Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama” reaches No. 1 on Billboard’s Rock Streaming Songs chart for the first time after the Fourth of July, decades after its release. UNITED STATES – JUNE 01: USA Photo of Ed KING and Artimus PYLE and Gary ROSSINGTON and LYNYRD SKYNYRD and Billy POWELL and Allen COLLINS and Ronnie VAN ZANT and Leon WILKESON, L-R: Allen Collins, Billy Powell, Ronnie Van Zant, Gary Rossington, Artimus Pyle, Ed King, Leon Wilkeson – posed, group shot (Photo by Jim McCrary/Redferns)
Redferns
More than a dozen songs that have something to do with America or patriotism – anything that connects them to a general sense of pride in the United States, really – become hits on the Billboard charts this week. The current rankings reflect consumption during the tracking period that included July 4, and that day is one of several holidays throughout the year, in addition to Halloween and Christmas, where a handful of thematically-relevant titles become streaming and sales smashes all over again. Sometimes, this happens decades after they were originally released.
Tracks by artists like Bruce Springsteen, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Miley Cyrus, and Lynyrd Skynyrd return to rankings published by Billboard this frame. In some instances, they debut on tallies they’ve never seen before, while in other instances, they climb to never-before-seen heights.
Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama,” which has apparently become a July Fourth staple in the country, reappears on multiple tallies. The band manages to score its first smash on one ranking that did not exist when the group began recording and releasing music more than half a century ago.
“Sweet Home Alabama” Becomes Lynyrd Skynyrd’s First No. 1
For the first time since debuting on the Rock Streaming Songs chart, Billboard‘s list of the most-played rock-only cuts on platforms like Spotify in the U.S., back in May 2017, “Sweet Home Alabama” ranks as the most successful tune in the genre. The decades-old classic reappears on the tally and becomes the group’s first leader.
“Sweet Home Alabama” Tops the List After Hundreds of Weeks
“Sweet Home Alabama” tops the Rock Streaming Songs chart 242 weeks into its time on the rundown. The band has only sent a pair of hits to the ranking, and both have managed to hold on for multiple years.
“Simple Man” peaked at No. 11 in April 2020 after debuting a little more than two years prior. That smash has held on for 108 weeks, just over two years. That’s a long run on any of Billboard‘s songs rankings, but it pales in comparison to how long “Sweet Home Alabama” has remained a streaming staple.
“Sweet Home Alabama” Debuts on the Streaming Chart
Streams of “Sweet Home Alabama” exploded recently, and that helps the composition become a win not only on the Rock Streaming Songs chart, but also the Streaming Songs tally, which does not focus on any one style. On that list, Lynyrd Skynyrd appears for the very first time as “Sweet Home Alabama” opens at No. 23.
Beyoncé Beats Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama”
“Sweet Home Alabama” earns the second-loftiest debut on the current edition of the Streaming Songs chart. The Southern rock outfit trails only Beyoncé, whose “Morning Dew (Donk)” – recorded decades ago and which fronts an upcoming twentieth-anniversary reissue of her sophomore album B’Day – arrives at No. 17.
Several other patriotic tunes debut on the Streaming Songs chart this week behind Beyoncé and Lynyrd Skynyrd. “Chicken Fried” by Zac Brown Band, Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the U.S.A.,” Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’,” Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Fortunate Son,” and the beloved “Take Me Home, Country Roads” by John Denver and Fat City also launch on the same list. Comebacks Toby Keith’s “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American)” and “Party in the U.S.A.” by Cyrus also find their way to the tally at the same time.
“Sweet Home Alabama” Reaches a New Worldwide Peak
Billboard introduced two worldwide tallies in 2020 – the Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. – and they remain some of the company’s most recent additions to its lineup. Lynyrd Skynyrd has only sent “Sweet Home Alabama” to the Billboard Global 200 twice, and this frame, as it breaks back in at No. 118, both the track and the group reach new peaks. “Sweet Home Alabama” debuted on the tally, which details the most popular songs all around the planet, last July, and if the trend continues, the cut will earn its third stay next summer.
“Sweet Home Alabama” Returns to the Billboard Hot 100
“Sweet Home Alabama” is once again a top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, ranking as one of the most popular and most-consumed tunes in the nation. The state-naming cut reappears at No. 31 after once climbing into the top 10 and stalling at No. 8.