Rating: 
Summary: fine stuff, but needs some polishing
Review: A strange omission: no mention of Perez Prado's #1 "Patricia" from 1958. Why? And there was a song by Andy Williams that went to #1 in the 50's. No mention of that either. And to continue in the same vein: the pictures of Elvis in the 50's section - shouldn't they be 50's photos (and not one or two shots from the early 60's when he looks like Liberace...). And still no picture of Bobby Pickett (#1 in 1962 with "Monster Mash"). Why? Otherwise filled with enjoyable trivia. The kind of book that really takes you down memory lane. How about finally getting a book about the #1's from the early 50's, the pre-rock years. Now that would be something!
Rating: 
Summary: Superb!!
Review: An excellent source for record collectors and for music fans interested in a detailed description of every song to make #1 on the "Billboard" charts since 1955!! It'll be a part of my music library forever!!
Rating:
Summary: A book for every music lover
Review: Anyone who loves music or who has lived through any part of the last 50 years of rock and roll will love this book. I couldn't put it down once I started reading it. Every number one song from 1955 to today gets one page in this book, and every page is fascinating. Fred Bronson has interviewed the artists, the songwriters, and the producers of over 900 number one songs. Then he finds the most interesting things to tell us about these songs, with generous quotes from the people he has interviewed. The book starts with "Rock Around the Clock" and works its way through Elvis Presley, the Beatles, Motown, Carole King/James Taylor, disco, new wave, rap, and Clay Aiken (and so much more than I can describe here).A friend of mine told me to buy this book and I have been thanking her ever since. Now I'm giving them as gifts to all of my friends because I have enjoyed it so much.
Rating:
Summary: Captures The Essence of Its Time Period's Pop Culture
Review: As the title indicates, the fourth edition of THE BILLBOARD BOOK OF NUMBER ONE HITS gives a story about every single that topped the Hot 100 from "(We're Gonna) Rock Around the Clock" to "Candle in the Wind 1997." First off, it should be mentioned that the book does play a little quickly with the facts- Billboard has had a chart depicting the most popular singles since 1940, yet that chart wasn't christened the Hot 100 until 1958- but there is no doubt that this book gives an accurate representation of the rock and roll era over the years, which is probably its most basic goal. Through each of the 860 singles here, author Fred Bronson gives a detailed account of every artist involved with the single; in the situation where an artist would have multiple number one singles, the single's story would more likely focus on the artist's situation at the time of the hit, the process of getting the hit on tape, or the artist's afterthoughts of the song. Every now and then, the book hits some speed bumps- it has a tendency to spend a little too much time talking about the artist's life and not enough time on the single itself, and the material from the 1990s may leave a little something to be desired, as that was a time when Billboard gave a larger factor to airplay when choosing their number ones, leading some songs to top the charts for a few months. But through his written accounts, Bronson makes it clear that all of these number ones have covered the changing tides of music very well, and that is especially brought into greater perspecitve by something as little as placing a list of the top five songs on the Hot 100 the first week each single here topped the chart. So, flaws aside, the fourth edition of THE BILLBOARD BOOK OF NUMBER ONE HITS serves as an excellent source of music's biggest hits since rock and roll's emergence into the mainstream, clearly proving that when it comes to compiling the most popular songs, nobody does it better than Billboard.
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Summary: I can't believe how good this book is...
Review: First, I would have to say that Billboard Magazine has done an amazing job with thier charts over the last 50 years. Fred Bronson has also done an amazing job with his books. This is my favorite book. There is a page has a full in-depth description of a No.1 hit from the Billboard Hot 100. The years of No.1's spans from 1955-2003 ("This is The Night" by Clay Aiken is the most recent No.1 in this edition). This is some of the information you get from Here are some of the features you get with each No.1 hit page:
- interviews from the artists, producers and/or writers of the song.
- A history of the song, and what happened behind the scenes of the charttopper.
- The artists, producers or writers reaction to being No.1.
- The record that each song broke, if they broke the record.
- A picture ,of every artist that had a No.1.
- The writers, producers, date and number of weeks for each song.
- A breif biography on the page of the first No.1 by every artist.
- A list of the record holders of various chart acheivments 9bigesst jump/fall to No.1, most No.1's by artist, producer and writer, and more.
This book is definetely worth every dollar, and I recommend it to everyone who is a fan of Billboard.
Rating:
Summary: It Ain't Number One Till It's Number One in Billboard
Review: Fred Bronson has done a yeoman job of telling rock fans the stories behind the hits-The fourth edition stops in 1997,when Elton John topped the Billboard Hot 100 with "Candle In The Wind 1997"-Obviously,a fifth edition of this tome is forthcoming-When it will be released is anyone's guess-In the meantime,enjoy & savor the information presented within-By the way,I have to admit that the title of my review came from nationally syndicated air personality Don Imus-But you have to admit it makes sense.
Rating:
Summary: A Huge Treasure of Amazing Details!
Review: Fred Bronson has given us 980 pages of the most amazing commentaries on every artist who has ever achieved a #1 song, and he devotes an entire page for each person's hit! This means since Madonna has achieved #1 twelve times, there are twelve different pages of pictures and details on Madonna and her music! Where does Fred Bronson come up with all this new material? It is a wonderful book! The cover says it is an updated and expanded 5th edition. The copyright is actually Jan. 2004 but the publication was speeded up to get this book into our hands now, and for Christmas shopping and the awards shows this fall. I would recommend buying this to anyone who enjoys reading the background and trivia of the hit songs that have risen to the top over the past 48 years. Not only is the #1 winner for that week given, but a small insert box at the bottem of each page gives the Top 5 on the chart for that week! The book begins with Bill Haley's "Rock Around the Clock" which went to #1 on Jan. 9, 1955 and stayed there for 8 weeks, and the last entry is Clay Aiken's "This Is the Night" that went Platinum in five weeks, debuting at #1 on June 28, 2003. A special section in the back, Debuts at Number One, shows that only 12 records have ever begun on the charts at #1 since 1955.
Lots more features back here, as Writers, Record Labels, Most Weeks, Biggest Jumps. Bonanza here! A real treasure. Get it!
Rating:
Summary: Amazing Reference for Music Lovers
Review: Fred Bronson's "The Billboard Book of #1 Hits" is a fabulous addition to any collection. It is full of information about every #1 song on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, starting from "Rock Around the Clock" in 1954 up until "This is the Night" from this past June. A great book to sit down with for an afternoon and relive your life through the songs that have topped the charts. Highly recommend it!
Rating:
Summary: Amazing Reference for Music Lovers
Review: Fred Bronson's "The Billboard Book of #1 Hits" is a fabulous addition to any collection. It is full of information about every #1 song on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, starting from "Rock Around the Clock" in 1954 up until "This is the Night" from this past June. A great book to sit down with for an afternoon and relive your life through the songs that have topped the charts. Highly recommend it!
Rating:
Summary: What a Treasure!
Review: Fred Bronson's book is a real treasure! What a fabulous reference for all the number one Billboard hits! The book is engaging and engrossing - I took my copy to work where several folks who saw it now are ordering it as well. From Bill Haley's Rock Around the Clock to This is the Night by Clay Aiken - every number one hit is covered here. I'd love to meet Fred Bronson, he must be a walking encyclopedia of the music industry. This is a must have book for any music fan. Just superb! I would highly recommend this book to anyone. It is absolutely fascinating and well put together. THE definitive book on #1 hits, music history.
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