# How many songs have ever achieved "Number 1 with a Bullet"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 28, 2019, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-songs-have-ever-achieved-number-1-with-a-bullet/834666 "2019-05-28T19:30:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cindermatic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/22d042/32.png) [@Cindermatic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cindermatic)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2019, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-songs-have-ever-achieved-number-1-with-a-bullet/834666/1 "2019-05-28T19:30:54Z")
When was the first known use of the term “Number 1 with a Bullet”? How many songs have actually achieved this feat? ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2019, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-songs-have-ever-achieved-number-1-with-a-bullet/834666/2 "2019-05-28T19:38:21Z")
[Thirty-four singles](https://www.billboard.com/photos/426225/billboard-hot-100-number-1-song-debuts) have debuted at number one on ther Billboard Hot 100. I don’t know when the phrase was first used, though. Edit… and I just learned that that’s not even what the bullet indicates! :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2019, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-songs-have-ever-achieved-number-1-with-a-bullet/834666/3 "2019-05-28T19:50:58Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > Edit… and I just learned that that’s not even what the bullet indicates! :smack: Ah, so what does it indicate? The only time I recall hearing the term was in a Frank Zappa song, which I don’t remember the name of. ---
**Author:** ![Pork\_Rind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pork_rind/32/111_2.png) [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2019, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-songs-have-ever-achieved-number-1-with-a-bullet/834666/4 "2019-05-28T20:04:20Z")
It signifies a song in the number 1 spot that’s still building momentum. I’m pretty sure songs that are not in the number 1 slot can also get a bullet if they are moving up more quickly than some baseline metric. From [here](https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/number-one-with-a-bullet-the-rise-of-the-billboard-hot-100): > [@](#): > > It even launched a vocabulary: the phrase “number one with a bullet” refers to a Hot 100 innovation, a small symbol indicating that a song is on its way up. To be “number one with a bullet” means you’re at the top and still rising, thus not likely to vacate the penthouse anytime soon. ---
**Author:** ![Pork\_Rind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pork_rind/32/111_2.png) [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2019, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-songs-have-ever-achieved-number-1-with-a-bullet/834666/5 "2019-05-28T20:07:40Z")
Too late to edit, but [here’s more](https://www.npr.org/sections/therecord/2013/08/16/207879695/how-the-hot-100-became-americas-hit-barometer)… > [@](#): > > What does “Number One with a bullet” mean? This phrase has so infiltrated popular culture that few know it originated in Billboard; and even those that know “with a bullet” is pop-chart-related have no idea why we’re talking about ammo. It’s actually pretty simple: Billboard puts a circle — a bullet — around the chart position of any record that is gaining in chart points and has upward momentum. The Hot 100 was the first major Billboard chart to receive bullets (at first, in the late '50s, they were actually stars, denoting a “Star Performer This Week”), but now virtually all Billboard charts have bullets. > > Generally, a song retains its bullet while it’s rising and loses it when the song is slowing at radio or with consumers and, hence, nearing its peak. It’s possible for a song to rise a few positions without a bullet, or fall a couple of places with a bullet — but generally, you want a bullet, which means your record has an upward trajectory. The ever-popular “No. 1 with a bullet” means a record is not only on top of the chart, it’s got upward momentum and will likely stay there for a while since it can’t go any higher. ---
**Author:** ![Helmut\_Doork](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e8c25b/32.png) [@Helmut\_Doork](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helmut_Doork)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2019, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-songs-have-ever-achieved-number-1-with-a-bullet/834666/6 "2019-05-28T20:26:33Z")
In 1975 the Pete Wingfield song “Eighteen with a Bullet” hit number 18 on the US Billboard pop chart- with a bullet ---
**Author:** ![Cindermatic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/22d042/32.png) [@Cindermatic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cindermatic)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2019, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-songs-have-ever-achieved-number-1-with-a-bullet/834666/7 "2019-05-28T21:46:17Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > [Thirty-four singles](https://www.billboard.com/photos/426225/billboard-hot-100-number-1-song-debuts) have debuted at number one on ther Billboard Hot 100. I don’t know when the phrase was first used, though. > > Edit… and I just learned that that’s not even what the bullet indicates! :smack: Well if they debuted at Number 1 then they definitely had the bullet! Good info! ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2019, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-songs-have-ever-achieved-number-1-with-a-bullet/834666/8 "2019-05-29T00:08:54Z")
A quick check reveals that I have downloaded (or even heard of)…None of them. Small correction: I’ve heard the Elton John redo. Didn’t like it, but I heard it. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2019, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-songs-have-ever-achieved-number-1-with-a-bullet/834666/9 "2019-05-29T00:37:10Z")
[Moderating] Moving from GQ to CS. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2019, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-songs-have-ever-achieved-number-1-with-a-bullet/834666/10 "2019-05-29T14:18:41Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > A quick check reveals that I have downloaded (or even heard of) Holy crap, seriously. Some of those artists are people I’ve only ever even heard of because they do commercials for Target and/or soft drinks. FWIW, and perhaps informing somewhat my above statement, I am only familiar with the phrase “number one with a bullet” from the AC/DC song “Back in Black,” which made it to number 37 on the Hot 100. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2019, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-songs-have-ever-achieved-number-1-with-a-bullet/834666/11 "2019-05-29T14:32:22Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > A quick check reveals that I have downloaded (or even heard of)…None of them. > > Small correction: I’ve heard the Elton John redo. Didn’t like it, but I heard it. If that list is complete, note that the oldest song on the list is from 1995. I know that Billboard has regularly revised the formula for their charts, and that, in the 1990s, as record companies stopped releasing singles, Billboard de-emphasized sales in their chart in favor of airplay. It suggests that, under the old formulas (in which sales played a role), it was difficult, if not impossible, for a song to premiere on the chart at #1. If you look back at charts from the 1970s and 1980s, you see that even the biggest hit songs took a few weeks to work their way up the charts. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2019, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-songs-have-ever-achieved-number-1-with-a-bullet/834666/12 "2019-05-29T15:16:29Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > A quick check reveals that I have downloaded (or even heard of)…None of them. > > Small correction: I’ve heard the Elton John redo. Didn’t like it, but I heard it. Wow, what an interesting humblebrag. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were proud of not knowing things that are common knowledge. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2019, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-songs-have-ever-achieved-number-1-with-a-bullet/834666/13 "2019-05-29T18:23:48Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Ah, so what does it indicate? The only time I recall hearing the term was in a Frank Zappa song, which I don’t remember the name of. I believe you may be referring to “What Kind of Girl Do You Think We Are”, which can be found on the album _Fillmore East – June 1971_. From [this](https://genius.com/Frank-zappa-what-kind-of-girl-do-you-think-we-are-lyrics) website, you can find the lyrics: These girls wouldn’t let just anybody Spew on their vital parts They want a guy from a group with a Big hit single in the charts Funny you should mention it: Our new single just made the charts this week With a bullet! With a bullet! ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2019, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-songs-have-ever-achieved-number-1-with-a-bullet/834666/14 "2019-05-29T18:29:04Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > [Thirty-four singles](https://www.billboard.com/photos/426225/billboard-hot-100-number-1-song-debuts) have debuted at number one on ther Billboard Hot 100. I don’t know when the phrase was first used, though. Not one of those songs is from before 1995. That just seems wrong to me. ---
**Author:** ![Helmut\_Doork](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e8c25b/32.png) [@Helmut\_Doork](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helmut_Doork)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2019, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-songs-have-ever-achieved-number-1-with-a-bullet/834666/15 "2019-05-29T18:37:22Z")
> [@Ike\_Witt](#): > > Not one of those songs is from before 1995. That just seems wrong to me. As kenobi 65 pointed out above, the methodology for compiling the charts changed @1991. Before that, to have a big hit you had to both be selling a lot of copies of the physical 45, plus have solid airplay in every region of the country. With singles becoming rare, they changed it to be mostly airplay based. Before then, it would be near impossible to have a single both selling big and getting airplay across the country the week it was first released. A lot of songs did not chart as high as they should have due to smaller labels not having the distribution to get a song across the country simultaneously. ---
**Author:** ![Helmut\_Doork](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e8c25b/32.png) [@Helmut\_Doork](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helmut_Doork)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2019, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-songs-have-ever-achieved-number-1-with-a-bullet/834666/16 "2019-05-29T18:41:05Z")
And after 1991, you had artists like Madonna gaming the system to get higher chart rankings by releasing physical singles to boost chart position, when most other artist had quit releasing them. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2019, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-songs-have-ever-achieved-number-1-with-a-bullet/834666/17 "2019-05-29T20:21:48Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > I am only familiar with the phrase “number one with a bullet” from the AC/DC song “Back in Black,” which made it to number 37 on the Hot 100. I knew it first from [here](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0598108/). In this case, it was a literal bullet. ---
**Author:** ![Pork\_Rind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pork_rind/32/111_2.png) [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2019, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-songs-have-ever-achieved-number-1-with-a-bullet/834666/18 "2019-05-30T02:00:02Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > Wow, what an interesting humblebrag. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were proud of not knowing things that are common knowledge. Maybe that’s true. I’ll say this though for my specific case; at the ripe old age of fifty, I put a lot of effort into hearing new music, seeing bands, exploring lots of different genres. But I guess there’s a gaping hole when it comes to top 40 pop, cause I knew only a very very few of those songs. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2019, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-songs-have-ever-achieved-number-1-with-a-bullet/834666/19 "2019-05-30T02:08:00Z")
> [@Pork\_Rind](#): > > Maybe that’s true. I’ll say this though for my specific case; at the ripe old age of fifty, I put a lot of effort into hearing new music, seeing bands, exploring lots of different genres. But I guess there’s a gaping hole when it comes to top 40 pop, cause I knew only a very very few of those songs. Six. That’s all I knew. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2019, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-songs-have-ever-achieved-number-1-with-a-bullet/834666/20 "2019-05-30T03:01:03Z")
I’m 55, do nothing to keep up on current music except have children that are younger than I am. I don’t listen to the radio. When in my car with my husband we listen to 60’s on 60, 70’s on 70, 80’s on 80, Grooveline and Soultown on satellite radio and I know about 20 of those songs. 3 of them are from movies-- one being the biggest moneymaker ever until Marvel. Never heard of any of them? I don’t know how that’s even possible. But good on silenus if that’s how he likes it. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-songs-have-ever-achieved-number-1-with-a-bullet/834666.md?page=2)