The Billboard Book of Number One Hits

From School Library Journal
YA Songs which reached number one on the Billboard charts between July 1955 (Rock Around the Clock) and April 1985 (We Are the World) are covered. One page is devoted to each song, with a black-and-white photograph of the performer(s) (the same picture of the Bee Gees is used several times in different sizes and cropped differently), a short history of the song and performer(s) and a list of the top five songs for the week(s) it was number one. A "top 40" history of rock and pop during the last 30 years, not as complete as other rock encyclopedias or histories, but still useful as a supplement and a fun browsing item.Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
All 605 singles to reach the top spot on Billboard 's pop charts during the rock era are profiled in this handsome reference work. Coverage begins July 9, 1955 with Bill Haley's ``Rock Around the Clock'' and ends April 13, 1985 with USA for Africa's ``We Are the World.'' Each full-page entry includes a picture of the artist(s) and lists label number, songwriter(s), producer(s), date first reached number one, weeks at top, and the top five hits for that first week. The accompanying essays give important background information on the songs and artists. Norm N. Nite's Rock On books are more comprehensive but not as detailed on the top hits and hitmakers as Bronson. Suitable for all but the smallest libraries and highly recommended as a worthy companion to Joel Whitburn's The Billboard Book of Top Forty Hits ( LJ 11/15/83). Thomas Jewell, Waltham P.L., Mass.Copyright 1985 Reed Business Information, Inc.


Book Description
Before MTV and VH1, before books with "Stories Behind the Songs" of popular recording artists, there were Fred Bronson's stories behind the top chart hits. Now in its 5th Edition, The Billboard Book of Number One Hits - revised, expanded, and completely updated - once again provides the inside scoop behind every song to reach the pinnacle of the best-known, most respected record chart in the world, Billboard's Hot 100. The ultimate music reference source for all pop music fans, the book offers a behind-the-scenes look at the creation of every song to reach the top of the chart since 1955. Entries include interesting anecdotes from the artists, songwriters, producers, and label executives responsible for creating the hit, as well as a brief history of the song in relation to the artist's career, plus the record label and number, the songwriter and producer, and the chart entry date, chart entry position, date the song reached the number one position, and the number of weeks on the chart. Also included with each entry is a listing of the top five hits the week that each song reached the top spot, as well as pop appendices such as "Debuts at Number One," "The Biggest Jumps to Number One," "The Biggest Falls from Number One," "The Most Number Ones," "The Most Weeks at Number One," and "The Longest Chart Spans of Number One Songs." Among the artists interviewed in the new edition are Clay Aiken, Ashanti, Brandy, Mary J. Blige, Mariah Carey, Nelly Clarkson, Alicia Keys, Beyonce Knowles, Enrique Iglesias, Ja Rule, Shaggy, Britney Spears, and Usher. Incomparable and invaluable, the book the New York Times called a "treasure trove of pop lore" just got better.


About the Author
Fred Bronson has been called "America's foremost chart journalist." He writes the popular "Chart Beat" column in Billboard magazine, as well as his own chart-oriented section of Billboard.com. The author of Billboard's Hottest Hot 100 Hits, now in its 3rd edition, he lives in Los Angeles.


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YA Songs which reached number one on the Billboard charts between July 1955 (Rock Around the Clock) and April 1985 (We Are the World) are covered. One page is devoted to each song, with a black-and-white photograph of the performer(s) (the same picture of the Bee Gees is used several times in different sizes and cropped differently), a short history of the song and performer(s) and a list of the top five songs for the week(s) it was number one. A ``top 40'' history of rock and pop during the last 30 years, not as complete as other rock encyclopedias or histories, but still useful as a supplement and a fun browsing item.


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