Returning: The 1000 Greatest Songs Of All Time*

MAX will broadcast another of its 1000 Greatest Songs Of All Time marathons over Easter.

The countdown from 1000 to one screens at 12pm this Friday April 10 through to Monday April 13.

A few qualifications…. the countdown spans the ‘70s, ‘80s, ‘90s and ‘00s, and is compiled using Facebook viewer votes, feedback from industry peers and experts, chart ratings and song popularity. All songs that are eligible for the countdown need to have a licensed broadcast quality music video available. Some artists (The Beatles) do not give permission for all their video clips to be broadcast on television.

Fraser Stark, Foxtel’s Group General Manager, Entertainment & Music, said: “MAX’s countdown of the 1000 Greatest Songs Of All Time is an Easter fixture. The Long Weekend always offers viewers the chance to keep the mega-list playing for four days at home – or to drop in and out as it climbs to number one each year. Now that we’re in a Covid-induced Loooong Weekend – what better way to brighten the home to have all the hits play right on through? It’s a monster music marathon for the times”.

So, the question is which music great will win the coveted No.1 spot this year? Could it be last year’s winner, Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody”, the 1975 legendary rock hit written by Freddie Mercury which has dominated the number one position? Or could a song from Bon Jovi, Madonna or AC/DC knock Queen from the number one spot?

Today, MAX can reveal ahead of this weekend’s countdown the artists and bands who have dominated The 1000 Greatest Songs Of All Time include U2, who have once again polled with the most entries with 16 incredible songs, closely followed by AC/DC and INXS with 14 song entries each and Madonna and Queen with 13 song entries.

The countdown kicks off with the 1000th song, Blondie’s 1980 hit “The Tide is High”. Music from the 1980s remains the dominant decade with 38% of the countdown and 1987 as the most popular year in the countdown with 49 entries, not surprising when the year saw the release of albums like Michael Jackson’s ‘Bad’, Whitney Houston’s ‘Whitney’ and ‘Kick’ by INXS.

The 1990s retains roughly 20% of the entries bolstered by releases like U2’s ‘Achtung Baby’, Prince’s ‘Diamond and Pearls’ album and ‘Blood Sugar Sex Magik’ by Red Hot Chili Peppers. The year 2000 was the most popular year of the 21st Century thanks to record releases including Madonna’s ‘Music’ and Eminem’s ‘Marshall Mathers LP’.

This year’s 1000 Greatest Songs countdown sees the addition of a new decade, with two artists from last year securing spots in the decade, Tones & I’s record-breaking “Dance Monkey”, which became the longest-running ARIA #1 and Lizzo’s infectious self-positivity anthem “Good As Hell” with the oldest song being Elvis Presley’s 1957 hit “Jailhouse Rock”.

The race for the best decade narrows in the top 10, with all the songs being from the ‘70s or ‘80s with two Aussie rock bands nabbing a top ten position.

The countdown always draws attention from industry peers, local and international music superstars chiming in with their nominations on which song truly is the greatest of all time.

Before his untimely death, MAX had the honour of Greedy Smith in studio, his last television interview where he shared his favourite song of all time, Bob Dylan’s “Like A Rolling Stone”. Greedy leaves a legacy with the 1985 hit song he wrote for Mental As Anything “Live It Up” making it into the countdown.

If Jessica Mauboy had to pick her number one song, she says it has to be Whitney Houston’s 1987 hit “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” while Adam Lambert can’t go past Queen’s “Another One Bites The Dust”.

For more top picks from artists such as 5 Seconds of Summer, Sam Smith, Paul Kelly, Midnight Oil, Lewis Capaldi, Joan Jett, Vance Joy, INXS, Hanson, Human Nature, Amy Shark and more, tune in to The 1000 Greatest Songs Of All Time, this weekend on Foxtel’s MAX to see who got it right and who got it wrong. The full list of all The 1000 Greatest Songs Of All Time will be live at maxtv.com.au from 9am Tuesday April 14 and MAX will be publishing the full countdown on their Spotify at maxaustralia.