For this week’s show we get to use the greatest reference book ever published, Joel Whitburn’s Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits. I know that the world has gone online for everything now, and I am not one of those who thinks you need to feel the pages and smell the paper of a book to enjoy reading. But a good reference book like this is not only easy to use, but worth owning just so you can randomly open up the pages and discover songs you don’t know. We own the 7th and 9th (final) editions at our house. This book is a must have in any serious music book collection.

Why is it the Top 40?

Why not the Top 50 or Top 34? The answer is simple. When the format was invented, 40 songs was the number of songs that could fit in the radio time slot. In other words, the technology drove the output. Other similar questions include why are singles usually 3 to 4 minutes long? That is about how long a song can be to fit on one side of a 45 RPM 7 inch record. Why do old vinyl double albums have sides 1/4 and 2/3? This allows you to put both records on your record player and have the disk changer play the first two sides without having to get up to go flip them over. Then you can do the same with sides 3 and 4. Why is the max length on a CD around 70 minutes? Same thing (although probably more technical).

Songs for this week’s theme:

Why care about songs that peaked at # 40?

If you listen to enough songs that peaked between # 21 and 40 on the Billboard charts, you will find that there isn’t a big difference in quality. In fact, I would argue that the number of weeks that a song stays on the charts probably tells you more about it’s quality than how high it charted. But, it is called the Top FORTY. So, songs that peak at number forty ONE don’t make it. So, maybe that doesn’t sound all that important, except that there is another piece of historical trivia that get’s thrown around all of the time: One Hit Wonders. That means, literally, an artist that has exactly one song that reached the Top 40. When you read through the list of songs that peaked at number forty, you start to notice a trend. Many of them are one hit wonders. Therefore, for many artists, getting that lucky bump up from number forty one to number forty is an invitation to immortality. And if being a one hit wonder isn’t that important, then how do you explain the fact that we all know this?

Best of the Best

Arguably three of the best songs to peak at number 40 are on this list: Blue Oyster Cult, The Buggles, and The Cure (their first Top 40 hit).

James Brown actually has three songs to peak at number forty, and two of them are here.

The Byrds. They’re pretty good. This is their second Top 40 hit.

One Hit Wonders

By my count, ten of the songs that could have been on the list are one hit wonders. I included Ashton, Gardner, and Dyke, Avante-Garde, The Buggles, Change, and The Communards. I left off Jim Backus (see Novelty Songs), David Ball, Keith Barbour, Beenie Man, and Desmond Child. The songs by Avante-Garde and Ashton, Gardner, and Dyke are great examples of one hit wonders that sound like normal songs until you listen closely to the lyrics and quality of the performances and start to wonder how they were hits. Of course, that is why they peaked at number forty.

Novelty Songs

Novelty songs and gimmicks are common songs to peak low on the charts. I included a ridiculous Paul Anka song where he actually sounds drunk (this one is also notable because it is originally a B-side but became a hit) and a surf guitar version of the limbo song. I left off other “classics” such as “Who’s Your Baby,” the last hit by The Archies, and a ridiculous song by Jim Backus, “Delicious,” which isn’t currently available on most streaming platforms but can be heard here.

MTV: Today is the 40th anniversary of the launch of MTV, so this is a perfect day to make The Buggles the Artist of the Week.

Rick Anderson: Bassist for The Tubes.

Maria Cole: Maria Cole was married to Nat King Cole until his death and was the mother of singer Natalie Cole. She started her career as Marie Ellington and sang with Count Basie and Duke Ellington.

Caroline Shaw: She is a composer, violinist, and singer, and was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 2013 for her a cappella piece Partita for 8 Voices. She is the youngest person (30) to win that award. This is brand new music recorded with the group So Percussion.

Coolio: “Too Hot” is from the Coolio album with the song that uses the Stevie Wonder song. It’s not from the other album that uses the Lakeside song. This song uses the Kool and the Gang song.

Jerry Garcia: Founding member of the Grateful Dead.

Adam Duritz: Duritz is the lead singer of Counting Crows. “Elevator Boots” is from their new album Butter Miracle Suite One.

Ramblin’ Jack Elliott: Elliott was a protégé of Woody Guthrie and a major influence on young Bob Dylan. This is his version of “Do Re Mi,” one of my favorite Woody Guthrie songs.

Paddy Moloney: Maloney is a founding member of the Chieftains. He plays pipes, tin whistle, bodhran, and other instruments. This song is from their 3rd album, released in 1971. They’ve been doing the traditional Irish music thing since way before it was cool to do it.

Robert Cray: I can’t help thinking about Stevie Ray Vaughan’s death when I think of Robert Cray. Let’s all watch this incredible performance by a who’s who of blues guitarists and remember SRV. This was his last performance.

Hits

All of the theme-related songs plus Robert Cray’s “Smoking Gun.”

2 for “Two”day

James Brown: “Get It Together” is one of his first true funks songs and “Bewildered” is from his early soul years and was his second Top 40 hit.

The Champs: “Limbo Rock” is a total gimmick version of the well-known limbo song and “Tequila” is one of the greatest instrumental rock songs.

New

Toumani Diabate “Hainamady Town”

Caroline Shaw and So Percussion “To the Sky”

Counting Crows “Elevator Boots”