50 Years Ago Today: The Beatles Boast Nos. 1-5 On Billboard Hot 100
By Gary Trust | April 04, 2014 5:05 AM EDT
50 Years Ago Today: The Beatles Boast Nos. 1-5 On Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100 Chart from April 4, 1964
On the chart dated April 4, 1964, the Fab Four monopolized the top five on the Billboard Hot 100, marking the only time one act has ever to locked up the region
With a 27-1 second-week blast to the top for "Can't Buy Me Love," the Fab Four locked up the Hot 100's entire top five: No. 1, "Can't Buy Me Love" / No. 2, "Twist and Shout" / No. 3, "She Loves You" / No. 4, "I Want to Hold Your Hand" / No. 5, "Please Please Me"
The closest any artist has come to the Beatles' airtight top five mark is 50 Cent, who placed three titles simultaneously – "Candy Shop" (No. 1); the Game's "How We Go," on which he's featured (No. 4); and "Disco Inferno" (No. 5) – in the top five on the charts dated March 12 and 19, 2005.
Beginning a five-week reign, "Buy" marked the Beatles' third No. 1, directly following "I Want to Hold Your Hand" and second leader "She Loves You." No other act has linked three consecutive No. 1s in the Hot 100's 55-year history.
The 26-position jump to the summit for "Buy" additionally stood as a record for the greatest jump to No. 1 for nearly 38 years, until Kelly Clarkson's "A Moment Like This" rocketed 52-1 in 2002. (Clarkson's "My Life Would Suck Without You" currently holds the mark, courtesy of a 97-1 vault in February 2009).
With 20 career leaders, the Beatles lead all acts for the most No. 1s in the Hot 100's archives.
http://www.billboard.com/articles/co...-billboard-hot