Ya que estoy lo pego xD
1.
Michael Jackson, "Thriller," 2,343,000. Everybody knows you can't release seven singles from one album. Evidently Jackson didn't get the memo, because this was the seventh single (and the seventh top 10 hit) from
Thriller. Rod Temperton wrote the song, which hit #3 R&B and #4 pop in 1984. The late
Vincent Price did the spooky rap on the album version. The song has been a Halloween perennial since 1983.
2.
Michael Jackson, "Billie Jean," 1,882,000. Even more than the
Off The Wall singles, this striking record proved that Jackson was all grown up. Jackson wrote the song, which hit #1 R&B and #1 pop in 1983. He performed it on the
Motown 25 special, where he introduced the moonwalk to universal acclaim.
David Cook sang the song en route to his victory on
American Idol in 2008.
3.
Michael Jackson, "Beat It," 1,575,000. Rock and R&B were almost completely separate fields until Jackson came along with this genre-bridging smash. Jackson wrote the song, which hit #1 R&B and #1 pop in 1983. Eddie Van Halen played the guitar solo. A remake by
Fall Out Boy featuring
John Mayer went top 20 in 2008.
"Weird Al" Yankovic hit the top 20 in 1984 with a parody titled "Eat It."
4.
Michael Jackson, "Man In The Mirror," 1,281,000. This introspective, socially conscious song was one of Jackson's finest singles. It showed that he could explore deeper themes in his work without losing the beat.
Glen Ballard and
Siedah Garrett co-wrote the song, which hit #1 R&B and #1 pop in 1988. Garrett,
the Winans and the
Andrae Crouch Choir sang background vocals.
5.
Michael Jackson, "Don't Stop ‘Til You Get Enough," 1,259,000. This was the first single from Jackson's first album with producer
Quincy Jones. It hit #1 R&B and #1 pop in 1979. It was Jackson's first #1 hit as an adult artist. It also brought him his first Grammy. Jackson wrote the song, which jazz trumpeter
Maynard Ferguson covered in 1982.
6.
Etta James, "At Last," 1,143,000. This ultra-romantic ballad was already an oldie when James recorded it in 1961. Bandleader
Glenn Miller had a hit with the
Harry Warren/Mack Gordon song in 1942. James' rendition reached #2 R&B and #47 pop. It was featured in the 1988 movie
Rain Man. Beyonce sang the song in the movie
Cadillac Records and at President Obama's post-inaugural gala.
7.
M.C. Hammer, "U Can't Touch This," 1,113,000. Hammer (Stanley Burrell) wrote this song, which borrows heavily from
Rick James' 1981 hit "Super Freak (Part I)." "U Can't Touch This" hit #1 R&B and #8 pop in 1990. The song was featured on a recent episode of
Glee.
8.
Michael Jackson, "The Way You Make Me Feel," 1,094,000. Jackson wrote this randy song, which hit #1 R&B and #1 pop in 1988. In 1988, in his only solo Grammy performance, Jackson sang this song and "Man In The Mirror." It was one of the greatest performances in Grammy history.
9.
Sir Mix-A-Lot, "Baby Got Back," 1,042,000. Sir-Mix-A-Lot (Anthony Ray) wrote this song, which hit #27 R&B and #1 pop in 1992. It was featured on the hit soundtrack to
Charlie's Angels in 2000. Jennifer Aniston's character sang it to calm her baby on a memorable episode of
Friends.
10.
Michael Jackson, "Smooth Criminal," 1,015,000. After Jackson's success with seven singles from
Thriller, no one thought twice when this was released as the seventh single from
Bad. Jackson wrote the song, which hit #2 R&B and #7 pop in 1989. The video, featuring actor Joe Pesci, was one of Jackson's most elaborate. A 2001 cover version by
Alien Ant Farm made the top 30.
11.
Michael Jackson, "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)," 1,002,000.
James Ingram and Quincy Jones co-wrote this song, which hit #46 R&B and #10 pop in 1983. It was the sixth single from
Thriller.
12.
Marvin Gaye, "Let's Get It On," 997,000. What's the most erotic song ever to become an across-the-board hit? This smoldering smash, which Gaye co-wrote with
Ed Townsend, would be high on anyone's list. The song hit #1 R&B and #1 pop in 1973. Gaye's recording has been featured in many films, including
Nine Months and
Austin Powers-The Spy Who Shagged Me.
13.
Earth, Wind & Fire, "September," 880,000. "Shining Star" and "After The Love Has Gone" were bigger hits for EWF in the ‘70s, but this has sold better in the digital realm. Albert McKay, Maurice White and Allee Willis co-wrote the exhilarating song, which hit #1 R&B and #8 pop in 1979. It was featured on the
Soul Food soundtrack in 1997.
14.
The Temptations, "My Girl," 851,000. This graceful ballad is one of the true standards of the last 50 years.
Smokey Robinson and
Ronnie White co-wrote the song, which hit #1 R&B and #1 pop in 1965. Twenty years later, two members of the Temptations, David Ruffin and Eddie Kendrick, joined
Daryl Hall & John Oates for a live medley which featured the song. It went top 20, as did a 1988 cover by
Suave. The Temps' version has appeared in such movies as
The Big Chill,
Born On The Fourth Of July and
My Girl.
15.
The Jackson 5, "ABC," 849,000. Motown founder
Berry Gordy Jr. co-wrote this exuberant ditty with Fonce Mizell, Freddie Perren and Deke Richards. It hit #1 R&B and #1 pop. It was featured on the
Crooklyn soundtrack in 1994.
16.
Gloria Gaynor, "I Will Survive," 840,000. This song started out as the B-side to "Substitute." Never heard of it? You're not alone. "Substitute" "bubbled under" the Hot 100 at #107, but this song went all the way. Dino Fekaris and Freddie Perren co-wrote the disco anthem, which hit #4 R&B and #1 pop in 1979. It appeared in the 1994 film
The Adventures Of Priscilla: Queen Of The Desert. Two years later, a version by Chantay Savage made the top 30.
17.
Stevie Wonder, "Superstition," 829,000. This supremely funky record was Wonder's first #1 hit on the Hot 100 as an adult artist. (As Little Stevie Wonder, he had topped the chart in 1963 with "Fingertips-Pt 2.") Wonder wrote the song, which also hit #1 R&B in 1973.
Stevie Ray Vaughan released a memorable live version in 1986.