My New Project: History of Hit Music

Earlier this week, I discovered that Wikipedia has the list of every Billboard #1 hit since July 1940. After skimming this list, I saw lots of well-known classics, a few hilariously surprising #1 hits, and plenty of songs I did not know. As I looked closer, I realized that this list was a fascinating cross-section of the history of American music. That's when I decided to listen to the entire list in order, to learn more about music history by experience.

To make this easier for myself and others to experience, I have begun compiling playlists on Youtube which contain (nearly) every Billboard #1 hit in chronological order. Over the last few days, I have compiled lists for the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s (part 1, part 2). As I continue to roll through the decades, I will share the playlists here. Later, when I take the time to listen to and contemplate the playlists, I will share my thoughts here on this blog.

There are a few caveats about these playlists. Some songs aren't great recordings, but I included the best I could find. Some songs are not complete, but I included the most complete I could find. Some songs could not be found at all, so I replaced them with The Shortest Video on Youtube as a placeholder.

It seems to be easier to find newer music on Youtube, so I had no issues compiling the playlist for the 1960s, but I had a few issues with the 1950s, and a lot of issues with the 1940s. To clarify this, I have included the list of errata for the 1940s and 1950s below.

1940s

• #7 (Maria Elena) could not be found by Jimmy Dorsey
• #10 (Blue Champagne) could not be found by Jimmy Dorsey
• #12 (Chattanooga Choo Choo) is almost the complete song, but not quite
• #29 (In the Blue of Evening) could not be found by Tommy Dorsey
• #30 (Sunday, Monday, or Always) could not be found by Bing Crosby
• #33 (My Heart Tells Me, Should I Believe My Heart) could not be found by Glen Gray
• #34 (Besame Mucho) could not be found by Jimmy Dorsey
• #35 (It's Love Love Love) could not be found by Guy Lombardo
• #36 (I Love You) could not be found by Bing Crosby
• #37 (I'll Get By, As Long As I Have You) could not be found by Harry James
• #52 (Symphony) could not be found by Freddy Martin
• #58 (I'm a Big Girl Now) could not be found by Sammy Kaye
• #62 (To Each His Own) is preceded by another Eddy Howard song, Careless
• #63 (To Each His Own) could not be found by Freddy Martin
• #67 (Ole Buttermilk Sky) could not be found by Kay Kyser
• #70 (Open the Door, Richard) could not be found by Count Basie
• #71 (Managua, Nicaragua) could not be found by Freddy Martin
• #78 (Ballerina) is not the complete song
• #83 (You Call Everybody Darlin) could not be found by Al Trace
• #93 (You're Breaking My Heart) could not be found by Vic Damone

1950s

• #7 (The Third Man Theme) has extra audio from the movie intro throughout
• #17 (Because of You) is not the original 1951 version, though it is Tony Bennett
• #19 (It's No Sin) is followed by two other renditions by different artists
• #44 (Sh-Boom) has a quick, but annoying soundbyte before the song
• #51 (The Ballad of Davy Crockett) is the TV version, not sure that it's Bill Hayes

If you can find a recording on Youtube for any of the missing songs, just let me know in the comments, and I can add them to the playlist. Also, let me know if you have found higher quality audio for any of the songs in these playlists, and I can swap the lower quality video for higher quality.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this musical adventure as much as I am!

Easy links for playing the music:

• Play all 1940s hits
• Play all 1950s hits
• Play all 1960s hits (part 1)
• Play all 1960s hits (part 2)

What's This Blog All About?

When I was a kid, I spent most of my time reading average books, playing video games, and participating in church-related activities. Recently, I have discovered how uncultured I am in many ways. There are so many significant films, songs, books, etc., which I was never even exposed to. As a result, I have taken on some "projects" to help culture myself.

Project 1: Classic Films
For the last 2 years or more, I have been attempting to "catch up" with all the great films I missed. I have been using Netflix to gain access to all these films via DVD or instant streaming. At one point, when I was living alone, I was watching 1 or 2 films every day. Even now, I watch 2 or 3 each week. I must have gone through more than 200 films in the last two years. But even with all those films under my belt, I still have a Netflix queue filled with about 500 great films that I plan to watch over the next few years. I'm currently moving through AFI's top 100 films, which has exposed me to some real classics like Gone with the Wind and Lawrence of Arabia.

Project 2: Inspiring Books
I was lucky enough to stumble across the Pulitzer-winning book Godel, Escher, Bach (GEB) while in college. That book blew my mind with its inspiring level of creativity, insightfulness, and clarity. Ever since, I have desired to find more books that would expand my mind in a similar fashion. Since GEB was a Pulitzer winner, I have tried using the archive of past Pulitzer winners and runners-up as a guide. I have found a few gems on the list, like The Dragons of Eden and How We Die. I hope to find more inspiration through this list and other lists of great books.

Those are just the first two examples of my cultural learning projects. This blog is meant to be the record of my cultural learnings from now on. I will give updates on the projects above as I watch new films and read new books. Also, in my next post, I will introduce my newest cultural learning project, which is currently consuming much of my free time.