The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits

by Joel Whitburn

Book Overview

With information on the most successful hits ever to reach the top of Billboard magazine's singles charts between 1955 and mid-2003, this resource includes fascinating facts, biographies and chart... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0823075206
• ISBN13: 9780823075201
• Release Date: January 1987
• Publisher: Billboard Books
• Length: 484 Pages
• Weight: 2.30 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Waste of money

This was a waste of money. You advertised lady gaga, she was not around in 1983.

And the Girl Groups Too!

What was the first chart hit for the Coasters? What was the last hit by the Byrds? What was the Mystics only hit? How many hits did Shelley Fabares produce-and which star of M*A*S*H* was her second husband? And speaking of Girl Groups, how many chart makers did Arlene Smith and the Chantels have? - (Answers below). This reviewer first became aware of Mr. Whitburn's compiling skills via his wonderful and highly recommended "Top 40 Country" Hits". This volume is the perfect companion. By necessity, it is considerably heftier because it covers a far broader range of music. So much is here: Rock N' Roll, Pop, Easy Listening, Doo-Wop, Motown, the British Invasion, crossover Country hits and yes indeed-Girl Groups. Trivia mavens will delight in the 844 pages, one question will quickly lead to another: Just as in the Country version, Whitburn supplies an alphabetical listing of all versions of Billboard songs, and a list of the Top 100 Singles from 1955 on as measured by weeks on the charts. There is a listing of the top artists in those decades' most charted singles and most Top 10 singles. Plus so much more! The answers from the teasers above are: "Searchin'" (1957); "My Back Pages" (1967); "Hushabye" (1959); and 2 -"Johnny Angel" and "Johnny Loves Me" (1962). Shelley married B.J./ Captain Hunnicut, who is Mike Farrell in real life. Arlene, Sonia, Rene, Jackie and Lois had 4 chart makers from `58-'61 but appeared for many years at oldies/Doo -Wop concerts. Speaking of the preceding groups, this reader learned that the Byrds were American (!) and that "Now That Summer's Here" did not make the charts for Phil Cracolici and the Mystics. (It's bad form to mention a Doo-Wop group without listing the lead singer!). This reviewer interests are obviously from the `50s and `60s, but the `70s, `80s and `90s are well represented too. This readers' copy became quickly well worn and yours will too. A closing warning: If you don't know what a Girl Group is, then you are deep in the Dog House! Shirley, Ronni, Judy, Brenda, and Barbara, want to have a serious talk with you.

Mandatory reference book for the pop music historian

It was during my pop music Renaissance in high school that I encountered the concept of how all those singles that I had been awakened to were on Billboard's Hot 100 charts, and those that entered the Top 40. It was my buddy Keith Webster who turned me onto that concept and how Casey Kasem's American Top 40 was aired every Sunday on our local radio station. Then of course, the highlight was finding out who the Top Ten were, and finally, at the end of the show, who was the new No. 1 or still at No. 1. There was this horserace dynamic going on. Yes, having any Billboard book may make one a music nerd, but I consider that epithet a compliment. Of the two Billboard tomes I consider essential to any pop music buff, not having Joel Whitburn's Billboard Book of Top 40 hits, revised every now and then, is tantamount to having green tea leaves and no hot water and cup. I cannot stress how vital this tome is. Whitburn's book consists of all singles that hit the Top 40 from Bill Haley's "Rock Around The Clock," up through 2003, when Outkast's "Hey Ya" was at the top of the charts. The book is lexically indexed by artist or group, with a brief blurb of the group, including members, instruments they played, DOB, and info on if any of them died, or if any entered the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. From there, the columns under each artist/group consists of when the song debuted on the Top 40, its peak position, its duration in the Top 40, the title of the song, and the song's record label and number. If a single hit the Top Ten, it is highlighted in bold so one can count how many Top Ten hits a particular artist had. A round bullet to the left of the song title means the song went gold (sold a million copies), whereas a triangular bullet indicates platinum status (sold two million copies or above). To use the masterpiece of my favourite group the Beatles, "Hey Jude," it debuted on the charts on 14 September 1968, nearly three months after my birth, it was a #1 single for 9 weeks (yay!), spent 19 weeks on the Top 40, it went 4 times platinum, and the single was Apple 2276, the first Top 40 single from Apple Records, by the way. I must've spent years peering through but not buying this book due to the price, and it's only after twenty odd years that it's in my collection of vital reference books. In closing, I offer this tidbit for those who might feel miffed that a song they particularly liked either didn't make the Top 40, didn't stay at #1 longer than it should have, or reached #2 when it should've reached #1, or songs they didn't think deserve to reach #1, and believe you me, there are quite a few of those on my list. The phrase "It ain't No. 1 till it's No. 1 on Billboard" is touted by Billboard. The Hot 100 and Top 40 are well, just a way of measuring a song's sales and airplay, and those in turn play a part in how high a song reaches the charts. But in the final run, it all comes down to how much you like a song. After all, what's in a nu

Perfect music companion

I have purchased each new edition of this book and have never been disappointed. The 7th edition chronicles every Top 40 hit through the end of the millenium. I'm not in the music business, but love seeing what hits each artist has had and how how they went on the chart. This book does a great job of cross-referencing songs, so if a song is officially credited to Puff Daddy featuring Mase, then it is listed in this book under both artists. This is incredibly helpful given the recent proliferation of guest artists on chart singles. Whenever I hear an unknown oldies hit on the radio, I can't help but look it up in this book and find out the artist. A must for every fan of music.

7th edition is the greatest ever

This book is a dream come true for any pop music fan. I purchased the first edition when it came out back in 1983. The editions that came later had few improvements other than adding extra years, but this one is much improved because it includes airplay-only singles. This is a valuable addition because during the 1990's many record labels have refused to release songs as singles, causing smash hits such as "One Headlight" "Iris" "Killing Me Softly" and "Walking on the Sun" to miss the Hot 100 entirely. This new edition now includes all top airplay-only hits and list sales and airplay chart positions for the more recent songs. In addition, it also notes Top 40 songs that topped the album rock and modern rock charts, something not included in previous editions. My only complaint is that airplay-only hits that appeared on the Hot 100 Airplay chart in 1998 nearly all have Dec 5, 1998 as the chart debut date, due to them suddenly becoming eligible for the regular Top 40 on that date due to a change in Billboard's chart policy. So a 1998 summer hit like "Iris" shows as entering the chart on Dec 5 when we all know it had been played to death on radio stations as far back as May and June of that year. Also, curiously, "Torn" by Natalie Imbroglia doesn't appear at all, despite reaching number one on the airplay chart. Hopefully this error will be corrected in the next printing.

The only music book you will ever need for Top 40 Hit info!

As a mobile disc jockey and former radio announcer, I couldn't survive without this book. Joel is the BEST! I have almost 20,000 songs in my collection and was able to find all the important info such as year, chart position, and who was in the groups that made the songs famous. I love using this book to play trivia during parties as I know the info is always correct. I'm on my third edition and it's the only book I use. I can't wait for the next one to be published. If you love music like I do, then this book is the one that will answer all your questions and needs for music trivia or just information for your own personal use. Steve Whateley, "Steve The D.J."