I’ve decided to give the year-end charts a page of their own, because the way I figured my TKR year end charts needs a bit of an explanation. First off, for the first several years of the chart – 1978 through 1983, I believe – i figured the year-end chart on a weirdly staggered basis; instead of following conventional wisdom, and the methods of the three major music trades at the time, Billboard, Cashbox, and Record World, who all followed a “first survey week in December prior year to last survey week of November current year” pattern, I figured mine on an out-of-balance “third survey week in November prior year to second survey week in November current year”. I admit that this was solely to try and make sure that the song I wanted at #1 for the year would be there. It screwed me over BIG TIME the first full year – 1978 – for reasons I will explain in a moment. this is also how a number of songs that were actually bigger in the previous year hit huge on the following year’s year-end chart, because of the method I use to figure my year end chart rankings (see below). I later switched to the Billboard method for figuring the year end chart in terms of survey week qualifiers. However, I have also always done something different with the individual ranking. Whereas the trade magazines had access to sales figures, radio airplay, and such, they figured by total weeks at the top peak position, then by weeks on the chart, and downward from there. I didn’t have such access to information like that, and after all, it was a personal chart. So I decided to figure it differently. The TKR year end charts have ALWAYS been determined by the following score points, in order: 1) total weeks spent on the chart; 2) peak position on the chart; 3) weeks at peak position on the chart 4) in the event of a tie (and there were lots of them), I would rank the songs in order of personal preference based on the speed the song took to get to its peak position. This method has served me well, and I continue to figure my year-end charts this way. Although that very first year – 1978 – bit me on the ass when the #1 song of the year on TKR ended up being a song that did NOT hit #1 on my chart, the ONLY time in TKR chart history that such a thing happened. The #1 song for 1978 on TKR was “Boogie Oogie Oogie” by A Taste Of Honey, which spent a week or two longer on the chart than any other song that year, BUT which peaked at #2 on the weekly chart. Honestly….(insert Yosemite Sam pseudo-swearing here…). But other than that one time, my calculation methods have served me well. So keep that in mind when you’re perusing the year end charts…you’re bound to find some unexpected gems and obscure surprises therein…heh heh heh…also, I have included the first chart I ever made – the top hits of 1977 year-end ranking, plus the top ten listings for 1978/79, as I had them written down separately in my year-end files; I still cannot find the weekly charts for those two years, dammit anyway….
Charts coming soon!