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Rating: 
Summary: Outstanding Country Reference
Review: Billboard has been computing the top songs each week for decades and is the industry standard. As such, the 5th edition of "Billboard Top Country" is a welcome addition to the library of any country music fan. This reference book lists alphabetically all artists who have hit the country charts from 1944 to early 2002 - from Jerry Abbott to Gayle Zeiler. For each artist, basic biographical information is cataloged. In addition, all their charted hits are listed in chronological order along with peak country position, weeks on the chart, and the peak pop position (if it charted). The formatting is immaculate, and the text is easy to read despite the incredible amount of information it packs into its 591 pages. Several informative sections make up the remainder of this book. A comprehensive Song Title section includes all charted songs listed in alphabetical order, including remakes. The Top Artists section lists the 400 top country artists (1944-2002) and top artists by decade. In addition, artist achievements are described, such as the artists with the most top 40 hits, most #1 hits, and streaks of hits. Next, a Chart Facts and Feats section lists the top country records of all time and by decade, as well as winners of the major categories of the Country Music Association (CMA) Awards and inductees in the Country Music Hall of Fame. Finally, all #1 hits are listed by year - from "Pistol Packin' Mama" by Bing Crosby & the Andrews Sisters (1944) to "I'm Gonna Miss Her (The Fishin' Song)" by Brad Paisley (2002). This informative book contains tons of information and is a great deal of fun to peruse or to use as a reference. I find myself unable to listen to CDs without it by my side. Whether you like Hank Williams, Shania Twain, George Jones, or Alan Jackson - they're included here. Whether you want to see if George Strait ever won a CMA for best male vocalist (he has 5), what artist was the #1 in the 1950s (Webb Pierce) or who accumulated the most consecutive #1 hits (Alabama - 21), you'll find it all here. Most highly recommended for country music fans.
Rating:
Summary: First-Rate Reference
Review: For decades, Billboard has been computing the top country songs each week and is the industry standard. As such, the 5th edition of "Billboard Top Country" is a welcome addition to the library of any country music fan. This reference book lists alphabetically all artists who have hit the country charts from 1944 to early 2002 - from Jerry Abbott to Gayle Zeiler. For each artist, basic biographical information is cataloged. In addition, all their charted hits are listed in chronological order along with peak country position, weeks on the chart, and the peak pop position (if it charted). The formatting is immaculate, and the text is easy to read despite the incredible amount of information it packs into its 591 pages.
Several informative sections make up the remainder of this book. A comprehensive "Song Title" section includes all charted songs listed in alphabetical order. The "Top Artists" lists the 400 top country artists based on chart hits as well as top artists by decade. In addition, artist achievements are described, such as the artists with the most top 40 hits, most #1 hits, and streaks of hits. Next, a "Chart Facts and Feats" section lists the top country records of each decade and of all time, as well as winners of the major categories of the Country Music Association (CMA) Awards and inductees in the Country Music Hall of Fame. Finally, all #1 hits are listed by year - from "Pistol Packin' Mama" by Bing Crosby & the Andrews Sisters (1944) to "I'm Gonna Miss Her (The Fishin' Song)" by Brad Paisley (2002).
This informative book contains loads of information and is a great deal of fun to peruse or to use as a reference. I find myself unable to listen to my country CDs without this book by my side. Whether you like Hank Williams, Shania Twain, George Jones, or Alan Jackson - they're included here. Whether you want to see if George Strait won a CMA for best male vocalist (he has 5) or which artist was #1 in the 1950s (Webb Pierce) or who accumulated the most consecutive #1 hits (Alabama - 21), you'll find it all here. Most highly recommended for country music fans.
Rating:
Summary: Essential for number nerds like me!
Review: I have very positive things to say about this Whitburn collection. It is my third book by Whitburn, and my favorite yet. I am one of those dorks with an entirely unnecessary, vast knowledge of country music trivia. And I have not found a single mistake in this collection. And I looked.
Whitburn is an incredible asset to Billboard, because he presents their material in the most accessable, user-friendly form possible. I work in radio, and I use this book every single day.
Thank you, Mr. Whitburn, for presenting a resource this useful to me and my colleagues.
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