Elton John extends his record for the most appearances in the nearly 53-year history of Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart, as “Can’t Stay Alone Tonight” enters at No. 27. The song marks his 70th entry on the ranking.
The song is the second single from John’s 30th studio album (and first on Capitol Records), “The Diving Board.” Lead track “Home Again” reached No. 14 in September. “[Bernie Taupin and I] wrote 11 songs and recorded them in four days,” John told Billboard last year of the set. Mixing gospel, blues, jazz, brass band and pop the album is “everything I love about American music.” The album has sold 142,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
John first charted on AC with the No. 9-peaking classic “Your Song,” which bowed on the Dec. 26, 1970, ranking. Aloe Blacc has interpolated the ballad in his single “The Man,” which last week hit the Billboard Hot 100’s top 10, granting John and Taupin their first top 10 as writers since 1998.
In addition to his latest AC arrival and the fortunes of “The Man,” John’s month has been highlighted by the premiere of his concert film “The Million Dollar Piano,” which opened in nearly 700 theaters on March 18 (with an encore showing set for this Wednesday, March 26). The movie spotlights his hit-packed Las Vegas residency show, which began in September 2011.
OneRepublic’s Ryan Tedder also confirmed to Billboard earlier this month that he’s finished a dance song with John’s vocals, produced and co-written with Swedish House Mafia’s Sebastian Ingrosso and Axwell for an as-yet-undetermined project.
Here’s an updated look at the artists with the most entries in the Adult Contemporary chart’s archives. Along with holding the record for the most AC visits, John also boasts the most No. 1s (15, a mark he shares with the Carpenters) and top 10s (39). When Billboard celebrated the survey’s 50th anniversary in 2011, John was honored as the chart’s all-time top performer.
Total AC Hits, Artist
70, Elton John
64, Barbra Streisand
58, Neil Diamond
53, Elvis Presley
50, Barry Manilow
50, Johnny Mathis
48, Frank Sinatra
47, Kenny Rogers
46, Herb Alpert/Tijuana Brass
45, Dionne Warwick
All charts will be refreshed, as always, on Thursday (March 27) on Billboard.com.
