Measuring the Popularity of Early Recordings in the United States

Popular music in North America embraces all variety of relevance from what is actually popular at the time to the bin in which you'd look for something not easily classified, thus slipped into the "general" category for want of any other bin to put it in. For the purposes of this history I refer to popular music in the United States largely within the framework of the advent of recording (cylinders) onward, leaving what may have been popular in earlier periods to what relevant mentions. But just how popular were "popular" recordings? Charts like the "Top Ten" and "Top Forty" are conveniences coming with caveats, especially during the acoustic and electric eras preceding magnetic tape. Though charting by one method or another quickly followed upon cylinder recording becoming popular in the 19th century, such are obscure and likely owned prejudice for commercial reasons such as the advertising that came with them. Nor did any national chart exist before 1936, meaning a long gray period of estimations.

The major thermometer of musical popularity with which most are acquainted in the United States was founded in 1894. Originally producing posters as an advertising firm, 'Billboard Advertising' announced all variety of live entertainment from carnivals and circuses to minstrels and vaudeville. Billboard began charting sheet music sales upon the issue of its first paper (to become a magazine) on Nov 1 of 1894. Its cost was a dime. Music VF (US/UK Rock VF 1965>) and TsorT begin their charts in 1900, the year Billboard became a weekly rather than monthly publication. Again, there was no national chart at the time, though about 3 million records in all were sold that year. Billboard began to cover silent film in 1909 and radio in the twenties. With the rise of the jukebox in the thirties Billboard began to chart songs. It published its first 'Hit Parade" in 1936. Bing Crosby's 'Pennies from Heaven' being the highest-selling release that year. Another important date along Billboard's road was its 'Best Selling Records Chart' first issued on 27 July 1940. Billboard's first three categories would be Pop, Rhythm & Blues and Country & Western. Its Top 100 list of 12 Nov 1955 transformed to the Hot 100 on 4 August 1958. Billboard also rated films, television later in the fifties, and currently charts streaming.

The Top 40 standard format had been introduced by Todd Storz, owner of a chain of radio stations, in 1951. Another major charting company was Music Vendor as of 1946, to become Record World in 1964. There is also Cashbox as of 1952. Other online charts including global at Kluss, Music VF France and TsorT. View jazz charts at JazzStandards.

Reflecting on the difficulty of charting recordings prior to Billboard is collector, Joel Whitburn's, ambitious volume titled 'Pop Memories 1890-1954' published by Record Research Inc. in 1986. The next year on 13 July historian, Tim Brooks, published his review, 'A Discographic Deception' in which he raised doubts as to Whitburn's methods of culling information. Despite Brooks' firm contention that much of 'Pop Memories' is more fabricated than actual data, Whitburn remains the reliant authority in early charting, employed by JazzStandards, Music VF, TsorT and Wikipedia.