UK's BBC RADIO 2
SONGS OF THE 20th CENTURY
TOP 100

The Radio 2 Songs of the Century chart was compiled by Paul Gambaccini and Kevin Howlett from various data including listeners' choices, the votes of songwriters and music experts, records and sheet music sales, and most radio performance statistics. It was first broadcast on Radio 2 at Easter 1999 and was repeated at Christmas that year.

Key: m.= writer of the music; w.= writer of the words; the year shown relates to the date that the song was first published.

1 YESTERDAY (Lennon/McCartney) 1965
2 STARDUST (m.Carmichael/w.Parrish) 1929
3 BRIDGE OVER TROUBLED WATER (Simon) 1970
4 WHITE CHRISTMAS (Berlin) 1942
5 UNCHAINED MELODY (m.North/w.Zaret) 1955
6 IMAGINE (Lennon) 1971
7 MY WAY (m.Francois/Revaux/Thibaut/w.Anka) 1969
8 SUMMERTIME (m.Gershwin/w.Heyward) 1935
9 OVER THE RAINBOW (m.Arlen/w.Harburg) 1939
10 AS TIME GOES BY (Hupfeld) 1931

11 SMOKE GETS IN YOUR EYES (m.Kern/w.Harbach) 1933
12 YOU'LL NEVER WALK ALONE (m.Rodgers/w.Hammerstein II) 1945
13 CANDLE IN THE WIND (m.John/w.Taupin) 1972
14 RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER (Marks) 1949
15 HEY JUDE (Lennon/McCartney) 1968
16 IN THE MOOD (Razaf/Garland) 1939
17 ALEXANDER'S RAGTIME BAND (Berlin) 1911
18 BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY (Mercury) 1975
19 ROCK AROUND THE CLOCK (Freedman/De Knight) 1955
20 OL' MAN RIVER (m.Kern/w.Hammerstein II) 1927

21 EV'RY TIME WE SAY GOODBYE (Porter) 1944
22 BLOWIN' IN THE WIND (Dylan) 1963
23 WE'LL MEET AGAIN (Burnett/Griffin) 1939
24 I HEARD IT THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE (Whitfield/ Strong) 1967
25 WHEN I FALL IN LOVE (Heyman/Young) 1951
26 HEARTBREAK HOTEL (Axton/Durden/Presley) 1956
27 YOU'VE LOST THAT LOVIN' FEELIN' (Mann/Weil/Spector) 1965
28 A WHITER SHADE OF PALE (m.Brooker/w.Reid) 1967
29 MY HEART WILL GO ON (m.Horner/w.Jennings) 1997
30 ST. LOUIS BLUES (Handy) 1914

31 MY BLUE HEAVEN (m.Donaldson/w.Whiting) 1927
32 SANTA CLAUS IS COMING TO TOWN (m.Coots/w.Gillespie) 1934
33 NIGHT AND DAY (Porter) 1932
34 SEPTEMBER SONG (m.Weil/w.Anderson) 1938
35 STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN (Page/Plant) 1971
36 MOONLIGHT SERENADE (m.Miller/w.Parrish) 1939
37 WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD (Douglas/Weiss) 1968
38 I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU (Parton) 1974
39 LET IT BE (Lennon/McCartney) 1970
40 THE WHITE CLIFFS OF DOVER (m.Kent/w.Burton) 1942

41 BEGIN THE BEGUINE (Porter) 1935
42 AMERICAN PIE (McLean) 1972
43 MOON RIVER (m.Mancini/w.Mercer) 1961
44 ALWAYS ON MY MIND (James/Carson/Christopher) 1972
45 WITHOUT YOU (Ham/Evans) 1972
46 HOUND DOG (w.Leiber/m.Stoller) 1953
47 UNFORGETTABLE (Gordon) 1951
48 THE FIRST TIME EVER I SAW YOUR FACE (MacColl) 1957
49 THE LITTLE DRUMMER BOY (Simeone/Onorati) 1959
50 BAKER STREET (Rafferty) 1978

51 TENNESSEE WALTZ (Stewart/King) 1948
52 HOTEL CALIFORNIA (Felder/Henley/Frey) 1976
53 LILI MARLENE (Leip/Schultze/Connor) 1944(1915)
54 MACK THE KNIFE (m.Weil/w.Brecht - English w.Blitzstein) 1928
55 I ONLY HAVE EYES FOR YOU (m.Warren/w.Dubin) 1934
56 I'VE GOT YOU UNDER MY SKIN (Porter) 1936
57 SOMEONE TO WATCH OVER ME (m.G.Gershwin/w.I Gershwin) 1926
58 THE POWER OF LOVE (Mende/DeRouge/Rush/Applegate) 1985
59 GOD ONLY KNOWS (Wilson/Asher) 1966
60 I BELIEVE (Drake/Graham/Shirl/Stillman) 1953

61 I JUST CALLED TO SAY I LOVE YOU (Wonder) 1984
62 CRAZY (Nelson) 1961
63 DEEP PURPLE (m.DeRose/w.Parrish) 1934
64 THE WIND BENEATH MY WINGS (Henley/Silbar) 1983
65 STRAWBERRY FIELDS FOREVER (Lennon/McCartney) 1967
66 IT'S A LONG WAY TO TIPPERARY (Judge/Williams) 1914
67 BLUE MOON (m.Rodgers/w.Hart) 1934
68 ALL THE THINGS YOU ARE (m.Kern/w.HammersteinII) 1940
69 LIKE A ROLLING STONE (Dylan) 1965
70 SINGIN' IN THE RAIN (m.Brown/w.Freed) 1929

71 NIGHTS IN WHITE SATIN (Hayward) 1967
72 (I CAN'T GET NO) SATISFACTION (Jagger/Richard) 1965
73 SEND IN THE CLOWNS (Sondheim) 1973
74 WHAT'S GOING ON (Benson/Cleveland/Gaye) 1971
75 STORMY WEATHER (m.Arlen/w.Koehler) 1933
76 WALK ON BY (m.Bacharach/w.David) 1961
77 THE FOLKS WHO LIVE ON THE HILL (m.Kern/w.Hammerstein) 1937
78 KEEP THE HOME FIRES BURNING (m.Novello/w.Ford) 1915
79 EVERY BREATH YOU TAKE (Sting) 1983
80 WINTER WONDERLAND (m.Bernard/w.Smith) 1934

81 KILLING ME SOFTLY WITH HIS SONG (Gimbel/Fox) 1973
82 SOME ENCHANTED EVENING (m.Rodgers/w.Hammerstein II) 1949
83 (SITTIN' ON THE) DOCK OF THE BAY (Redding/Cropper) 1967
84 ROSES OF PICARDY (m.Wood/w.Weatherley) 1916
85 I SAY A LITTLE PRAYER (m.Bacharach/w.David) 1967
86 LET ME CALL YOU SWEETHEART (Whitson/Friedman) 1910
87 (EVERYTHING I DO) I DO IT FOR YOU (Adams/Kamen/Lange) 1991
88 BROTHER, CAN YOU SPARE A DIME (m.Gorney/w.Harburg) 1932
89 THE WAY WE WERE (m.Hamlisch/w.A Bergman & M. Bergman) 1974
90 A NIGHTINGALE SANG IN BERKELEY SQUARE (Maschwitz/Sherwin/Strachey) 1940

91 SOMEWHERE (m.Bernstein/w.Sondheim) 1957
92 TEA FOR TWO (m.Youmans/w.Caesar) 1924
93 DON'T CRY FOR ME, ARGENTINA (m.Webber/w.Rice) 1977
94 SOMETHING (Harrison) 1969
95 THE WAY YOU LOOK TONIGHT (m.Kern/w.Fields) 1936
96 MACARTHUR PARK (Webb) 1968
97 GEORGIA ON MY MIND (m.Carmichael/w.Gorrell) 1930
98 SWEET ADELINE (m.Armstrong/w.Gerard) 1903
99 TAKE FIVE (Brubeck) 1961
100 STAND BY ME (Leiber/Stoller/King) 1961

SONGS OF THE CENTURY
BUBBLING UNDER 101 - 150

101 THEY CAN'T TAKE THAT AWAY FROM ME (m.G. Gershwin/
w. I Gershwin)1937
102 DANCING IN THE STREET (Stevenson/Gaye/Hunter) 1964
103 CAN'T HELP FALLING IN LOVE (WITH YOU) (Weiss/Creatore/Peretti) 1961
104 THESE FOOLISH THINGS (REMIND ME OF YOU) (m.Strachey/Link/w.Marvell) 1936
105 GOOD VIBRATIONS (Wilson/Love) 1966
106 LAYLA (Clapton/Gordon) 1970
107 GOODNIGHT IRENE (Ledbetter/Lomax) 1936
108 A DAY IN THE LIFE (Lennon/McCartney) 1967
109 WHEN YOU WISH UPON A STAR (m.Harline/w.Washington) 1940
110 DO THEY KNOW IT'S CHRISTMAS? (Geldof/Ure) 1984

111 NEL BLU DIPINTO DI BLU (VOLARE) (Modugno/Parrish/Migliacci) 1958
112 RESPECT (Redding) 1965
113 ALWAYS (Berlin) 1925
114 I'M NOT IN LOVE (Stewart/Gouldman) 1975
115 I AM THE WALRUS (Lennon/McCartney) 1967
116 PENNIES FROM HEAVEN (m.Johnson/w.Burke) 1936
117 OH, PRETTY WOMAN (Orbison/Dees) 1964
118 IF I LOVED YOU (m.Rodgers/w.Hammerstein II) 1945
119 PERFECT DAY (Reed) 1972
120 PACK UP YOUR TROUBLES IN YOUR OLD KIT BAG AND SMILE, SMILE, SMILE (m.Powell/w.Asaf) 1915

121 DON'T BE CRUEL (Blackwell/Presley) 1956
122 THE TIMES THEY ARE A-CHANGIN' (Dylan) 1964
123 AIN'T MISBEHAVIN' (m.Waller/Brooks/w.Razaf) 1929
124 THE CHRISTMAS SONG (Torme/Wells) 1946
125 YOUR SONG (John/Taupin) 1970
126 CHEEK TO CHEEK (Berlin) 1935
127 BROTHERS IN ARMS (Knopfler) 1985
128 STRANGERS IN THE NIGHT (Kaempfert/Snyder/Singleton) 1966
129 SHE LOVES YOU (Lennon/McCartney) 1963
130 VINCENT (McLean) 1971

131 I'M SO LONESOME I COULD CRY (Williams) 1949
132 DANCING QUEEN (Andersson/Ulvaeus/Anderson) 1976
133 MOOD INDIGO (m.Ellington/Bigard/Mills/w.Parrish (uncredited) 1930
134 ELEANOR RIGBY (Lennon/McCartney) 1966
135 I GET A KICK OUT OF YOU (Porter) 1934
136 MISTY (m.Garner/w.Burke) 1954
137 WATERLOO SUNSET (Davies) 1967
138 FOR ME AND MY GAL (m.Meyer/w.Leslie/Goetz) 1917
139 BLUES IN THE NIGHT (m.Arlen/w.Mercer) 1941
140 MR. TAMBOURINE MAN (Dylan) 1965

141 GOD BLESS THE CHILD (Herzog/Holiday) 1941
142 I'LL BE SEEING YOU ((m.Fain/m.Kahal) 1938
143 MY GIRL (Robinson/White) 1965
144 FIELDS OF GOLD (Sting) 1993
145 BORN TO RUN (Springsteen) 1975
146 THE GIRL FROM IPANEMA (Jobim/Gimbel/Moraes) 1964
147 NO WOMAN NO CRY (Marley - credited to Ford) 1974
148 PASSING STRANGERS ((Mitchell/Mann) 1957
149 BLUE SKIES (Berlin) 1927
150 YOU'VE GOT A FRIEND (King) 1971