The World’s Most Important Record Chart Turns 75 Today. Happy Birthday, Billboard Charts!

On this day in 1940, a music industry publication called Billboard published their first ever record sales chart. The magazine began covering the business in 1894 but it took until the early years of WWII for the record biz to mature to a point where it required someone to keep score of who was selling what and in what quantities. Crucial in their decision to follow the sales of sheet music was the rise of the jukebox, a major gooser of musical entertainment following the Depression, which saw record sales crash by 90%.

Enter the Billboard charts, which grew to become the most important music sales chart in the world. They began with the “National List of Best Selling Retail Records” and eventually moved to albums (which hadn’t been invented yet), genres (rock, pop, R&B and so on), radio airplay, video play, video/DVD/Blu-Ray sales and a dozen others.

VVN Music compiled this list of the longest-last #1 songs in the Hot 100’s history. Go here for additional analysis.

• 16 Weeks
  • One Sweet Day – Mariah Carey & Boyz II Men (1995)
• 14 Weeks
  • I Will Always Love You – Whitney Houston (1992)
  • I’ll Make Love to You – Boyz II Men (1994)
  • Macarena – Los Del Rios (1996)
  • Candle in the Wind ’97 / Something About the Way You Look Tonight – Elton John (1997)
  • We Belong Together – Mariah Carey (2005)
  • I Got a Feeling – Black Eyed Peas (2009)
  • Uptown Funk – Mark Ronson Featuring Bruno Mars (2015)
• 13 Weeks
  • Goodnight Irene – Gordon Jenkins & the Weavers (1950)
  • End of the Road – Boyz II Men (1992)
  • The Boy is Mine – Brandy & Monica (1999)
  • See You Again – Wiz Khalifa Featuring Charlie Puth (2015)
• 12 Weeks
  • I’ll Never Smile Again – Tommy Dorsey / Frank Sinatra (1940)
  • Frenesi – Artie Shaw (1940)
  • I’ve Heard That Song Before – Harry James (1943)
  • Paper Doll – Mills Brothers (1943)
  • Heartaches – Ted Weems (1947)
  • Near You – Francis Craig & Bob Lamm (1947)
  • Smooth – Santana (1999)
  • Fallin’ – Alicia Keys (2001)
  • Lose Yourself – Eminem (2002)
  • Boom Boom Pow – Black Eyes Peas (2009)
  • Blurred Lines – Robin Thicke (2013)
• 11 Weeks
  • White Christmas – Bing Crosby (1942)
  • Till the End of Time – Perry Como (1945)
  • Riders in the Sky – Vaughn Monroe (1949)
  • Third Man Theme – Anton Karas (1950)
  • Cry – Johnnie Ray (1951)
  • I Swear – All-4-One (1994)
  • Unbreak My Heart – Toni Braxton (1996)
  • I’ll Be Missing You – Puff Daddy & Faith Evans (1997)
  • Independent Woman – Destiny’s Child (2000)
  • Yeah – Usher (2004)
• 10 Weeks
  • Amapola – Jimmy Dorsey / Bob Eberly (1941)
  • Moonlight Cocktail – Glenn Miller (1942)
  • The Gypsy – Ink Spots (1946)
  • Ballerina – Vaughn Monroe (1947)
  • Manana – Peggy Lee (1948)
  • Song From Moulin Rouge – Percy Faith (1954)
  • Cherry Pink & Apple Blossom White – Perez Prado (1955)
  • You Light Up My Life – Debby Boone (1978)
  • Physical – Olivia Newton-John (1981)
  • Foolish – Ashanti (2002)
  • Dilema – Nelly (2002)
  • Low – Flo Rida (2008)
  • Happy – Pharrell (2014)