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Summary: another Whitburn must-have
Review: this book lists EVERY SINGLE ARTIST to ever have a single rank in the Pop Top-40 from 1955-2000. all artists Top-40 singles are listed, their Top-10 hits are in BOLD print. also, below each song are peaks on other charts such as Airplay #3; Sales #8...or if a single reached #1 on another chart, it's also noted: example, "It's a Miracle" by Barry Manilow hit #12 pop and under the title it shows that it hit #1 on the Adult-Contemporary chart for 1 week. Like his country chart books, the pop one also contains record holders and single achievements in the back pages. Because pop music is FULL of one-hit wonders {just look at the '60s and all those R&B groups who were coming and going}, the book is larger than the country one, where artists are given a bit more loyalty/longevity. it's a wonderful look at pop music from 1955-2000 and Whitburn also includes singles that hit the Top-40 on the Sales and Airplay charts for artists but didn't make the Hot 100's Top-40. Example: a single by Amy Grant might not have made the Top-40 of the Hot 100 but it MAY have made the Top-40 of the Sales chart. if so, THAT single is listed as a Top-40 hit with an "S" beside the chart peak to let a reader know the Top-40 peak was from the Sales chart. if you want to go further than the start of the "rock era", Whitburn also has a chart book on Pop Standards {singles prior to 1955} that's also a must-have. i don't have that one...but given his track record, it should be done in loving authority.
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Summary: A COMPLETE REFERENCE GUIDE FOR THE MOBILE D.J.
Review: 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.
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Summary: Super book for anyone serious about info on charted music.
Review: This book, as well as Top 40 Country Hits, are essential for anyone in radio or multi-format disc jockey businesses. I own a disc jockey business and these 2 books are like bibles. Just wished they'd get updated yearly or every other year.
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Summary: Very Good Book - But it's NOT a book of Charts
Review: This is a very good book, but even though the subtitle is "Complete Chart Information..." there are no charts inside. I was looking for a collection of Billboard charts, month to month, through the years. So, if that is what you are looking for too, that's not this animal.
Ultimately, the way the info is arranged here is MORE useful, listing each artist alphabetically, followed by every song they charted. So, I will still appreciate the info, but I wanted to post this in case anyone else was looking for a completely chronological guide.
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Summary: Indispensable
Review: This is an absolute MUST HAVE for anyone who's downloading music. With all the mislabeled files out there, this book is the definitive source.
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Summary: Fantastic Music Hits Reference
Review: This is an essential reference for the music fan. My review regards the 6th edition of the book (I write this knowing the 7th edition is the most current). I own the first edition, released around 1983. As much as I loved the first edition (adding that my interest in top hits after about 1986 has dwindled), I have gotten so much out of this 6th edition. What has been added, besides hits from 1983 - 1995, is an incredible amount of information about the various artists. The biographies, which in the first edition were practically non-existent, are now teeming with information. Also, some interesting footnotes on songs have been added since the first edition. I have one major beef: my copy had bad glue, and almost all of the pages are falling out! Hopefully, that's not your experience. I would highly recommend the 7th edition.
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Summary: Definitive guide to US hit singles
Review: This is THE definitive guide to US Top 40 singles and is one of the very few sources of this kind of detailed information from the birth of rock and pop music from its origins in the mid 50s to the present (particularly here in England where it's only available as an import). If I have a criticism, it's that the current edition was published in 1996 and only covers singles up to the end of 1995, As such, it's well overdue an update!
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Summary: Great for D.J's, fans and music historians
Review: This is the kind of book you should get if you wanna know everything about your favorite artists, it has a summarized bio of each singer/group who came to be on the Top 40 Billboard list. Also has a very useful alphabetical song list and a lot of singles/LP graphics. It's a bible for when it comes to music.
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Summary: An excellent guide to help you in your music buying.
Review: 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. :)
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Summary: Hey, Reader from Columbus!
Review: To answer a previous reviewer's question, the reason Stevie Nicks is not identified as having a duet credit on Kenny Loggins' "Whenever I Call You Friend" is because she wasn't credited on the label. Joel Whitburn is a stubborn stickler to accurate detail. Stevie's contribution is probably credited as a footnote, but in the pre-Puffy days, not everyone who walked by the studio got a credit on singles. Similarly, Elton John is not officially credited on "Bad Blood", or Odia Coates on "Having My Baby", or Thomas Dolby on "Urgent". There's a reason why this book is considered the Bible of chart information. It's as accurate as is humanly possible.
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