Summer Songs 1958-2026: The Top 10 Tunes of Each Summer
Time-travel through every year since the Hot 100 began with the top 10 hits each summer.
In 1958, the Billboard Hot 100 launched its Songs of the Summer chart, tracking the most popular tunes from Memorial Day to Labor Day each year. Over the decades, summer songs have produced some of the most memorable hits in the Hot 100's history, with artists like Stevie Wonder, the Supremes, and the Rolling Stones topping the charts in the 1960s; the Bee Gees, Eagles, and Donna Summer in the 1970s; Prince and Madonna in the 1980s; Mariah Carey and TLC in the 1990s; Usher and Beyoncé in the 2000s; and Katy Perry and Drake in more recent years.
Despite an artist's background, the right song at the right time can connect with listeners, as demonstrated by OMI's chart-topping "Cheerleader" in 2015. Through each summer since 1958, we've compiled a list of the top 10 songs that dominated the airwaves during the warm months. The rankings are determined by factors such as weeks at No. 1, lower-ranking weeks, and points from radio airplay, sales, and streaming data.
For the period prior to 1992, rankings were calculated using an inverse point system, while more recent years incorporate accumulated radio and sales points, including streaming data.
Written by urgent.news from Billboard's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
