Sole writing thumb|upright|Lionel Richie is the first songwriter to write eight Billboard Hot 100 number-one songs entirely by himself. In solitary songwriting or sole writing, only one person is responsible in creating the entire music and lyrics of a song. According to Billboard, 44% of the songs that reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart during the 1970s were written by just one songwriter. The percentage declined to 42% in the 1980s, 24% in the 1990s, 6% in the 2000s, and 4% in the 2010s.
Sole writing thumb|upright|Lionel Richie is the first songwriter to write eight Billboard Hot 100 number-one songs entirely by himself. In solitary songwriting or sole writing, only one person is responsible in creating the entire music and lyrics of a song. According to Billboard, 44% of the songs that reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart during the 1970s were written by just one songwriter. The percentage declined to 42% in the 1980s, 24% in the 1990s, 6% in the 2000s and 4% in the 2010s.