When you’re seeking to quantify the success of a brand new track, the primary place you look is the Billboard charts. A track’s standing there, and the way lengthy it stays on high, tells you if you happen to’ve bought a bona fide hit in your palms.
However how far again do these charts go, and what was the primary track to ever declare the crown? It needed to be some bizarre twangy quantity that’s both about consuming an apple underneath a tree together with your darling, or extremely racist, or each, proper?
Earlier than I reply that query, although, a few issues to bear in mind: Billboard is way, a lot older than I ever would have imagined, particularly provided that the trendy model is a shiny little bit of fluff adorned with some teenager I’ve by no means seen, however that an entire part of TikTok would take a bullet for. It was based in 1894, making it 130 years previous in November of this yr. archives of previous points, it was additionally remarkably dense, with phrase counts that might put most trendy non-fiction novels to disgrace.
The thought of a music chart got here a pair years later, although, as the primary ever iteration of the Billboard music charts was a easy checklist within the August 9, 1913 version titled “Final Week’s Ten Greatest Sellers Among the many Common Songs,” which actually rolls off the tongue. Inside it are the ten high songs of the week, with no artists listed, rudely. One extra twist: These gross sales have been based mostly off of sheet music gross sales, simply to provide you some thought of the time we’re working with. I assume you’d rush out to the native music retailer after which hand it to the piano man within the closest saloon.
It does give us our reply, although. The crown of the primary #1 Billboard artist belongs to an icon in each the worlds of music and blackface — Al Jolson. Advised you it will be slightly racist! However the track, “You Made Me Love You,” is form of a banger. Hear for your self beneath:
