Quick: What's a good back-to-school anthem?
Oh, right, there are few, if any, that expressly celebrate the start of school. After all, the end of school is to be praised -- "School's Out" by Alice Cooper, anyone? -- while going back to school is supposed to be a drag.
Still, there are ways to create a bit of excitement and even nostalgia for the return of school through music. How? By going back into the Billboard Hot 100 chart archives and finding the No. 1 song in the country as school started each year since 1958.
Of course, summer has been shrinking over the decades, with school once starting in September but now starting in August, and with many central Arkansas schools kicking off the 2016-17 school year Monday.
So, pinpointing the exact No. 1 song for the start of each school year since the beginning of the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1958 is impossible.
Here's what we did instead to find the return-of-school tune for each year: We searched Billboard's online archives for every No. 1 song in the last week of August.
Get listening. Here's a soundtrack for going back to school that can be shared between grandparents and grandchildren, parents and children, or just enjoyed for the memories it brings back:
1958
"Little Star" by The Elegants
The Billboard Hot 100 chart debuted in August 1958, replacing various other charts. The first No. 1? Ricky Nelson's "Poor Little Fool." But a few weeks later, Staten Island doo-wop group The Elegants (what a name!) hit the top of the charts with their "Little Star."
1959
"The Three Bells" by The Browns
1960
"It's Now or Never" by Elvis Presley
1961
"Tossin' and Turnin'" by Bobby Lewis
1962
"The Loco-Motion" by Little Eva
The biggest hit of the summer of '62 was Ray Charles' version of "I Can't Stop Loving You," a song from Charles' revolutionary Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music. But schoolchildren across America went back to school to the strains of this song, co-written by Carole King and Gerry Goffin, her husband at the time.
1963
"My Boyfriend's Back" by The Angels
1964
"Where Did Our Love Go" by The Supremes
This is the first time on this list that one can see how the pop music landscape in America was changing with the times. By 1964, The Beatles had arrived, and The Beach Boys were forever restyling pop music with songs such as "Don't Worry Baby." This was the first No. 1 hit for the Motown hit-making machine, an R&B vocal group that would rule the charts in the 1960s.
1965
"I Got You Babe" by Sonny & Cher
1966
"Summer in the City" by The Lovin' Spoonful
Lyrics to this song -- "All around, people looking half dead, walking on the sidewalk, hotter than a match head" -- will never lose their impact as long as there are cities and summer heat.
1967
"Ode to Billie Joe" by Bobbie Gentry
The summer vacation of 1967 was marked by such anthems as "Respect" by Aretha Franklin and "Light My Fire" by The Doors, but this cryptic, Southern Gothic country song about Billie Joe McAllister and the Tallahatchie Bridge eased schoolchildren back into the school year.
1968
"People Got to Be Free" by The Rascals
1969
"Honky Tonk Women" by The Rolling Stones
The very embodiment of rock 'n' roll, this Stones song sounds like it might collapse into a mushroom cloud of dust at any second, but somehow the band keeps the rhythm between the ditches, creating an instant classic.
1970
"War" by Edwin Starr
1971
"How Can You Mend a Broken Heart" by the Bee Gees
1972
"Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)" by Looking Glass
The thought is that while music in the '70s had a lot going for it -- the rise of punk and hip-hop, great soul and R&B music, the dominance of arena rock bands such as Led Zeppelin -- it also was a time of terrible music. This song won't change too many opinions.
1973
"Brother Louie" by Stories
1974
"(You're) Having My Baby" by Paul Anka with Odia Coates
1975
"Get Down Tonight" by K.C. and the Sunshine Band
Another knock against '70s music? Disco. But the genre isn't all bad, with artists such as Donna Summer, the Bee Gees and this act. Plus, there's disco's influence on popular music genres of today, such as hip-hop and electronic dance music.
1976
"Don't Go Breaking My Heart" by Elton John and Kiki Dee
Disco was such a smash in the mid- to late 1970s that even established artists such as Elton John, Rod Stewart and David Bowie recorded disco-flavored tunes. Some of these artists succeeded. Others recorded songs such as this Elton John tune, which still hit No. 1.
1977
"Best of My Love" by The Emotions
1978
"Grease" by Frankie Valli
Pop quiz time: What song replaced this hit (also influenced by disco) by the frontman of the legendary vocal group The Four Seasons? "Boogie Oogie Oogie" by A Taste of Honey. It was definitely time to say goodbye to disco.
1979
"My Sharona" by The Knack
This tune from the Los Angeles-based power pop quartet was the top hit of 1979, besting tunes such as "Le Freak" by Chic, "I Will Survive" by Gloria Gaynor and "Bad Girls" by Donna Summer.
1980
"Sailing" by Christopher Cross
1981
"Endless Love" by Diana Ross and Lionel Richie
1982
"Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor
By 1982, rock was back on top of the charts, with artists such as The J. Geils Band, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts and John Cougar -- as John Mellencamp was known then -- scoring No. 1 Billboard hits. And then there was this powerhouse anthem -- the theme song to that summer's blockbuster hit Rocky III -- that bested them all.
1983
"Every Breath You Take" by The Police
This Police classic is the most unlikely of No. 1 hits, but it was, for eight weeks, keeping Eddy Grant's "Electric Avenue" from hitting the top spot. Finally, after nearly two months atop the chart, the stalker anthem was brought down by the Eurythmics' "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)."
1984
"Ghostbusters" by Ray Parker Jr.
1985
"The Power of Love" by Huey Lewis & The News
The summer of 1985 was the summer of Back to the Future, Live Aid, Jams shorts and this pop rock smash.
1986
"Higher Love" by Steve Winwood
Up until 1986, Winwood had fronted esteemed acts such as The Spencer Davis Group, Traffic (inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004) and Blind Faith, but this solo hit was his first No. 1.
1987
"La Bamba" by Los Lobos
1988
"Monkey" by George Michael
1989
"Right Here Waiting" by Richard Marx
1990
"Vision of Love" by Mariah Carey
This tune was the first single from a then-unknown Mariah Carey, being released in mid-May. Two and a half months later the tune hit the top of the charts, where it spent four weeks and sent students back to school dreaming of love.
1991
"(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" by Bryan Adams
1992
"End of the Road" by Boyz II Men
Students began the 1992 school year with this R&B harmony hit and weeks later they started prepping for Thanksgiving holidays to the gentle sway of this song as it spent 13 weeks at No. 1. That was a record until Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You" hit No. 1 in late November 1992. That song spent 14 weeks in the No. 1 spot.
1993
"Can't Help Falling in Love" by UB40
1994
"I'll Make Love to You" by Boyz II Men
1995
"Kiss From a Rose" by Seal
1996
"Macarena (Bayside Boys Mix)" by Los Del Rio
Think music fans in the '70s had bad taste in Top 40 music? Disco fans were smart enough to never allow a one-hit wonder song to remain No. 1 for 14 weeks -- like this song did through August, September and October 1996. So popular was this tune that it even played at the 1996 Democratic National Convention in Chicago that August. Rumor is, Vice President Al Gore even moved a pinkie finger to it while it played.
1997
"Mo Money Mo Problems" by The Notorious B.I.G. featuring Puff Daddy and Mase
The Notorious B.I.G. had been dead for nearly six months when this funky, hip-hop hit welcomed students back to school. The tune hit No. 1, replacing Puff Daddy's tribute to the rapper, "I'll Be Missing You," which sampled The Police's 1983 back-to-school smash "Every Breath You Take."
1998
"The Boy Is Mine" by Brandy and Monica
1999
"Genie in a Bottle" by Christina Aguilera
2000
"Doesn't Really Matter" by Janet Jackson
2001
"Fallin'" by Alicia Keys
2002
"Dilemma" by Nelly featuring Kelly Rowland
2003
"Crazy in Love" by Beyonce featuring Jay-Z
Back in 2003, Beyonce and Jay-Z were "Crazy in Love." Thirteen years later they still are. And 13 years later this song still holds up as one of the greatest of all time.
2004
"Lean Back" by Terror Squad
Does anyone even remember this song?
2005
"We Belong Together" by Mariah Carey
2006
"London Bridge" by Fergie
2007
"Beautiful Girls" by Sean Kingston
2008
"Disturbia" by Rihanna
Rihanna's dance pop hit replaced Katy Perry's "I Kissed a Girl" on the charts. T.I.'s "Whatever You Like" replaced "Disturbia," which was Rihanna's fourth No. 1 hit. All we're saying is that students in 2008 went back to school dancing.
2009
"I Gotta Feeling" by The Black Eyed Peas
2010
"Love the Way You Lie" by Eminem featuring Rihanna
2011
"Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)" by Katy Perry
Summer is supposed to be the time of partying and having fun. Perry's dance pop hit reminds listeners that even during the middle of school, there are Friday nights.
2012
"Whistle" by Flo Rida
2013
"Blurred Lines" by Robin Thicke featuring T.I. and Pharrell
2014
"Rude" by Magic!
2015
"Cheerleader" by OMI
Jamaican reggae singer OMI hit No. 1 in late July 2015 with the debut single from his debut album. The Weeknd's "Can't Feel My Face" replaced it for the week of Aug. 22 before "Cheerleader" returned to the top spot for two more weeks. One of school's most beloved figures -- the cheerleader -- finally got her anthem.
Family on 08/10/2016