The History of Record Research ... and Its Future!

If you’re like us, the black and white print on our pages evoke memories associated with melodies from your life’s soundtrack. Producing these pages has never been just a job for us. It’s a labor of love.

For more than a half century, Joel Whitburn’s Record Research has created the data trusted by history buffs and music preservationists worldwide.

We’ve self-published 189 research books, authored the Billboard Top 40 Hits book series which spawned Billboard Books, created the Billboard Hits series of music books with Hal Leonard, and initiated and produced 125 separate Billboard Top Hits music compilations with Rhino Records.

We’ve weathered bad economies, the rise and fall of multiple recording configurations, record labels, and music industry magazines, the coming and going of weekly Top 40 countdowns, the upheaval of radio, the advent of streaming, the wholescale shift of data from print to internet, and so on.

What began as a one-man hobby in the mid-1960s, became a thriving small business. By the early 1990s, we employed a healthy staff able to field a variety of projects. Downturns in the music industry eventually affected our business. We cut back on projects, then on staff through attrition.

Enter the 2000s and everything about how music was discovered and enjoyed changed. Extensive market research narrowed radio playlists diminishing the number of stations that played the whole Top 40 (or even the Top 10). Streaming algorithms introduced new music. And only a handful of record shops kept their doors open. Gone were the days when a collector would check out the chart posted in the shop for new releases, so fewer and fewer music lovers developed a heart for the charts. As our customer base aged, so did their enthusiasm for new music and its stats. Sales of new editions declined.

We introduced our online database, the MusicVault. But its time and expense outpaced customer involvement. Despite increasing demands on our remaining staff of four -- Joel, Kim, Paul and Brent, we soldiered on.

But, nothing prepared us for Fran’s paralyzing accident in 2017.  Kim became her primary caregiver, cutting into her RR workload; Brent assisted Joel with daily chores.  Still, we kept going through COVID, boosted by music fans spending more time with their collections and craving info from our books. However, the resulting shutdowns and supply-chain issues eventually sent our production costs soaring. On more than a few occasions, Joel mulled that it was time to close up shop.

In the three years since Joel’s passing, followed by Fran’s, Record Research has published three books, further streamlined, and wished Brent the best on his retirement after 47 years as a Record Researcher.

Growing customer inquiries further weighed on the  workloads of Kim and Paul, the last two standing. To stem the tide, Kim sent an email with the very message above that had no assurances of a future for Record Research. The resultant outpouring of gratitude and well wishes overwhelmed us, as many of you shared how Joel Whitburn and Record Research fostered your heart for the charts. Thank you!

And then ... longtime reader Vinnie Freda responded with unique clarity and strategic vision.  He saw the possibilities within our barely tapped resources - things that we had once envisioned but did not have the methods to make happen.  Upon our meeting, Vinnie offered to helm our organization.  It was immediately clear that with his extensive background in data and analytics as a media executive, Vinnie knew how to transform those visions into reality.  His optimism and true heart for the charts revived Record Research.

In Vinnie’s own words …

“As a 19-year-old chemistry nerd wandering the Stanford University campus, I bought a book, entitled Top Pop 1955-1982, that changed my life. Music was my passion, and that book made me realize that there were career possibilities for an analytical person like me.  Soon, I learned that the book was published by a legendary Midwest man named Joel Whitburn through his company, appropriately called Record Research.

Eventually, I would, in fact, forge a career in music.  During the 1990's, I created the first automated companywide cost commitment system at any US label. In the 2000's, my team and I developed and operated the first end-to-end digital supply chain at any major label.  And in the 2010's, as Warner's first Chief Data Officer, my team and I took a major to the cutting edge of metadata management and artist data analysis.

Throughout it all, I would buy a new Record Research book every Christmas and on my birthday.  Record Research has created truly unique databases of every US charted song and album since 1890. And the data goes well beyond simple chart positions on R&R, Gavin, Cash Box, BB, etc. It includes incredible detail for any audiophile, like whether a 1985 single had a picture sleeve!

Most importantly, in my capacity as head of Record Research, I hope to continue Joel Whitburn's legacy as the unbiased documentarian of music history as it happens. He brought order to a chaotic industry. I  have done the same in my little way, and I am honored that Joel's family has chosen me to follow in Joel's footsteps.”

And, with that, WELCOME to an exciting, new chapter of Record Research!

There's more to come ...