Charts: Billboard Top 100 vs Cashbox Top 100

[Cdnbob]

I don't know if this is the right section to post this, so my apologies if I've got it in the wrong section.

While doing some research into 70's music for a playlist, I discovered a site that contains the Cashbox magazine charts from the mid-1940's to 1996. Having always based my musical 'selections' on what's on the Billboard charts, can anyone tell me if there was any difference between what was on Billboard vs Cashbox? Which was the more respected chart service in the industry? Was one more valued than the other? And why did Cashbox cease publication?

[Salsoul1975]

Billboard was more revered I guess and taken more seriously than Cash Box (after all, the American Top 40 was based on Billboard's chart).

Cash Box and Billboard's charts could be similar at times, and not-so-similar at other times. During the '70s, a lot of songs made the CB charts that did not appear in BB's. Also, many songs that placed high on BB didn't chart the same way on CB.

[disco-disc]

Hi Bob, what is the URL of the Cashbox charts site please?

[rhessel]

Originally Posted by disco-disc

Hi Bob, what is the URL of the Cashbox charts site please?

Hi disco-disc:

Before the Cdnbob answer I googled it and find the website.

Try here:

Cash Box Top Singles

Hope it helps.

Cheers,

Hessel

[markydefad]

Hmmmm...that's interesting. Must spend some time checking out their pop charts. Thanks for the tip.

[Cdnbob]

Originally Posted by rhessel

Hi disco-disc:

Before the Cdnbob answer I googled it and find the website.

Try here:

Cash Box Top Singles

Hope it helps.

Cheers,

Hessel

Yup, that's the site. Its been interesting reading I can say that.

[drlove]

For the most part, Cashbox (to the best of my amateur chart-freak understanding) represented the best-selling 45s in the nation, while Billboard's Hot 100 was always a mixture of radio play and record sales.

From looking at the #1 hits in the '70s on Cashbox, you'll see many, many Billboard #1's and many other Billboard top 5's. Rarely, though, you'll get an exception like this: Cashbox has "Run Joey Run" (tragic teenage tale) hitting No. 1 in October '75, whereby its highest ranking in Billboard was only a "measly" #10.

When Record World and Cashbox and Billboard all had competitive record industry trade magazines, an oft-quoted rallying cry was "It Ain't No. 1 'til it's No. 1 in Billboard". As the other 2 ceased publication over the years, Billboard certainly reinforced its authority in the music biz.

However, from a collecting standpoint, Cashbox and Record World always had cooler covers, as they would typically use up the entire cover with a pic of a popular artist of the day. Billboard's covers generally resembled a newspaper with columns upon columns and little pics here and there.

[efunk_adelic]

at the Cashbox site... I thought I read somewhere that they include jukebox plays as well.

[Salsoul1975]

"Run Joey Run" peaked at #4 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart on October 4, 1975.

I've always felt that Billboard's Hot 100 chart was erratic in the mid-'70s; a song was #1 one week and the following week fell out of the Top 10, and would be off the chart in two-to-three weeks. Same for records in the top ten, especially from late 1974-late 1975. It wasn't until the summer of 1976 that records started having a longer shelf life, and the length of #1's increased (Rod Stewart's "Tonight's The Night" eight-week run at #1 in late 1976 was the longest stay at #1 on the Hot 100 since Gilbert O'Sullivan's "Alone Again (Naturally)" in 1972).

[disco-disc]

Thanks for the link and info. guys....will check it out...
What are people's views about Record World Charts then ?...they had a Disco File column and Top 20 written by Vince Aletti, who was quite in the know regarding DJ plays BITD.
I think Marky is going to review in his Billboard Consensus charts 1976 round up (Hope it is alright to 'Tease' Marky)