AT40 Year-End Countdowns

I use the Bronson book (my print edition is from the early
90s) as a guide for looking up or compiling big hits of
certain years instead of the old Billboard charts.

Hearing George Harrison's "What Is Life" on the radio this
morning reminded me of another year-end chart error from
Billboard involving Olivia Newton-John again. In 1972,
Billboard ranked her cover of this song as the #34 AC hit
of the year. Yet, it peaked at #34 and only spent three
weeks on the chart! I wonder what song was not ranked
because of that.

Scanner wrote: My personal favorite was when Olivia Newton-John's "Magic" was not included on the 1980 year-end AC chart. Five weeks at #1 and 20 weeks on the chart all during the 1980 chart year - her biggest AC hit ever. Yet, Billboard ranked Maxine Nightingale's "Lead Me On" as the #8 hit of 1980. Too bad it charted during the 1979, not 1980, chart year! "Lead" was even the #3 AC song of 1979 thanks to its seven week run at #1. I always wondered whether Billboard mixed up one N last name (Newton-John) with another (Nightingale)!

Did they correct that at one point? I have a complete set of Billboard text charts from 1955 to mid-2007 and this is how it appeared there:

1980-Top100

01      "Call Me"            Blondie
02      "Another Brick in the Wall, Part II"      Pink Floyd
03      "Magic"            Olivia Newton-John
04      "Rock with You"      Michael Jackson
05      "Do That to Me One More Time"      Captain & Tennille
06      "Crazy Little Thing Called Love"      Queen
07      "Coming Up"            Paul McCartney
08      "Funkytown"            Lipps Inc
09      "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me"      Billy Joel
10      "The Rose"            Bette Midler
11      "Escape (The Piña Colada song)"      Rupert Holmes
12      "Cars"                 Gary Numan
13      "Cruisin"            Smokey Robinson
14      "Working My Way Back to You/Forgive Me, Girl"      The Spinners
15      "Lost in Love"            Air Supply
16      "Little Jeannie"      Elton John
17      "Ride Like the Wind"      Christopher Cross
18      "Upside Down"            Diana Ross
19      "Please Don't Go"      KC and the Sunshine Band
20      "Babe"                 Styx
21      "With You I'm Born Again"      Billy Preston and Syreeta
22      "Shining Star"            The Manhattans
23      "Still"            Commodores
24      "Yes, I'm Ready"      Teri DeSario & KC
25      "Sexy Eyes"            Dr. Hook
26      "Steal Away"            Robbie Dupree
27      "Biggest Part of Me"      Ambrosia
28      "This Is It"            Kenny Loggins
29      "Cupid/I've Loved You for a Long Time"      The Spinners
30      "Let's Get Serious"      Jermaine Jackson
31      "Don't Fall in Love with a Dreamer"      Kenny Rogers & Kim Carnes
32      "Sailing"            Christopher Cross
33      "Longer"            Dan Fogelberg
34      "Coward of the County"      Kenny Rogers
35      "Ladies' Night"      Kool & the Gang
36      "Too Hot"            Kool & the Gang
37      "Take Your Time (Do It Right)"      The SOS Band
38      "No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)"      Barbra Streisand & Donna Summer
39      "More Love"            Kim Carnes
40      "Pop Muzik"            M
41      "Brass in Pocket"      The Pretenders      

Billboard's Year-End AC chart for 1980 looks like it has an
eligibility period from August 1979 though July 1980. That
is even worst than the eligibility period for their 1980
pop singles chart, which runs from 10/6/1979 through
9/27/1980.

Edited by Vince

Scanner wrote: I first listened to the year-end countdown in 1978. I wondered why "You Light Up My Life" ranked at #3 when it spent its ten weeks at #1 in 1977. It was my introduction to the concept of a "chart year." (Years later, when I tracked down the 1977 year-end Billboard, I was stunned "Light" did not even make the year-end Top 100 at all!)

Didn't "You Light Up My Life" peak at #53-ish for 1977 (even though all 10
weeks of its #1 run were in 1977)? I remember hearing Casey's year-end top
100 in 1977 on the radio and shocked it was that low (though the next year
it would be #3 for the year). But then again, maybe Billboard and AT40 were
2 different YE charts for '77. Did it chart or not in Billboard's YE for '77?