Top Pop Singles 1955-2018

Scanner wrote: Glad to hear there are plans to continue Record Research after Joel retires. I would love to see a Country Comparison book including Billboard, Cashbox, R&R and Record World that would run through R&R's end in 2009...among other books that I know will never be updated (e.g. an AC book update) or published (e.g. all the other R&R charts and Cashbox and Record World album charts)!

If there's one thing I've learned over the years, it's
never say "never" when it comes to new book projects. I
never imagined that we'd actually expand into the other
publications. It took me years to convince Joel to do a
Radio & Records book, for instance.

jebsib wrote: The only drawback on Year End Charts are those odd occasions when huge #1 hits fall between the cracks and wind up never appearing on the year ends (Happened a lot in the 60s and 70s)

Contrast that to this century where chart runs are so long
that more than a few songs have made the year end charts 2
consecutive years.

Paul, are there any plans in the pipeline for a revised Hot Country Albums book? Seeing as how the last one was for 1964-2007, we've got 11 years of data to catch up on. Thanks...

Hykker wrote: How many "hit songs" as we know them from the rock era were there pre-1940?

There is no "definitive" annual of hits songs for this era, but there were hit songs (just an example, Puttin' on the Ritz by Irving Berlin) that are worth collecting. I do think you can't define "hit songs" of the 10's, 20's, 30's but rather the most successful hits are the ones that Joel Whitburn's 1900-1940 book highlights.

Hykker wrote: I thought most music sales were sheet music, and as far as record sales went there were multiple artists had concurrent (and often regional) versions of contemporary hit songs. I would also imagine that any chart methodology from then would be crude and not very comprehensive.

I have access to some resources from this period that attempt to rank the years the best they can.
I am pretty sure Joel based his research off what he could find. I am just archiving it into my collection from 1900-1940 where I can. If you need to see what my research has gathered, I can send you a private PM as I like to keep what references I have private.

I can't say for 100 percent confirmation that every 1900-1939 or 1940-1954 hit is on CD, but some are. If Pat is interested when I start I can make notes where I find the sources. Time Life did a good job with their releases but even my collection of Glenn Miller could use more CD resources to pull from. Lots of gaps to fill in and there are only 78's to convert, not 45's. That makes hit harder and more expensive and more time consuming to piece together the hits if they are not on CD.

Hope that answers your question.

Edited by PopArchivist

RoknRobnLoxley wrote: PopArchivist, I suppose you are aware of the Your Hit Parade chart book by Bruce Elrod (Amazon's got it). It features YHP weekly charts from 1935 to 1954(?), then takes over with Billboard charts up to 1994. Based on the radio and TV show of the same name. And of course there are Variety mag charts out there somewhere for this early time period, but I don't think ever compiled in a book.

I have that book, yes. There are references out there, but I have a pretty good list of songs I need to get. Probably in a few years I can really focus my attention to it as I am doing the 1970's right now and that is harder because of the mono-stereo versions.

FYI I did do 1954 and I am missing just 12 top 10 hits. Without Pat's database to look them up on I have to take the time and actually research where I can find them on CD. For 1954, I did not have to do any dubs or drops from a 45 or 78, they were pretty much out there. I can't attest to the rest of the 1950-1953 period, but I don't see the top 10 listed in Whitburn's book being unavailable on CD. Just will take more time to assemble.

I personally don't like the fact that everyone starts everything mid-decade in 1955 because of the rock n roll era. There is clearly though a shift on what is on CD and what is not based on that though. The pre-1954 stuff has not gotten the remastering or attention that the post-1954 stuff has and probably never will. Unless your name was Glenn Miller or Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington or Ray Charles odds are its going to be harder to find that odd hit from those years.

I love Time Life and thank them for putting out the Your Hit Parade stuff. It is better than not having any place that has them at all. Just sad that a great era in music has fallen by the waist side since that generation is pretty much no longer with us that heard the hits of the 10's-mid 30's and would buy that music. The CD is already having enough trouble selling to the current 40-60 year olds who eat up the remastered albums and greatest hits. Just a point.