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  • 88 years ago today (Jan. 4 1936)

    From DianeE@21:1/5 to All on Thu Jan 4 10:16:43 2024
    The first Billboard chart *based on record sales* was published.
    According to what I heard on the radio this morning, that chart included
    "The Music Goes Round And Round" by Tommy Dorsey and "Rag Mama Rag" by
    Blind Boy Fuller. Amazing to me that an acoustic blues record would
    have sold that well!
    (Less amazing: The radio station played an excerpt from the *flip side*
    of that record, "I'm A Rattlesnaking Daddy"...which I like better anyhow.)

    Wikipedia says:
    The first chart published by Billboard was "Last Week's Ten Best Sellers
    Among The Popular Songs", a list of best-selling sheet music, in July
    1913. Other early charts listed popular song performances in theatres
    and recitals in different cities. In 1928, "Popular Numbers Featured by
    Famous Singers and Leaders" appeared, which added radio performances to in-person performances.[6] On January 4, 1936, Billboard magazine
    published its first pop chart based on record sales.[7] Titled "Ten Best Records for Week Ending", it listed the 10 top-selling records of three
    leading record companies as reported by the companies themselves. In
    March 1937, the "Songs with the Most Radio Plugs" chart debuted with
    data from a separate company.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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  • From Bruce@21:1/5 to All on Thu Jan 4 16:07:50 2024
    Here is the issue:

    https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/30s/1936/BB-1936-01-04.pdf

    The only thing I see i on page 66. They have the 10 best sellers from each of 3 labels, RCA, Brunswick and Columbia. There's no "Rag, Mama Rag."

    I'm checking the next issue now. Same thing. page 57, the 10 best sellers from each of the 3 major labels with no blues listed.

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  • From DianeE@21:1/5 to Bruce on Thu Jan 4 11:45:51 2024
    On 1/4/2024 11:07 AM, Bruce wrote:
    Here is the issue:

    https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/30s/1936/BB-1936-01-04.pdf

    The only thing I see i on page 66. They have the 10 best sellers from
    each of 3 labels, RCA, Brunswick and Columbia. There's no "Rag, Mama Rag." I'm checking the next issue now. Same thing. page 57, the 10 best
    sellers from each of the 3 major labels with no blues listed.
    --------
    Well, according to this reliable site:
    https://www.wirz.de/music/fullerbb.htm
    the record was released in January 1936 on SIX different labels:
    Melotone, Perfect, Columbia, Vocalion, Conqueror, and OKeh. Vocalion
    and OKeh I believe were part of Brunswick, so how it comes out on both Brunswick and Columbia labels is beyond my understanding...but it must
    have been an awfully popular record.

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  • From DianeE@21:1/5 to Bruce on Thu Jan 4 12:01:05 2024
    On 1/4/2024 11:07 AM, Bruce wrote:
    Here is the issue:

    https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/30s/1936/BB-1936-01-04.pdf

    The only thing I see i on page 66. They have the 10 best sellers from
    each of 3 labels, RCA, Brunswick and Columbia. There's no "Rag, Mama Rag." I'm checking the next issue now. Same thing. page 57, the 10 best
    sellers from each of the 3 major labels with no blues listed.
    ------------
    Well, they were right about the Tommy Dorsey record. Lot of Ozzie
    Nelson on that list too.
    Someone at CBS News Radio must have pulled a prank with that Blind Boy
    Fuller record (which was actually released in January 1936 so wasn't
    even eligible to be on the list for December 24-30 1935).
    Good job, CBS prankster--you got thousands of people to hear Blind Boy
    Fuller in 2024...even though most of them must have screeched "What the
    hell is this?!"

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