The Billboard Book of Number Two Singles (Paperback)

by Christopher Feldman (Author) "The first single to peak at #2 in 1955 found itself in the midst of some pretty intense competition..." (more)
Key Phrases: fourth chart week, highest debut, achieving gold status, Peak Date, Adult Contemporary, New York (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
This newest addition to a long list of quality chart books chronicles the history of those singles that almost, but never quite, reached the top of the Billboard charts. Citing every hit that placed number two since 1955, the book details each artist's or single's individual history. Fans will remember such classics as "Blueberry Hill" (Fats Domino), "Dancing in the Street" (Martha Reeves and the Vandellas), "Burning Love" (Elvis Presley), and "Y.M.C.A." (Village People), and more recent biggies "Material Girl" (Madonna), "My Lovin" (En Vogue), and "It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday" (Boyz II Men).

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Billboard Books (January 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0823076954
• ISBN-13: 978-0823076956
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #784,661 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Needed better stats, January 16, 2003

By	D. Palaganas "dpalaganas" (Rockville, MD United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is for the most part a good reference guide for chart freaks like me. My only beef with the book is that the statistics/trivia listed in the back coud have been expanded considerably. For example, what about a listing of the songs which spent 7+ weeks at #2 ("Waiting For A Girl Like You", "Little Darlin'", "If I Ever Fall In Love", etc.)? Or, the #2 songs which reigned under the most #1 songs (I believe "I'm Not In Love" reigned under three different #1 songs)? Or, the #1 song(s) which prevented the most different #2 songs from hitting the top (I think "Everything I Do" kept five different #2's from hitting the top)? Or, #2 songs which wound up being ranked #1 for the year by Billboard ("Wooly Bully", "Breathe", "Hanging By a Moment")? All of these questions and more could have been answered on probably one extra page.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Always the Bridesmaid, never the bride., July 30, 2000

By	Eso (Oakdale) - See all my reviews

Even though there may be some repetition,The "Billboard Book One-hit Wonders" set is the companion to the "Billboard Book of #2 Hits": avid followers of the Billboard charts and the trivia over the years are not the only ones for whom these set are appropriate; fans of a given artist whose only hits were also number-two singles find added biographical and circumstancial material about the artists and the novelty singles that prompted them to attempt to follow an artist, who because of their ephemeral presence on the charts, had all but disappeared.

For instance, Jane Child falls under both categories: "Don't Wanna Fall in Love", her only U.S. Top 40 hit, reached number 2. Had the song reached #1, maybe the course of the gifted singer's career would have run more smoothly. The astounding level of airplay the song received may stun the casual observer who would have probably continued to think the song was a number one Billboard Top 40 Single; it did, however, peak at #1 on the US Radio and Records Chart.

It is also interesting to note that the "Billboard Book of #2s" tracks the songs by the most familiar artists such as Madonna, whose "Frozen" was kept out of the #1 spot by lesser-known KC and Jo-Jo's "All My Life". Both the casual chart observer-or someone who had a distaste for Madonna- and more confessed-guru would probably thrive on such esoteric trivia that also, in case you are wondering, details the number of weeks Madonna tried to achieve summit-status holding on at #2. Foreigner's "Waiting for A Girl Like You" was second-bested for 10 weeks by two different singles, a phenomenon that must frustrate the artist. The set occasioanlly documents the artists' prespective and perspective on being second-best, which is also gives the trivia a fresher perspective.

Even though-albeit very subjectively- "Frozen" may not be considered in the same league as more classic Madonna hits such as "Express Yourself" or "Cherish", guess what? These hits were prevented from #1 status as well. The set confirms that so many classics you may assume went to the top did not.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting information; dry writing; who edited this?, May 4, 2000

By	R. Banfield "Becky Banfield" (Downers Grove, IL) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I am one of those people who friends call late at night because they can't remember who sang a certain song, so the publication of a new Billboard book is always a joy. There is a lot of interesting information in this book, and Feldman tells us what songs kept the included records from hitting #1 (example: KC and the Sunshine Band's "Keep It Comin' Love" was shut out by "You Light Up My Life" and the Disco Star Wars theme - ouch!). There are, however, several glaring mistakes, the most obvious of which was naming Elton John's drummer Nigel Olsson as Nigel Austin. Wesley Hyatt's recent volume on adult contemporary hits suffered from this same editing weakness, but Hyatt is a more engaging and witty writer than Feldman so his book reads much better. Who is proofreading these books? I tell you what, Billboard, I'll proof the next one for free.