What iTunes Does Not Do: What Was #1 When?

What was the Number One song when you graduated from high school? When you became engaged? What was the top song when you were born (you’re not likely to remember)?

This is a feature we need in iTunes. Billboard’s top songs by date and going back to the 1940s. You know the 40s, right? WWII, Tera was in college.

iTunes has a bunch of Billboard Charts which list the Top 100 by year (except for those years when there apparently were not 100 bonafide hits).

That’s a worthy inclusion because it has allowed some of us, the older crowd, to give actual consideration to the songs we buy rather than buying the latest from Kanye West (Jay Leno says, “Kanye is African for ‘Kenny’”) sight unseen and song unheard.

The Billboard Charts let us select a year, give us a list of top songs (they’re NOT all on the list), and let us select each, one by one. I’ve purchased a few hundred songs that way.

It’s a better deal than Time-Life (unless you order the Time-Life CDs, rip them to iTunes then return the CDs, no questions asked).

A list of top Bilboard songs by date is a feature whose time has come.

I checked the latest on the February 28th Wish List for new Apple Products™ and this on is number 137 (with a bullet), so it’s not likely to show up next week.

Billboard magazine, which tracks music charts and has since Tera tried on her first bra, wants you to pay money for the privilege of knowing.

That’s not likely to happen because I already know things I’ve paid for; things I no longer want to know but can’t get a refund. So, the next best thing must be theft.

Of couse, I would never advocate such a thing, unless it’s documents from the US Patent and Trademark Office revealing their non-use of computers.

On the other hand, I did find a web site that does exactly what I want. Top songs by date. NLounge Forums to the rescue.

Get your song related questions ready. For example, what was the #1 song in the US when you were born? How about the day you graduated? Or, six years later when you lost your virginity?

What was #1 when Nixon resigned the presidency? What was #1 when Neil Armstrong stepped onto the moon?

Good questions, all. Now there’s a way to get the answer and it’s only a Click away. Or 37 clicks. It’s addicting.

When Nixon resigned August 8, 1974, Roberta Flack sat atop the charts with “Feel Like Makin’ Love”. Too far back for you?

Fast forward a couple of years. Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak officially started Apple Computer on April 1, 1976. What was #1?  “Disco Lady” by Johnnie Taylor.

You remember disco, right? John Travolta, Saturday Night Fever?

I became pregnant on July 4, 2005. I’m telling you, I will never celebrate Independence Day the same way again.

What was on top back then? No, on top the music charts?

I’ll let you look that one up. Just a couple of years earlier it was Nelly’s “Hot In Here.” Was it ever.

September 11, 2001 is a date many Americans will never forget. “Fallin” by Alicia Keyes was number one.

Christmas Day, December 25 in the US, has an interesting history of number one songs. In 1998 the chart topper was “I’m Your Angel” by R. Kelly and Celine Dion. More than a decade earlier, it was “Like A Virgin” by Madonna. Go figure.

Regardless, this is a needed feature in iTunes, and I eagerly await Apple’s announcement of “fun” on February 28th. What could be more fun than knowing what was number one on the charts on a specific day in your history?

For example, what was number one when Steve Jobs was born? Or number one when Apple introduced the Mac?