There are a number of times over the years where I felt that, for one reason or another, Billboard missed the boat in properly reporting the #1 Record in the Country.
This becomes especially evident when you see the other two major trades reporting their findings differently ...
Not to mention all of the charts we've seen over the past two decades from all over the country showing us what songs were most popular from city to city.
Since this discussion was inspired by the 65th Anniversary of Billboard's Hot 100 Pop Singles Chart, let's start our recap there ... August 4th, 1958 ... and carry on through the end of 1980.
"Poor Little Fool" by Ricky Nelson was the first #1 Record to top Billboard's new Hot 100 Chart ...
Yet, incredibly, it never made it to #1 on either of the other two trade publications, Cash Box and Record World! Instead, they were reporting that "Patricia" by Perez Prado was still the Number #1 Record in the Country. It spent four weeks on top of the charts in both of these magazines, while only topping Billboard's pre-Hot 100 Chart for a single week earlier in July.
I do believe that, because of all the hype built around Billboard's new chart launch, their chart was likely the most accurate ... but after their next #1 Record (" Nel Blu Dipito Di Blu [Volare])" topped all three charts, Billboard's next two #1 Hits, "Little Star" by The Elegants and "Bird Dog" by The Everly Brothers, failed to top the charts in the other two trades. Both of those records peaked at #2 in Cash Box ... "Little Star" also peaked at #2 in Record World (then called Music Vendor) while "Bird Dog" topped out at #3. Kinda makes you wonder what "inside track" Billboard had to see things differently.
Incredibly, in 1959 Santo and Johnny's "Sleep Walk" only topped the chart in Billboard. They got that one right as far as I'm concerned. Several years ago, you guys voted it as your All-Time Favorite Instrumental!
http://forgottenhits.com/top_50_instrumental_hits_1955_-_1979
In 1961, Ferrante and Teicher topped the chart in both Cash Box and Music Vendor ... but stopped at #2 in Billboard.
Here's one that doesn't make any sense ...
In 1962, Joey Dee and the Starliters went to #1 in Billboard for three consecutive weeks, yet never made it that far in either Cash Box or Music Vendor. They had either "The Twist" by Chubby Checker or "Duke Of Earl" by Gene Chandler in the top spot, both of which also went to #1 in Billboard. As far as I can see, Joey Dee absolutely deserved his #1 status ... for at least a week, if not three.
Later that year, Tommy Roe earned his first chart-topper with "Sheila" in Billboard ... but this record didn't get that far in the two other trades. They both said that Little Eva's "The Loco-Motion" did better.
In 1963, Billboard denied Allan Sherman the top berth with his classic hit "Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh." It deservedly topped both of the other charts ... there was no record more popular at the time ... this thing was EVERYWHERE! (Billboard showed it #2 for three weeks.)
At year's end, The Kingsmen were cheated out of THEIR deserving #1 Hit, "Louie Louie." (I think the fact that this was banned in so many markets probably hurt them in Billboard ... but that doesn't excuse them holding Bobby Vinton's "There! I've Said It Again" at #1 for four weeks when it only spent a week or two on top everywhere else.)
Worse yet, as Beatlemania invaded The States in January, February, March and April of 1964, Billboard peaked "Twist And Shout" at #2, despite it hitting #1 from coast to coast ... AND in both Cash Box and Record World.
I think "Last Kiss" by J. Frank Wilson and the Cavaliers also deserved a #1 earning in Billboard ... it topped the chart in both of the other trades
In March of 1965, "My Girl" by The Temptations only topped the chart in Billboard. I've gotta say that they nailed this one ... how could this record NOT be #1 in the other two publications? (It peaked at #2 in Cash Box for two weeks ... and #3 for three weeks in Record World.)
A few months later, "Wooly Bully" by Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs earned enough points to be declared The Record of the Year in Billboard despite never making it to #1! (It only topped the Record World chart.) I think The Four Season's hit "Let's Hang On" deserved the #1 nod in Billboard, too, rather than holding The Byrds' "Turn Turn Turn" there for another week. This was another record that showed up at #1 all over the country and topped the other two trade charts.
The same could be said for "Barbara Ann" by The Beach Boys ... it was #1 everywhere ... except Billboard.
Another novelty hit that failed to hit #1 in 1966 was Napoleon XIV's "They're Coming To Take Me Away, Ha-Haa!" This one skyrocketed to the top of the charts in both Cash Box and Record World ... but again was banned on a number of stations ... and quickly fell from grace after just a few weeks. (Billboard pegged it at #3.) I would suggest that "Sunny" by Bobby Hebb probably also deserved a #1 nod ... the cross-over appeal of this track got it played on every radio station on the dial ... hard to believe Billboard was the only publication not to recognize it as a #1 Hit.
Jumping ahead to 1967, we see that "Kind Of A Drag" by The Buckinghams only topped the charts in Billboard ... it likely deserved one of those weeks at #1 ... but the other one probably should have gone to "Georgy Girl" by The Seekers ... that's another one that was #1 from coast to coast (as well as in Cash Box and Record World.)
"Something Stupid" by Nancy and Frank Sinatra spent four weeks at #1 in Billboard ... but only a week or two in the other trades. That's because they had The Monkees' hit "A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You" ranked at #1 ... which is where it belonged. There was NOBODY hotter than The Monkees on the charts at this moment in time.
Frankie Valli's big solo hit "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" also deserved #1 status in Billboard ... it topped the other charts but only came in at #2 on The Hot 100.
"To Sir With Love" by Lulu holding down the #1 spot for five weeks seems a bit extreme ... it only spent three weeks there in the other trades. This would have allowed The Association's hit "Never My Love" to reach #1, which it did literally everywhere else. I would have liked to have seen The Cowsills reach the top with their '60's classic "The Rain, The Park And Other Things." It hit #1 in Cash Box only.
1968 offers up a couple of crazy situations ...
"Dock Of The Bay" stayed at #1 for four weeks in Billboard ... and never topped either of the other music trade charts! Now how can THAT be?!?!
Once again, it was The Monkees who fell victim to this gross misrepresentation. Their hit "Valleri" was #1 for two weeks in both Cash Box and Record World. "Young Girl" by Gary Puckett and the Union Gap also topped both of those charts for a week during Redding's reign. Four months later, their hit "Lady Willpower" also spent a week at #1 in the other two trades. (Puckett never had a Billboard #1 Hit ... and that's just wrong!)
There's no denying how big a record "Hey Jude" was for The Beatles ...
But nine weeks on top of Billboard's chart denied Mary Hopkin (an Apple labelmate no less!) a well-deserved #1 with her first hit, "Those Were The Days." (She got it in the other two trades.) "Hey Jude" only topped Record World's chart for four weeks (incredibly, it was only #1 for ONE week here in Chicago ... which isn't right either!) Cash Box ranked it at #1 for seven weeks ... the other two weeks were awarded to Hopkin.
The year ended with another out of balance situation ...
Marvin Gaye stayed at #7 for seven weeks in Billboard with his version of "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" ... it spent five weeks on top of Cash Box's chart ... but only ONE WEEK at #1 in Record World. They started off 1969 with "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me" by Diana Ross and the Supremes at #1 for three weeks. Cash Box ranked it there for a week ... and it deserved at least that much.
"Build Me Up Buttercup" spent two weeks at #1 in both Cash Box and Record World ... there's no doubt that Billboard got this one wrong!
There's no question that "Aquarius / Let The Sunshine In" by The Fifth Dimension was a monster hit ... buy another hit from that same musical, "Hair" by The Cowsills, also deserved #1 status. It got it in both Cash Box and Record World ... but not in Billboard.
And now we've hit the point where we have to address the fact that Creedence Clearwater Revival never had a #1 Billboard hit ... yet topped either or both the Cash Box and Record World charts three times with "Proud Mary" (RW), "Bad Moon Rising" (RW) and "Lookin' Out My Back Door" (CB and RW). All of these records peaked at #2 in Billboard.
Elvis' big comeback hit "In The Ghetto" also should have topped Billboard's chart ... it topped the others, but was aced out by Henry Mancini's #1 Hit "Love Theme from "Romeo and Juliet," which also topped the other two charts for a week. That second week on top in Billboard denied Elvis another #1 notch on his belt buckle.
"I Can't Get Next To You" was another Temptations #1 Hit in Billboard only.
Jumping ahead to 1970, the first obvious oversight is Norman Greenbaum's "Spirit In The Sky," another tune that topped both the Cash Box AND the Record World chart for two weeks. Billboard pegged it at #3 for three weeks instead. This is another tune that we have seen at #1 on Top 40 radio charts from all over the country, including both WLS' and WCFL's from right here in Chicago.
"Bridge Over Troubled Water" by Simon and Garfunkel topped Billboard's Hot 100 Pop Singles Chart for six weeks ... two and three weeks longer than it did in the other trades ... but their follow up hit, "Cecilia," failed to reach the summit in Billboard, despite logging a week on top in both Cash Box and Record World. Incredibly, it only peaked at #4 in Billboard . "Spill The Wine" by Eric Burdon and War, the previously mentioned "Lookin' Out My Back Door," "Candida" by Dawn and "We've Only Just Begun" by The Carpenters are others that topped the other charts but failed to do so in Billboard. (CCR was kept out of the top spot by Diana Ross' "Ain't No Mountain High Enough, which spent three weeks at #1 in Billboard, despite only topping the chart for a single week in the other publications.)
1971 offered up more situations where a record reached #1 in both Cash Box and Record World but failed to hit the top in Billboard. The best examples include "Lonely Days" by The Bee Gees (a deserving #1 if there ever was one), "Doesn't Somebody Want To Be Wanted" by The Partridge Family and "It Don't Come Easy" by Ringo Starr. And how did "Imagine" by John Lennon only peak at #3 in Billboard? That's Lennon's signature tune! (If Billboard had gone along with the trend and findings of the other publications, all four former Beatles would have had #1 hits in 1971. George Harrison kicked off the year with "My Sweet Lord" on top of the charts ... and Paul McCartney earned his first solo #1 record in September with "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey."
1972 anomalies include "Precious And Few" by Climax, "Daddy Don't You Walk So Fast" by Wayne Newton, "Long Cool Woman In A Black Dress" by The Hollies, "Everybody Plays The Fool" by The Main Ingredient, "Nights In White Satin" by The Moody Blues and "I'd Love You To Want Me" by Lobo, all of which topped both of the other major trade charts that year. And I'd have to throw in with Cash Box on "Burning Love" ... it should have been Elvis' last #1 Record. (Think about that for a second ... we've already offered up TWO more tunes that could have been part of Elvis' legacy.) Instead, it only achieved #2 status. The Moody Blues were kept out of the #1 spot by Johnny Nash's "I Can See Clearly Now," #1 for four weeks in Billboard ... but only for a single week in the other two trades.
A couple of notable exceptions from 1973: "Live And Let Die" by Paul McCartney and Wings ... #1 in both Cash Box and Record World ... but only #2 in Billboard. "Shambala" by Three Dog Night, "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" by Elton John and (much as I hate to admit it) "Heartbeat, It's A Lovebeat" by The DeFranco Family all spent time at #1 in the other trades ... and deservedly so ... but not in Billboard.
Moving ahead to 1974, the only tunes that hit the top in the other publications but not in Billboard that I feel were worthy of their #1 status would be "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me" by Elton John and "When Will I See You Again" by The Three Degrees. An over-stated Billboard #1 would have to be "The Way We Were" by Barbra Streisand, #1 for only one week in Cash Box and Record World, but #1 for THREE weeks in Billboard ... and maybe "I Can Help" by Billy Swan and "Kung Fu Fighting" by Carl Douglas, #1 for just a week everywhere else, but two weeks on top in The Music Bible.
1975's most obvious choice would have to be "Jackie Blue" by The Ozark Mountain Daredevils ... but Dickie Goodman's novelty hit "Mr. Jaws" also topped both of the other charts.
"Baker Street" by Gerry Rafferty has come up in these pages before. LOTS of stories circulating around that it was kept out of the top spot in Billboard for fear of losing Andy Gibb's performance at a Billboard Convention Event if "Shadow Dancing" were no longer the #1 song.
A couple of songs that seem a bit out of balance include:
"Three Times A Lady" by The Commodores (#1 in Billboard for 2 weeks, but #1 in Cash Box for four and #1 in Record World for FIVE weeks!
"Boogie Oogie Oogie" by A Taste Of Honey = 3 weeks (BB), 3 weeks (CB) and just 1 week (RW)
"Kiss You All Over" by Exile = 4 weeks (BB), 2 weeks (CB) and 3 weeks (RW)
"Hot Child In The City" by Nick Gilder = 1 week (BB), 3 weeks (CB), 4 weeks (RW)
Looking back, this makes for a pretty substantial list.
Our Super Charts correct some of these mistakes/oversights ... but you can't rewrite history ... leaving complaining after the fact to be our only recourse! (lol) kk
