On this day (October 31) in 1963, Buck Owens was on a historic 16-week run at No. 1 with “Love’s Gonna Live Here.” Only three songs, all released before this single, spent more time at the top of the chart before the turn of the century. It would be nearly fifty years before a song came close to matching Owens’ record.
Owens dominated the country chart throughout the 1960s. He notched his first No. 1 with “Act Naturally” in 1963. It was the first of 14 consecutive chart-toppers. In total, he sent 18 songs to No. 1 before the end of the decade. Of the 13 other singles he released in the ’60s, 11 landed within the top 10. The other two stalled at No. 11.
“Love’s Gonna Live Here” was his second chart-topper and became his biggest hit. It reached the top of the country chart dated October 19 and stayed there for the rest of the year. It also held the top spot for the first five weeks of 1964. The song also inspired a long line of covers from artists like Waylon Jennings, George Jones, Ray Charles, Connie Smith, Martina McBride, and Wanda Jackson, among others.
Buck Owens Scored One of the Biggest Hits of the Century
Buck Owens was the last artist to have a single stay at the top of the chart for ten weeks or more during the 20th century. David Houston was the only artist that came close. His single, “Almost Persuaded” sat at No. 1 for nine weeks in 1966.
“Love’s Gonna Live Here” wasn’t the longest-running No. 1 of the century, though. That title was shared by three songs that were massive hits in the 1940s and ’50s. Eddy Arnold’s “I’ll Hold You in My Heart (Till I Can Hold You in My Arms)” spent 21 weeks at No. 1 in 1947. Three years later, Hank Snow tied the record with his breakout hit “I’m Movin’ On.” Then, in 1956, Webb Pierce made it a three-way tie with his cover of “In the Jailhouse Now.”
Taylor Swift was the next artist to have a ten-week No. 1. She achieved the feat in 2013 with “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together.” Later that year, Florida Georgia Line broke the record for the longest-running No. 1 with “Cruise,” which spent 14 weeks at No. 1.
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