Canadian Chart Books
Printed From: Top 40 Music on CD
Category: Top 40 Music On Compact Disc
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Printed Date: 06 June 2025 at 7:27am
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Topic: Canadian Chart Books
Posted By: RoknRobnLoxley
Subject: Canadian Chart Books
Date Posted: 22 March 2023 at 7:07am
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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: http://www.vancouverschartedsongs.ca/ - Brian Tarling Canadian chart books |
Replies:
Posted By: vanmeter
Date Posted: 22 March 2023 at 8:57am
| Well I just went shopping - thank you! |
Posted By: EdisonLite
Date Posted: 22 March 2023 at 11:17pm
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These sound really interesting. Are RPM & CHUM simply 2
different versions of the Canadian Pop charts, like how we have Billboard & Record World....? |
Posted By: Paul Haney
Date Posted: 23 March 2023 at 3:02am
| Thanks for the info, Robin! |
Posted By: jebsib
Date Posted: 23 March 2023 at 4:59am
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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? |
Posted By: Hykker
Date Posted: 23 March 2023 at 5:22am
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Looking at the sample pages, I noticed a number of songs with a notation to the effect of "off the chart for x weeks due to RPM policy".
Curiously, what was that all about? '. |
Posted By: EdisonLite
Date Posted: 23 March 2023 at 2:15pm
| [DELETED] |
Posted By: RoknRobnLoxley
Date Posted: 25 March 2023 at 11:36am
This RPM singles chart policy went something like this, briefly over a 14 month period. From Jan 1965 to Mar 1966 when the chart was still a Top 40, if a record did not move up or maintain its peak for the new week, then it was removed from the chart. Ugh !! Even #1's and Top 10's, yikes !! This rule was done away with in late Mar 1966 when the chart was expanded to a Top 100. So when this rule was thrown out, there were some records that had been removed from the Top 40 chart that were now allowed back in under the new Top 100. These records were thus "off the chart for x weeks due to RPM policy". |
Hykker wrote:Posted By: EdisonLite
Date Posted: 02 April 2023 at 12:08pm
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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/ |
Posted By: RoknRobnLoxley
Date Posted: 03 April 2023 at 11:03am
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EdisonLite, good point/reminder on those RPM singles chart gaps of 4-6-7 weeks from 1975-80-81. I sent Brian Tarling an email suggesting future reprints might could go with using a competitor chart for these weeks lost to history, such as the CHUM or Vancouver charts. (The Record charts did not begin until 1983.)
Similar to what was done in the UK, the 'official' BMRB album charts were not published for 8 weeks in early 1971, so the chart books at first 'froze' them. Not good !! Eventually UK chart expert/historian/guru Alan Smith appealed to the Guinness Books to use a competitor chart for these 'frozen' weeks, and so they did, and filled them in with the Melody Maker album charts. The 'official' charts ended up going along with this too. |
Posted By: torcan
Date Posted: 03 April 2023 at 8:58pm
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I received the 1964-90 book late last week and would
highly recommend it. It's interesting comparing Canadian charts to US charts. There's a lot of similarities but some surprising differences as well. It really captures the 45 era in Canada, which kind of ended by the summer of 1990 as labels phased them out in favor of cassette singles. Unfortunately, nothing prior to mid-64 is included because RPM didn't start until that time. The book does list a handful of hits in 1989 and '90 that were US-pressed 45s. CBS Records (mostly) started importing some 45s towards the end with the designation "made in USA for sale in Canada" in place of where the barcode would be, but they still should be considered domestic releases because they were easily available at local record stores and at regular prices. |
Posted By: EdisonLite
Date Posted: 06 April 2023 at 12:34am
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<There's a lot of similarities but
some surprising differences as well. > I felt the same way while reading it. Some artist's hits had very parallel chart careers in Canada. On the other hand, I found many examples where in the US the artist had one big hit and one minor hit, and I found it very interesting that in Canada the two songs were reversed. And of course, there were many Canadian-content artists I'd never heard of and I want to check out many songs on YouTube (especially the '70s), as there are probably lots of good finds in this book. I haven't read all the introductory pages yet - but obviously there are some 4-week, 6-week, and 7-week periods that were never published back then. But do they give the reason why? It seems odd that a national publication would do that. |
Posted By: Paul C
Date Posted: 06 April 2023 at 6:56am
The reason there were these periods that RPM did not publish was......Canadian postal strikes. |
Posted By: jebsib
Date Posted: 06 April 2023 at 1:17pm
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Got the book (RPM 64-90) and loved it.
The introductory pages are a home run - they describe the retail landscape in Canada very well. Honestly, this is an incredible book - and I am desperately wanting a copy of that sold out 1990s follow up. Bet Mr Tarling is surprised by all this sudden traffic / inquiries! |
Posted By: torcan
Date Posted: 08 April 2023 at 7:44pm
I'm considering getting that one too. If you thought the singles market in the US was confusing in the '90s, it Canada it was even more so. There were still 45s released in Canada after the 2/10/1990 cut-off date of the first book, but as mentioned in the introductory notes, the RMP charts didn't even list catalog numbers of singles anymore. By summer, most singles released were cassette - but while the US still had all the chart hits available commercially, many chart hits weren't released on commercial singles in Canada - it was hit and miss. The record companies here seemed more nervous about singles canniballizing album sales than they were in the US. Cassingles never really caught on here like they did there, and faded out rather quickly. CD singles came next but many were quite expensive, at least in the beginning. Finally, by the later '90s, all the companies made an effort to have a viable singles market again and cheap CD singles were plenty (usually about $3.99) and available on most chart hits. This lasted several years, but by the early 2000s when downloading (legally or illegally) became popular, the singles market all but dried up. |
Posted By: RoknRobnLoxley
Date Posted: 11 April 2023 at 7:41am
| Just to reiterate, any of us who'd like to purchase copies of Brian's 2 sold out Canadian chart books [RPM Pop Charted Tracks 1990-2000, CHUM's Charted Songs 1957-86], please let him know this !! ASAP would be groovy, so he can decide on reprinting them. Either by a new full print run, or going with a print-on-demand. Shoot him an email. Fab groovy keen !! |
Posted By: jebsib
Date Posted: 11 April 2023 at 11:09am
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Someone has already - within the last 2 weeks (!) started updating / correcting
many, many Wikipedia entries based on the data in these books. The power of this site!! |
Posted By: EdisonLite
Date Posted: 11 April 2023 at 4:09pm
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<Honestly, this is an incredible book - and I am desperately wanting a copy of
that sold out 1990s follow up.> At first, I wasn't too interested in getting the '90s decade, but after reading the '64'-89 book, I definitely want to buy it. I'll let Brian know. I already expressed interest in the CHUM book. |
Posted By: RoknRobnLoxley
Date Posted: 12 April 2023 at 6:17am
| A heads up on Brian Tarling's upcoming Canadian "RPM Pop ALBUMS" chart book: it too will also include an ANNUAL section, LPs ranked each year by peak position. Great googly moogly !! |
Posted By: EdisonLite
Date Posted: 18 April 2023 at 1:45am
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I got this response from Brian, as I'm sure some of you would be interested.
I was asking about the out-of-print CHUM book & the RPM ’90-00 book Hi Gordon, I am currently working on my 6th book. I will make available both 'out of print books' in due course. I am considering an alternative printer, so, I'm not sure as to the timeline. I'm hoping for late May, but it might be earlier. I have noted your request. Thanks for your interest. Brian *** Late May isn't too far off, so let's hope that turns out to be the case. |
Posted By: Paul C
Date Posted: 22 April 2023 at 6:47am
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I also only became aware of the existence of Brian Tarling's
publications quite recently. I wish I had known about them sooner, as it would have spared me many, many, many hours of research! I have mentioned before (and I hope Pat won't mind me mentioning again) the thread on the Steve Hoffman board in which a conglomerate of us have been discussing and posting every 'Canadian Content' song that made either the main RPM chart or the separate 'Canadian Content' chart that RPM periodically published (the latter chart is not covered by Brian's publications): https://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/every-rpm-canadian- content-1-single-discussion-thread-1964-2000.987585/ The thread's initiator originally intended it to be a discussion only of songs that reached #1 on the 'Canadian Content' chart, but it quickly evolved into a discussion of every 'Canadian Content' charted song up to the year we have currently reached, 1985. There are only two 'Canadian Content' songs that made the main RPM chart that we have not yet been able to find, both from 1966, "Soup Time" by James & The Bondsmen (#97) and "Do You Remember" by Jimmy Dybold (#74). There are many songs that were not yet on YouTube when they were initially discussed but that were posted to the thread at a later date. So if you do a search, you should be able to find almost every song. In order to post songs to the Hoffman thread, I created my own YouTube channel to which I have uploaded more than 300 'Canadian Content' songs that made either the main RPM chart or its 'Canadian Content' chart (as well as 'Canadian Content' songs that reached #1 on the country or AC chart) and that were not previously on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@rpmcanadahits2315 The vast, vast majority of these songs have never been issued on anything other than the original 45s. The vast, vast majority are straight dubs from my 45s. I have made no attempt to 'clean up' the sound. One caveat I must mention is the Nor-Va-Jak situation, an issue you will see brought up often in the Hoffman thread. Quite a few Canadian acts recorded at the studio of the late producer Norman Petty in Clovis, New Mexico (Wes Dakus, Barry Allen, Willie & The Walkers, Gainsborough Gallery, Happy Feeling, Joe Popiel, The Preachers). Petty's company, Nor-Va-Jak, still owns the masters and they vigourously object to any of these recordings being posted online. (Because of their objections, I have had a 'strike' issued against me by YouTube.) About the only Nor-Va-Jak recordings you will find on YouTube have been posted by Nor-Va-Jak themselves. Another caveat is to take the RPM charts with a grain of salt, especially in the early years when the entire publication was assembled every week by at most two people, its founders, Walt Graelis and Stan Klees. Graelis managed a number of acts and Klees ran a number of labels. Songs associated with these two gentlemen at times did surprisingly well on the RPM chart. |
Posted By: EdisonLite
Date Posted: 31 July 2023 at 12:27am
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I just checked Brian Tarling's website tonight, and it still looks like he hasn't
done a limited edition run of his 2 out of print books: CHUM RPM 90-2000 ... unless I missed it in the past 2 or 3 months. But I emailed him to see if he plans on re-releasing these. I love the RPM book that goes through '89. I'd love to see these other Canadian-charting books. |
Posted By: EdisonLite
Date Posted: 31 July 2023 at 4:14pm
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I got a response from Brian regarding the made-on-demand books he was
talking about doing, since his original printed books ran out. The response isn't great. But I think there were others on here interested in ordering CHUM & RPM 90-2000: My plan was to use Amazon's print on demand. If it worked, it would have been a win-win, as Amazon would only print one book when the order came in and Amazon would do the shipping. However, it turns out that Amazon limits the number of pages to 250, and all my books are well over this limit. I then asked for a quote for the Chum book from my regular printer, but it was too high given that I was about to order my latest book, RPM's POP CHARTED ALBUMS Jan 1967 to November 2000. I hoped I could cut a deal by ordering the two books at the same time. However, it turned the 889 pages in my new Album's book was too many for my regular printer to handle. I have since received the copies of my new book from another printer (same one that printed RPM's Pop Charted songs). The cost was too high for me to also order my Chum Book Or RPM HIT TRACKS. My new book will go online on my site probably around mid to late August. If the sales for my new book are reasonable, I will then order the CHUM book. So, at present the CHUM book and RPM Hit Tracks are on standby, pending on the success of my new Album's, book. I have received a few requests for the CHUM book, so I'm hopeful, it will come to pass. Thanks for your interest in my books |
Posted By: RoknRobnLoxley
Date Posted: 01 August 2023 at 8:33am
| Thanks EdisonLite. That's mostly positive news, with the RPM albums book out in August. I wonder if Brian considered using Amazon print-on-demand to split up a book into multiple sections, 250 pages each (though that sounds really low). Or if there's another print on demand outfit out there that could do the whole shebang. There should be a lot of options available out there... |
Posted By: RoknRobnLoxley
Date Posted: 13 September 2023 at 10:03am
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Newsflash: Christmas is now !! Brian Tarling has finished his Canadian "RPM's Pop Charted Albums 1967-2000" book, and it's now available for order. Another massive book, 8.5 x 11, 889 pages. And like his other awesome books, this is 2 books in 1, the regular 'record by artist' stuff, plus a 'peak position by year' annual. Great googly moogly !!
Price including shipping to the US is $95 Canadian = $70.16 US. Operators are standing by, so don't bee shy. http://www.vancouverschartedsongs.ca - Brian Tarling Canadian chart books P.S. Depending on the success of this book, he'll then work on getting his 2 sold out books back in print, his "CHUM's Charted Songs 1957-86", and his "RPM's Pop Charted Tracks 1990-2000". It turns out that Amazon print-on-demand is back on the table as an option, as the page count is NOT limited to just 250 pages. Rock on !! |
Posted By: EdisonLite
Date Posted: 13 September 2023 at 3:49pm
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I wasn't thinking of getting this book, but the more I think about it, I think it
would be a good read. And I sure hope Brian puts out the 2 out of print books you mentioned - whether on his website or Amazon. I REALLY want to get those! |
Posted By: RoknRobnLoxley
Date Posted: 23 September 2023 at 10:09am
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I received Brian Tarling's book "RPM's Pop Charted Albums 1967-2000" the other day. Most impressive I must say. Especially the annual section with LPs listed by year and peak. Meticulous notes section. Get yours today, see my link 2 posts up.
FYI, Brian said he only has 8 copies left of his RPM singles book "Pop Charted Songs 1964-1990" so don't hesitate and bee lost, ha. Muchos nachos... |
Posted By: RoknRobnLoxley
Date Posted: 06 February 2025 at 5:50pm
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Hey Canadian chart freaks, good news for you !! I’ve just gotten word directly from Brian Tarling that his most excellent out-
of-print Canadian chart books will be coming back into print by way of Amazon’s “print-on-demand” service. Just order them as you would any other item, and they’ll print ‘em off and ship ‘em directly to you. The first of his out-of-print books is already up on Amazon US and Canada, “RPM’s Pop Charted Songs 1964-1990”. Due to Amazon’s POD page limits, this book has been split into 2 volumes, each over 500 pages, 8.5 x 11” : Vol 1 = records sorted by artist, Vol 2 = records sorted by year / peak position. The title index is included in both, so each book stands on its own without having to buy the other. Amazon is the seller, and the books qualify for free shipping for Amazon Prime Members. Just go to Amazon, and search for “Brian Tarling” under books. Or for Amazon US just go here : https://www.amazon.com/s?k=brian+tarling&i=stripbooks-intl-ship&crid=33EA3MSH6F9Q7&sprefix=brian+tarling%2Cstripbooks- intl-ship%2C129&ref=nb_sb_noss - Brian Tarling Amazon US The 3 other out-of-print books will be coming to Amazon soon : --RPM’s Pop Charted Tracks 1990-2000 --CHUM’s Charted Songs 1957-1986 --Vancouver’s Charted Songs 1956-1978 Eventually / soon, all will be available on 10 more Amazons in Europe, Japan, and Australia. The 2 books still in stock on Brian’s regular website are : --RPM’s Pop Charted Albums 1967-2000 --Vancouver’s Charted Songs The 80’s (1979-1993) and can be seen and ordered here : https://www.vancouverschartedsongs.ca/ - Brian Tarling Books Info on all 6 chart books [ with sample pages !! ] can be found on the above link as well, and in my other posts above. Happy chart freaking !! |
Posted By: RoknRobnLoxley
Date Posted: 24 February 2025 at 12:10pm
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The latest update on Brian Tarling's Canadian chart books : 2 more previously sold-out books are now available from
Amazon "print-on-demand" : --RPM's Pop Charted Tracks : Hit Songs From Across Canada 1990-2000. [ This continues from the previous RPM singles volumes 1964-1990. ] Since this book didn't go over the Amazon page limit, it contains both the records-by-artist section, and the pop annual records-by-year-and-peak-position section, plus the index, plus the intro with all the meticulous details on the RPM charts and Brian's methodology. 2 great books in 1 !! Great googly moogly !! --Toronto radio station CHUM’s Charted Songs 1957-1986. Just go to your favorite Amazon, and search for "Brian Tarling" under "books". And/or see my above post. Rock on !! |
Posted By: Paul C
Date Posted: 25 February 2025 at 6:40am
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Thanks for the 'heads up' Robn!
By the way, in my post above from 2023, I mention my YouTube channel to which I had uploaded several hundred Canadian RPM charted songs not already on YouTube. Unfortunately, last year YouTube 'terminated' my channel after my third 'strike' for copyright violation. |
Posted By: EdisonLite
Date Posted: 10 May 2025 at 2:54pm
| This is great news! I bought a couple Canadian books when news was 1st posted here. But others were out of print, so I'm glad I'll be able to get them now. |
Posted By: EdisonLite
Date Posted: 24 May 2025 at 2:54pm
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I just ordered the CHUM & Vancouver books on Amazon. (I had bought 2 RPM books from his website years ago). The prices are very reasonable (roughly $40 except one book at $56). His Vancouver's Charted Songs '56-'78 book isn't out yet because of issues with the cover of the book. I hope it will be released soon. For anyone from Canada, are the charts from RPM Magazine considered the official charts of Canada, the way Billboard is in the US? Does anyone know where I can buy these Whitburn-type books for Australia, New Zealand, or individual European countries (besides the UK, which I have)? |
Posted By: torcan
Date Posted: 24 May 2025 at 8:36pm
That's a hard question to answer. I've never heard of any one publication being referred to as the "official" charts, but RPM is probably as good as any. Oddly enough, usually when Canadian radio stations quote chart statistics, it's almost always Billboard. There was also a magazine called The Record, which I don't believe was around for as long. I'd probably go by RPM. |
Posted By: jebsib
Date Posted: 25 May 2025 at 6:29am
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I lived in Canada (Montreal, Toronto) periodically for several years in the 1980s & 1990s. I was obsessed with Casey Kasem's AT40, Billboard, Record Research and all the popular music charts, including the UK and - via Billboard and the Canadian newspapers - Canada's "the Record". I bought 45s, cassingles and CD singles at the big record stores in Canada (Sam's, HMV, Tower). I read Billboard religiously and listened to all the radio stations and watched MuchMusic. I had never heard of RPM until 10 years ago, thanks to Wikipedia. |
Posted By: torcan
Date Posted: 25 May 2025 at 4:21pm
It was available at several record stores. I have quite a few copies (mainly from the '80s), all bought at Sam the Record Man or A&A. |
Posted By: jebsib
Date Posted: 26 May 2025 at 10:15am
| Oh, it was certainly available I'm sure - but I never heard reference to its charts anywhere. Did you hear of it being Canada's popular chart authority back then? |