u/unredacted_bastard_

It's easy to think of 1965 as "the Beatles era," but this week shows just how much incredible music was competing for listeners' attention.

Herman's Hermits topped the Hot 100, Wilson Pickett ruled R&B, Jimmy Dean led country, Gary Lewis & the Playboys owned Easy Listening, while The Rolling Stones and The Four Tops represented two very different sides of what people were dancing to.

Which of these songs still holds up best today?

Rock and roll was still years away, but the building blocks were already there.

Today's edition of Tom's Number Ones looks at the Billboard charts for August 7, 1946, featuring Perry Como, Lionel Hampton, Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys, The Ink Spots, Eddy Howard, and Louis Jordan. It's a fascinating snapshot of an America where pop, western swing, jump blues, vocal harmony, and country all ruled different corners of the music world.

If you've ever wondered what the charts looked like before the Hot 100 existed, I think you'll enjoy this one.

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Teen pop. R&B. Country. Dance. Adult Contemporary. Rock.

The Billboard charts for August 6, 1999 featured Christina Aguilera, Destiny's Child, Lonestar, Phil Collins, Donna Summer, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers all at No. 1 on different charts at the same time.

I took a look back at what made each of those songs special and why this week still stands out more than 25 years later.

I'd love to hear which song brings back the strongest memories for you.

The first week of August 2004 is a fascinating snapshot of just how diverse popular music had become.

On the same Billboard charts, you had Juvenile, Terror Squad, Reba McEntire, Nightcrawlers, Five for Fighting and Three Days Grace all sitting at No. 1 in their respective genres. There wasn't one soundtrack to America anymore. There were several.

I dug into the stories behind each chart-topper, along with some fun trivia and a few reminders of what else was happening during that week.

I'd love to hear which song from this lineup still holds up best for you.

On one Billboard chart, Peter Cetera was delivering one of the decade's biggest movie ballads. On another, George Strait was proving traditional country was alive and well.

Meanwhile, Bananarama owned the dance floor, Jean Carne topped the R&B chart, and Steve Winwood ruled rock radio.

August 4, 1986, wasn't dominated by one sound. It was a snapshot of just how diverse the '80s really were.

I'd love to hear your memories. Which of these songs still gets turned up when it comes on?

🎶 #TomsDailyDanceJam

Some songs don't just fill a dance floor...

They become the dance floor.

If this one comes on and you're still sitting down, I don't know what to tell you.

Funkytown — Lipps Inc.

https://youtu.be/QayLoG7sW\_w?is=czYMjOLTtgwiEH4Z⁠

Disco may have dominated the headlines in the summer of 1978, but the Billboard charts tell a much richer story.

This week's No. 1s include The Rolling Stones, A Taste of Honey, Kenny Rogers, Karen Young, and Pablo Cruise, capturing one of the most diverse musical moments of the decade.

Today's edition also looks at what was happening outside the record store, plus why Gerry Rafferty's Baker Street remains the perfect bonus track for the summer of '78.

What song from this week's charts still gets turned up every time you hear it?

When most people think about the summer of 1964, they think of The Beatles.

They're right.

But when I dug into the Billboard charts from August 1, 1964, I found something history doesn't talk about nearly enough.

While Beatlemania dominated the headlines, Roger Miller was ruling country music, The Supremes were on the verge of a Motown breakthrough, The Beach Boys were still defining the California sound, and Dean Martin was proving traditional pop wasn't finished yet.

It's a great reminder that history usually remembers the biggest headline.

The charts remember what everyone was actually listening to.

I'd love to hear from people who were around then—or anyone who's discovered these songs years later.

If you could only keep one song from this week's charts, which one survives?

Germany had surrendered, but World War II wasn't over yet. As Americans waited for loved ones to return from the Pacific, the music on jukeboxes and radios offered something the headlines couldn't: hope.

Today's edition of Tom's Number Ones travels back to July 31, 1945, featuring:

🎵 "On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe" – Johnny Mercer & the Pied Pipers

🎷 "Who Threw the Whiskey in the Well" – Lucky Millinder & His Orchestra (also our Proto-Rock Pick)

🤠 "Oklahoma Hills" – Jack Guthrie

💃 "Caldonia" – Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five

❤️ "Sentimental Journey" – Les Brown & His Orchestra featuring Doris Day

The article also explores why these records mattered, what America looked like that week, and how the seeds of rock and roll were already being planted while the big-band era was still in full swing.