Top Pop Singles 1955-1999 (Paperback)

by Joel Whitburn (Author) "The artist section lists each artist's charted hits in chronological order..." (more)
Key Phrases: album snippets, promo sleeve, different picture sleeves, Pic Label, Los Angeles, New York City (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
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

• Paperback: 938 pages
• Publisher: Record Research Inc. (December 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0898201403
• ISBN-13: 978-0898201406
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,185,844 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Eulogy For The Pop Single, September 2, 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".

19 of 20 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.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Reference For Every Music Lover, January 4, 2003

By	Karen A. Decoster (Clinton Township, MI USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Joel Whitburn's book covers the pop charts from the Hit Parade era on up to the end of the century. This book is not just for collectors, but rather, it will satisfy anyone who loves music and has a desire to know more about the dynamics of the Billboard pop charts. Besides the easy, alphabetical listings by artist, the book includes features such as:

* debut date for each song
* a chronological listing, by peak date, of every song
* the peak position and weeks on chart for each song
* a listing, in the back of the book, of all song titles (listed alphabetically) in the artist selection
* assorted chart "facts and feats"

In addition, the book's typeface and bolding features makes it easy to read, without straining for particular entries. In total, this book is the most comprehensive source of info available for the music of this era. No one but Whitburn does anything close to this in terms of music factology. It's well worth the money, and if you intend on flipping through it over and over, the few extra bucks for the longer-lasting hardcover will be worth the expenditure.