Tag: Main

Napster is the final nail in the coffin of the Pop single as the Airplay and Sales charts diverge, but Post-Grunge bands are scoring major Hot100 hits and Alternative is the new Mainstream in Rock. Meanwhile, Mary J. Blige and Janet Jackson are single again and ready to hit the club and get crunk, Ja Rule’s J.Lo “Murder remixes” are completely different songs and Alicia Keys sweeps the Grammys her first year on the charts.

#1 Song of the Year   The top song according to our Chartcrush ranking of all songs that earned the majority of their chart ranking points in the year

Artists of the Year   The top three artists based on all charted songs during the calendar year

1. Destiny’s Child
2. Ja Rule
3. 112

Artist with Most Charting Songs   Artist(s) with the most charting songs during the year (song count in parentheses)

• Jay-Z (5)

Average #1 Artist Age   The average of how old artists who scored #1 hits during the year were when their songs first reached #1

• 27.2 years

#1 Songs   List of #1 songs that earned the majority of their chart ranking points in the year, and (in parentheses), the month the song first hit #1 and the total number of weeks it was #1

1. Shaggy feat. Ricardo “RikRok” Ducent – It Wasn’t Me (February, 2 wks)
2. OutKast – Ms. Jackson (February, 1 wk)
3. Joe feat. Mystikal – Stutter (February, 4 wks)
4. Crazy Town – Butterfly (March, 2 wks)
5. Shaggy feat. Rayvon – Angel (March, 1 wk)
6. Janet – All for You (April, 7 wks)
7. Christina Aguilera, Lil’ Kim, Mya & Pink – Lady Marmalade (June, 5 wks)
8. Usher – U Remind Me (July, 4 wks)
9. Destiny’s Child – Bootylicious (August, 2 wks)
10. Alicia Keys – Fallin’ (August, 6 wks)
11. Jennifer Lopez feat. Ja Rule – I’m Real (September, 5 wks)
12. Mary J. Blige – Family Affair (November, 6 wks)

Hip-Hop affirms and solidifies its pop culture supremacy with “the Kiki Challenge,” Emo Rap and seven of the year’s top ten hits after Billboard updates the Hot100 to reflect the dominance of on-demand streaming. Meanwhile, Trump-era media narratives dramatically reshape the Pop ecosystem as they reverberate beyond politics and pervade downstream culture.

#1 Song of the Year   The top song according to our Chartcrush ranking of all Hot100 songs that earned the majority of their chart ranking points in the year

Artists of the Year   The top three artists based on all charted songs during the calendar year

1. Post Malone
2. Drake
3. Cardi B

Artist with Most Charting Songs   Artist(s) with the most Hot100 charting songs during the year (song count in parentheses)

• Drake (26)

Average #1 Artist Age   The average of how old artists who scored #1 Hot100 hits during the year were when their songs first reached #1

• 27.6 years

#1 Songs   List of Hot100 #1 songs that earned the majority of their chart ranking points in the year, and (in parentheses), the month the song first hit #1 and the total number of weeks it was #1

1. Post Malone feat. 21 Savage – Rockstar (October ’17, 8 wks)
2. Ed Sheeran – Perfect (December ’17, 5 wks)
3. Camila Cabello feat. Young Thug – Havana (January, 1 wk)
4. Drake – God’s Plan (February, 11 wks)
5. Drake – Nice for What (April, 8 wks)
6. Childish Gambino – This Is America (May, 2 wks)
7. Post Malone feat. Ty Dolla $ign – Psycho (June, 1 wk)
8. XXXTENTACION – Sad! (June, 1 wk)
9. Cardi B, Bad Bunny & J Balvin – I Like It (July, 1 wk)
10. Drake – In My Feelings (July, 10 wks)
11. Maroon 5 feat. Cardi B – Girls like You (September, 7 wks)

Racial integration is a Cold War imperative so Silent Generation Teens oblige by launching Black R&B records onto the Pop charts for the first time, amplified by Todd Storz’s new Top40 radio format. Meanwhile, songs and sounds from abroad fill the airwaves, a “womens song” conquers the charts, Eddie Fisher and Rosemary Clooney each score two of the year’s top ten hits, Sinatra is back in the Top 5, and it’s Mambo fever!

#1 Song of the Year   The top song according to our Chartcrush ranking of all songs that earned the majority of their chart ranking points in the year

Artists of the Year   The top three artists based on all charted songs that spent most of their chart runs in the year

1. Eddie Fisher
2. Rosemary Clooney
3. Patti Page

Artist with Most Charting Songs   Artist(s) with the most charting songs during the year (song count in parentheses)

• Eddie Fisher (7)

Average #1 Artist Age   The average of how old artists who scored #1 hits during the year were when their songs first reached #1

• 30.6

#1 Songs   List of #1 songs that earned the majority of their chart ranking points in the year, and (in parentheses), the month the song first hit #1 and the total number of weeks it was #1

1. Eddie Fisher – Oh! My Papa (O Mein Papa) (January, 7 wks)
2. Doris Day – Secret Love (March, 2 wks)
3. Jo Stafford – Make Love to Me! (March, 5 wks)
4. Perry Como – Wanted (April, 7 wks)
5. Kitty Kallen – Little Things Mean a Lot (June, 10 wks)
6. The Crew-Cuts – Sh-Boom (August, 8 wks)
7. Rosemary Clooney – Hey There (October, 5 wks)
8. Eddie Fisher – I Need You Now (November, 5 wks)

MTV breaks its Rock format to air Michael Jackson’s Thriller videos under threat from CBS and accusations of racism, and becomes Pop’s new gravitational center after the Walkman kills off AM Top40. Meanwhile, Adult Contemporary is in transition from Country Pop to Smooth R&B, a daytime soap propels a song to #1, British and Aussie acts dominate the Hot100, and “the world’s biggest Rock band” scores the year’s top hit, then breaks up.

#1 Song of the Year   The top song according to our Chartcrush ranking of all Hot100 songs that earned the majority of their chart ranking points in the year

Artists of the Year   The top three artists based on all charted songs during the calendar year

1. Michael Jackson
2. Culture Club
3. Lionel Richie

Artist with Most Charting Songs   Artist(s) with the most Hot100 charting songs during the year (song count in parentheses)

• Michael Jackson (5)

Average #1 Artist Age   The average of how old artists who scored #1 Hot100 hits during the year were when their songs first reached #1

• 31.7 years

#1 Songs   List of Hot100 #1 songs that earned the majority of their chart ranking points in the year, and (in parentheses), the month the song first hit #1 and the total number of weeks it was #1

1. Men at Work – Down Under (January, 4 wks)
2. Toto – Africa (February, 1 wk)
3. Patti Austin with James Ingram – Baby, Come to Me (February, 2 wks)
4. Michael Jackson – Billie Jean (March, 7 wks)
5. Dexys Midnight Runners – Come on Eileen (April, 1 wk)
6. Michael Jackson – Beat It (April, 3 wks)
7. David Bowie – Let’s Dance (May, 1 wk)
8. Irene Cara – Flashdance…What a Feeling (May, 6 wks)
9. Police – Every Breath You Take (July, 8 wks)
10. Eurythmics – Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) (September, 1 wk)
11. Michael Sembello – Maniac (September, 2 wks)
12. Billy Joel – Tell Her About It (September, 1 wk)
13. Bonnie Tyler – Total Eclipse of the Heart (October, 4 wks)
14. Kenny Rogers duet with Dolly Parton – Islands in the Stream (October, 2 wks)
15. Lionel Richie – All Night Long (All Night) (November, 4 wks)
16. Paul McCartney & Michael Jackson – Say Say Say (December, 6 wks)

Twistmania grips high society and gives Rock a needed win amid the chill on the airwaves post-Payola scandal as the Silent Generation peaks culturally before the Boomer deluge. The 4 Seasons turn Doo Wop into a commercial juggernaut, Girl Groups and dance crazes dominate, Ray Charles goes Country and two very different British instrumentals are among the year’s top hits.

#1 Song of the Year   The top song according to our Chartcrush ranking of all Hot100 songs that earned the majority of their chart ranking points in the year

Artists of the Year   The top three artists based on all charted songs during the calendar year

1. Elvis Presley
2. Ray Charles
3. Brenda Lee

Artist with Most Charting Songs   Artist(s) with the most Hot100 charting songs during the year (song count in parentheses)

• Ray Charles (11)

Average #1 Artist Age   The average of how old artists who scored #1 Hot100 hits during the year were when their songs first reached #1

• 25.2 years

#1 Songs   List of Hot100 #1 songs that earned the majority of their chart ranking points in the year, and (in parentheses), the month the song first hit #1 and the total number of weeks it was #1

1. The Tokens – The Lion Sleeps Tonight (December ’61, 3 wks)
2. Chubby Checker – The Twist (January, 2 wks)
3. Joey Dee & The Starliters – Peppermint Twist – Part 1 (January, 3 wks)
4. Gene Chandler – Duke of Earl (February, 3 wks)
5. Bruce Channel – Hey! Baby (March, 3 wks)
6. Connie Francis – Don’t Break the Heart That Loves You (March, 1 wk)
7. Shelley Fabares – Johnny Angel (April, 2 wks)
8. Elvis Presley with The Jordanaires – Good Luck Charm (April, 2 wks)
9. The Shirelles – Soldier Boy (May, 3 wks)
10. Mr. Acker Bilk with The Leon Young String Chorale – Stranger on the Shore (May, 1 wk)
11. Ray Charles – I Can’t Stop Loving You (June, 5 wks)
12. David Rose & His Orchestra – The Stripper (July, 1 wk)
13. Bobby Vinton – Roses Are Red (My Love) (July, 4 wks)
14. Neil Sedaka – Breaking Up Is Hard to Do (August, 2 wks)
15. Little Eva – The Loco-Motion (August, 1 wk)
16. Tommy Roe – Sheila (September, 2 wks)
17. The 4 Seasons – Sherry (September, 5 wks)
18. Bobby (Boris) Pickett & The Crypt-Kickers – Monster Mash (October, 2 wks)
19. The Crystals – He’s a Rebel (November, 2 wks)
20. The 4 Seasons – Big Girls Don’t Cry (November, 5 wks)
21. The Tornadoes – Telstar (December, 3 wks)

Politics lurches to the right and Madonna reins it in, but Mariah Carey goes Hip-Hop and Billboard names a Gangsta Rap song #1 on the year. Meanwhile, Hootie & The Blowfish are ubiquitous on radio, Jam Bands thrive, Euro-Dance crosses over and… chart dysfunction! as The Rembrandts’ “I’ll Be There for You (Theme from Friends)” becomes the first #1 Airplay hit barred from the Hot100 for not being out on a single.

#1 Song of the Year   The top song according to our Chartcrush ranking of all Billboard Radio Songs entries that earned the majority of their chart ranking points in the year

Artists of the Year   The top three artists based on all charted songs (on the Billboard Radio Songs chart) during the calendar year

1. Hootie & The Blowfish
2. TLC
3. Boyz II Men

Artist with Most Charting Songs   Artist(s) with the most charting songs on the Billboard Radio Songs chart during the year (song count in parentheses)

• TIE: TLC/Green Day (4)

Average #1 Artist Age   The average of how old artists who scored #1 Billboard Radio Songs hits during the year were when their songs first reached #1

• 30.1 years

#1 Songs   List of Billboard Radio Songs #1's that earned the majority of their chart ranking points in the year, and (in parentheses), the month the song first hit #1 and the total number of weeks it was #1

1. Boyz II Men – On Bended Knee (December ’94, 11 wks)
2. Madonna – Take a Bow (February, 9 wks)
3. Dionne Farris – I Know (April, 7 wks)
4. Boyz II Men – Water Runs Dry (June, 1 wk)
5. The Rembrandts – I’ll Be There for You (June, 8 wks)
6. Seal – Kiss from a Rose (August, 10 wks)
7. Mariah Carey – Fantasy (October, 7 wks)

Disco peaks, then collapses mid-year after a “Disco Sucks” riot in Chicago, New Wave breaks out with “My Sharona,” and the rest of the year is a mostly Disco-free grab bag on the Hot100. Diva Donna Summer and Michael Jackson weather the backlash, and KC & The Sunshine Band scores with a Ballad, but The Village People, Chic and The Bee Gees vanish, Story Songs make a comeback and Rod Stewart is second-guessing his brazen Disco gambit.

#1 Song of the Year   The top song according to our Chartcrush ranking of all Hot100 songs that earned the majority of their chart ranking points in the year

Artists of the Year   The top three artists based on all charted songs during the calendar year

1. Donna Summer
2. Chic
3. Kenny Rogers

Artist with Most Charting Songs   Artist(s) with the most Hot100 charting songs during the year (song count in parentheses)

• 7-WAY TIE: Donna Summer/Chic/Earth, Wind and Fire/Village People/Peaches & Herb/Olivia Newton-John/ABBA (4)

Average #1 Artist Age   The average of how old artists who scored #1 Hot100 hits during the year were when their songs first reached #1

• 31.3 years

#1 Songs on the Weekly Hot100   List of Hot100 #1 songs that earned the majority of their chart ranking points in the year, and (in parentheses), the month the song first hit #1 and the total number of weeks it was #1

1. Chic – Le Freak (December ’78, 6 wks)
2. Bee Gees – Too Much Heaven (January, 2 wks)
3. Rod Stewart – Da Ya Think I’m Sexy? (February, 4 wks)
4. Gloria Gaynor – I Will Survive (March, 3 wks)
5. Bee Gees – Tragedy (March, 2 wks)
6. The Doobie Brothers – What a Fool Believes (April, 1 wk)
7. Amii Stewart – Knock on Wood (April, 1 wk)
8. Blondie – Heart of Glass (April, 1 wk)
9. Peaches & Herb – Reunited (May, 4 wks)
10. Donna Summer – Hot Stuff (June, 3 wks)
11. Bee Gees – Love You Inside Out (June, 1 wk)
12. Anita Ward – Ring My Bell (June, 2 wks)
13. Donna Summer – Bad Girls (July, 5 wks)
14. Chic – Good Times (August, 1 wk)
15. The Knack – My Sharona (August, 6 wks)
16. Robert John – Sad Eyes (October, 1 wk)
17. Michael Jackson – Don’t Stop Til You Get Enough (October, 1 wk)
18. Herb Alpert – Rise (October, 2 wks)
19. M – Pop Muzik (November, 1 wk)
20. Eagles – Heartache Tonight (November, 1 wk)
21. Commodores – Still (November, 1 wk)
22. Barbra Streisand & Donna Summer – No More Tears (Enough Is Enough) (November, 2 wks)
23. Styx – Babe (December, 2 wks)
24. Rupert Holmes – Escape (The Pina Colada Song) (December, 3 wks)
25. KC & The Sunshine Band – Please Don’t Go (January ’80, 1 wk)

Hays Code decency standards permeate showbiz as local “blue-nose brigades” police nightclubs, a federal sin tax targets dancing establishments and It’s a Wonderful Life hits theaters. Most Jazz Big Bands dissolve and leave the charts to Pop Singers and “Sweet Bands,” but a Black vocal group scores the year’s top hit, and Great American Songbook legends shine on records.

#1 Song of the Year   The top song according to our Chartcrush ranking of all songs that earned the majority of their chart ranking points in the year

Artists of the Year   The top three artists based on all charted songs that spent most of their chart runs in the year

1. Perry Como
2. Bing Crosby
3. Frank Sinatra

Artist with Most Charting Songs   Artist(s) with the most charting songs during the year (song count in parentheses)

• Bing Crosby (12)

Average #1 Artist Age   The average of how old artists who scored #1 hits during the year were when their songs first reached #1

• 36.1

#1 Songs   List of #1 songs that earned the majority of their chart ranking points in the year, and (in parentheses), the month the song first hit #1 and the total number of weeks it was #1

1. Freddy Martin & His Orchestra, vocal Clyde Rogers – Symphony (January, 2 wks)
2. Vaughn Monroe & His Orchestra, vocal Vaughn Monroe & Norton Sisters – Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! (January, 5 wks)
3. Betty Hutton – Doctor, Lawyer, Indian Chief (March, 2 wks)
4. Frankie Carle & His Orchestra, vocal Marjorie Hughes – Oh! What It Seemed to Be (March, 8 wks)
5. Perry Como – Prisoner of Love (May, 5 wks)
6. Ink Spots – The Gypsy (May, 10 wks)
7. Perry Como – Surrender (August, 1 wk)
8. Eddy Howard & His Orchestra, vocal Eddy Howard – To Each His Own (August, 9 wks)
9. Frank Sinatra – Five Minutes More (September, 3 wks)
10. Frankie Carle & His Orchestra, vocal Marjorie Hughes – Rumors Are Flying (October, 8 wks)
11. Kay Kyser & His Orchestra, vocal Michael Douglas – Ole Buttermilk Sky (December, 1 wk)
12. Bing Crosby with The Ken Darby Singers – White Christmas (December, 1 wk)

Pop amps up, the Tea Party ramps up, and the Great Recession spawns the most epic Dance boom since ’70s Disco starring Gaga, Taio, Usher… and Auto-Tune! Eminem is back big, and will.i.am’s “bubble” philosophy permeates the charts and even wins over critics, many of whom get political on the eve of social media’s gatekeeper-busting democratization of pop culture.

#1 Song of the Year   The top song according to our Chartcrush ranking of all Hot100 songs that earned the majority of their chart ranking points in the year

Artists of the Year   The top three artists based on all charted songs during the calendar year

1. Usher
2. Ke$ha
3. Lady Gaga

Artist with Most Charting Songs   Artist(s) with the most Hot100 charting songs during the year (song count in parentheses)

• Glee Cast (80)

Average #1 Artist Age   The average of how old artists who scored #1 Hot100 hits during the year were when their songs first reached #1

• 27.8 years

#1 Songs   List of Hot100 #1 songs that earned the majority of their chart ranking points in the year, and (in parentheses), the month the song first hit #1 and the total number of weeks it was #1

1. Jay-Z feat. Alicia Keys – Empire State of Mind (November ’09, 5 wks)
2. Ke$ha – TiK ToK (January, 9 wks)
3. Black Eyed Peas – Imma Be (March, 2 wks)
4. Taio Cruz feat. Ludacris – Break Your Heart (March, 1 wk)
5. Rihanna – Rude Boy (March, 5 wks)
6. B.o.B feat. Bruno Mars – Nothin’ on You (May, 2 wks)
7. Usher feat. will.i.am – OMG (May, 4 wks)
8. Eminem – Not Afraid (May, 1 wk)
9. Katy Perry feat. Snoop Dogg – California Gurls (June, 6 wks)
10. Eminem feat. Rihanna – Love the Way You Lie (July, 7 wks)
11. Katy Perry – Teenage Dream (September, 2 wks)
12. Far*East Movement feat. Cataracs & Dev – Like a G6 (October, 3 wks)
13. Rihanna – Only Girl (In the World) (December, 1 wk)

It’s the eve of the ’60s and polished Teen Idol Pop, Folk and “story songs” are surging on the airwaves and charts as Congress takes aim at Rock ‘n Roll radio and DJs in the Payola hearings. A plane crash in Iowa claims three of Rock’s most promising stars, and two of the year’s top ten hits are about murderers.

#1 Song of the Year   The top song according to our Chartcrush ranking of all songs that earned the majority of their chart ranking points in the year

Artists of the Year   The top three artists based on all charted songs that spent most of their chart runs in the year

1. Lloyd Price
2. Connie Francis
3. Frankie Avalon

Artist with Most Charting Songs   Artist(s) with the most charting songs during the year (song count in parentheses)

• Fats Domino (9)

Average #1 Artist Age   The average of how old artists who scored #1 hits during the year were when their songs first reached #1

• 24.3 years

#1 Songs   List of #1 songs that earned the majority of their chart ranking points in the year, and (in parentheses), the month the song first hit #1 and the total number of weeks it was #1

1. The Chipmunks with the Music of David Seville – The Chipmunk Song (December ’58, 4 wks)
2. The Platters – Smoke Gets in Your Eyes (January, 3 wks)
3. Lloyd Price – Stagger Lee (February, 4 wks)
4. Frankie Avalon – Venus (March, 5 wks)
5. The Fleetwoods – Come Softly to Me (April, 4 wks)
6. Dave “Baby” Cortez – The Happy Organ (May, 1 wk)
7. Wilbert Harrison – Kansas City (May, 2 wks)
8. Johnny Horton – The Battle of New Orleans (June, 6 wks)
9. Paul Anka – Lonely Boy (July, 4 wks)
10. Elvis Presley with The Jordanaires – A Big Hunk O’ Love (August, 2 wks)
11. The Browns – The Three Bells (August, 4 wks)
12. Santo & Johnny – Sleep Walk (September, 2 wks)
13. Bobby Darin – Mack the Knife (October, 9 wks)
14. The Fleetwoods – Mr. Blue (November, 1 wk)
15. Guy Mitchell – Heartaches by the Number (December, 2 wks)