TRACING POPULAR TASTES : US #1 SINGLES LEADERBOARD.  

This post: 1955-88. More: tomorrow.

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

-THE LEADERBOARD-

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. There has been much change in the lower ranks over subsequent decades. By the mid-1980s, Michael Jackson continued dominating while new names such as Madonna, Phil Collins, Prince, George Michael and Whitney Houston emerged as new chart champs.

 

PART TEN

July 1955-1988

1.    THE BEATLES                                  20      59

2.    ELVIS PRESLEY                               17      77

3.    THE SUPREMES                               12      22

4.    MICHAEL JACKSON*                     11      29

5.    THE BEE GEES                                   9      27

6.    PAUL McCARTNEY                           8      25

7.    THE ROLLING STONES                   8      17

8.    STEVIE WONDER*                            7      17

9.    WHITNEY HOUSTON                       7      13                       

10.DIANA ROSS*                                     6      20