Product Description

This unparalleled resource provides complete, cross-referenced information for all songs and artists to make the Top 40 of Billboard's Hot 100 singles chart from 1955 through mid-2003. Every artist entry opens with biographical information, followed by the date for each Top 40 single hit, its highest position and number of weeks on the chart, and its original label name and catalogue number. Alphabetical lists by artist and song title are followed by an extensive "Record Holders" section that details the top 100 singles of 1955-2003, with separate charts for that period showing the top 100 artists and top singles by decade. These exhaustive lists and 300 artist photos with their fact-filled captions will be valued by record collectors, pop music fans, and trivia enthusiasts, as well as by radio, cable, and music industry professionals.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #83112 in Books
• Published on: 2004-07-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 880 pages

Review
"An essential reference that can quickly tell you everything from how many No. 1 hits Roy Orbison had (two) to the name of the group that did "I'm Too Sexy" (Right Said Fred)." - Boston Herald; "I love paging through it, looking for songs I know and songs I should know." - Keyboard"

About the Author
Joel Whiturn, the foremost authority on charted music, has published nearly 80 books based on Billboard charts both for the trade market and for his own mail-order company, Record Research.

Customer Reviews

An excellent guide to help you in your music buying.
This work is comprehensive and includes anecdotal notes about the artists. The book lists all the Billboard Top 40 hits, in alphabetical order by artists. The listing includes the dates on which the hits first charted. There is a section in the back of the book which lists the hits by song title, which comes in handy if you cannot recall the artist who performed the song.

I find this book to be indispensable when deciding whether or not to purchase a CD, and the price the CD should command (I find it hard to shell out $14.99 for a CD with only one hit song). The book will also help you decide whether a "Greatest Hits" package includes all the artist's top 40 hits (which is not always the case, and not due to lack of space on the CD).

The only drawback I have about this book is that it's not sufficiently current; but this is a limitation imposed by the publishing process rather than a fault of the book itself.

The author, Joel Whitburn, has other titles which I also found to be indispensable. Just check them out, you can thank me later. :)

The only music book you will ever need for Top 40 Hit info!
As a mobile disc jockey and former radio announcer, I couldn't survive without this book. Joel is the BEST! I have almost 20,000 songs in my collection and was able to find all the important info such as year, chart position, and who was in the groups that made the songs famous. I love using this book to play trivia during parties as I know the info is always correct. I'm on my third edition and it's the only book I use. I can't wait for the next one to be published. If you love music like I do, then this book is the one that will answer all your questions and needs for music trivia or just information for your own personal use. Steve Whateley, "Steve The D.J."

A COMPLETE REFERENCE GUIDE FOR THE MOBILE D.J.
This book to me is a very important part of my DJ business,Almost as important as the CD's i carry to the job's.I use this reference as my catalog of the songs i carry with me, by highlighting the tittles i carry.Its so much more compact then carring a big note book, and has more information then you'll ever need about the artist.Therefore I highly recommend this guide to any of my fellow DJ's that want to give a fast reply to a client that ask's (Do you have this song ? ) thankyou all.