Who was the first artist to reach 100 charting hits?
The concept of virality seems relatively new in today’s world, but the reality of it spans decades, cloaking itself in different disguises beyond the modern manifestation of social media. The charts, for instance, have sought to quantifiably measure popularity since the 1950s (technically even earlier in America), though signalling something far less fleeting or disposable than what we might be exposed to today on platforms like TikTok.
Now, the charts have evolved into something many consider the death of modern art. No longer is it a harmless compilation of things people are into week on week, month on month; it’s a deeply structured system that encourages people to play it at its own game, pandering to expectations and formulae in a way that makes the whole thing seem like a competitive sport. A cesspit, if you will, for those who either get it or they don’t.
Of course, that’s the more cynical outlook, with the reality far more complicated than that. But while the charting system wasn’t invented to be a bad thing, it’s hard to ignore how its prominence occurred somewhat insidiously. In America, for instance, one of the earliest charting systems can be traced back to the early 1900s, but what we now consider to be the modern list arrived in the UK in the ’50s, with most other countries soon following suit. It introduced a very different beast that would transform the music industry from merely another rootless art form into one with a stringent commercial footing.
But most acts have always reaped the rewards of these kinds of scoreboards, like The Beatles, who benefited from a dose of virality early doors with ‘Love Me Do’, especially in places like America, where their hooks weren’t as sharp but quickly found their edge thanks to that unexpected momentum. Suppose it could be said that this bled into their dominance in the years to come, even with a charting monopoly that can’t quite be seen as the same kind of credible by today’s standards or attitudes.
Who was the first artist to reach 100 charting hits?
Still, for many reasons, charting success is seen as a pretty impressive feat, even if this varies from artist to artist. Of course, we can’t look at today’s Top 40 with the same eyes or mind as someone analysing the charts or any other success metric in the ’50s or ’60s, but there are no doubt certain numbers that people can’t ignore, even the most anti-commercial sceptics.
One is that of the first artist to reach 100 charting hits. This was, of course, Elvis Presley, who officially reached the milestone in 1975 when ‘Trouble’ entered the charts, and maintained his record as the artist with the most charting hits for over three decades until he was knocked off by—get your sighs and eye rolls ready—the Glee cast. Nevertheless, that just proves the two sides to the whole system: ‘The King’ at one end, a different kind of mass movement taking hold at the other.
In the modern world, the parameters for success against virality feel far less hinged on anything specific. What does it say about art? Back then, the lines between the art and the chart felt a little hazier, despite the many voices arguing the opposite. Now, it’s impossible to generalise with any kind of sweeping statement, negative or otherwise, proving that, maybe, it’s less a reflection on art’s integrity and more an endless conversation with no actual definitive answer.
