The Essential Reference Guide to America’s Most Popular Songs and Artists Spanning More than Fifty Years of Music Beginning with Bill Haley & His Comets’ seminal “Rock Around the Clock” all the way up to Lady Gaga and her glammed-out “Poker face,” this updated and unparalleled resource contains the most complete chart information on every artist and song to hit Billboard’s Top 40 pop singles chart all the way back to 1955. Inside, you’ll find all of the biggest-selling, most-played hits for the past six decades. Each alphabetized artist entry includes biographical info, the date their single reached the Top 40, the song’s highest position, and the number of weeks on the charts, as well as the original record label and catalog number. Other sections—such as “Record Holders,” “Top Artists by Decade,” and “#1 Singles 1955-2009”—make The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits the handiest and most indispensable music reference for record collectors, trivia enthusiasts, industry professionals and pop music fans alike. Did you know? • Beyoncé’s 2003 hit “Crazy in Love” spent 24 weeks in the Top 40 and eight of them in the #1 spot. • Billy Idol has had a total of nine Top 40 hits over his career, the last being “Cradle of Love” in 1990. • Of Madonna’s twelve #1 hits, her 1994 single “Take a Bow” held the spot the longest, for seven weeks—one week longer than her 1984 smash “Like a Virgin.” • Marvin Gaye’s song “Sexual Healing” spent 15 weeks at #3 in 1982, while the same song was #1 on the R&B chart for 10 weeks. • Male vocal group Boyz II Men had three of the biggest chart hits of all time during the 1990s. • The Grateful Dead finally enjoyed a Top 10 single in 1987 after 20 years of touring. • Janet Jackson has scored an impressive 39 Top 40 hits—one more than her megastar brother Michael!

Provides lists of hit songs by date with information on the artist, songwriter, producer, label, and offering interviews with popular artists.

Documents the history of rhythm and blues music by examining every song to top the Billboard R & B singles chart between 1965 and 1990 and offers inside stories from the singers, musicians, songwriters, arrangers, and producers who created the hits.

This resource discusses every song to reach the pinnacle of the Billboard Hot 100 charts since 1955. Each week's rundown includes the Top Five tunes; background notes; the hit's entry position, date, and duration in the charts; the names of the songwriter and producer; and record details.

Up-to-the-minute information on Billboard's hottest hits! Back in a fully revised and updated fourth edition with eighty extra all-new pages,Billboard's Hottest Hot 100 Hitsis the venerated and reliable source of information on the most popular songs of our times. Immensely entertaining, endlessly informative, and filled with fascinating facts and figures on the biggest hits right up to 2007, this is the ultimate music trivia book. Separate chapters are devoted to artists, songwriters, producers, labels, years, and subjects. Within each chapter, readers will find fun-to-read, fun-to-share lists in 300 categories, including The Top 100 Love Songs, The Top 50 Songs Written by Carole King, The Top 100 Songs on Atlantic, The Top 100 Songs of 1999, and many more. A revised and updated list of The Top 5,000 Songs of the Rock Era, plus a chart and text section devoted toAmerican Idolfinalists, make this book so hot it's cool. • A must-have for all pop fans, disk jockeys, radio and TV producers • Packed with fun facts, photos, and entertaining lists—now with 80 new pages • Great gift by a best-selling author

Every artist of the rock & roll era who had only one single in the Top 40, covering songs from the 50s to the 80s.

Discusses the popular hit singles that never reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100, offering a history of each song and commenting on its significance in the history of pop music.