‘Macarena’ Sets New Mark With Its No. 1 Ranking On Chart

Since rock began, 849 singles have reached No. 1 on the Best Sellers in Stores chart (prior to 1958) and Billboard’s Hot 100 (first published Aug. 4, 1958).

Of those, only three have been on the chart for 40 weeks or more.

And only one was No. 1 in its 40th week. Make that is, not was.

“Macarena” (Bayside Boys Mix) by Los Del Rio on RCA remains on top of the Hot 100 Singles chart for an eighth week, its 40th week on the chart overall.

The other two chart-toppers that had runs of 40 weeks or more were “Red Red Wine” by UB40 (40 weeks) and “The Sign” by Ace Of Base (41 weeks). The fact that “Macarena” is No. 1 in its 40th week is unprecedented.

It seems more and more likely that the single will break the 55-week longevity record set a few weeks ago by Everything But The Girl’s “Missing.”

VH1 going back to ‘70s

VH1’s recent “Seven Days Of ‘70s” weeklong promotion may be over, but don’t put away those platform shoes and bell-bottom pants just yet. VH1 President John Sykes told Billboard that the channel had its highest ratings ever during the promotion, and the channel almost doubled its average daily ratings, bringing in 20 million viewers for the week, about 8 million of whom were new to the channel.

During the promotion, VH1 aggressively promoted many of its new shows, such as “Archives” and “Storytellers.” The channel also ran ‘70s-themed editions of many of its programs, including “Best of American Bandstand” and “8-Track Flashback.”

As a result of the ratings boost, the channel is adding a weekly block of ‘70s-themed clip programming, known as “Retro Wednesdays,” to its schedule. The program airs Wednesdays at 7-11 p.m. (EST). Another ‘70s promotion is expected to surface in January, when VH1 will rerun the documentary series “VH1 Presents The ‘70s.”