rembrandts "i’ll be there for you"

Todd Ireland wrote: Bronson took over the Chart Beat column from Paul Grein in January, 1993 and has been authoring it ever since.

Actually, Fred Bronson's final Chart Beat column was in March of 2009. It's now authored by Billboard's Gary Trust.

BTW, Paul Grein has a great weekly chart blog on Yahoo Music.

Edited by Paul Haney

As my buddy Paul Haney knows, for many years I have been a big purchaser/supporter of Record Research/Mr. Whitburn's publications, and I know he is sometimes hamstrung by the changing Billboard policies of the 90's. I was at the same Top 40 station for 30 years, and I compiled our year-end countdowns for 28 of those years. "I'll Be There For You" was by far our #1 song of the year in 1995. And never was the "points margin" between it and the #2 song of the year so wide. It was without question one of the 3 biggest hits in my entire 30 years. And while I realize we were just one station, this song was absolutely massive everywhere on the Top 40 side. I've always felt that no other song's true popularity has been more misrepresented in the reference books in the entire rock era than this one has been. I blame it almost 100% on the later association to "This House Is Not A Home". We never even played that song on our station, and it really has nothing at all to do with the previous smash, aside from the fact that the two were "coupled" on a Billboard-approved single format, VERY late in the "I'll Be There For You" hit run, by which point any trickle of residual singles sales would reflect nothing at all meaningful. This one, highly questionable policy at the time has to me completely overruled both the facts, and just plain common sense, ever since. In my respectful opinion, RR needs to totally re-examine/re-assess how it has currently interpreted this song's popularity, because it is grossly misrepresented as currently shown (as I step off my soapbox.) FYI, here are my promo CD single details for both:

The Rembrandts-"I'll Be There For You" (PRCD 9202-2)
1-(non-described version) (listed: none; actual 3:06)


The Rembrandts-"This House Is Not A Home" (PRCD 9279-2)
1-(LP Version) (listed 3:17; actual 3:16)

mstgator wrote: Paul C: I could be mistaken, but I recall that AC airplay was added to the Hot 100 mix on 7/17/93, and Modern Rock was added a year or so after that (this was mentioned at the time in Billboard's weekly Hot 100 Singles Spotlight column). As you mentioned, the remaining formats weren't added until the chart's massive overhaul in November 1998.

You are correct, sir!