The Billboard charts: 10 Years On

[Dawn]

In the past we've looked at Billboard top 10 and top 100 charts for a given week in time, and that's worked out pretty well. I thought it might be interesting to put a bit of a twist on that feature and compare charts at 10-year intervals.

Let's look at the charts for this week in years ending in "8", going back to the '40s:

June 19, 1948
TW LW NW
1 1 10 NATURE BOY - King "King" Cole
2 2 12 YOU CAN'T BE TRUE, DEAR -Ken Griffin, organ w. vocal/Jerry Wayne (Note: Wayne's vocal was dubbed over the existing Griffin instrumental record.)
3 4 4 WOODY WOODPECKER - Kay Kyser & His Orch. w. vocal/Gloria Wood
4 3 12 LITTLE WHITE LIES - Dick Haymes & 4 Hits & A Miss w. Gordon Jenkins & His Orch.
5 5 7 MY HAPPINESS - Jon & Sondra Steele
6 7 3 WILLIAM TELL OVERTURE - Spike Jones & His City Slickers w. vocal/Doodles Weaver
7 6 10 TOOLIE OOLIE DOOLIE (The Yodel Polka) - The Andrews Sisters
8 8 3 MY HAPPINESS - The Pied Pipers
9 10 4 **YOU CAN'T BE TRUE, DEAR - Dick Haymes & The Song Spinners (acapella)
10 9 2 LOVE SOMEBODY - Doris Day & Buddy Clark

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

June 16, 1958

(TW = Position This Week; LW = Position Last Week; NW = Number Weeks on Chart; *Former #1)
TW LW NW
1 1 3 THE PURPLE PEOPLE EATER - Sheb Wooley
2 2 9 *ALL I HAVE TO DO IS DREAM - The Everly Brothers
3 3 10 *WITCH DOCTOR - David Seville
4 6 7 SECRETLY - Jimmie Rodgers
5 4 11 RETURN TO ME - Dean Martin
6 9 10 LOOKING BACK - Nat "King" Cole
7 5 6 DO YOU WANT TO DANCE? - Bobby Freeman
8 24 3 YAKETY YAK - The Coasters
9 11 11 TWILIGHT TIME - The Platters featuring Tony Williams
10 8 8 (Tie) JOHNNY B. GOODE - Chuck Berry

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

US Top 100 Singles Week Ending 15th June, 1968

TW LW TITLE-Artist (Label)-Weeks on Chart (Peak Position)

1 1 MRS. ROBINSON
Simon and Garfunkel (Columbia)-8 (3 weeks at #1) (1)
2 3 THIS GUY'S IN LOVE WITH YOU
Herb Alpert (A&M)-5 (2)
3 5 MONY MONY
Tommy James and the Shondells (Roulette)-11 (3)
4 6 YUMMY YUMMY YUMMY
The Ohio Express (Buddah)-7 (4)
5 7 MACARTHUR PARK
Richard Harris (Dunhill)-6 (5)
6 2 TIGHTEN UP
Archie Bell and the Drells (Atlantic)-12 (1)
7 9 THINK
Aretha Franklin (Atlantic)-5 (7)
8 8 A BEAUTIFUL MORNING
The Rascals (Atlantic)-10 (3)
9 4 THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY
Hugo Montenegro, His Orchetra and Chorus (RCA)-18 (2)
10 13 THE LOOK OF LOVE
Sergio Mendes and Brasil '66 (A&M)-6 (10)

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

US Top 100 Singles Week Ending 17th June, 1978

TW LW TITLE Artist (Label)-Weeks on Chart (Peak Position)

1 2 SHADOW DANCING
Andy Gibb (RSO)-10 (1 week at #1) (1)
2 1 YOU'RE THE ONE THAT I WANT
John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John (RSO)-12 (1)
3 5 BAKER STREET
Gerry Rafferty (United Artists)-9 (3)
4 6 IT'S A HEARTACHE
Bonnie Tyler (RCA)-13 (4)
5 3 TOO MUCH, TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE
Johnny Mathis/Denise Williams (Columbia)-12 (1)
6 8 TAKE A CHANCE ON ME
Abba (Atlantic)-9 (6)
7 4 FEELS SO GOOD
Chuck Mangione (A&M)-19 (4)
8 7 ON BROADWAY
George Benson (Warner Brothers)-15 (7)
9 16 YOU BELONG TO ME
Carly Simon (Elektra)-10 (9)
10 12 LOVE IS LIKE OXYGEN
Sweet (Capitol)-18 (10)

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

US Top 100 Singles Week Ending June 18, 1988

TW LW TITLE Artist - Weeks on Chart (Peak Position)

1 2 TOGETHER FOREVER Rick Astley - 10 (1)
2 1 ONE MORE TRY George Michael - 10 (1)
3 6 FOOLISH BEAT Debbie Gibson - 9 (3)
4 8 DIRTY DIANA Michael Jackson - 7 (4)
5 7 MAKE IT REAL Jets - 10 (5)
6 3 EVERYTHING YOUR HEART DESIRES Daryl Hall & John Oates - 10 (3)
7 9 CIRCLE IN THE SAND Belinda Carlisle - 10 (7)
8 10 THE VALLEY ROAD Bruce Hornsby & The Range - 8 (8)
9 13 THE FLAME Cheap Trick - 11 (9)
10 12 ALPHABET ST. Prince - 8 (10)

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

US Top 100 Singles Week Ending June 20, 1998

TW LW TITLE Artist - Weeks on Chart (Peak Position)

1 1 THE BOY IS MINE Brandy & Monica - 4 (1)
2 3 YOU'RE STILL THE ONE Shania Twain - 19 (2)
3 2 TOO CLOSE Next - 19 (1)
4 4 MY ALL Mariah Carey - 7 (1)
5 5 I GET LONELY Janet Featuring BLACKstreet - 5 (3)
6 6 EVERYBODY (BACKSTREET'S BACK) Backstreet Boys - 10 (4)
7 12 ARE U STILL DOWN/THEY DON'T KNOW Jon B - 21 (7)
8 7 ALL MY LIFE K-Ci & JoJo - 13 (1)
9 11 ADIA/ANGEL Sarah McLachlan - 4 (9)
10 8 TRULY MADLY DEEPLY Savage Garden - 29 (1)


Music definitely went through a ton of changes over that 50 year span.

Some thoughts to discuss: Which top 10 is your favorite? Least favorite? During which 10 year interval of these do you think music made the greatest leap? Any special memories associated with any of these songs?

[Jughead]

While I should say that the chart from 1998 is my favourite, I can't. 1998 was my 11th grade year, and I HATED it. Those songs are somewhat nice, but they bring back a lot of bad memories.

I'd say the chart from 1978 is the one I'd probably listen to the most.

How odd that the 1988 songs are mostly pop hits!

[Railyn]

I don't think I like a single song on that 1998 list. Just goes to show how much I really didn't like music much past 1993-ish.

The 78 and 88 lists were pretty good. My Kindergarten and Freshman High School years. I like 60's music, but I wasn't overly fond of the 68 list.

[H2IZCOOL]

Interesting twist, Dawn.

My first impression is that some of the charts appear to be kinda atypical of the era.

The '50s chart has no Elvis, the '60s chart has no Beatles, no Stones, no real British influence, no psychedellic music ...

[Dawn]

Jun 15, 2010 9:38:02 GMT -5 Jughead said:

While I should say that the chart from 1998 is my favourite, I can't. 1998 was my 11th grade year, and I HATED it. Those songs are somewhat nice, but they bring back a lot of bad memories.

I'd say the chart from 1978 is the one I'd probably listen to the most.

How odd that the 1988 songs are mostly pop hits!

You sound like me with 1980-81 - I like the music, but 7th grade was definitely one of my least favorite school years.

Ditto on the 1978 chart. Many of the songs, especially "Baker Street," have held up very well.

[Dawn]

Jun 15, 2010 10:56:39 GMT -5 Railyn said:

I don't think I like a single song on that 1998 list. Just goes to show how much I really didn't like music much past 1993-ish.

The 78 and 88 lists were pretty good. My Kindergarten and Freshman High School years. I like 60's music, but I wasn't overly fond of the 68 list.

I only know about half the songs on that 1998 list, and I can't say I like any of them either. At the time I kinda liked the Backstreet Boys song, but it hasn't aged well.

That '60s chart is not the best, I agree.

[Dawn]

Jun 15, 2010 11:09:26 GMT -5 H2IZCOOL said:

Interesting twist, Dawn.

My first impression is that some of the charts appear to be kinda atypical of the era.

The '50s chart has no Elvis, the '60s chart has no Beatles, no Stones, no real British influence, no psychedellic music ...

I hadn't noticed that when I posted these charts, but you are absolutely spot on about some of them being not typical. The '50s chart has several novelty songs (one wouldn't be too out of the norm, but 3 out of 10 seems like a lot). And the '60s chart is VERY adult contemporary/easy-listening oriented, especially compared to others from the same year.

[H2IZCOOL]

Jun 15, 2010 12:33:31 GMT -5 Dawn said:

Jun 15, 2010 11:09:26 GMT -5 H2IZCOOL said:

Interesting twist, Dawn.

My first impression is that some of the charts appear to be kinda atypical of the era.

The '50s chart has no Elvis, the '60s chart has no Beatles, no Stones, no real British influence, no psychedellic music ...

I hadn't noticed that when I posted these charts, but you are absolutely spot on about some of them being not typical. The '50s chart has several novelty songs (one wouldn't be too out of the norm, but 3 out of 10 seems like a lot). And the '60s chart is VERY adult contemporary/easy-listening oriented, especially compared to others from the same year.

So - you consider Yakety Yak to be a novelty song? - I'm assuming that's your 3rd. I never thought of it as such, but I guess it makes sense.

That '58 list is weird. There are only two rockers in the ten (Do You Want to Dance and Johnny B Goode) and a couple of decent rock or soul ballads (All I Have To Do Is Dream and Twilight Time. You've got your novelty songs, and the other three are holdovers from the pre-rock era.

The '68 list may be the most atypical of all. Two movie connections (Mrs. Robinson and The Good the Bad and the Ugly), three middle of the road (MacArthur Park, This Guy's In Love With You and The Look of Love), two pure R&B (Tighten Up and Think) two Bubble Gum (Yummy Yummy and Mony Mony - typical of that era, but less so than psychedelic, or British which are not represented at all. And one song A Beautiful Morning which I guess can be called classic rock, and the most typical song of the era on the chart.

[Ken]

Hmm let's see:

The 90's - You're Still The one is Ok I don't mind it and Shania is easy on the eyes Everything else on the list is forgettable.

The 80's list is very weak IMO except for "The Flame." I always like it, and the band had a huge hit, but HATED the track. One of the reasons was because the intro of the song was lifted from "Nature's Way" by Spirit.

The 70's list contains quite a few big faves - Baker Street, It's a Heartache, Love is Like Oxygen, On Broadway etc.

The 60's list has a few classics - Paul and Art, The Rascals, and "Yummy Yummy Yummy" has always been a "guilty pleasure" I was never big on Macarthur Park, it just seemed to go on forever! I don't mind hearing "This Guy's in Love With You" occasionally.

The 50's list does contain it's fair share of novelty tunes. I would say that the novelty tune was pretty much at it's peak of popularity at this point(agree ?) I do like Yakety Yak and you can't go wrong with Johnny B. Goode and The Everly Bros track is among their very best.

[Dawn]

Jun 15, 2010 16:51:01 GMT -5 H2IZCOOL said:

Jun 15, 2010 12:33:31 GMT -5 Dawn said:

I hadn't noticed that when I posted these charts, but you are absolutely spot on about some of them being not typical. The '50s chart has several novelty songs (one wouldn't be too out of the norm, but 3 out of 10 seems like a lot). And the '60s chart is VERY adult contemporary/easy-listening oriented, especially compared to others from the same year.

So - you consider Yakety Yak to be a novelty song? - I'm assuming that's your 3rd. I never thought of it as such, but I guess it makes sense.

That '58 list is weird. There are only two rockers in the ten (Do You Want to Dance and Johnny B Goode) and a couple of decent rock or soul ballads (All I Have To Do Is Dream and Twilight Time. You've got your novelty songs, and the other three are holdovers from the pre-rock era.

The '68 list may be the most atypical of all. Two movie connections (Mrs. Robinson and The Good the Bad and the Ugly), three middle of the road (MacArthur Park, This Guy's In Love With You and The Look of Love), two pure R&B (Tighten Up and Think) two Bubble Gum (Yummy Yummy and Mony Mony - typical of that era, but less so than psychedelic, or British which are not represented at all. And one song A Beautiful Morning which I guess can be called classic rock, and the most typical song of the era on the chart.

Yep, "Yakety Yak" was the third one I was thinking of. It's not quite as strictly novelty as the other two, but has kind of a "playful" feel similar to them.

No Motown on that '60s list either. I imagine this is probably one of the very few charts from 1964-69 that don't include a Beatles, Stones, or Motown track in the top 10.

[Dawn]

Jun 15, 2010 18:35:27 GMT -5 Ken said:

Hmm let's see:

The 90's - You're Still The one is Ok I don't mind it and Shania is easy on the eyes Everything else on the list is forgettable.

The 80's list is very weak IMO except for "The Flame." I always like it, and the band had a huge hit, but HATED the track. One of the reasons was because the intro of the song was lifted from "Nature's Way" by Spirit.

The 70's list contains quite a few big faves - Baker Street, It's a Heartache, Love is Like Oxygen, On Broadway etc.

The 60's list has a few classics - Paul and Art, The Rascals, and "Yummy Yummy Yummy" has always been a "guilty pleasure" I was never big on Macarthur Park, it just seemed to go on forever! I don't mind hearing "This Guy's in Love With You" occasionally.

The 50's list does contain it's fair share of novelty tunes. I would say that the novelty tune was pretty much at it's peak of popularity at this point(agree ?) I do like Yakety Yak and you can't go wrong with Johnny B. Goode and The Everly Bros track is among their very best.

Whenever I hear "Yummy Yummy Yummy" I always think of the Wonder Years episode where the band plays the song at Paul's Bar Mitzvah. "MacArthur Park" does drag on, I agree. I like that uptempo instrumental part in the middle of the song, but the verses not so much.

Agree about Chuck Berry and the Everlys...two classics that still sound great today.

[m c dornan]

Well, Rick Astley's "Together Forever" must be the greatest song ever. It's so compelling that I sometimes find myself watching the video, without recalling actually logging onto it!

The greatest development was the 1960s, starting with pre-Beatles (basically still the 50s) , then the Beatles, then post-Beatles acid rock and similar music.

There's one song on each list 40s thru 70s that I really like, and nothing from the 80s or 90s. The 60s week remarkably has nothing on it typical about the 60s.

"Macarthur Park" is one of the highlights of the 1960s, and I lost all respect for Dave Barry when he made it 'hip' to dismiss it.

So there.

[Dawn]

Jun 16, 2010 22:48:12 GMT -5 m c dornan said:

Well, Rick Astley's "Together Forever" must be the greatest song ever. It's so compelling that I sometimes find myself watching the video, without recalling actually logging onto it!

The greatest development was the 1960s, starting with pre-Beatles (basically still the 50s) , then the Beatles, then post-Beatles acid rock and similar music.

There's one song on each list 40s thru 70s that I really like, and nothing from the 80s or 90s. The 60s week remarkably has nothing on it typical about the 60s.

"Macarthur Park" is one of the highlights of the 1960s, and I lost all respect for Dave Barry when he made it 'hip' to dismiss it.

So there.

That 1968 chart is a puzzle, especially since you hear so much about the "Summer of Love" the previous year and how revolutionary it was. Except for a couple of songs, it could almost pass stylewise for an earlier '60s chart.

I'm not too familiar with the '40s songs. I'm guessing "My Happiness" is the same song Connie Francis later covered, and I've heard the "William Tell Overture," but not a vocal version.

[H2IZCOOL]

Jun 17, 2010 8:47:41 GMT -5 Dawn said:

Jun 16, 2010 22:48:12 GMT -5 m c dornan said:

Well, Rick Astley's "Together Forever" must be the greatest song ever. It's so compelling that I sometimes find myself watching the video, without recalling actually logging onto it!

The greatest development was the 1960s, starting with pre-Beatles (basically still the 50s) , then the Beatles, then post-Beatles acid rock and similar music.

There's one song on each list 40s thru 70s that I really like, and nothing from the 80s or 90s. The 60s week remarkably has nothing on it typical about the 60s.

"Macarthur Park" is one of the highlights of the 1960s, and I lost all respect for Dave Barry when he made it 'hip' to dismiss it.

So there.

That 1968 chart is a puzzle, especially since you hear so much about the "Summer of Love" the previous year and how revolutionary it was. Except for a couple of songs, it could almost pass stylewise for an earlier '60s chart.

I'm not too familiar with the '40s songs. I'm guessing "My Happiness" is the same song Connie Francis later covered, and I've heard the "William Tell Overture," but not a vocal version.

I know I've heard the Spike Jones version of the William Tell Overture, but i don't recal there being a vocal. What is a "Doodles Weaver" anyway? ;D

[m c dornan]

Nope, the William Tell Overture has no vocal, and Doodles Weaver doesn't sing in the Spike Jones version. He narrates a very funny horse race while the music plays in the background.

Doodles was the brother of NBC executive Pat Weaver and the uncle of Sigourney Weaver.