Clay Aiken 'This Is The Night' is most obscure hit song in 76 years
Clay Aiken has landed the most obscure hit song in recent times with his 2003 hit 'This Is The Night'. This was his debut single after he finished runner up to Ruben Studdard on American Idol Season Two.
A study by the site Very Small Array compiled the top 10 songs of each year from 1900 up to today and calculated their obscurity rating using Google hits, Wikipedia entries and last.fm.
The most recent songs inevitably ended up as the least obscure (Adele, One Direction, etc.) and songs from the early 1900s ended up as most obscure. Adjusted for time however (like box office dollar inflation), the list shows a better picture:
Least Obscure Hit Songs, Adjusted for Time
1 Bing Crosby: White Christmas, 1942 2 Elvis Presley: Jailhouse Rock, 1957 3 Glenn Miller Orch: In the Mood, 1940 4 The Animals: The House Of The Rising Sun, 1964 5 The Rolling Stones: (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction, 1965 6 The Beatles: Help!, 1965 7 The Beatles: Yesterday, 1965 8 Elvis Presley: Love Me Tender, 1956 9 Elvis Presley: Heartbreak Hotel, 1956 10 Elvis Presley: Hound Dog, 1956
Most Obscure Hit Songs, Adjusted for Time
1 Roy Ingraham Orch: Chant of the Jungle, 1930 2 Hilo Hawaiian Orch: When It’s Springtime in the Rockies, 1930 3 Horace Wright: My Own Iona, 1917 4 Marguerite Farrell: If I Knock the ‘L’ Out of Kelly (It Would Still be Kelly to Me), 1916 5 Olive Kline: Hello, Frisco!, 1915 6 Orpheus Quartet: Turn Back the Universe and Give Me Yester Day, 1916 7 Horace Heidt Orch: Ti-Pi-Tin, 1938 8 Clay Aiken: This Is The Night, 2003 9 Mina Hickman: Come Down, Ma Evening Star, 1903 10 Don Bestor Orch: Forty-Second Street, 1933
As you can see, the most obscure hit songs are still peppered by songs from the early 1900s but right in there is Clay Aiken with 'This Is The Night'!
The Claymates phenomenon was definitely a niche, but they made a huge impact during their heyday.
Congratulations!
Clay is currently running for Congress and hopes to unseat Rep. Renee Ellmers of North Carolina. He raised more than $450,000 for his campaign from April through June.
Aiken is running as a Democrat against Repulican Ellmers who is seeking a third term.
This Is The Night Music Video