How long did the Hot 100 go with no debuts at #100?

[bandit73]

I remember that for a long time in the 1980s, there were no debuts at #100. Finally, around 1989, a song entered at #100, and Billboard had a small article saying this was the first time in something like 8 or 9 years they had a debut at #100.

I'm sure this was because they had a rule saying a song couldn't chart until a certain number of stations played it. But how long did this last?

[donwa001]

It was an 11 year gap. "Discomania" - Lovers debuted at #100 on 5/14/77. "Only A Memory" - The Smithereens debuted at #100 on 5/21/88.

[OnWithTheCountdown]

While #40 doesn't have nearly that kind of gap, it's usually the opposite scenario in terms of the countdown; a debut song. It's not often a song descends to #40, at least in the 70s and 80s shows.

[jgve1952]

Probably the most noteworthy song that dropped to #40 was the #1 hit of 1978 "Shadow Dancing."