When it comes to ranking music, there is one list that rules them all: the Billboard Hot 100. Frankly, Billboard has a monopoly on music charts. Though, that is a can of worms for a different article. Regardless, the Billboard Hot 100 has been the premier musical list ever since its founding in 1958. The inherent question within that statement: What lists did people view before the Billboard Hot 100?
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Before the Hot 100, Billboard was still the juggernaut, but they did so through their other lists, such as the Best Sellers in Stores, Most Played in Jukeboxes, the Top 100, and all of their other genre-specific lists. So, more or less, those were the vehicles people seemingly used to use to gauge a song’s popularity. That being so, here are 3 of the most popular songs from the pre-Billboard Hot 100 era.
“Heartbreak Hotel” by Elvis Presley
Released in 1956, Elvis Presley‘s “Heartbreak Hotel” remains one of the most popular songs of the 1950s. Consequently, it is arguably one of the most popular songs of the pre-Billboard Hot 100 era. Following the release of the single, Presley’s song peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Top 100 chart and remained there for seven weeks.
It was Presley’s first-ever No. 1 hit and general major hit on the Billboard charts. The song also peaked at No. 1 on the Country and Western chart and at No. 3 on the R&B chart. Also, a side note, but the Billboard Top 100 was an earlier version of the Hot 100.
“Vaya con Dios” by Les Paul and Mary Ford
Les Paul and Mary Ford released “Vaya con Dios” in 1953. Upon its release, the single became a smash hit of the 1950s. Specifically, it peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Best Seller chart for 11 non-consecutive weeks. Furthermore, it also peaked at No. 1 on the popular Cash Box chart.
To this day, it is certainly Les Paul’s most popular song and Mary Ford’s most popular song. Not only did it solidify both musicians as individual talents, but it also solidified the married couple as a major musical force spearheading music into its mass popularization.
“Sincerely” by The McGuire Sisters
The McGuire Sisters released their rendition of “Sincerely” in November 1954. Subsequently, it went on to become a major hit as it peaked at No. 1 on the Most Played by Jockeys chart and Most Played In Jukeboxes. Collectively, it remained at No. 1 on both charts for a total of 17 weeks.
Like Paul, Ford, and Presley, The McGuire Sisters showed that there was an important and commercial need for popular music. So, without them or the other names mentioned, the face of popular music and its ranking systems just might look a bit different.
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