Fan Fare, What's New, Pussycat?
Here’s where you’ll find TJ photos and stories that don’t fit into any other categories. It is, as its name says, just for fans — and, hopefully, for fun.
The “Billboard” Chart Is 68 Years Old And, For 43 Of Those Years, Tom Jones Has Frequently Been On It
Monday, July 28th, 2008
We heard on CBS Sunday Morning, our favorite news magazine show yesterday that July 27, 2008, was the 68th anniversary of the Billboard music chart. This is the one that started it all and is the pattern followed by charts all over the world.
The first #1 hit was I’ll Never Smile Again by the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra. The vocalist on that was Frank Sinatra. For the first 16 years of its life, the chart was dominated by crooners — Como, Crosby and Cole. Then, in 1956, Elvis broke through with Heartbreak Hotel. It was the Beatles’ turn in 1964 and they still hold the record of 30 charted hits in one year. The longevity record for albums is held by Johnny Mathis (his Greatest Hits was on the chart for 490 continuous weeks) and Carole King (her album, Tapestry, charted continuously for more than six years).
And Tom Jones? Well, you can look here for his Billboard history. (The search engine on the site isn’t great, but it’s fun to roam around. And, please remember, these are US releases only.
In brief — and “brief” is difficult, as Tom’s is a long history covering five decades — Tom’s been there a lot. His first charted hit was, of course, It’s Not Unusual in 1965. It spent 12 weeks on the list, going up to #10. When the album This Is Tom Jones was released in June, 1969, it proceeded to spend 43 weeks on the chart, peaking at #4. In 1970, Live In Las Vegas spent 51 weeks on the chart, topping out at #3. For 14 weeks in 1971 She’s A Lady was there, peaking at #2. In 1977, Say You’ll Stay Until Tomorrow was on the Hot 100 chart for 16 weeks, getting up to #15. It also spent lots of time on the Country chart. 1989′s Kiss was on the Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales chart for nine weeks hitting as high as #13. In 1994 and 95 If I Only Knew charted for 13 weeks on the Hot Dance Club Play, rising to #4. In 2006 Stoned In Love spent five weeks on the European Hot 100 Singles chart.
If you’ve missed collecting any of Tom’s music and are interested in buying it, check out Tom Jones on amazon.com
(The Billboard site also sells artist merchandise, including Tom’s newest tour programme. Including postage in the US it’s $16 — a very good price.)
July 28th, 2008 at 11:10 am
Is the latest tour program something totally new and different, or is it a mix of previously used photos from the previous books?
July 28th, 2008 at 11:29 am
Vince: As we noted above, it was published at the end of 2006, so it’s the newest one available and the one now being sold at shows. Since a new CD is due, maybe there’ll be a new tour book but, for now, it’s the latest.