Today we celebrate our Third Annual Joel Whitburn Day in Forgotten Hits.
Joel affected all of our lives with his informative books on the music charts throughout the decades ...
And I am happy to report that Record Research has been able to continue to compile and release updated versions of Joel's many years of research.
From Paul Haney ...
After years of phone and email communication, I finally had the pleasure of meeting Paul Haney, Brent Olynick and Kim Bloxdorf, Joel Whitburn's daughter, back in September of this year ... and tour the infamous vault (which truly has to be seen to be believed!)
Here are a couple of photos I was able to snap both of inside the vault, Joel's office (with his own personal Record Research Library behind his desk!) and shots of me with the three remaining musketeers in charge of the castle.
L-R: Paul, Kent, Brent
L-R: Paul, Kim, Kent
A photo of Joel's "back desk," with some of his books and cd's on display behind him
The view of Joel's desk and work center -
He rarely went to the office to work - and why should he -
He had everything he needed at his fingertips right here at home!
(Not shown: to the left wall of this shot is a series of turn tables, so Joel could play whatever music struck his fancy during his work day!)
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More books on display as you enter the vault area
The opposite wall from above -
With autographed portraits of The Beatles ("in the order they belonged," according to Paul Haney ...
John, Paul, George and Ringo)
Just one view of the countless racks of organized 45's, each and every one that ever made any of Billboard's published charts, alphabetized by artist
Those binders above house Joel's picture sleeve collection ... every commercially released sleeve
(plus a few special rarities) for each of their releases ...
ALL in immaculate condition, organized by artist. (Three of those volumes are for Elvis Presley alone!)
The end cap of each row of albums is decorated by some of the most high-profile releases by some of Joel's favorite artists ...
(You'll see lots of Beatles covers here ... including the infamous Butcher Cover below)
Earlier this month we ran our PASSION PLEA to try to help SAVE The Joel Whitburn Collection.
Unfortunately, despite any number of suggestions and inquiries, we were unable to successfully place this lifetime of work with an organization that would caretake and preserve it for many future generations to come.
Meanwhile, Kim Bloxdorf notified Record Research subscribers that any future publications looked unlikely at this point - they just didn't have the staff, resources and funds to continue to document The Billboard Charts beyond Joel's last book (Top Pop Singles 1990 - 2022)
My greatest hope was that Penske Media Group (who OWNS Billboard Magazine) might step in and save the day ...
Certainly, they would have the staff and the means to continue to document this information ...
But as so many of our readers seemed to agree, the generation that embraced this information probably stopped with Joel's Top Pop Singles, 1955 - 1989 book.
Still, there is SO much more that could be done with all of this information. So I appeal again, one last time ... if ANYBODY from Penske Media would like to contact me regarding preserving this incredible collection, please do so at kk@forgottenhits.com ...
And if you'd like to brainstorm some ideas regarding NEW ways to market this long-standing information, I would love to talk to you about that, too. (kk)
Meanwhile, Record Research still has one hell of a sale running through this weekend..
45% Off your order of $175 or more ...
A GREAT way to fill in your collection before these books disappear for good!
https://www.recordresearch.com/?mc_cid=1bf9ff093c&mc_eid=d5785dc612
60 YEARS AGO TODAY:
11/29/64 – Actor Don Cheadle is born
