The Billboard Hot 100

We Americans are obsessed with numbers—and we do love our trivia too.

So here’s a question that you can stump your friends with:

“What was the very first #1 song on the very first Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart?”

We’ll have the answer—and the video---right after a word from our sponsor…me!

It was on this date in 1958 (when I was a mere 11 days old) that Billboard Magazine introduced the “Hot 100 Singles Chart”. Of course, there were charts before, but they measured different stuff.

There was the “Best Sellers In Stores” tracking actual sales, the “Most Played By Jockeys”, those songs that radio DJ’s were spinning the most (presumably from requests) and “Most Played On Jukeboxes”. This last one was discontinued in 1957 as the popularity of jukeboxes faded.

Originally a blend of sales and airplay, the chart nowadays is based on monitored (certified) radio exposure of songs. Billboard instantly became the standard back in the late 50’s—and the name is synonymous with “the chart”.

OK, now for the answer to our trivia question:

“Poor Little Fool” by Ricky Nelson, the very first #1 song on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart. Here it is:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R12H8QWnwvE


Since that very first chart-topper, there have been 1,005 #1 songs on the Billboard Chart, the most current being “Party Rock Anthem” by LMFAO (as of the August 13th issue). Trust me, that tune sounds NOTHING like Ricky Nelson!

The method for deciding how each song is evaluated has changed many times over the years, but as musicologist Joel Whitburn quoted DJ Don Imus as saying, “It’s not #1 until it’s #1 in Billboard!”

If you’d like my blog in your box, just let me know!
Tim.moore@citcomm.com