the 5th member
(Emma) to join the group. The name was then
changed to the Spice Girls (to avoid a conflict
with a US rapper named 'Spice'), and they split
with the managers who had joined them as a group.
The girls spent 2 years looking for a record
contract that would allow them equal status in
the group (and not with one defined leader).
Eventually, the Spice Girls
found a manager, signed with Virgin Records, and
collaborated on songs. The Spice Girls have made
it a routine to express their feminism with their
"Girl Power." Striking their
independence while having fun with their success,
the Spice Girls often laugh at their critics and
keep singing and dancing while they are young and
in demand. Before the fame, and even before
hooking up as a group, some of the Spice Girls
were already making career moves. Melanie Brown
(Mel B), the one with the pierced tongue often
displayed to photographers, appeared on a British
soap opera. Emma Bunton was a child model and
continues this vein with her "sweet and
innocent," often pig-tailed persona. Geri
Halliwell was a model (including nudes) and
aerobics instructor. Victoria Adams, the one who
doesn't smile, hails from a very wealthy family.
Melanie Chisholm (Mel C) is most notably the most
athletic member of the group and was once a
ballet dancer and session singer.
September:The Spice Girls
signed with Virgin Records.
October 14: The Spice Girls got their
first taste of public outcry and tabloid coverage
when they were deemed as too inappropriate
(climbing a statue at a photo opportunity) at a
race meeting at Kempton Park.
June 6:The Spice Girls
released their first single: "Wannabe." Mel C stated: "It was
recorded in under an hour."
July 19: The Spice Girls made
their UK TV debut performing on Top Of The
Pops.
July 21: The Spice Girls topped
the UK singles chart for 7 weeks with "Wannabe." The single also topped the
charts in over 30 countries.
November 16: The Spice Girls topped
the UK LP chart for 15 non-consecutive weeks with
Spice. The LP also topped the
album charts in Austria, Belgium, Canada,
Holland, Ireland, Japan, the Netherlands, New
Zealand, Norway, and Sweden, and went Top 10 in
Australia, Finland, France, Germany, and
Switzerland.
December 22: The Spice Girls topped
the UK singles chart for 3 weeks with "2 Become 1."
November 6: The Spice Girls dropped
their manager, Simon Fuller.
November 16: The Spice Girls topped
the UK LP chart for 3 non-consecutive weeks with Spiceworld. The LP also topped the
album charts in Austria, Finland, Holland,
Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, and Norway, and went
Top 10 in Australia, Belgium, Canada, France,
Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, and the US.
December 21: The Spice Girls topped
the UK singles chart for 3 weeks with "Too Much."
December 31: Spice was the biggest-selling LP
of the year with sales totaling 5.3 million in
the U.S.
December 31: The Spice Girls topped
the Billboard Year-End
Charts as the Top Pop Artist - Duo/Group
(singles & albums), Top New Pop Artist, Top
Billboard 200 Album (Spice), Top Billboard 200 Album
Artist - Duo/Group, and Top Hot 100 Singles
Artist - Duos/Group.
January 23: The Spice Girls' movie Spiceworldopened in the
U.S. but wasn't able to stop the unsinkable Titanic.Spiceworld took in an estimated $11
million which was higher than expected and set a
new record for a movie opening during a Super
Bowl weekend.
May 31: Geri Halliwell confirmed
that she was leaving the group due to differences
with the other 4 girls. Halliwell stated:
"Sadly, I would like to confirm I have left
the Spice Girls... this is because of differences
between us. I am sure the group will continue to
be successful and I wish them all the best."
The remaining Spice Girls also issued a
statement: "We are upset and saddened by
Geri's departure but we are very supportive in
whatever she wants to do. The Spice Girls are
here to stay. See you at the stadiums...
friendship never ends." Posh Spice later
said: "If Geri walked through the door now
we would all be like 'Hello.' It would be like
friends meeting up. It's not nasty, we've all
said that. We all love each other and we all love
Geri."
July 26: The Spice Girls topped
the UK singles chart for 2 weeks with "Viva
Forever."
July 4: Posh Spice married soccer
player David Beckham.
March 3: The Spice Girls were
honored at the Brit Awards with the Outstanding
Contribution recognition.
October 29: The Spice Girls topped
the UK singles chart for 1 week with "Holler / Let Love Lead The
Way" - which made them the first all-female
group to have 9 #1 singles in the UK.
November 6: The Spice Girls released Forever (available for download at
iTunes and Amazon.mp3). The LP hit the Top 10 in
Australia, Austria, Canada, Germany, and the UK.
November 20: Mel C announced she was
leaving the group. She told Reuters: "I'll
always be a Spice Girl. I don't intend to do any
more work with the Spice Girls .... Really, I've
not been comfortable being in the Spice Girls for
probably the last 2 years. It doesn't really feel
that natural to me anymore. I've grown up and I
just feel that I want to do things my own way and
not compromise... We were such a huge phenomenon,
and there's not really anywhere else to go with
that. It was a question of sacrificing our lives
and trying to maintain the success, or just being
honest with ourselves. We've all been very honest
and we all wanted to pursue solo careers.''
June 28: The Spice Girls announced
they were reforming for a world tour beginning
later in the year with all 5 members and former
manager, Simon Fuller.
November 13: The Spice Girls released Greatest
Hits
(available for download at iTunes and Amazon.mp3). The LP topped the album
charts in Australia, and hit the Top 10 in
Argentina, Brazil, Greece, Ireland, and the UK.
February 2: The Spice Girls announced
they were cutting their world tour short ending
it by the end of the month and cancelling shows
in China, South Africa, Australia, and Argentina.
The reason was given as "family and personal
commitments."
August 12: The Spice Girls came
together to perform at the 2012 Summer Olympics
closing ceremony in London.
Released: November 6, 2000 Billboard Top
200 LPs
peak: # 39 Rolling Stone: - Entertainment
Weekly: C Tracks: "Holler" - "Tell Me
Why" - "Let Love Lead The Way"
- "Right Back At Ya" - "Groove
With Me" - "Wasting My Time" -
"Weekend Love" - "Time Goes
By" - "If You Wanna Have Some
Fun" - "Oxygen" - "Goodbye"
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.