Mike Riccio On The 28th Top 77 Songs Of All Time Of All Time
by Scott Benjamin 

 
Mike Riccio

They say part of the reason for the gridlock in Washington is that too few states hold open primaries. 

However, the 28^th annual The Top 77 of All Time offers an open primary with a raft of choices and not only early voting, but extended voting. It even utilizes a ranked-choice ballot. 

The music survey attempts to replicate the excitement of more than a generation ago when Musicradio77 WABC aired the Top 100 songs of the year from the day after Christmas through New Year’s Day and listeners anticipated whether “To Sir With Love,” by Lulul or “Groovin’ “” by the Rascals would be the top song for 1967. 

They sent a self-addressed stamped envelopes to get a copy of the survey decorated with portrait photos of the station’s air personalities. 

The Top 77 is run by Musicradio77.com Survey Guy Mike Riccio, who was part of the team that some years ago assembled  all of the weekly surveys for WABC from 1960 to 1982 and posted them on the station’s tribute web site. 

Riccio, who has been an air personality at such stations as WBLI and WLIX , operates oldiesboard.com, where the voting recently began and will continue until early December. 

You can choose from volumes of songs -ranging from the psychedelic era to the Hendrix Experience to The Chairmen Of The Board. 

In an October 17, 2025 e-mail interview with Musicradio77.com, Riccio wrote that under the format, “Voters can choose anywhere from one to ten of their favorite songs from any time frame, any decade, any style, any genre. The one qualifier is that the song had to be released officially - no YouTube videos or the like of 10-year-olds sing "Happy Birthday to You." Although we highlight the Top 77 portion of the results to "honor" WABC, the blockbuster New York radio station in the 1960s and 1970s, the final list usually includes over 3,000 songs!” 

He stated that, “The voting scale is: “A song that a voter places as their #1 favorite will get more "points" than a song voted as their #2 favorite. And #2 gets more "points" than a song they vote as their #3 favorite, etc.” 

“The calculations are done and the songs are ranked by the number of votes and points they received,” wrote Riccio, a graduate of C.W. Post on Long Island. 

However, even though Republicans, Democrats, unaffiliated registrants and Yippie Party members can participate, the results over the last 27 years resemble an election in a Banana Republic dictatorship. 

“Hey Jude,” by the Beatles has won in all but two of the 27 years. 

However, in 2024 it prevailed by the equivalent of one vote over “(Can’t Get No) Satisfaction”, by The Rolling Stones. That song was the champion in 2023 - the only song other than “Rag Doll,” by The Four Seasons to finish ahead of “Hey Jude” in the Top 77. 

Like “Hey Jude,” “(Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” has been popular through generations. In 1976 over Thanksgiving Day weekend  it placed first in a Top 500 songs of all time survey at 66 WNBC – then a music radio rival of 77 WABC. 

Rewound Radio will count down the Top 77 on Friday, December 26, at noon and over the holiday week will play the songs that received votes in the balloting. During that week there also will be live shows in which listeners can request a song that they voted for. 

Riccio added that, “The entire list will be available to view and even to download with lots of special features and break-outs of the results.” 

Who have been the most popular artists? 

Riccio stated that in 2024 the roster consisted of The Beatles, Elvis Presley, Beach Boys, Rolling Stones, Carpenters, Four Seasons, Frank Sinatra, Chicago, The Bee Gees, Elton John and The Monkees. 

Riccio stated that the transistor era – the 1960s – has been the most popular in the balloting – “led by 1969 and 1967 and then the 1963-64 era and 1968. The early 1970s also gets lots of votes.” 

Some songs have recently climbed further up the charts. 

Riccio wrote that in 2024 that category included :”Are You Lonesome Tonight,” by Elvis Presley; “Friday On My Mind,” by The Easybeats; “Blowin' In The Wind,” by  Bob Dylan; “Take The Long Way Home,” by Supertramp; “Ramblin' Gamblin' Man,” by  Bob Seger;  “El Paso,” by  Marty Robbins; “Just Remember I Love You,” Firefall;  “Vincent,” by Don McLean;  “Night Fever,” by The Bee Gees; and “Touch Me,” by The Doors. 

Also, “Walk Like A Man,” by The Four Seasons;  “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” by Simon and Garfunkel;  “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough ,” by Diana Ross; “Light My Fire.” by The Doors, ,American Pie,” by Don McLean; and “Stairway To Heaven” by Led Zeppelin. 

The Top 77 of All Time represents democracy in action.

However, remember, there is an electronic system that will keep you from voting more than once.