Low year ending rankings for #1 songs

[dukelightning]

Yes and in the survey year. I was told that Billboard goofed when it came to tabulating the chart points for that song. And that it should have been in the top 100 of the year.

[dth1971]

"Breathe" by Faith Hill was the #1 song of 2000 according to Billboard without hitting #1 at all? The same 2000 year for AT40's year end countdown using R&R sources the #1 song of 2000 was "Everything You Want" by Vertical Horizon which never made #1 on AT40 nor R&R at all (And a year later "Hanging By a Moment" by Lighthouse was the #1 song of 2001 without hitting #1 on AT40 nor R&R at all).

[johnnywest]

Apr 14, 2011 8:15:27 GMT -5 dukelightning said:

Replying to the last 2 posts....did not know that about 1968. I got one question for Billboard. Are you guys having double standards? Why would you do that for Hey Jude but not for You Light Up My Life? And for those that do not know, while AT40 compiled their own top 100 of 1977 with I Just Want.... at #1, Billboard's top 100 of 1977 had Tonight's the Night at #1. If you do it once, you really need to do every time such a situation exists. BTW, how bizarre is that, Tonight's the Night did end up being #1 for the year whereas You Light Up My Life (#3 in 1978) did not in any year.
As to how those other charts were complied (by Fred Bronson not by me), yes it was the inverse system that you alluded to and it applied to the entire HOT 100. Plus 50 bonus points were awarded for every week that a song was #1.
Here now are all the #1 songs of the year for the rock era until Soundscan started since I am sure some of you are curious.
1956...Don't Be Cruel/Hound Dog
1957...Love Letters in the Sand
1958...It's All in the Game
1959...Mack the Knife
1960...Theme from "A Summer Place"
1961...Tossin and Turnin'
1962...The Twist (was #6 in 1960)
1963...Sugar Shack
1964...I Want to Hold your Hand
1965...Satisfaction
1966...I'm a Believer
1967...To Sir With Love
1968...Hey Jude
1969...Aquarius/Let the Sun Shine In
1970...Raindrops Keep Falling on my Head
1971...Maggie May/Reason to Believe
1972...American Pie (sorry bestmusicexpert)
1973...Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak tree
1974...The Way We Were
1975...Rhinestone Cowboy
1976...Tonight's the Night
1977...You Light Up My Life
1978...Le Freak (#2 Shadow Dancing, 3 Stayin Alive, 4 Night Fever)
1979...Hot Stuff (#2 YMCA, the highest ever non #1 song)
1980...Another One Bites the Dust
1981...Physical (#2 Bette Davis Eyes, 3 Endless Love)
1982...Eye of the Tiger
1983...Every Breath You Take
1984...When Doves Cry
1985...Careless Whisper
1986...That's What Friends are For
1987...Faith
1988...Need You Tonight
1989...Another Day in Paradise
1990...Love Takes Time
1991...Everything I Do

Both the Beatles and Rod Stewart snared 2 #1 songs of the year

Are you sure that 1969 is correct? I always thought it was “Sugar Sugar.”

[Mike]

Dec 30, 2023 10:17:27 GMT -5 johnnywest said:

Are you sure that 1969 is correct? I always thought it was “Sugar Sugar.”

That's from one of the chart books, I believe, as opposed to the regularly-published year-end chart.

[dukelightning]

Dec 30, 2023 11:23:08 GMT -5 Mike said:

Dec 30, 2023 10:17:27 GMT -5 johnnywest said:

Are you sure that 1969 is correct? I always thought it was “Sugar Sugar.”

That's from one of the chart books, I believe, as opposed to the regularly-published year-end chart.

Sugar came in at #2 according to Billboard's Hottest Hot 100 Hits.

[mga707]

Dec 30, 2023 14:43:39 GMT -5 dukelightning said:

Dec 30, 2023 11:23:08 GMT -5 Mike said:

That's from one of the chart books, I believe, as opposed to the regularly-published year-end chart.

Sugar came in at #2 according to Billboard's Hottest Hot 100 Hits.

That is odd, as 'Sugar, Sugar was the #1 pop single of the year, according to Billboard's own chart.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billboard_Year-End_Hot_100_singles_of_1969

[dukelightning]

Here's the way the rankings were compiled. 'Every week that a song was #1, it was assigned 100 points. Each week that it was #2, it received 99 points and so on, down the chart. 50 bonus points were awarded for each additional week a hit was #1'. Not sure how Billboard compiled their list. But "Aquarius/Let the Sun Shine In" would have gotten 100 more bonus points than "Sugar Sugar" due to its 2 more weeks at #1. That may have been the difference to get to #1 according to Fred Bronson, the book's author.

[mga707]

Dec 30, 2023 15:43:17 GMT -5 dukelightning said:

Here's the way the rankings were compiled. 'Every week that a song was #1, it was assigned 100 points. Each week that it was #2, it received 99 points and so on, down the chart. 50 bonus points were awarded for each additional week a hit was #1'. Not sure how Billboard compiled their list. But "Aquarius/Let the Sun Shine In" would have gotten 100 more bonus points than "Sugar Sugar" due to its 2 more weeks at #1. That may have been the difference to get to #1 according to Fred Bronson, the book's author.

I don't think that Billboard's compilation method cared whether a song hit #1 or not, nor for how long. Four years earlier Billboard had ranked "Wooly Bully" as the #1 song of 1965 even though it peaked at #2 on the Hot 100.

[dukelightning]

Bronson had Wooly at #4. I think he favors #1 hits in his point system. By the way, "Can't Get Enough of Your Love, Babe" at #83 and "Whatever Gets You Through the Night" at 84 easily made the top 100 according to Bronson, the latter the lowest #1 hit in any year.

[vince]

Fred Bronson's methodology only counts weeks in the top 30. "Sugar Sugar" only had one more week in the top 30 than "Aquarius", so with the #1 bonus points "Aquarius" beats out "Sugar". Billboard's methodology, which was reverse rank with no bonus points in 1969, counts all weeks on the Hot 100 during the survey period. "Sugar" had a longer chart run than "Aquarius", so "Sugar" racked up more points.