Top Pop Singles 1955-1999: Ninth Edition [Hardcover]

Joel Whitburn (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2001

Spanning 45 years of chart research, Top Pop Singles lists each of the over 23,111 titles and 5,702 artists that appeared on Billboard's pop music charts from January 1955 through December 1999. It includes updated hit listings for new sensations like 'N Sync, Dixie Chicks, and Matchbox 20 as well as veteran artists such as Santana, Aerosmith, and Elton John. Also features special bonus pages with photos of hundreds of "one-hit wonders" and many rare picture sleeves and records. Other highlights include a complete A-to-Z song title section * all-time Top 500 artist ranking * top artist achievements * top hits and record breakers * #1 hits in chronological order * and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 940 pages
• Publisher: Record Research Inc.; 9 edition (January 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 089820139X
• ISBN-13: 978-0898201390
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 7.3 x 1.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,116,955 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Eulogy For The Pop Single, September 1, 2002

By 

D. R. Turgeon "scooterfan" (Moore, OK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Top Pop Singles 1955-1999: Ninth Edition (Hardcover)

In recent years, the RIAA and its member record companies have bemoaned the decline of music sales, blaming digital music piracy and other hobgoblins. One look through this informative tome will tell you the real problem - the industry has destroyed its entree for the fans to new and talented artists - the hit single!! At $$$ a pop, not too many buyers are willing to try new or unfamiliar music, but at $-$, if an artist or group has several "hit" singles (established by radio air play), the subsequent investment in an album seems less risky. The music industry, in it's zeal to maximize profit by selling full length CDs instead of priming the demand pump with singles, has contributed to its own decline. If you peruse the shear breadth of music styles listed in Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles that have been able to make the "Top 100" over the years, you realize just how rich and exciting music WAS in the 50s through the early 80s. As the corporate entities who owned the stations became fewer and fewer due to mergers, the current blight of narrowcast programming blossomed. It worked - for a while. But a steady (and excessive) diet of your favorite food will ultimately become boring. This book is not just a dry list of song titles, artists and dates. It's our lives writ large in song - teenage crushes, first dates (and dances!), first automobile, leaving home, possibly time in military service, marriage, kids - all of these events punctuated with the musical nuggets listed in this volume. Here's hoping that a bright future continues to exist for the indelible impact of the "hit single".

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Ultimate Pop Record Research Book!, November 15, 2000

By 

"pilesovinyl" (Wataga, Illinois USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Top Pop Singles 1955-1999: Ninth Edition (Hardcover)

Having owned many of Joel Whitburn`s research books I was really looking forward to this one. The first Top Pop Update since 1992 is more than expected. A lot of new features such as highlighted most popular song at a glance and listing the original B sides as well as mixing in Christmas recordings of each artist and showing dollar value of all entries make this even more useable than previous volumes. More pictures and bio information is also very nice. This book comes in a very nicely hard bound over 900 page format. It was expensive but has a wealth of information that you wont find anywhere else in such an organized and easy to cross reference format. If you collect records and are interested in chart history you MUST have this book.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A gold mine for the pop music enthusiast, May 19, 2002

By 

Tom Hinkle (Tulsa, OK USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Top Pop Singles 1955-1999: Ninth Edition (Hardcover)

Occasionally there comes a book that, before you even have a chance to look at it, you know is going to be a 5-star book. This book falls into that category, and it did not disappoint. For someone who was raised on Top 40 radio, this reference will provide hours of nostalgic pleasure. Several years ago I purchased a Whitburn book that listed every artist and single that hit the Top 40. This is even better, tracking every single that made the Billboard Hot 100. After all, there are songs that you will remember that you are sure made the Top 40, but didn't. There remain a few AM radio hits (at least as played by the dearly departed KAKC in Tulsa) that surprisingly didn't even make the Hot 100 ("Can't Find My Way Home" by Blind Faith is a glaring example). Some of these, I'm sure, "bubbled under" the Top 100, and for the real fanatic, Whitburn put out a book of those, too, although I'm not sure if it is still in print.

One observation that is somewhat interesting: as the eighties and nineties wore on, the Hot 100 charts became increasingly irrelevant. One reason is, who buys singles anymore? Who can even FIND singles in your local Wal-Mart or Best Buy anymore? Plus, with the rise of MTV, there are video hits that never hit the singles charts (two examples: "Leave Me Alone" by Michael Jackson and "Heart-shaped Box" by Nirvana). Another factor is the (unfortunate) arrival of narrow-format radio. The relative irrelevancy of the current singles chart may render this book irrelevant to the younger generation unless they have a particular interest in their parents' music, but to a baby-boomer like myself, this book is a total delight. Most of all, it is a labor of love by Joel Whitburn, and that shines through on every page.