TRACING POPULAR TASTES : US #1 SINGLES LEADERBOARD.  

This post: 1955-97. 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. No other act has accumulated as many No. 1 singles. There has been much change in the lower ranks over subsequent decades.

The early 1990s saw new names appear among the chart champs such as Boyz II Men, Janet Jackson and Mariah Carey; with a resurgence for Madonna, Elton John, Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, George Michael.

PART ELEVEN

July 1955-1997

1.    THE BEATLES                                  20      59

2.    ELVIS PRESLEY                               17      77

3.    MICHAEL JACKSON*                      13      37

4.    MARIAH CAREY                              12      57

5.    THE SUPREMES                               12      22

6.    WHITNEY HOUSTON                       11      31                       

7.    MADONNA                                        11      28

8.    THE BEE GEES                                 9      27

9.    ELTON JOHN*                                  8      30     

10.PAUL McCARTNEY                          8      25

11.GEORGE MICHAEL                         8      18     

12.THE ROLLING STONES                   8      17

13.STEVIE WONDER*                           7      17

14.PHIL COLLINS                                 7      15

15.DIANA ROSS*                                   6      20

16.JANET JACKSON                              6      19

17.PAULA ABDUL                                 6      15

18.HALL & OATES                                6      14     

19.BOYZ II MEN                                    5      50

20.LIONEL RICHIE                               5      21