Source link : https://las-vegas-news.com/12-songs-that-topped-the-charts-without-a-single-music-video/
There was a time when a song’s success felt almost inseparable from its visuals. MTV turned music videos into a cultural currency, and for decades, a chart-topping hit without an accompanying clip seemed almost unthinkable. Yet history tells a different story, one where plenty of massive hits reached the very top of the charts using nothing but the power of the recording itself.
From the pre-MTV era, when the concept of a “music video” simply did not exist yet, to today’s streaming-driven landscape where TikTok trends and playlist placements can do the heavy lifting once reserved for visuals, songs have proven again and again that they do not need a video to become inescapable. Here are twelve songs that climbed to number one without ever getting the full music video treatment.
1. Ben – Michael Jackson (1972)
Long before Michael Jackson became synonymous with groundbreaking short films for songs like “Thriller” and “Billie Jean,” he was a teenage soloist scoring his first number one hit with the tender ballad “Ben.” Four singles were taken from the album, although they were not promoted by music videos, and this pattern continued for his next three Motown studio albums. That means “Ben,” released in 1972 and reaching the top of the Billboard Hot 100, never received an official visual companion.
It would take until the release of “Off the Wall” years later for Jackson to embrace…
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Author : Matthias Binder
Publish date : 2026-09-16 11:34:00
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