Billie Jean
Exactly 30 years ago, Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean” moved into the top spot on Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart. The song would spend a total of seven weeks at number one and help set the stage for Thriller to become the best-selling album in history.
After the run at number one for “Billie Jean,” Jackson just missed becoming the third artist in the rock ‘n’ roll era to replace himself/themselves at number one. Elvis Presley did it in 1956. Then, the Beatles did it in 1964, when they actually had three chart-toppers in a row.  In April 1983, Jackson seemed poised to become the third member of the exclusive club. However, during the week ending April 23, 1983, Dexys Midnight Runners squeaked into the number one spot for one week with “Come On Eileen,” while Jackson climbed to number 2 with “Beat It.” The following week “Beat It” would take over at number one and proceed to spend three weeks at the top.
Self-replacement at number one has become much more prevalent in the past 15 years, but after Jackson’s near miss, it would be more than 11 and 1/2 years before a third artist joined Elvis and the Beatles. That happened in December 1994, when Boyz II Men’s “On Bended Knee” began its six-week run at number one by replacing their song “I’ll Make Love to You,” which had spent 14 weeks at the top.
