Post by 80sat40fan on Oct 6, 2013 20:04:21 GMT -5
In listening to the rebroadcast of the 10/12/74 show with 8 debuts, I checked out the Top 40 charts surronding this show. From 10/5/74 until 12/7/74, there were 62 debuts in 10 weeks! If you include the rest of December, there were 76 debuts during October, November and December. Meanwhile, there were 16 debuts during the month of September. In addition, starting in late September, many songs only logged one week at #1 before dropping, and many #1s during late 1974 and a good part of 1975 would drop out of the Top 5 or even the Top 10 the next week.
Did Billboard change its way of tabulating record play and/or sales around this time and if so, what changed? It seems strange that so many songs would enter the Top 40 in such a short period of time. In some ways, it made for unpredictablility which is great, but at the same time, I wonder if some songs could have become bigger hits if they could have been given more time to prove themselves.
Some classic songs around this time had good peaks on the chart but they didn't last long, like "Skin Tight" by The Ohio Players peaking at #13, yet only spending 7 weeks in the Top 40. One song, "Touch Me" by Fancy, peaked at #19 yet only spent 4 weeks in the Top 40, charting 31 - 25 - 19 - 19 - out of the Top 40 - out of the Hot 100. Because Premiere has yet to play any show from 11/9/74 to 12/7/74, we haven't heard this song played on AT40, yet it peaked in the Top 20.
I find certains times of Billboard charts to be fascinating to review, and late 1974 into 1975 is one of those eras. It's amazing how quickly songs moved up and down the charts during this time, only to see the chart slow down significantly around the start of 1976 with fewer debuts and smaller moves up the chart. That's what makes listening to these shows fun... being able to see the chart action around these times.
I was 7 years old in 1974 so I don't know if anything was going on with the charts around this time so if anyone knows how, if at all, the chart methodlogy changed in late 1974, any info is most welcome. Thanks!
Did Billboard change its way of tabulating record play and/or sales around this time and if so, what changed? It seems strange that so many songs would enter the Top 40 in such a short period of time. In some ways, it made for unpredictablility which is great, but at the same time, I wonder if some songs could have become bigger hits if they could have been given more time to prove themselves.
Some classic songs around this time had good peaks on the chart but they didn't last long, like "Skin Tight" by The Ohio Players peaking at #13, yet only spending 7 weeks in the Top 40. One song, "Touch Me" by Fancy, peaked at #19 yet only spent 4 weeks in the Top 40, charting 31 - 25 - 19 - 19 - out of the Top 40 - out of the Hot 100. Because Premiere has yet to play any show from 11/9/74 to 12/7/74, we haven't heard this song played on AT40, yet it peaked in the Top 20.
I find certains times of Billboard charts to be fascinating to review, and late 1974 into 1975 is one of those eras. It's amazing how quickly songs moved up and down the charts during this time, only to see the chart slow down significantly around the start of 1976 with fewer debuts and smaller moves up the chart. That's what makes listening to these shows fun... being able to see the chart action around these times.
I was 7 years old in 1974 so I don't know if anything was going on with the charts around this time so if anyone knows how, if at all, the chart methodlogy changed in late 1974, any info is most welcome. Thanks!
