The Hits Keep On Coming (for Some People)

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Sunday, September 28, 2008

For white artists, the top of Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart isn't the most welcoming place: When Robin Thicke's "Lost Without U" reached the No. 1 slot on Feb. 24, 2007, it marked the first time in 15 years that the position was held by a white singer. (White rappers needn't apply: None has reached No. 1 on what was known in the late 1940s as the Race Records chart.)

The last white artist to ascend to the top spot before Thicke was Lisa Stansfield, the British vocalist whose "All Woman" was a No. 1 hit in May 1992. (Stansfield had two earlier No. 1 R&B singles, in 1990, with "All Around the World" and "You Can't Deny It.")

Here are some of the other white singers who've managed to reach No. 1 over the past 30 years -- plus a few notables who haven't:

No. 1s

Teena Marie

"Ooo La La La" (1988)

George Michael

"One More Try" (1988)

Michael McDonald with Patti LaBelle

"On My Own" (1986)

Paul McCartney with Michael Jackson

"The Girl Is Mine" (1983)

Hall & Oates

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