“I was going through a lot when I wrote it, and I just sat down and then scribbled down those thoughts,” Chayce Beckhamtold American Songwriter of crafting his breakthrough country radio hit, “23,” in 2020. “I wrote that song in about 15, 20 minutes. There’s no magic formula to that. It’s just my thoughts in the structure of a song, and people connected with it.”
“23” ascends to No. 1 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart dated April 6 – marking the list’s first leader by an artist that solely wrote it and recorded it in over 11 years, since Taylor Swift’s “Ours” topped the March 31, 2012, tally.
Since Country Airplay began with the chart dated Jan. 20, 1990 (as Billboard’s first airplay survey based on electronically-monitored data, which is now provided to Billboard by Luminate, as measured by Mediabase), 938 songs have hit No. 1. Only 38 – or 4% – have been solely written by the soloists who recorded them. When including eight more No. 1s by duos or groups penned by one member of those acts, the share bumps to a still exclusive 5%.
Comparatively, of the five songs other than “23” to spend their first weeks at No. 1 on Country Airplay in 2024, an average of 3.8 writers have authored them.
Only five solo acts have notched multiple such No. 1s, while one duo or group has done so via one its members. Another 12 soloists have earned one each and three other groups have led with one song apiece written by one of their members.
Breaking down the stat by decade, 24 of the 46 Country Airplay No.1s solely written by acts that performed them ruled in the 1990s; 17, in the 2000s; four, in the ‘10s; and now, one, in the ‘20s.
“That song has changed my life in so many ways,” Beckham mused further of “23” to American Songwriter. “It’s such a cool thing. I need to get back to that scribble, scribble songwriting sometimes and just put my thoughts down. Sometimes the best stuff comes when you’re not trying too hard.”
Which artists boast the most solely self-written Country Airplay No. 1s over the chart’s 34-year history? Browse the list below, spanning from the ranking’s first leader, Clint Black’s “Nobody’s Home,” through the latest.
11, Alan Jackson
Jackson leads with 11 solely self-written Country Airplay No. 1s. In chronological order: “I’d Love You All Over Again” (1991), “Livin’ on Love” (1994), “I’ll Try” (1996), “There Goes” (1997), “Where I Come From,” “Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)” (both 2001), “Drive (For Daddy Gene)” (2002), “Remember When” (2004), “Small Town Southern Man,” “Good Time” (both 2008) and “Country Boy” (2009).
Of the Sept. 11-inspired “Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning),” Jackson told Billboard in 2001, “It was Sunday, Oct. 28. I played a show down in Georgia Saturday night, and I flew home late. I got up [at] 3 or 4 in the morning, and that’s when the song [came], just out of nowhere. I got up and put it on a digital recorder. I just sang it, didn’t even play guitar. I just sang the melody and lyrics right into it and went back to bed. I got up the next morning, and the girls [his wife, Denise, and their three daughters] went to Sunday school [while] I finished writing the verses.
“It just came out. I think it was a gift, and I’m just a messenger for it. It’s a very special song.”
5, Toby Keith
The late star is tied for the second-most Country Airplay No. 1s written by the act that recorded them. He logged the first of his five with his debut hit “Should’ve Been a Cowboy” in 1993 and followed with “Who’s That Man” (1994), “You Shouldn’t Kiss Me Like This” (2001), “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American)” and “Who’s Your Daddy?” (both 2002).
5, Taylor Swift
Swift has also penned five Country Airplay No. 1s with no collaborators, including her first leader, in 2007, “Our Song.” She repeated the feat with “Should’ve Said No” (2008), “Love Story” (2008), “Sparks Fly” (2011)” and “Ours” (2012).
(Click here for a rundown of the more than 50 songs in Swift’s catalog that she has written on her own.)
5, Ronnie Dunn, of Brooks & Dunn
Brooks & Dunn is the only non-solo act with multiple Country Airplay No. 1s written solely by a duo or group member. Ronnie Dunn wrote five of the pair’s leaders by himself: “Neon Moon,” “Boot Scootin’ Boogie” (both 1992), “She Used To Be Mine” (1993), “She’s Not the Cheatin’ Kind” (1994) and “Little Miss Honky Tonk” (1995).
Black bookended the ‘90s with self-authored Country Airplay No. 1s, with one in between. His three: “Nobody’s Home” (1990), “Loving Blind” (1991) and “When I Said I Do” (1999).
2, Travis Tritt
Tritt has tallied two Country Airplay No. 1s with no other writing partners: “Foolish Pride” (1994) and “Best of Intentions” (2000).
Acts with one each
Meanwhile, 12 solo artists have paced Country Airplay with songs that they wrote by themselves. Plus, three groups have hit No. 1 with songs written by one of their members. Here’s a look at all such leaders.
Soloists:
Chayce Beckham: “23” (2024)
Mary Chapin Carpenter: “Shut Up and Kiss Me” (1994)
Lionel Cartwright: “Leap of Faith” (1991)
Kenny Chesney: “Beer in Mexico” (2007)
Anita Cochran: “What If I Said” (duet with Steve Wariner; 1998)
Vince Gill: “Tryin’ To Get Over You” (1994)
Mac McAnally: “Down the Road” (with Kenny Chesney; 2009)
David Lee Murphy: “Dust on the Bottle” (1995)
Brad Paisley: “Letter to Me” (2008)
Eddie Rabbitt: “On Second Thought” (1990)
Dan Seals: “Love on Arrival” (1990)
Clay Walker: “Live Until I Die” (1994)
Groups:
The Band Perry: “If I Die Young,” written by Kimberly Perry (2010)
LANCO: “Greatest Love Story,” written by Brandon Lancaster (2017)
Sawyer Brown: “Some Girls Do,” written by Marc Miller (1992)
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