Billboard magazine began charting country songs in 1944. Florida Georgia Line and Bebe Rexha hold the record for the longest run at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs Chart. “Meant to Be” spent 50 weeks in the top spot. The collaboration spent almost an entire year atop the chart.
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“Last Night” by Morgan Wallen spent 25 weeks at No. 1. That is the fourth-longest run atop the Hot Country Songs Chart (Sam Hunt and Gabby Barrett are second and third). The question begs asking: what if Wallen hadn’t run into so much backlash for racially insensitive utterings whilst drunk in Nashville? Or for carelessly partying in public during the height of Covid-19? Fans would say he’d be an even bigger chart-topper; foes would say he wouldn’t be so popular without the ruckus.
Whoever’s right (and both probably are and aren’t to various extents), Wallen’s major success at country radio continues. Since first hitting the top spot in 2018 with “Whiskey Glasses,” he’s spent a total of 69 weeks at No. 1 with seven songs (at the time of this writing). Those songs have spent a total of 305 weeks on the Hot Country Songs chart. And that’s not even counting his releases that didn’t hit the top spot.
1. “Whiskey Glasses” (2 weeks at #1; 52 weeks on the chart)
I’m-a need some whiskey glasses
‘Cause I don’t wanna see the truth
She’s probably making out on the couch right now
With someone new
Yeah, I’m a need some whiskey glasses
If I’m gonna make it through
If I’m-a be single
I’m-a need a double shot of that heartbreak proof
And see the world through whiskey glasses
Ain’t nothing else to do, but sip around the truth
Oh, see the world through whiskey glasses
I need a better view, where I don’t drink to you
Co-written by Ben Burgess (“There For You” by Martin Garrix and Troye Sivan) and Kevin Kadish (“All About That Bass” by Meghan Trainor), “Whiskey Glasses” has become Wallen’s signature song. A song of denial, double-talk, and self-pity; Wallen’s gonna need more than whiskey to forget this particular lost love.
2. “7 Summers” (1 week at #1; 26 weeks on the chart)
But I wonder when you’re drinkin’
If you find yourself thinkin’
About that boy from East Tennessee
And I know we both knew better
But we still said forever
And that was seven summers of Coke
And Southern Comfort
Were we dumb or just younger, who knows?
Back then you used to love the river
And sippin’ on a sixer with me
Does it ever make you sad to know
That was seven summers ago?
“7 Summers” was the first song by Wallen to reach the Top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100, the magazine’s definitive pop radio chart. The prestigious Time magazine named it one of the best songs of the year, of any genre. It was the first No. 1 for which Wallen had a co-writing credit, as well. It’s another song of regret, reflection, and inescapably, lost brain cells.
3. “Wasted on You” (11 weeks at #1; 75 weeks on the chart)
All of this time and all of this money
All of these sorries I don’t owe you honey
All of these miles on this Chevy, and prayers in a pew
All them days I spent wasted on you
Wasted on you
In 2022, “Wasted on You” won the American Music Award for Favorite Country Song. When it debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, Wallen had five other songs in the Top 10. Them’s Beatles numbers! (In the context of country radio, at least.) It was the first time a country artist had accomplished such a dominant feat. This time Wallen’s bitter reflection on what’s become a reviled relationship doesn’t rely on alcohol to forget. Maybe it should.
4. “You Proof” (19 weeks at #1; 60 weeks on the chart)
I need something you proof
Somethin’ stronger than I’m used to
Yeah, I’ve been pourin’ ninety to a hundred
Feel like nothing’s gonna cut it, that’s the hard truth
Yeah, I need something you proof
Oh, I need something you proof
“You Proof” debuted at No. 1, knocking “Wasted on You” out of the top spot. Wallen and co-writers Ashley Gorley, Ernest K. Smith, and Charlie Handsome deliver another double-talk ode to alcohol’s penchant for supplying sweet release from heartache. The “Whiskey Glasses” formula definitely hadn’t worn out its welcome; this track gave the Wallen train even greater chart success.
5. “Thought You Should Know” (1 week at #1; 52 weeks on the chart)
I thought you should know
That all those prayers you thought you wasted on me
Must’ve finally made their way on through
I thought you should know
I got me a new girl down there in Jefferson City, and
She lets me fish whenever I want to
Yeah, I’m still proud of where I came from
Still your only damn son
Can you believe I’m on the radio?
Just thought you should know, thought you should know, thought you should know
Written with Miranda Lambert and Nicolle Galyon, this chart-topper is about Wallen’s mother, Lesli. The heartfelt message is sure to resonate with mamas and sons everywhere—although relating specifically to massive radio play and millions upon millions of record and ticket sales might be a bit of a stretch for normal folks to relate to.
[RELATED: Behind the Touching Meaning of “Thought You Should Know” by Morgan Wallen]
6. “Last Night” (25 weeks at #1; 40 weeks on the chart)
Oh, baby, last night we let the liquor talk
I can’t remember everything we said, but we said it all
You told me that you wish I was somebody you never met
But baby, baby, something’s tellin’ me this ain’t over yet
“Last Night” was the first song of Wallen’s to hit the very top No. 1 slot on the Billboard Hot 100. It’s a love song disguised as a post-mortem relationship song. Wallen’s exhibiting the sting of contempt, but his confidence that love will come around is palpable enough for him—and us—to feel good by song’s end.
Photo by Terry Wyatt/Getty Images
