Sunday, September 3, 2023

TRACING POPULAR TASTES : US #1 SINGLES LEADERBOARD.  

This post: 1955-2000. More: tomorrow.

Caffè Lattè traces the shifts in popular music through the decades…

-THE LEADERBOARD-

Close-up from left of Madonna laying down on a bale of hay, with her face partially covered by a pink cowboy hat. The song and artist name is written in a small box to the bottom-right, on either side of an icon of a riding cowboy.

The Rock Era is said to have begun in 1955 when “Rock Around The Clock” became the first rock ‘n’ roll disc to reach #1 on Billboard’s Singles Chart. Since then, pop music has spawned countless sub-genres, including: new wave, disco, Merseybeat, garage, hip hop, punk, grunge, funk, psychedelic soul, folk rock and Motown.

This series charts the changes in trends and how they have impacted the chart statistics from the American perspective. Every single that reached #1 in the U.S.A. since mid- 1955 to the present is taken into account. Acts are ranked according to how many chart-topping songs they have achieved and separated by number of weeks spent in the top position.

The Beatles moved into the top of this leaderboard in 1970 and have remained in front ever since. No other act has accumulated as many No. 1 singles. There has been much change in the lower ranks over subsequent decades.

The new millennium saw Madonna, Janet Jackson and Mariah Carey improve their chart statistics.

 A woman with blonde hair is smiling. She wears a short white shirt and soft make-up. She crosses her right arm behind her head and is pulling a portion of her shirt with her left hand. She is standing in front of a wall with a cloud and a rainbow on it.

PART TWELVE

July 1955-2000

1.    THE BEATLES                                  20      59

2.    ELVIS PRESLEY                               17      77

3.    MARIAH CAREY                              15      61

4.    MICHAEL JACKSON*                     13      37

5.    MADONNA                                         12      32

6.    THE SUPREMES                               12      22

7.    WHITNEY HOUSTON                      11      31                       

8.    THE BEE GEES                                   9      27

9.    ELTON JOHN*                                    8      30     

10.PAUL McCARTNEY                          8      25

11.JANET JACKSON                              8      24

12.GEORGE MICHAEL                         8      18     

13.THE ROLLING STONES                  8      17

14.STEVIE WONDER*                           7      17

15.PHIL COLLINS                                  7      15

 

No comments:

Post a Comment