The "American" Top 10

There have been exactly 10 hits reach the Hot 100's Top 10 with "America" or "American" in the title. Those 10 hits give a surprisingly poignant picture of America's vibe check throughout the years.

Since its inception in 1958, exactly 10 songs with “America” or “American” in the title have reached the Billboard Hot 100’s Top 10. As we celebrate the 249^th birthday of the United States of America tomorrow, a chronological tour of those Top 10 “American” hits offers tremendous insight into how Americans’ self-image has evolved since the dawn of Rock ‘n’ Roll through the rise of Hip Hop. Sometimes, there’s optimism and pride. At others, there’s fear, despair, longing, and even anger.

There are even insights from other countries, as three of these Top 10 songs aren’t even by American artists.

So before you leave out that Budweiser and Ammo for Kid Rock tonight, come with me on a tour of the “American” Top 10:

1) Bill Parsons "The All American Boy"

Peak: #2 on 2/2/1959 - Top 10 for 5 weeks

The first official “American” song to reach the Hot 100’s Top 10 is a thinly veiled and inaccurate celebration of the life of Elvis Presley, from picking up a guitar to joining the Army. It’s a musical museum piece from when folks still thought Rock ‘n’ Roll was a fad. Surely, these kids will grow up one day and re-embrace Patti Page. Instead, Rock would replace Jazz-based music as the dominant form of popular music until Hip Hop replaced rock this millennium. In a sad irony, “The All American Boy” peaked at #2 the same week we lost four All American Boys in that infamous plane crash outside Clear Lake, Iowa. (Yeah, we’ll get to that one.)

2) The Guess Who "American Woman" / "No Sugar Tonight"

Peak: #1 on 5/9/1970 - Top 10 for 8 weeks

Was America’s favorite Canadian band at the time insulting our women or commenting on our politics? The group says neither. Burton Cummings, who improvised the lyrics, says he noticed women in the U.S. grew up faster—and that made them “dangerous.” The veiled message of the song, according to Cummings, is “Canadian Woman, I prefer you.” “American Women was a double-sided #1 with “No Sugar, Tonight,” (perhaps because he was with those Canadian women he preferred?)

3) Don McLean "American Pie"

Peak: #1 on 1/15/1972 - Top 10 for 11 weeks

What’s the meaning? According to McLean, it means he’ll never have to work another day in his life.

4) Grand Funk Railroad "We're an American Band"

Peak: #1 on 9/29/1973 - Top 10 for 6 weeks

Appropriately, the single dropped just in time for the 4^th of July holiday of 1973. “We’re An American Band” marks a transition of FM Rock radio away from playing a wide variety of album cuts towards featuring a narrower selection of proven hit singles. And what can make a band more American than making Rock corporate? That’s a natural fact.

5) Byron MacGregor "The Americans"

Peak: #4 on 2/9/1974 - Top 10 for 4 weeks

1974 sucked. Vietnam. Nixon. White Flight. Dying cities. The Ford Pinto. The Chevy Vega. Sonny & Cher were divorcing. The Brady Bunch future we still hoped for just five years ago was now undeniably Archie Bunker and M*A*S*H. Father, no longer, Knew Best.

Byron MacGregor lead the news team at The Big 8 CKLW, the legendary Canadian Top 40 station targeting U.S. listeners in Detroit. (and Toledo. And Cleveland.) When he read an op-ed from fellow Canadian journalist Gordan Sinclair from Toronto’s 1010 CFRB, he knew it would bolster America’s sagging self-image, especially in the Motor City. He read “The Americans” on the air during a public affairs program. The response was so massive, he recorded it with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra playing “America The Beautiful” behind his narration.

Appropriately, given the song’s final news item, MacGregor donated the proceeds to the American Red Cross.

6) Neil Diamond "America"

Peak: #8 on 6/13/1981 - Top 10 for 4 weeks

It was an ode to the early 1900s immigration wave, whose laborers made our clothes in New York, our locomotives in Philadelphia, and our hod dogs in Chicago. U.S. immigration rates were rising again when Diamond recorded his patriotic banger, and while political discussion about illegal immigration were salient, our overall spirit was pride in a country worth coming to. After 9/11, however, Diamond changed it to. “Stand up for America." We seemingly never changed it back.

7) Joey Scarbury "Believe It or Not (Theme from The Greatest American Hero)"

Peak: #2 on 8/15/1981 - Top 10 for 10 weeks

It only makes the list parenthetically. It describes nothing specifically American. Then again, perhaps its tale of euphoric personal achievement makes it the most American song on the list.

Besides… You know it’s a banger.

8) James Brown "Living in America"

Peak: #4 on 3/1/1986 - Top 10 for 5 weeks

The Godfather of Soul salutes our nation’s transportation infrastructure, our puritan work ethic, and our 24/7 culture—which ironically appears to be vanishing. Arguably, so is our infrastructure. “Easy to get anywhere”? Would the hardest working man in Show business believe that line today if he drove on the Capitol Beltway? Still, it’s a banger, and as a native Atlantan, I take pride in our billing just behind Chicago and L.A.

9) Estelle featuring Kanye West "American Boy""

Peak: #9 on 9/27/2008 - Top 10 for 3 weeks

Man, Americans really had a dry spell in the Top 10 there, didn’t we? When an “American” finally returns after two decades, it’s a British singer imagining how her American suitor could open doors to glamorous travel for her.

10) Childish Gambino "This Is America"

Peak: #1 on 5/19/2018 - Top 10 for 5 weeks

Were you expecting the first and only real protest song on the list of “America” Top 10s to appear in 2018? I’ll punt on my own musing and instead point you to Stereogum music critic Tom Breihan’s assessment.

And since I know my fellow chart geeks will want it noted…

Yes, there are also five (5) Top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 that mention the “U.S.A.,” namely:

• "Surfin' U.S.A." by The Beach Boys (1963)

• "Born in the U.S.A."by Bruce Springsteen (1985)

• "R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A. (A Salute to 60's Rock)" by John Cougar Mellencamp (1986)

• "God Bless the U.S.A." by American Idol Finalists (2003)

• "Party in the U.S.A." by Miley Cyrus (2009)

There are five (5) artists with “American” in their names who achieved Top 10 hits on the Hot 100:

• Jay and the Americans (3 Top 10s)

• Five Americans (1 Top 10 — 20% of a hit for each American)

• The American Breed (1 Top 10)

• American Idol Finalists (1 Top 10)

• The All-American Rejects (3 Top 10s)

There’s also Gary U.S. Bonds with five (5) Top 10 hits.

Outpacing those American artists is the group simply called America, which scored seven (7) Top 10 hits.

Data sources for this post:

• The Billboard Hot 100: https://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100

• Wikipedia’s Billboard Hot 100 Top 10 singles: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Billboard_Hot_100_top-ten_singles