Billboard Hot 100 Charts: The 1950s
$89.95
Access Every Weekly:
– Best Sellers chart from January 7, 1950 through July 28, 1958 (the definitive pop chart prior to the debut of the “Hot 100” chart)
– Top 100 chart from November 12, 1955 through July 28, 1958
– Hot 100 chart from August 4, 1958 through December 28, 1959
What’s special about the 1950s charts? B-sides are shown for all titles on the chart from 1/7/50 right up to the start of the Hot 100 chart on 8/4/58. If applicable, a record’s 45 rpm and 78 rpm label numbers were shown on the chart from 1/7/50 through 5/23/53, when the “45” record became the standard configuration for singles.
In the following example from the first chart in this book (1/7/50), the “V” stands for the RCA Victor label:
“A Dreamer’s Holiday”…Perry Como… V (78) 20-3543; (45) 47-3036
Discographers will find such data invaluable in determining which songs were available on “45” — especially when this configuration was so new in 1950.
It’s interesting to note the chart’s changes in style and size. From 5/29/54 through 6/17/57, the Best Sellers was a single column chart occupying 1/3 of a Billboard magazine page. The “Hot 100” debuted as a two-page chart on 8/4/58 and underwent three style changes by the decade’s end.
Additional information
Weight | 3.0 lbs |
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Dimensions | 8.5 × 1.25 × 11 in |
Pages | 424 |
Format | Hardcover |