Edward Foote Gardner’s Popular Songs of the Twentieth Century, 1900-1949

Edward Foote Gardner: Popular Songs of the Twentieth Century, 1900-1949

Edward Foote Gardner’s book, Popular Songs of the Twentieth Century, 1900-1949 tackled the task of crafting charts for the popular songs of the pre-rock era. He developed a top 20 chart for each month of every year from 1900-1949. The charts listed only song titles and not particular performers as it was common in the pre-rock era for multiple artists to have recordings of the same hit songs. As for how Gardner developed these charts, he explains how he “processed over a million bits of information regarding about 5000 song candidates” (xi) for 1900-1929 alone, taking into account “three major areas of popularity: frequency of performance in vaudeville, sheet-music sales, and record and piano-roll sales. In later years, as vaudeville gave way to radio, airplay became a major factor” (xi). For the 1930s, he “relied heavily on the record and sheet-music rankings in Variety and Metronome, rakings on ‘Your Hit Parade,’ and sheet-music and jukebox charts in Billboard” (xi). In the 1940s, Billboard began weekly charts of best-selling records and continued charts for sheet-music sales and radio performance. In 1945, they began their Honor Roll of Hits which tracked the top 10 to 15 songs. Gardner largely followed these charts from that point on, fleshing out his top 20 charts with songs from he Billboard charts on jukebox plays, jockey plays, and record sales. In addition to the monthly charts, Gardner provides spreadsheets so one can track a song’s full chart run. He also offers blurbs about the 4000+ songs which include their writers, publishers, and significant artists who recorded it. Most Notable Sources Cited in Book: Gardner offers an extensive bibliography of his sources, but specifically notes the below books and weekly trade papers in the introduction. Billboard (1908-1949). Cincinnati. Roger D. Kinkle (1974). The Complete Encyclopedia of Popular Music and Jazz. New Rochelle, NY: Arlington House. Julius Mattfeld (1962). Variety Music Cavalcade. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Metronome (1899-1938). New York. The Music Trades (1899-1929). New York, published by John C. Freund. Sigmund Spaeth (1948). A History of Popular Music in America. New York: Random House. Talking Machine World (1905-1930). New York, published by Edward Lyman Bill. Variety (1907-1949). New York. Dave’s Music Database lists based on Popular Songs of the Twentieth Century: Resources/Related Links: Dave’s Music Database: “Lists Based on Charts, Sales, and Airplay” Edward Foote Gardner (2000). Popular Songs of the Twentieth Century. Paragon House: St. Paul, MN. First posted 12/22/2022.

Pop Memories 1890-1954

Pop Memories: 1890-1954

My personal book shelves are loaded with more than a hundred books devoted to music. This one, however, is the most important of them all. The book was published by Record Research, a company started by Joel Whitburn which became the go-to resource for books on the Billboard charts. The book also features invaluable research from Steve Sullivan, who has become the individual most responsible for sparking my interest in music of the pre-rock era. I became a chart fanatic in the 1980s because of American Top 40, a weekly radio countdown show based on Billboard’s pop charts. The magazine was founded in 1894 as a trade publication for, well, billboards. However, it expanded in the early years of the 20th century to cover the entertainment industry in general and then later keying in on the music industry. Their first music charts in 1913 focused on sheet music. Over the years, they’ve developed multiple charts focused on music, but the Billboard Hot 100, which tracks the most popular songs in the United States on a weekly basis, has become the industry standard. However, other charts have existed over the years and Pop Memories serves as an invaluable resource to early Billboard charts as well as other chart sources. Here are some of the sources cited on page 7 of the 1986 edition: The Phonogram (early 1890s), record industry periodical The Phonoscope (1896-1899), monthly lists of popular recordings Hobbies Magazine (1900-1920s), Jim Walsh columns on music Talking Machine World (1905-1921), monthly record industry periodical, lists of best sellers Billboard (1913-1918), most popular vaudeville songs Billboard magazine (1920s), hit records and songs of the era, regular charts by 1934 for radio airplay and sheet music sales Variety magazine (1920s), hit records and songs of the era, monthly rankings of best-selling records starting in 1929 Your Hit Parade (1935-1940), weekly rankings Billboard (1938-1954), weekly lists of the most popular records in jukeboxes Billboard (1940-1954), began first comprehensive chart of best selling records from all labels Billboard (1945-1954), chart of most played songs by disc jockeys ASCAP record label catalogs and publications sheet music sales Dave’s Music Database lists based on Pop Memories: Resources/Related Links: Dave’s Music Database: “Lists Based on Charts, Sales, and Airplay” Joel Whitburn (1986). Pop Memories 1890-1954. Menomonee Falls, WI; Record Research, Inc. Joel Whitburn (2016). Pop Memories 1900-1940. Menomonee Falls, WI; Record Research, Inc. Joel Whitburn (2002). Billboard Pop Hits – Singles & Albums, 1940-1954. Menomonee Falls, WI; Record Research, Inc. First posted 12/21/2022.