Endless Love reigns atop Billboard love-song list

Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, Céline Dion rank for multiple romantic tunes

CBC News

Posted: Feb 14, 2013 12:42 PM ET

Last Updated: Feb 14, 2013 12:40 PM ET

Lionel Richie, seen performing in Berlin in 2009, has landed at the top of Billboard's top 'love' songs list with his 1981 ballad Endless Love. (Kai-Uwe Knoth/Associated Press)

An oldie that's apparently still a goodie, the ballad Endless Love has been crowned the top "love" song of all time by Billboard magazine.

The industry publication has released a list of the top 50 "love" songs in time for Valentine's Day.

Referencing songs with a form of the word "love" in their titles, the ranking is based on the actual performance of these songs on the weekly Billboard Hot 100 chart, which dates back to the 1950s.

Endless Love is the 1981 ballad Motown artist Lionel Richie wrote for the Franco Zeffirelli film of the same name. Richie performed it in a duet with Diana Ross and the song was No. 1 for nine weeks and also earned him an Oscar nomination.

Love songs from different decades round out the top five, including the Boyz II Men ballad I'll Make Love to You (1994), upbeat dance track We Found Love by Rihanna feat. Calvin Harris (2011), the Bee Gees classic How Deep is Your Love (1977), and Silly Love Songs by Wings (1976).

Soul singer Ross was one of the artists who popped up on the love-themed list multiple times. Others include Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder.

Rihanna's club-thumping track We Found Love is the most recent song to earn a place on the list, while the oldest is To Know Him is to Love Him, the 1958 song by The Teddy Bears.

A few duets by real-life couples also made the cut, including 1975's Love Will Keep Us Together by Captain & Tennille and 2003's Crazy in Love by Beyoncé feat. Jay-Z.

Canadian Céline Dion landed on the list twice: at No. 13 for her 1996 track Because You Loved Me and at No. 40 with The Power of Love.

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