Canadian Chart Books

Hey yall, I've got great news. Unknown to me until 2 weeks ago, there has been an author churning out high quality Canadian chart books over the past 8 years. Brian Tarling has published the following Canadian chart books:

--RPM's Pop Charted Songs 1964-90, 854 p, 1.7" thick
--RPM's Pop Charted Tracks 1990-2000, 432 p, (now sold out)
--CHUM's Charted Songs 1957-1986, 568 p, 1.2" thick, (now sold out)
--Vancouver's Charted Songs 1956-78, 719 p, 1.4" thick
--Vancouver's Charted Songs 1979-93, 310 p, 0.7" thick

I bought 4 of these books, and they are most impressive. 8.5 x 11" each, paperback. Type size is nice and big, 1st class books all the way, very similar to the quality of the Record Research Whitburn books, just not hardcover. No artist bios or photos. Definitely worth the cost and the expensive air mail shipping.

And each is 2 books in one. Each book contains the usual records by artist section, but also includes a pop annual section broken down year by year, with records ranked by chart peak, similar to the Whitburn singles Pop Annual. A meticulous introduction with info on methodology, history, notes, etc. A stats and rankings section, with the usual song title section. See the link below for more info, sample pages, pricing, etc.

Brian is also working as we speak on a new RPM Pop Albums book, due out soon. I don't think a book on RPM albums has ever been done before. I don't think Ted Kennedy did albums, Nanda Lwin did albums but I think only for The Record magazine charts.

So if anyone is interested in these, go for it. If you want copies of the 2 sold out books, ask Brian to go for a reprinting, or to try and set up a print-on-demand. He's done 3 editions of the first Vancouver book, so there is hope for the other sell outs. His contact info / email is on the 'home', 'details', and 'buy now' pages of each book at the link below.

I had been trying to find copies of Canadian chart books by Ted Kennedy (RPM + The Record singles) and Nanda Lwin (The Record singles and albums) for over 10 years, new or used in any condition, and they are impossible to find anywhere, other than in libraries in Canada, ugh. These Brian Tarling books just fell outta the sky. Great googly moogly !! Prices are in Canadian $, so multiply by 0.7317 to get to US $.

Operators are standing by, happy chart rocking !! Link:

Brian Tarling Canadian chart books

These sound really interesting. Are RPM & CHUM simply 2
different versions of the Canadian Pop charts, like how we
have Billboard & Record World....?

Edited by EdisonLite

EdisonLite -



CHUM was basically the radio playlist chart of the most influential Canadian
Top 40 station (Toronto) at the time.



Per Wikipedia, Canada didn't have an official chart till RPM in 1964, so from
1958 - 1964, CHUM info is used as the de facto Canadian chart. Then RPM,
despite the 2 co-existing for years. My parents lived in Canada in the 40s and
50s and can confirm that Canada did indeed have music charts back then, they
just don't recall the source.



At the same time, Billboard used a variety of sources in their mag during the
60-90s: CBC, Maple Leaf System, CRIA and most notably, The Record from
1983-1996.



RPM appears to be the only chart with 100 positions.



Anyone know how many positions the Record generally had?

[DELETED]

Edited by EdisonLite

There were also gaps in the '70s (and perhaps '80s) where there were 4, 6
or 7 weeks where there simply was no RPM chart. Unfortunately, some
songs never reached their highest chart position because of this.

I received the RPM's Pop Charted Songs 1964-90 book about a week ago.
It's GREAT! I highly recommend buying it if you like the Whitburn Hot 100
book. Or any chart book.

As for his 2 sold-out Canadian chart books:

--RPM's Pop Charted Tracks 1990-2000, 432 p, (now sold out)
--CHUM's Charted Songs 1957-1986, 568 p, 1.2" thick, (now sold out)

He told me he's thinking of printing a one-time only book (made on
demand) if he gets a request, or doing an official reprint of either or both
books if he gets the requests for them.

Is anyone here interested in getting those?

If so, go to Brian's page and let him know you'd like to buy those. It could
make all the difference:

Brian Tarling Canadian chart books
http://www.vancouverschartedsongs.ca/