Top Pop Singles 1955-1989

$79.95 – $149.50

Top Pop Singles Explodes Its Boundaries!

The complete chart history of Billboard’s Hot 100 and early pop singles charts is too huge for one book!

It will now be contained in 2 separate books. Volume 1 is in stock and spans 1955 through 1989. By focusing on the vinyl record era, Joel was able to add a host of new and exciting features to the Top Pop Singles, such as all Top 10 albums, a 14-page section titled “The Pre-Rock Era,” prices of valuable vintage vinyl, over 1,200 photos, all Canadian #1 hits, all #1 Honor Roll Of Hits, revised artist rankings, and so much more! (Volume 2, covering 1990 through 2022, will be released in late August of 2023; now available to order on pre-publication sale.)

Joel Whitburn was beyond thrilled when he first opened Top Pop Singles 1955-1989. It was his most informational edition ever of the vinyl years – his favorite era of music. And, though it was huge risk to also print this large book in color (he thought he might be the only one interested), Joel took the gamble. The color edition became one of our fastest-selling books.

Print Editon

Clear

Highlights
Specs

17th Edition to Span 2 Volumes

Volume 1: 1955-1989 – IN STOCK in color and black and white!
Volume 2: 1990-2022 – coming in late August of 2023 – now available to order on pre-publication sale

Vol. 1 covers the vinyl record era with even more facts and stats than ever!

NEW FEATURES:

Top Pop Singles meets Top Pop Albums!
All Top 10 Albums, plus other key albums = 1000s of albums listed with full chart data (Debut Date / Peak Position / Weeks Charted / RIAA certifications / Label & Number / Music Industry Awards)
“THE PRE-ROCK ERA” Section – 14 pages devoted to early, key R&B/Rock ‘n’ Roll songs and artists
Renown Non-Charted Tracks listed below albums
All Canadian #1 Hits are noted
All Honor Roll Of Hits #1s (the lead chart in Billboard’s chart section during the 1950s and early 1960s)
Brush strokes separate decades of artists with long chart histories

UPDATED FEATURES:

Return of Valuable Vintage Vinyl Prices (for any records valued at $25 or more)
Over 1,200 different artists photos (the most ever for any edition of Top Pop Singles)
Up-to-date Bio information (including numerous death dates since the 2018 edition)
Revised Artist Rankings

REGULAR FEATURES:

ARTIST SECTION

ALL SONGS that appeared on these Billboard charts:

Hot 100
Bubbling Under the Hot 100
Hot 100 Airplay
Top 100
Best Sellers
Disc Jockey
Juke Box
Territorial Hits
Breakout Hits

For each of the 25,552 songs:

DEBUT DATE
PEAK POSITION
# of WEEKS charted
SONGWRITER(s)
LABEL & NUMBER

If applicable:

B-SIDE
Total WEEKS AT PEAK for all #1s, #2s & #3s
RIAA certification of Gold or Platinum for record sales
RIAA certification of Gold or Platinum for digital sales
CONFIGURATION if other than vinyl
PICTURE SLEEVE symbol
FEATURED ARTISTS
SPECIALTY RECORDINGS:
- C – Comedy
- F – Foreign language
- I – Instrumental
- L – Live
- N – Novelty
- R – Re-entry
- S – Spoken
- X – Christmas
TRIVIA NOTES
NOTABLE AWARDS (Billboard, Grammy, Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame, Rolling Stone)
FIND-IT-FAST features for all #1s, biggest hits, Top 10s, etc.
#1s from UK charts with total weeks
#1s from other major trade magazines:
- CB (Cash Box)
- MV (Music Vendor)
- RW (Record World)
- RR (Radio & Records)
#1s from main genre charts with total weeks at top:
- AC
- A40
- ALT
- C&W
- C&W Airplay
- MSR
- R&B
- ROK

For each of the 5,817 ARTISTS, one line or more of descriptive Biography featuring:

Dates of birth and death
Hometown
Real Name
Group Lineup
Genre
Decade & All-Time Rankings
Notable Awards (Billboard, Grammy, Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame, Rolling Stone)
Clover symbol indicates artist had minimum of 24 hits.

SONG TITLE SECTION Lists alphabetically every song in book with artist name, peak position and year charted.

#1 HITS A chronological listing, by peak date, of every title to top Billboard’s pop singles charts.

SPECIAL SECTIONS

TOP ARTISTS:

Chart Kings & Queens
The “24-Hit” Club
Top 500 in rank and alphabetical orders
Top 50 by Decade
Top Artists by Year & Category
Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Inductees
Artists With Most:
- Hits on Chart, Top 40, Top 10, at #1, #2, #3
- Weeks at #1
- Platinum/Gold Hits
- #1 Hits: Canadian, UK, Cash Box, Music Vendor, Record World, Radio & Records