Friday, May 1, 2015

The Top Billboard Top 40 Artists of 1976 - 1985 [Part 2 of 3]


In an earlier post, I listed the 42 acts that had at least ten singles debut on the Billboard Top 40 in the years 1976-85.  I then posed the question: who had the most Top 40 hits premiere on the Top 40 during that time period?   Today, we'll name the first 32 acts on that list; the top 10 acts will wait for the next post.  If the artist had one or more #1 hits during the decade, the number of those singles are listed in parentheses following the acts' names.


Ten Top 40 Singles, 1976-85
  • Dan Fogelberg
  • Phil Collins (4)
  • REO Speedwagon (2)
  • Bruce Springsteen


Eleven Top 40 Singles, 1976-85
  • ABBA (1)
  • Air Supply (1)
  • The Cars
  • Chicago (2)
  • Earth, Wind & Fire
  • Heart
  • John Cougar Mellencamp (1)
  • Kenny Loggins (1)
  • Prince (2)
  • The Rolling Stones (1)
  • Sheena Easton


Twelve Top 40 Singles, 1976-85
  • Fleetwood Mac (1)


Thirteen Top 40 Singles, 1976-85
  • Barbra Streisand (4)
  • Bee Gees (7)
  • Journey
  • Linda Ronstadt
  • Little River Band
  • Michael Jackson (5)
  • Neil Diamond (1)
  • Styx (1)


Fourteen Top 40 Singles, 1976-85
  • Bob Seger
  • Foreigner (1)
  • Kool & The Gang (1)
  • Pat Benatar


Fifteen Top 40 Singles, 1976-85
  • The Commodores (2)
  • Rick Springfield (1)
  • Rod Stewart (2)
  • Stevie Wonder (6)


4 comments :

  1. Those are some impressive numbers from the first 32. Clearly certain artists ruled during this period. A few of these surprised me - thought they might be higher. Looking forward to final post.

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  2. Just did the math - that's 393 songs so far. Quite a big number.

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  3. BOOM! There went my trifecta of Fogelberg-Streisand-Diamond. Ten artists had more Top 40 hits than them? Balderdash and poppycock.

    Checking the remaining ten racers, I am betting the house, my IRA and my nest egg on Elton John, Kenny Rogers and the dynamic duo of Hall & Oates. Or a female. Wait, what are my odds?

    Please give us some Adult Contemporary info along the same lines or is that a seperate series?

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    Replies
    1. Herc, I am pretty sure your three are strong contenders for the title.

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