Help with BB chart data

[Andrew G. Doe]

Well, because it seemed a good idea at the time (and is possibly connected with almost every Billboard issue being available on Googlebooks now), I'm in the process of continuing the BB chart info that necessarily stopped in 1980 in Brad Elliott's book. However, not all Billboards are online, thus if anyone has, or has access to, the back issues covering the following releases, I'd be mighty grateful.

Carl Wilson - released early 1981, peaked at #185
Come Go With Me 45 - position for w/e January 2nd 1982
Ten Years Of Harmony - as above
What You Do To Me 45 - released early 1983, peaked at #72 after four weeks.
Kokomo 45 - position for w/e February 25th 1989 and later (if any - previous week was #73)
Still Cruisin' - position for w/e 3rd February 1990 (if any - previous week was #185)
20 Good Vibrations - apparently charted in 1996
Stars & Stripes Volume 1 - positions for w/e 5th October 1996 and later (if any - previous week was #130)
Imagination - released June 1998, charted at #88, one more week at #146... but when ?
GIOMH - released June 2004, charted at #100, one more week at ??... again, when ?


Again, thanks in advance.

[Steve Mayo]

d.amn....wish you had asked this 5 or 6 weeks ago. they have gone thru the house and totalled all the contents in it. i am waiting to see if they total the house. looks like they will according to my contractor.
i can go in the house again now they have counted and piled everything in huge piles. if some of my old billboards didn't burn up (i know they all were soaked from the hoses) i will try to help you out on the above requested information. just don't know the condition of what didn't burn up.
but i will be glad to try to help again. doing that will make me feel a little "normal" again.
will let you know what i find if someone doesn't beat me to it.

[Andrew G. Doe]

d.amn....wish you had asked this 5 or 6 weeks ago. they have gone thru the house and totalled all the contents in it. i am waiting to see if they total the house. looks like they will according to my contractor.
i can go in the house again now they have counted and piled everything in huge piles. if some of my old billboards didn't burn up (i know they all were soaked from the hoses) i will try to help you out on the above requested information. just don't know the condition of what didn't burn up.
but i will be glad to try to help again. doing that will make me feel a little "normal" again.
will let you know what i find if someone doesn't beat me to it.

Steve, if you want to do that I'm not dumb enough to stop you. You, sir, are a gentleman.

[Steve Mayo]

no problem andrew. saving that stuff over the years was what i did, you know? i enjoyed doing it. from time to time i looked at it. so trying to help is no problem. and maybe some things they have totalled might be in a savable condition for me. i have to look anyway (i get to keep anything i want even though it has been totalled). so i will gladly try to help...if there is something for me to look at.

[Fender Jag]

Worked in radio back then & copied down the chart positions in a notebook.

I actually list "Kokomo" at #73 for 2/25 (#70 for the week before, 2/18)  Then at #78 on 3/4 & finally at #93 on 3/11.

The Still Cruisin' LP moved back up to #182 on 2/3 & lasted one more week at #199 on 2/10.

Long-time fan enjoying the amazing knowledge on this forum!  My best wishes to all.

John

[Andrew G. Doe]

Thanks muchly for that (and yes, I got the date/position for "Kokomo" wrong), hugely appreciated.

[Steve Mayo]

what you do to me... 1st week at #89 on may 14th 1983 with star
                                  2nd week at # 80 on may 21st 1983 with a star
                                  3rd week at # 75 on may 28th 1983
                                  4th week at #72 on june 4th 1983

found some billboards water soaked and smelly (smoke...yuck).

[Steve Mayo]

1st carl solo album Carl Wilson...... 1st week at #187 on may 2nd 1981 with a star
                                                        2nd week at #185 on may 9th 1981


hold me single was reviewed in billboard issue march 21st 1981 in the pop recommended section that week

[Steve Mayo]

if you need some info on sunshine dream lp just ask.....


that is all i have at the moment. i had the issues of billboard to answer all your above questions. i will look to see if more are scattered about the house. i know that the company that is trying to save items from the house has a lot of those issues with them. i called them. don't know their condition. but whatever i find i will pass along to you if any info is still needed once i get those items back.

[smile-holland]

Now that must have been a weird experience, to do some research under those conditions.

I second AGD's words on this: Steve, you are one heck of a gentlemen! 

[Andrew G. Doe]

Steve... what can I say. I would like to think I'd act similarly in the same circumstances... but I know damn well I wouldn't. To say merely "thanks" is grossly inadequate, but anyway - thanks, and I just hope that doing this for me in some small way helped you for a few moments.

OK, revised needs:

Come Go With Me 45 - position for w/e January 2nd 1982
Ten Years Of Harmony - as above
20 Good Vibrations - apparently charted in 1996
Stars & Stripes Volume 1 - positions for w/e 5th October 1996 and later (if any - previous week was #130)
Imagination - released June 1998, charted at #88, one more week at #146... but when ?
GIOMH - released June 2004, charted at #100, one more week at ??... again, when ?

Thanks Steve, I have all the data for Sunshine Dream.

[Steve Mayo]

odd as it may seem andrew...it does help me
and i don't mind helping out if i can...i have always done that if i could and i still will when i can...

[Eric Aniversario]

I was a chart freak in the late 80's and early 90's.  I would get up at 6 am to write down the top 40 on Sundays and I cracked the code to how they figured out those year end charts!  I would also go to the library and read the latest issue of Billboard.

That said, I do remember some things, but I do not have the actual magazines to back up these things I remember.

GIOMH only charted for 1 week, at #100, and promptly fell off the chart.  It was the first week of release.

20 Good Vibrations The Best Of The Beach Boys did chart in 1996...it made it to the top 100.  Vol. 2 also charted...I think it made it to around #105 or something like that.  Vol. 3 did not chart to my knowledge.  Sorry this is as specific as I can get, but maybe knowing that Vol. 2 charted will be of help.

other info that may be of help:

Three singles from Stars & Stripes charted on the country chart (which accepted airplay only tracks)...Little Deuce Coupe, Dont Worry Baby, and Long Tall Texan.  From what I remember, none of them got past #69 (out of 75 positions).  One or two of them got up to #69.  One or two of them got to #73.  In addition, I Can Hear Music charted on the AC chart.

Some SIP tracks made it on to the AC chart as well...Hot Fun In The Summertime & Under The Boardwalk.  Both made it to the teens on the top 30 AC chart from what I remember.  Hot Fun was released as a physical single, while Under The Boardwalk was a promo only single, but eligible to chart on the AC chart.

[Andrew G. Doe]

Thanks, Eric.

GIOMH only charted for 1 week, at #100, and promptly fell off the chart.  It was the first week of release.

You're right - I was confusing it with the previous solo set, which charted for two weeks. Any idea when it charted ?

20 Good Vibrations The Best Of The Beach Boys did chart in 1996...it made it to the top 100.  Vol. 2 also charted...I think it made it to around #105 or something like that.  Vol. 3 did not chart to my knowledge.  Sorry this is as specific as I can get, but maybe knowing that Vol. 2 charted will be of help.

This is an odd area - both Vols. 1 & 2 did indeed chart... but years later, in 2000, in the wake of the American Family mini-series ! #1 charted for 6 weeks peaking at #95, while #2 hit 192 for one week (both debuted on the charts at the same time, 3/18/2000). However... I found a Billboard article that mentioned #1 charting in 1996... but thinking on it, as it was released in spring 1995, I find that unlikely. But, we're talking Beach Boys here - until I did this research I never knew Endless Summer charted in 1981 for 16 weeks !  And here's a sobering thought - unless something amazing happens between now and mid-September, it will have been 20 years since The Beach Boys had a single in the Billboard Hot 100. 

[Andrew G. Doe]

Eh... missed it first time around - GIOMH charted July 10th 2004. And as Eric rightly stated, dropped off the 200 the following week. That same week, Sounds Of Summer was at #46, over a year after it was released.

Re-revised requirements:

Come Go With Me 45 - position for w/e January 2nd 1982
Ten Years Of Harmony - as above
20 Good Vibrations - apparently charted in 1996
Stars & Stripes Volume 1 - positions for w/e 5th October 1996  (if any - previous week was #130 and it was off the chart 10/12)
Imagination - released June 1998, charted at #88, one more week at #146... but when ?

[Andrew G. Doe]

Thought I'd pass on this little nugget of chart info:

On November 7th, 1964, The Beach Boys had nine releases charting on the Billboard Hot 100 and Top 150 album charts.

In the singles chart, "When I Grow Up..." was at #24, followed by the A side  -"Little Honda" - of the "4 by The Beach Boys" EP (#50), the EP B side ("Wendy" - #69) and "Dance, Dance, Dance" at #79.

Over in the album chart, All Summer Long headed the pack at #6, leading Shut Down, Volume 2 (#58), Beach Boys Concert (#103), Surfer Girl (as a re-entry, #126) and Surfin' USA, also the second time around, at #138.

[TonyW]

Interesting little bit on the Beach Boys Billboard chart success on the Billboard website today: Link  http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/ask_bb/index.jsp?JSESSIONID=Tp1mK8HJHH1QpwsMmzsDrP1xhKJrmQQ6vT2hXG4kMmyyH0RrYGpG!-1906239168

( ... surfing cultural reference ... nice to see that Matt Jonnson is still around ... I wonder what Jack & Leroy are up to ...  )

WHERE THE BOYS ARE

Hi Gary,

This question is not about an artist currently charting with new material, but it does perplex me.

Do you think that the Beach Boys' Billboard Hot 100 success during their heyday (let's say, from their first top 10, "Surfin' U.S.A.," in 1963, through "Good Vibrations," in 1966) is disappointing, when compared to other groups of that time?

In the '60s, the Beach Boys charted 13 top 10s, three of which hit No. 1. Other groups from that time scored more chart-toppers, namely the Beatles and the Supremes. The Beach Boys' three No. 1s were relative short-timers at the top, as well: "I Get Around" led for two weeks, "Help Me, Rhonda" (two weeks) and "Good Vibrations" (one week).

As well-regarded as the Beach Boys are now, it seems that their overall chart success doesn't necessarily match their legacy, even if their Hot 100 history spans 27 years (1962-89). I understand that much of why they are so evergreen is based on Brian Wilson's amazingly rapid development as a producer and songwriter.

Do you have any insights as to why the Beach Boys' chart history wasn't as great as some of their contemporaries?

Thanks!

Matt Johnson
Issaquah, Washington


Hi Matt,

Interesting question. An analysis of the charts, however, reveals that the Beach Boys were well-represented on the Billboard Hot 100 during their prime hit-making days.

True, three No. 1s in the '60s might seem like a low number for such an iconic act, but that sum is among the top 10 for the decade. Looking at the more focused era that you cite, from March 1963 to December 1966, here are the acts with the most leaders:

12, The Beatles
8, The Supremes
3, The Beach Boys
3, The Rolling Stones
3, Bobby Vinton

As for most top 10s between 1963 and 1966, the Beach Boys' 13 rank second only to the Beatles' 20.

I also wouldn't put too much weight in each of the Beach Boys' three No. 1s in the '60s spending no more than two weeks on top. Turnover abounded atop the chart at the time: from March 1963 through the reign of "Good Vibrations" in December 1966, 81 of the 91 No. 1s in that span spent between one and three weeks in charge.

While your question pertains specifically to the Beach Boys' chart appearances in the mid-'60s, it also seems worth mentioning that, of all the acts to top the Hot 100 in that decade, the Beach Boys are the most recent to reach the summit, having notched their fourth No. 1 on the chart with "Kokomo" in 1988. Brian Wilson himself charted on Adult Contemporary as recently as 2006.

In Billboard's Hot 100 50th anniversary special issue dated Sept. 20, 2008, Senior Retail Correspondent Ed Christman wrote that not only were the Beach Boys a chart force in the '60s, but they also helped forever change the business of pop music, as you allude to in noting Wilson's artistic growth. From that issue:

"The '50s and '60s were when artists began to take control of their own creative destiny: the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Four Seasons, the Beach Boys, Ray Charles and the Rascals. Each were largely responsible for their own music and each in their own ways stretched the boundaries of rock'n'roll and songwriting."

From membership in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, to a symbol of Americana with their fun-in-the-sun imagery, the Beach Boys are, of course, an institution. It's fitting that their chart history in the '60s mirrors their high standing in pop culture.

[Eric Aniversario]

Thought I'd pass on this little nugget of chart info:

On November 7th, 1964, The Beach Boys had nine releases charting on the Billboard Hot 100 and Top 150 album charts.

In the singles chart, "When I Grow Up..." was at #24, followed by the A side  -"Little Honda" - of the "4 by The Beach Boys" EP (#50), the EP B side ("Wendy" - #69) and "Dance, Dance, Dance" at #79.

Over in the album chart, All Summer Long headed the pack at #6, leading Shut Down, Volume 2 (#58), Beach Boys Concert (#103), Surfer Girl (as a re-entry, #126) and Surfin' USA, also the second time around, at #138.

I wonder what sparked the new interest in Surfer Girl and Surfin' USA?  Was there a significant event that happened around that time that would cause this new interest in the older albums?

[Andrew G. Doe]

Apologies for the misleading writing: by 11/7/64, SUSA was at the end of a chart re-entry that started 8/15 (it would re-enter a 2nd time on 12/26), while SG had re-entered a week later at 8/22 (and would last until 3/13/65). I think that the BB were just... popular. Consider this - from 8/11/62, when "Surfin' Safari" charted at #85, until 3/25/67, when the first Best Of... dropped off, there wasn't a week without at least one Beach Boys single or album on the Billboard charts.