3 Songs That Were Written in a Day – and Topped the Charts for Weeks

Most hit songs go through months of studio sessions, rewrites, and second-guessing. Producers request changes. Labels push back. A song gets shelved, resurrected, reworked. That’s the normal arc. Which is why it’s so striking when a track that was dashed off in a matter of hours ends up sitting at the top of the charts for weeks on end, refusing to move.

The three songs below don’t just share the odd distinction of having been written in a single day. They went on to define eras, set records, and become some of the most recognized recordings in history. The speed of their creation only makes the longevity more remarkable.

1. “Hound Dog” – Elvis Presley (1956)

Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller penned this twelve-bar blues song reportedly in less than 15 minutes, and they wrote it partially in Stoller’s car on their way home after a rehearsal. They had been asked to write something specific for blues singer Big Mama Thornton, whom they had met just the day before. What came out of that rushed car ride became one of rock and roll’s most durable standards.

A twelve-bar blues song credited to Leiber and Stoller, “Hound Dog” was originally recorded by Big Mama Thornton on August 13, 1952, and released by Peacock Records in late February 1953. Thornton’s version spent 14 weeks in the R&B charts, including seven weeks at number one. Then Elvis Presley got hold of it. His 1956 version hit number one on the R&B, country, and pop charts simultaneously and became his longest-running chart topper, spending 11 weeks in the peak position. That record stood for 36 years.

2. “Yesterday” – The Beatles (1965)

Paul McCartney didn’t plan to write one of the most covered songs in music history. He woke up with it. According to biographers of McCartney and the Beatles, the entire melody came to him in a dream one night, and upon waking he hurried to a nearby piano and played it through so he wouldn’t forget it. His first instinct wasn’t pride. For about a month, he went to people in the music business and asked whether they had ever heard it before, worried he had subconsciously borrowed someone else’s work.

The string-laden ballad was formally recorded on June 14, 1965, a day dominated by McCartney compositions. In the afternoon session, the Beatles recorded “I’ve Just Seen a Face” and “I’m Down.” Then in the evening, from 7 to 10pm, history was made. The single was issued on September 13, 1965, and a month later went to number one, where it stayed for four weeks. It remains popular today with roughly 2,200 cover versions, and was voted the best song of the 20th century in a 1999 BBC Radio 2 poll, as well as the number one pop song of all time by MTV and Rolling Stone the following year.

3. “Royals” – Lorde (2013)

When a 15-year-old from New Zealand sat down with producer Joel Little during an informal songwriting session, neither of them thought they were making anything that would travel far beyond their home country. According to the well-documented story behind the song, Lorde penned the lyrics to “Royals” in just 30 minutes, though one particular line had been written years prior. She was 15 at the time of writing, and 16 when it hit the global market. The inspiration struck when she saw a National Geographic photo of baseball player George Brett in 1976, wearing his Kansas City Royals uniform. She didn’t know who Brett was or anything about baseball, but the word “Royals” sparked the whole idea.

The track topped the Billboard Hot 100 for nine weeks and broke the record for the longest reign atop the Alternative Songs chart by a woman, passing Alanis Morissette’s “You Oughta Know.” At 16 years and 11 months old, Lorde became the youngest female artist in 26 years to top the Billboard Hot 100, since 16-year-old Tiffany topped the chart with “I Think We’re Alone Now” in 1987. At the 56th Annual Grammy Awards, “Royals” won Song of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance, and was nominated for Record of the Year.

Thirty minutes. Fifteen minutes. One restless night and a piano next to a bed. The time it took to write these songs is almost an afterthought when you stack it against what they became. Craft, instinct, and the right moment have a way of collapsing the distance between inspiration and immortality.