Customer Reviews

Top Pop Singles 1955-1999: Ninth Edition

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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".

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.

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.

You don't need to buy TOP POP SINGLES 1955-1999, because Joel Whitburn's own site (record research) will sell you the most up to date volume TOP POP SINGLES 1955-2002. I still have my TOP POP SINGLES 1955-1993. Essentially, it's the same book but updated by the year, by the inclustion of "B" sides, and Top Air Plays, making the new the edition the better buy. Why can't Amazon sell us the current most up to date record of this valuable resource? Any collector of popular music from 1955 to 2002, will find the TOP POP SINGLES 1955-2002, the best value. No school music library should be without this book as an addition to the curriculum. All songs the made the top hundred along with information on the artist is great as a resource book, a coffee table book or just for looking up your favourite song.

I've been buying Mr. Whitburn's books for a time, and this is so far his best. No one like his team can come up with the best music fact and trivia book. And look, there's a price guide, the B-side, symbols that indicate if the single had a picture sleeve, and a ranking of the hottest artists of the rock era, based on a point system (#1-Elvis). I just wanna say well done and like I said up in the title, a musthave for every person who is definitely into music!

This is the ninth edition of Joel Whitburn's "Top Pop Singles"-Music fans & those who work in the radio business will refer to this volume time & time again-Not only do you find every artist & their hits from 1955-1999,but you also get a list of songs that were only "airplay hits",such as "Don't Speak" by No Doubt or "One Headlight" by the Wallflowers-If you're curious as to how much your old 45's are worth,the prices are located next to the song titles for easy reference-True,it's a bit pricey,but definitely worth every penny.

This is a great collection for the music lover and for anyone who wants to get to know their favorite artist. This book features all of the songs from 1955 that hit the top 100. So if a song hit 92 you will find it in this book. the only problem I have with this is the price I think 50-70 dollars is high but it is worth it. I recommend this item to the music lover inside everyone.

the most detailed read on so many artists&there impact on the charts.it covers Artists from A-Z&everything else in between.a very fun kind of read for folks like myself that just love Music.and also great to understand the changes with Charting&also how songs got as far they did&whatnot.a Great Read.