CHART REWIND: Cher Breaks Records In 1999 With Billboard-Topping Single ‘Believe’

In a March 1999 issue of Billboard magazine, Fred Bronson’s Chart Beat column read, “The big question this issue is whether you looked here first or at the Billboard Hot 100 to discover if Cher went to No. 1 with ‘Believe.’ I won’t keep you in suspense— Cher rewrites the record books in many ways, as her international hit seizes the summit in her own country.”

It was the second week in that month, when “Believe” topped the Hot 100 charts “just 10 days shy of a quarter-century since Cher was last on top.” The columnist further explains, “‘Dark Lady’ spent a frame at No. 1 for the week ending March 23, 1974. That means Cher has the longest gap between No. 1 hits.”

In March 1999, Cher topped the Billboard charts with “Believe”

Holiday music aside, Cher still holds the record for the longest break between Hot 100 number ones over two decades later. Closely present within this legendary status is Brenda Lee, who waited 63 years, a month and two weeks between 1960’s “I Want to Be Wanted” and the recent “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” remake.

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After her first chart-topper in 1971— “Gypsies, Tramps & Thieves,” Cher also has the longest span of Hot 100 number ones with 28 years, four months, and one week in between. Although, were Sonny & Cher’s 1965 classic, “I Got You Babe” to be added, the span would extend by about five years and some months.

Bronson also noted the age gap between Cher and the singers who have held the number one place alongside her, as a testament to her longevity in the industry. “As William Simpson of Los Angeles points out…that’s even more dramatic when one notes the ages of the three most recent artists to reach No. 1: Monica (18), Britney Spears (17), and Brandy (19 when she was No. 1),” he wrote.

Although most creatives would be excited and proud of such a feat, Cher is not so moved about it. “It’s not that amazing, OK? I’d give anything to be 70 again,” she said on NBC’s Today last November per “Believe’s” 25th anniversary of leading the Hot 100. “It’s very difficult because I’ve lived too long, and I’ve done too many things. It would have to be, like, an encyclopedia,” Cher— who is working on her memoir, said.