Old Pop Music Charts: A Look Back

It’s hard to believe that some of these songs are as old as they are! In this blog post, we take a look back at some of the most popular songs from past decades.

Introduction

Throughout the years, various music charts have been created in order to measure the popularity of songs during a certain period of time. In recent years, streaming services such as Spotify and Apple Music have become increasingly popular, and as a result, these platforms have also released their own charts which are updated on a daily basis. However, before these streaming services were created, music charts were compiled differently. In this article, we will take a look back at how old pop music charts were created and what types of songs were popular during specific periods of time.

The Charts

Pop songs from the 60s, 70s, and 80s fill the airwaves today, with oldies radio stations popping up all over the world. But where did these songs come from? How were they chosen? Who decided what was popular? The answer, my friends, is the pop music charts.

Billboard Hot 100

The Billboard Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for singles, published weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming in the United States.

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Cash Box Top 100

The Cash Box Top 100 is a chart that ranks the top-performing singles of the week in the United States. Published from 1957 to 1996 by Cash Box magazine, the rankings were based on combined record sales and radio airplay, with no weight given to either criterion.

The first number-one song on the Cash Box chart was “That’ll Be the Day” by Buddy Holly and the Crickets, which spent two weeks at the top spot in 1957. In 1958, Billboard magazine changed itsmethodology for calculating chart positions, causing it to diverge sharply from Cash Box’s methodology; as a result, for much of its history, the two charts were rarely identical. The last song to top both charts was “One Sweet Day” by Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men, which spent 16 weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and 11 weeks atop the Cash Box chart in 1995–96. The final number-one song on Cash Box’s Top 100 was ” doesn’t matter” by Ace of Base; it topped both charts for one week in December 1996 before being succeeded by “How Do I Live” by LeAnn Rimes on Billboard’s Hot 100 (which Cash Box had ranked at number 100).

When Cash Box ceased publication in 1996, Billboard—which had maintained its own separate singles chart since 1958—took over calculation of both its own Hot 100 chart and what had been Cash Box’s Top 100.

Record World 100

Record World was one of the three major trade magazines in the United States specializing in the sale of recorded music and music-related items. The magazine was founded in 1948 by Leo Mesner and licensees which included Merle Halperin, Billboard magazine and Cash Box magazine. It was headquartered in New York City.

Along with Billboard’s Hot 100 chart and Cash Box’s Top 100 chart, Record World published their own version of a hit song chart. The Record World 100 began publication on October 2, 1948, initially as a Top 100 singles chart (one-sided 45 rpm records) and was expanded to a Top 200 albums chart (LP records) on August 28, 1949. The magazine continued to run both charts until August 23, 1958.

## Title:The Charts – (Old Pop Music Charts: A Look Back)
## Heading:Billboard Hot 100
## Expansion:
The Billboard Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming in the United States.

The Hot 100 is regularly updated to reflect the latest and most popular songs across all genres, though it should be noted that some songs may be more popular than others depending on the artist’s genre or target audience.

The Artists

It’s been a long time since the pop music charts were filled with new and exciting artists. In fact, it’s been so long that many of today’s top pop stars weren’t even born when the last truly great pop song was released. That’s not to say that there haven’t been any good pop songs released in the intervening years, but the charts just haven’t been the same.

The Beatles

The Beatles were an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. With members John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, they became widely regarded as the foremost and most influential music band in history. Rooted in skiffle, beat and 1950s rock and roll, the Beatles later experimented with several genres, ranging from pop ballads and Indian music to psychedelia and hard rock, often incorporating classical elements and unorthodox recording techniques in innovative ways. In 1963, their enormous popularity first emerged as “Beatlemania”; as the group’s music grew in sophistication, led by primary songwriters Lennon and McCartney, they came to be perceived as an embodiment of the ideals shared by the era’s sociocultural revolutions.

The Beatles built their reputation playing clubs in Liverpool and Hamburg over a three-year period from 1960, with Stuart Sutcliffe initially serving as bass player. The core trio of Lennon, McCartney and Harrison, together since 1958, went through a succession of drummers until they recruited Starr in 1962. Manager Brian Epstein molded them into a professional act, and producer George Martin guided…

Elvis Presley

There is no single artist that better personifies the early years of rock and roll than Elvis Presley. His unique blend of country, blues, and rhythm and blues created a sound that was unlike anything that had come before, and his good looks and charismatic stage presence made him an instant sensation with teenage girls across the country. In 1956, he released his first album, which featured the hits “Heartbreak Hotel” and “Blue Suede Shoes.” He followed it up with a series of hit singles and albums, including “Hound Dog,” “Don’t Be Cruel,” “Jailhouse Rock,” and “Love Me Tender.” By the early 1960s, Elvis had become one of the biggest stars in the world, and his music continued to be popular throughout the decade. In 1969, he returned to live performances with a series of highly successful shows in Las Vegas. In the 1970s, he continued to record and perform, though his drug use was increasing and his health was beginning to decline. He died in 1977 at the age of 42.

Michael Jackson

Born in Gary, Indiana in 1958, Michael Jackson was the seventh of nine children in the Jackson family, a working-class African American family living in a two-bedroom house on Jackson Street. He was a shy child who found solace in music; at age five he made his showbiz debut with his elder brothers Jackie, Tito and Jermaine as a member of theJackson 5.

By age 10, he was sharing lead vocals with Jermaine, and their first four singles – “I Want You Back” (1969), “ABC” (1970), “The Love You Save” (1970), and “I’ll Be There” (1971) – all went to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The band’s success led to Michael’s debut solo album, Got to Be There (1972), followed by Ben (1972), both of which sold over a million copies worldwide.

As a solo artist, Jackson released the albums Off the Wall (1979), Thriller (1982) and Bad (1987), as well as the 1980 elpeeEscape to MTV. These albums produced seven top ten singles for Jackson – “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough”, “Rock with You”, “Off the Wall”, “She’s Out of My Life”,”Billie Jean”, “Beat It”, and “Fly Away”. In 1991 Jackson signed the largest record deal in history with Sony worth $1 billion. His album Dangerous (1991) debuted at number one in nine countries and produced four top ten singles – “Black or White”, “Jam”, “Remember the Time” and “In the Closet”.

In 1993 allegations of sexual abuse were made against Jackson by Evan Chandler following an arrangement whereby Chandler would gain custody of his son Jordan if he pursued legal action against Jackson; Chandler later recanted his statement. In 2003 another settlemen

Conclusion

To sum it up, the older pop music charts were quite different from what we have today. There were less genres represented, and the songs that did make it onto the charts tended to stay there for longer periods of time. Today, we have a much wider range of genres represented on the pop charts, and the songs tend to cycle in and out much more quickly. It will be interesting to see how these trends continue to develop over time.