Instant Alert: The biggest hit song the year you were born

MANAGE SUBSCRIPTIONS   |   UNSUBSCRIBE   |   VIEW ONLINE   The biggest hit song the year you were born by Paul Schrodt on May 25, 2016, 12:33 PM Advertisement Whenever you were born, there was a song you couldn't get away from. We don't think about it much, but the music playing around us as we grow up is ingrained with us for life. Whether it's Elvis Presley's '50s hits, baby-boomer classics like The Beatles' "Hey Jude," or George Michael in the '80s — an artist who more or less defined radio in that decade — for their respective generations, and usually more, they'll always be around. While standards and novelty songs were common reaching back to radio's early peak, rock and then hip-hop slowly encroached, to the point that they're now basically in everything we hear, even if not directly. Though a throwback crooner like Pharrell's "Happy" can still pass muster. Billboard has been tracking the top song of each year in its annual charts since 1946. Business Insider compiled each hit below so you can see, and hear, what was the soundtrack of your birth year. Check out what made it to the top of each year below: SEE ALSO: Here are the top summer songs of the past 30 years 2015: Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars, "Uptown Funk!" Youtube Embed: http://www.youtube.com/embed/OPf0YbXqDm0 Width: 560px Height: 315px   2014: Pharrell Williams, "Happy" Youtube Embed: http://www.youtube.com/embed/y6Sxv-sUYtM Width: 560px Height: 315px   2013: Macklemore and Ryan Lewis feat. Wanz, "Thrift Shop" Youtube Embed: http://www.youtube.com/embed/QK8mJJJvaes Width: 560px Height: 315px   See the rest of the story at Business Insider   Share the latest business news with your network: Email sent to:   |   Manage your email preferences   |   Unsubscribe Terms of Service   |   Privacy Policy Business Insider. 150 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10011