Year-End Charts Top-Ten Songs Only

[chrislc]

Have any of you guys with Excel and the data done this or have any interest in doing this?

Only songs that made the Top Ten for at least one week - One point for a week at #10, two for a week at #9, no bonus points for #1 but just the ten points.

NO points for weeks spent outside of the Top Ten.

When I see One Hell Of A Woman (#11) earning so many points it drives me crazy. It just doesn't pass the smell test for me. And of course Kris Kristofferson. Who among us was anticipating the end of 1973, excited by the thought that Why Me might be in the Top Ten for the year. Just doesn't pass the smell test.

[vince]

I haven't tried ranking with just the top 10 recently. Some years have less than 100 songs make the top 10. so it may not be possible using that methodology to get a top 100 of the year for some years. It does sound intriguing so may try it soon.

In rankings I did using AT40's 1982 methodology and another using a methodology I developed to estimate BB's 1987 - 1991 methodology (exponential ranking), both "Why Me" and "One Hell of a Woman" came in no where near the top 10 of their respective years. The results of these rankings are posted in the General Music Discussion.

[chrislc]

May 22, 2024 1:36:19 GMT -5 vince said:

I haven't tried ranking with just the top 10 recently. Some years have less than 100 songs make the top 10. so it may not be possible using that methodology to get a top 100 of the year for some years. It does sound intriguing so may try it soon.

In rankings I did using AT40's 1982 methodology and another using a methodology I developed to estimate BB's 1987 - 1991 methodology (exponential ranking), both "Why Me" and "One Hell of a Woman" came in no where near the top 10 of their respective years. The results of these rankings are posted in the General Music Discussion.

Thanks I just found that thread again. I'm sure this seems trivial to a lot of people, but any ranking causes us to form or revise our recollections of which songs were the biggest hits and most important songs. The ranking helps form the conventional wisdom. Why Me must be the quintessential example of this. For anyone under 60 years old right now, they must tend to assume that Why Me was all over Top 40 radio in 1973, and it just WASN'T. The traditional points don't reflect the reality, in my opinion. There are dozens and dozens of songs that we heard so much more often in 1973 but ranked below Why Me on the year-end charts, for Billboard and for AT40. Unless it was a big big hit in some regions and I'm just unaware of it.

[vince]

I ranked the Top 50 of 1970 using just the top 10 positions with no bonus points. It is just reverse rank for the top 10, 10 points for #1, 9 points for #2, down to 1 point for #10. I only did a top 50 because some years did not have 100 make the top 10 and there are a lot ties in the lower positions with no good break to them. Ties are are broke the way BB does it, by random selection by the computer. More Top 50s ranked with this methodology will follow.

For 1970 records peaking from 1/3/70 through 12/26/70 are eligible.

Points Rank POS-TITLE-Artist (Peak Position-Peak Month)
93 1 I'LL BE THERE Jackson 5 (#1, Oct)
89 2 RAINDROPS KEEP FALLIN' ON MY HEAD B. J. Thomas (#1, Jan)
85 3 MY SWEET LORD / ISN'T IT A PITY George Harrison (#1, Dec)
82 4 LET IT BE The Beatles (#1, April)
81 5 (They Long To Be) CLOSE TO YOU The Carpenters (#1, July)
81 6 BRIDGE OVER TROUBLED WATER Simon & Garfunkel (#1, Feb)
79 7 I THINK I LOVE YOU The Partridge Family (#1, Nov)
74 8 MAKE IT WITH YOU Bread (#1, Aug)
70 9 THE TEARS OF A CLOWN Smokey Robinson & the Miracles (#1, Dec)
70 10 ONE LESS BELL TO ANSWER The Fifth Dimension (#2, Dec)
70 11 ABC Jackson 5 (#1, April)
69 12 MAMA TOLD ME (Not To Come) Three Dog Night (#1, July)
65 13 I WANT YOU BACK Jackson 5 (#1, Jan)
64 14 WE'VE ONLY JUST BEGUN The Carpenters (#2, Oct)
63 15 THE LOVE YOU SAVE Jackson 5 (#1, June)
62 16 AIN'T NO MOUNTAIN HIGH ENOUGH Diana Ross (#1, Sept)
62 17 WAR Edwin Starr (#1, Aug)
57 18 AMERICAN WOMAN / NO SUGAR TONIGHT The Guess Who (#1, May)
55 19 VENUS The Shocking Blue (#1, Feb)
54 20 INSTANT KARMA (We All Shine On) John Ono Lennon (#3, March)
51 21 THANK YOU (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin) / EVERYBODY IS A STAR Sly And The Family Stone (#1, Feb)
50 22 CRACKLIN' ROSIE Neil Diamond (#1, Oct)
50 23 SPIRIT IN THE SKY Norman Greenbaum (#3, April)
47 24 FIRE AND RAIN James Taylor (#3, Oct)
46 25 BALL OF CONFUSION (That's What the World Is Today) The Temptations (#3, June)
45 26 BAND OF GOLD Freda Payne (#3, July)
43 27 EVERYTHING IS BEAUTIFUL Ray Stevens (#1, May)
42 28 GREEN-EYED LADY Sugarloaf (#3, Oct)
38 29 IN THE SUMMERTIME Mungo Jerry (#3, Sept)
38 30 THE LONG AND WINDING ROAD / FOR YOU BLUE The Beatles (#1, June)
36 31 LOOKIN' OUT MY BACK DOOR / LONG AS I CAN SEE THE LIGHT Creedence Clearwater Revival (#2, Oct)
36 32 CANDIDA Dawn (#3, Oct)
35 33 WHOLE LOTTA LOVE Led Zeppelin (#4, Jan)
35 34 SPILL THE WINE Eric Burden & War (#3, Aug)
35 35 HEY THERE LONELY GIRL Eddie Holman (#2, Feb)
34 36 SIGNED, SEALED, DELIEVERED I'M YOURS Stevie Wonder (#3, Aug)
34 37 TRAVELIN' BAND / WHO'LL STOP THE RAIN Creedence Clearwater Revival (#2, March)
32 38 THE RAPPER The Jaggerz (#2, March)
32 39 WHICH WAY YOU GOIN' BILLY The Poppy Family Featuring Susan Jacks (#2, June)
31 40 PATCHES Clarence Carter (#4, Sept)
30 41 LOVE GROWS (Where My Rosemary Goes) Edison Lighthouse (#5, March)
30 42 GYPSY WOMAN Brian Hyland (#3, Dec)
30 43 ALL RIGHT NOW Free (#4, Oct)
30 44 LOVE ON A TWO-WAY STREET The Moments (#3, May)
30 45 CECILIA Simon and Garfunkel (#4, May)
28 46 INDIANA WANTS ME R. Dean Taylor (#5, Nov)
28 47 VEHICLE The Ides Of March (#2, May)
26 48 RIDE CAPTAIN RIDE Blues Image (#4, July)
24 49 GET READY Rare Earth (#4, June)
23 50 JULIE, DO YA LOVE ME Bobby Sherman (#5, Sept)

[jgve1952]

May 20, 2024 20:35:08 GMT -5 chrislc said:

Have any of you guys with Excel and the data done this or have any interest in doing this?

Only songs that made the Top Ten for at least one week - One point for a week at #10, two for a week at #9, no bonus points for #1 but just the ten points.

NO points for weeks spent outside of the Top Ten.

When I see One Hell Of A Woman (#11) earning so many points it drives me crazy. It just doesn't pass the smell test for me. And of course Kris Kristofferson. Who among us was anticipating the end of 1973, excited by the thought that Why Me might be in the Top Ten for the year. Just doesn't pass the smell test.

Interesting how both songs Chris mentioned are by major country artists. Some songs take awhile to catch on, especially in different geographic areas. Both songs probably started out in South markets, and finally caught on in other parts of the country. Their longevity should be rewarded guys, not snubbed for not making the Top 10.

[chrislc]

May 25, 2024 16:49:44 GMT -5 vince said:

I ranked the Top 50 of 1970 using just the top 10 positions with no bonus points. It is just reverse rank for the top 10, 10 points for #1, 9 points for #2, down to 1 point for #10. I only did a top top because some years did not have 100 make the top 10 and there are a lot ties in the lower positions with no good break to them. Ties are are broke the way BB does it, by random selection by the computer. More Top 50s ranked with this methodology will follow.

For 1970 records peaking from 1/3/70 through 12/26/70 are eligible.

Points Rank POS-TITLE-Artist (Peak Position-Peak Month)
93 1 I'LL BE THERE Jackson 5 (#1, Oct)
89 2 RAINDROPS KEEP FALLIN' ON MY HEAD B. J. Thomas (#1, Jan)
85 3 MY SWEET LORD / ISN'T IT A PITY George Harrison (#1, Dec)
82 4 LET IT BE The Beatles (#1, April)
81 5 (They Long To Be) CLOSE TO YOU The Carpenters (#1, July)
81 6 BRIDGE OVER TROUBLED WATER Simon & Garfunkel (#1, Feb)
79 7 I THINK I LOVE YOU The Partridge Family (#1, Nov)
74 8 MAKE IT WITH YOU Bread (#1, Aug)
70 9 THE TEARS OF A CLOWN Smokey Robinson & the Miracles (#1, Dec)
70 10 ONE LESS BELL TO ANSWER The Fifth Dimension (#2, Dec)
70 11 ABC Jackson 5 (#1, April)
69 12 MAMA TOLD ME (Not To Come) Three Dog Night (#1, July)
65 13 I WANT YOU BACK Jackson 5 (#1, Jan)
64 14 WE'VE ONLY JUST BEGUN The Carpenters (#2, Oct)
63 15 THE LOVE YOU SAVE Jackson 5 (#1, June)
62 16 AIN'T NO MOUNTAIN HIGH ENOUGH Diana Ross (#1, Sept)
62 17 WAR Edwin Starr (#1, Aug)
57 18 AMERICAN WOMAN / NO SUGAR TONIGHT The Guess Who (#1, May)
55 19 VENUS The Shocking Blue (#1, Feb)
54 20 INSTANT KARMA (We All Shine On) John Ono Lennon (#3, March)
51 21 THANK YOU (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin) / EVERYBODY IS A STAR Sly And The Family Stone (#1, Feb)
50 22 CRACKLIN' ROSIE Neil Diamond (#1, Oct)
50 23 SPIRIT IN THE SKY Norman Greenbaum (#3, April)
47 24 FIRE AND RAIN James Taylor (#3, Oct)
46 25 BALL OF CONFUSION (That's What the World Is Today) The Temptations (#3, June)
45 26 BAND OF GOLD Freda Payne (#3, July)
43 27 EVERYTHING IS BEAUTIFUL Ray Stevens (#1, May)
42 28 GREEN-EYED LADY Sugarloaf (#3, Oct)
38 29 IN THE SUMMERTIME Mungo Jerry (#3, Sept)
38 30 THE LONG AND WINDING ROAD / FOR YOU BLUE The Beatles (#1, June)
36 31 LOOKIN' OUT MY BACK DOOR / LONG AS I CAN SEE THE LIGHT Creedence Clearwater Revival (#2, Oct)
36 32 CANDIDA Dawn (#3, Oct)
35 33 WHOLE LOTTA LOVE Led Zeppelin (#4, Jan)
35 34 SPILL THE WINE Eric Burden & War (#3, Aug)
35 35 HEY THERE LONELY GIRL Eddie Holman (#2, Feb)
34 36 SIGNED, SEALED, DELIEVERED I'M YOURS Stevie Wonder (#3, Aug)
34 37 TRAVELIN' BAND / WHO'LL STOP THE RAIN Creedence Clearwater Revival (#2, March)
32 38 THE RAPPER The Jaggerz (#2, March)
32 39 WHICH WAY YOU GOIN' BILLY The Poppy Family Featuring Susan Jacks (#2, June)
31 40 PATCHES Clarence Carter (#4, Sept)
30 41 LOVE GROWS (Where My Rosemary Goes) Edison Lighthouse (#5, March)
30 42 GYPSY WOMAN Brian Hyland (#3, Dec)
30 43 ALL RIGHT NOW Free (#4, Oct)
30 44 LOVE ON A TWO-WAY STREET The Moments (#3, May)
30 45 CECILIA Simon and Garfunkel (#4, May)
28 46 INDIANA WANTS ME R. Dean Taylor (#5, Nov)
28 47 VEHICLE The Ides Of March (#2, May)
26 48 RIDE CAPTAIN RIDE Blues Image (#4, July)
24 49 GET READY Rare Earth (#4, June)
23 50 JULIE, DO YA LOVE ME Bobby Sherman (#5, Sept)

Looks like HITCHIN' A RIDE is the big loser here - from Billboard Top 100 #14 to out of the Top 50. GET READY fell 41 notches. I'm not sure how I feel about which method is more accurate, for one reason, it's been 54 years, another reason is I only heard NYC radio at the time, and maybe most of all, I think our brains are conditioned by the data we have seen and heard through the years. It becomes conventional wisdom. History is written by the victors, or something like that. Thank you for doing this, Vince!

PS IN THE SUMMERTIME picked up 24 notches from #53 to #29. There were mutliple hits peaking later than September that picked up more but that's partly a cutoff thing. I'LL BE THERE was, remarkably, #7 on the Billboard Top 100 which is amazing considering it peaked in October. A monster hit. Contrast that with WE'VE ONLY JUST BEGUN, one week earlier to debut in the Hot 100, all the way down at #65 for the year, but only seven notches lower than I'LL BE THERE, here. EDIT Oops make that 13 notches but still a lot closer than on the Billboard Top 100.

[chrislc]

Vince, if you ever feel like doing 1965, I think that would be interesting. Seeing in Whitburn's Top Pop Annual (I think?) for decades that MRS BROWN YOU'VE GOT A LOVELY DAUGHTER ranked so much higher than CANT YOU HEAR MY HEARTBEAT conditioned me to believe that MRS BROWN was a much bigger hit, but that was based purely on #1 and multiple weeks at #1. I think Billboard and AT40 and all of us are on the same page regarding a points system to be more reflective of reality, but the question might be - which points system?

And of course we all have slightly or very different "realities" because of where we lived and what we listened to, but I guess there's an agreement that this is going for the largest possible sample size of those factors.

And it's not just sales and not just airplay but both of those things. Our personal experiences were much more about airplay since we weren't in the music business. I guess that's where R&R comes in.

[djjoe1960]

There is a guy, Adam Reader, known at the Professor of Rock on YouTube that looks at a weekly Billboard Top 10 and then re-ranks the songs based on the number of streams a song has received over the last 20 years or so. It leads to some interesting ways to see how people have streamed songs from a certain week. He has mostly done weeks from the 1980's, and a few from the 1970's.

I wonder if we could re-rank songs from a certain year to come with a new Top 100 based on the same streaming criteria.

[vince]

Here is the Top 50 of 1971. Records peaking from 1/2/71 through 12/25/71 are eligible.

Points Rank POS-TITLE-Artist (Peak Position-Peak Month)
95 1 JOY TO THE WORLD Three Dog Night (#1, April)
87 2 MAGGIE MAY / REASON TO BELIEVE Rod Stewart (#1, Oct)
83 3 KNOCK THREE TIMES Dawn (#1, Jan)
78 4 IT'S TOO LATE / I FEEL THE EARTH MOVE Carole King (#1, June)
78 5 BRAND NEW KEY Melanie (#1, Dec)
71 6 INDIAN RESEVATION (The Lament Of the Cherokee Resevation Indian) The Raiders (#1, July)
70 7 ONE BAD APPLE The Osmonds (#1 Feb)
70 8 FAMILY AFFAIR Sly and The Family Stone (#1, Dec)
69 9 THEME FROM "SHAFT" Isaac Hayes (#1, Nov)
66 10 HOW CAN YOU MEND A BROKEN HEART The Bee Gees (#1, Aug)
65 11 GO AWAY LITTLE GIRL Donny Osmond (#1, Sept)
65 12 JUST MY IMAGINATION (Running Away With Me) The Temptations (#1, April)
65 13 GYPSIES, TRAMPS AND THIEVES Cher (#1, Nov)
58 14 BROWN SUGAR The Rolling Stones (#1, May)
56 15 ME AND BOBBY MCGEE Janis Joplin (#1, March)
54 16 YOU'VE GOT A FRIEND James Taylor (#1, July)
54 17 WANT ADS The Honey Cone (#1, June)
53 18 MR. BIG STUFF Jean Knight (#2, Aug)
53 19 NEVER CAN SAY GOODBYE The Jackson Five (#2, May)
52 20 WHAT'S GOING ON Marvin Gaye (#2, April)
51 21 25 SHE'S A LADY Tom Jones (#2, March)
50 22 PUT YOUR HAND IN THE HAND Ocean (#2, May)
50 23 RAINY DAYS AND MONDAYS The Carpenters (#2, June)
49 24 HAVE YOU SEEN HER The Chi-Lites (#3, Dec)
49 25 SUPERSTAR The Carpenters (#2, Oct)
44 26 YO-YO The Osmonds (#3, Oct)
42 27 BLACK MAGIC WOMAN Santana (#4, Jan)
42 28 THE NIGHT THEY DROVE OLD DIXIE DOWN Joan Baez (#3, Oct)
42 29 TAKE ME HOME, COUNTRY ROADS John Denver with Fat City (#2, Aug)
41 30 TREAT HER LIKE A LADY Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose (#3, July)
40 31 UNCLE ALBERT / ADMIRAL HALSEY Paul & Linda McCartney (#1, Sept)
40 32 FOR ALL WE KNOW The Carpenters (#3, March)
37 33 ROSE GARDEN Lynn Anderson (#3 ,Feb)
37 34 SPANISH HARLEM Aretha Franklin (#2, Sept)
37 35 AIN'T NO SUNSHINE Bill Withers (#3, Sept)
36 36 LONELY DAYS The Bee Gees (#3, Jan)
34 37 IT DON'T COME EASY Ringo Starr (#4, June)
34 38 IMAGINE John Lennon (#3, Nov)
33 39 DON'T PUL YOUR LOVE Hamilton, Joe Frank and Reynolds (#4, July)
32 40 BABY I'M - A WANT YOU Bread (#3, Nov)
31 41 SMILING FACES SOMETIMES The Undisputed Truth (#3, Sept)
31 42 AN OLD FASIONED LOVE SONG Three Dog Night (#4, Dec)
29 43 MAMA'S PEARL The Jackson Five (#2, Feb)
28 44 I HEAR YOU KNOCKING Dave Edmunds (#4, Feb)
28 45 DRAGGIN' THE LINE Tommy James (#4, Aug)
25 46 GROOVE ME King Floyd (#6 Jan)
23 47 PROUD MARY Ike and Tina Turner (#4 March)
23 48 IF Bread (#4, May)
20 49 DOESN'T SOMEBODY WANT TO BE WANTED The Partridge Family (#6, March)
20 50 IF YOU COULD READ MY MIND Gordon Lightfoot (#5, Feb)

[vince]

May 26, 2024 15:15:52 GMT -5 chrislc said:

Vince, if you ever feel like doing 1965, I think that would be interesting. Seeing in Whitburn's Top Pop Annual (I think?) for decades that MRS BROWN YOU'VE GOT A LOVELY DAUGHTER ranked so much higher than CANT YOU HEAR MY HEARTBEAT conditioned me to believe that MRS BROWN was a much bigger hit, but that was based purely on #1 and multiple weeks at #1. I think Billboard and AT40 and all of us are on the same page regarding a points system to be more reflective of reality, but the question might be - which points system?

And of course we all have slightly or very different "realities" because of where we lived and what we listened to, but I guess there's an agreement that this is going for the largest possible sample size of those factors.

And it's not just sales and not just airplay but both of those things. Our personal experiences were much more about airplay since we weren't in the music business. I guess that's where R&R comes in.

I'll do the 60s after I finish posting the 70s.

[vince]

May 26, 2024 15:31:16 GMT -5 djjoe1960 said:

There is a guy, Adam Reader, known at the Professor of Rock on YouTube that looks at a weekly Billboard Top 10 and then re-ranks the songs based on the number of streams a song has received over the last 20 years or so. It leads to some interesting ways to see how people have streamed songs from a certain week. He has mostly done weeks from the 1980's, and a few from the 1970's.

I wonder if we could re-rank songs from a certain year to come with a new Top 100 based on the same streaming criteria.

It would be interesting, but it would be more a ranking of how popular the song is now or how well it held up, as opposed how popular it was when it was a hit. I doubt streaming data goes back to the 1960s.

[chrislc]

May 26, 2024 16:45:23 GMT -5 vince said:

May 26, 2024 15:31:16 GMT -5 djjoe1960 said:

There is a guy, Adam Reader, known at the Professor of Rock on YouTube that looks at a weekly Billboard Top 10 and then re-ranks the songs based on the number of streams a song has received over the last 20 years or so. It leads to some interesting ways to see how people have streamed songs from a certain week. He has mostly done weeks from the 1980's, and a few from the 1970's.

I wonder if we could re-rank songs from a certain year to come with a new Top 100 based on the same streaming criteria.

It would be interesting, but it would be more a ranking of how popular the song is now or how well it held up, as opposed how popular it was when it was a hit. I doubt streaming data goes back to the 1960s.

Oh man this stuff is in my wheelhouse. I had a thread a year or so ago on the AT40 forum where I researched YouTube hits for various Top 40s, to see which songs had the most staying power popularity all these years later. I think I may now know why Sacrifice was such a dominating #1 for Elton John in YouTube hits. Sacrifice was used as part of a recent mashup/medley/whatever by some newer artist.

And by "recent" and "newer" I mean anything post-mid 80s.

[OnWithTheCountdown]

May 26, 2024 17:36:34 GMT -5 chrislc said:

May 26, 2024 16:45:23 GMT -5 vince said:

It would be interesting, but it would be more a ranking of how popular the song is now or how well it held up, as opposed how popular it was when it was a hit. I doubt streaming data goes back to the 1960s.

Oh man this stuff is in my wheelhouse. I had a thread a year or so ago on the AT40 forum where I researched YouTube hits for various Top 40s, to see which songs had the most staying power popularity all these years later. I think I may now know why Sacrifice was such a dominating #1 for Elton John in YouTube hits. Sacrifice was used as part of a recent mashup/medley/whatever by some newer artist.

And by "recent" and "newer" I mean anything post-mid 80s.

It was by an Australian dance music trio named Pnau, and they did a phenomenal job. The mashup was titled "Cold Heart", released in August 2021. It'd later go top 10 on AT40. Adding current pop artist Dua Lipa was a magic touch as well, singing the chorus to "Rocket Man" as part of the chorus. One of my favorite songs from late 2021-early 2022.

[djjoe1960]

May 26, 2024 16:45:23 GMT -5 vince said:

May 26, 2024 15:31:16 GMT -5 djjoe1960 said:

There is a guy, Adam Reader, known at the Professor of Rock on YouTube that looks at a weekly Billboard Top 10 and then re-ranks the songs based on the number of streams a song has received over the last 20 years or so. It leads to some interesting ways to see how people have streamed songs from a certain week. He has mostly done weeks from the 1980's, and a few from the 1970's.

I wonder if we could re-rank songs from a certain year to come with a new Top 100 based on the same streaming criteria.

It would be interesting, but it would be more a ranking of how popular the song is now or how well it held up, as opposed how popular it was when it was a hit. I doubt streaming data goes back to the 1960s.

Naturally, streaming does not go back to the 1960's--however, the most downloaded and streamed Beatles song is Here Come The Sun. Although according to Spotify, two other songs from the 1960's have been played more often--Ain't No Mountain High Enough (Marvin Gaye/Tammi Terrell) and Fortunate Son by CCR. 

So, yes it would be more a reflection as to what older songs are still popular today. 

[dukelightning]

It's "Fortunate Son" that is the B side of "Down on the Corner".