Music Charts Archive

This is the first Hot 100. Billboard published its first Hot 100 in the issue dated 8/4/1958, so no record here has a LAST WEEK or 2 WKS AGO figure, and the archive infers no bullet and no Hot Shot Debut for it: there is no earlier chart to measure against. The weeks from 1958 to 1979 come from a chart file rather than from the pages; their bullets and Hot Shot Debuts are inferred from the chart’s movement. The chart file lacks 3 records this week, put back here from Billboard’s chart history: “Baubles, Bangles And Beads” (The Kirby Stone Four) at 51; “High School Confidential” (Jerry Lee Lewis And His Pumping Piano) at 64; “Gotta Have Rain” (Eydie Gorme) at 75. The file’s own ranks stand, because the next week’s LAST WEEK column bears them out, so a record put back goes into the rank the file leaves empty.

  Bullets and Hot Shot Debuts before 1980 are inferred from the chart's movement, not read off the page: a bullet for a record that is new, back, up on last week, or at last week's rank for the second week running; the Hot Shot Debut is the week's highest new entry. The first Hot 100, 8/4/1958, has none.