Culture
The History Of Billboard's Hot 100 In One Awesome Graph
Intergenerational music snobbery is a part of life that’s as certain as death and taxes. But with Polygraph’s new Billboard Top 100 Chart, your parents’ claims that their Bob Dylan or Pink Floyd fandom was somehow underground can finally be put to bed. It’s a graph that traces the history of the top five singles on the Billboard Hot 100 from the ’50s to the present. Looking like a stockmarket of cheesy hits, it makes for some pretty cool viewing. And there are surprises in there as well: Elton John’s “Candle In The Wind” topping the charts for 14 straight weeks? That’s one reason to be thankful that radio has largely moved online.
For more thoughts on charts, read about Ryan Elliot’s chart selections here.
