Why are some of the hits that debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 absent from the 50th Anniversary chart, or lower on this list than they were in the 1994 and 1998 anniversary charts?
Prior to December 1998, songs did not appear on the Billboard Hot 100 until a retail single became available (which, incidentally, is why hits like Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven” and No Doubt’s “Don’t Speak” never appeared on the Hot 100). In earlier years, retail singles came to market fairly early in a song’s life-usually shortly after, or even before, a song came to radio. But, during the ’90s, when labels would strategize No. 1 chart bows by significant hits, the retail release of some priority singles were withheld until radio audience reached maximum levels. Although some of these songs spent significant numbers of weeks at No. 1 or in the top 10, the delay of the sales component ultimately shortened the spans these songs would spend on the chart. With the new methodology rewarding points for a song’s entire chart run, rather than confining points to weeks spent in the top 10, the shorter chart lives recorded by the songs that debuted at No. 1 impact their all-time standings
Related Questions
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