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!

Complete chart information about the artists and their songs, 1955-2000.

Alphabetically and chronologically lists popular country music recordings from 1944 through 1996 and includes country music facts, biographies, and trivia

Back in the days of Louis Jordan and Bullmoose Jackson and His Buffalo Bearcats, swing, and World War II,Billboardmagazine started keeping tabs on the best-sellers in record stores in New York City’s Harlem. That Harlem Hit Parade chart of 1942, the starting point of this book, wasBillboard’s first accounting of the growing interest in the music that would come to be known as R&B. Today, more than sixty years later, Billboard is proud to present the first edition of The Billboard Book of Top 40 R&B and Hip-Hop Hits, packed with complete, authoritative chart information on the most popular songs and artists, including everyone from the Nat King Cole Trio to Ray Charles to Mary J. Blige to Jay-Z. Great for music fans, record collectors, industry professionals, and trivia lovers, this book will answer questions, resolve arguments, and inspire new ideas. • Capitalizes on one of W-G’s top-selling titles, The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits— more than 50,000 copies sold of the 7th edition! • Complete history of Top 40 R&B and hip-hop hits, covering 62 years • 300 pictures of top recording artists • Author Joel Whitburn is the leading authority on charted music

Focusing on new reference sources published since 2008 and reference titles that have retained their relevance, this new edition brings O’Gorman’s complete and authoritative guide to the best reference sources for small and medium-sized academic and public libraries fully up to date. About 40 percent of the content is new to this edition. Containing sources selected and annotated by a team of public and academic librarians, the works included have been chosen for value and expertise in specific subject areas. Equally useful for both library patrons and staff, this resource Covers more than a dozen key subject areas, including General Reference; Philosophy, Religion, and Ethics; Psychology and Psychiatry; Social Sciences and Sociology; Business and Careers; Political Science and Law; Education; Words and Languages; Science and Technology; History; and Performing Arts Encompasses database products, CD-ROMs, websites, and other electronic resources in addition to print materials Includes thorough annotations for each source, with information on author/editor, publisher, cost, format, Dewey and LC classification numbers, and more Library patrons will find this an invaluable resource for current everyday topics. Librarians will appreciate it as both a reference and collection development tool, knowing it’s backed by ALA’s long tradition of excellence in reference selection.

African American women have played a pivotal part in rock and roll—from laying its foundations and singing chart-topping hits to influencing some of the genre's most iconic acts. Despite this, black women's importance to the music's history has been diminished by narratives of rock as a mostly white male enterprise. In Black Diamond Queens, Maureen Mahon draws on recordings, press coverage, archival materials, and interviews to document the history of African American women in rock and roll between the 1950s and the 1980s. Mahon details the musical contributions and cultural impact of Big Mama Thornton, LaVern Baker, Betty Davis, Tina Turner, Merry Clayton, Labelle, the Shirelles, and others, demonstrating how dominant views of gender, race, sexuality, and genre affected their careers. By uncovering this hidden history of black women in rock and roll, Mahon reveals a powerful sonic legacy that continues to reverberate into the twenty-first century.

"This new revised and enlarged third edition includes: updated information of the most successful rock, jazz, comedy, country, classical, Christmas, Broadway, and film soundtrack albums ever to reach the top of Billboard magazine's album charts ... facts, biographies, and trivia for every artist; the chart positions, number of weeks on the chart, and label and catalog number for every album listed; 150 photographs of Top 40 album jackets"--Back cover.