Singing News Top 80 Chart (1970 - Present)

Also see Singing News Number One Songs

History

The Singing News launched a monthly "Hit Parade" airplay chart with the January 1970 issue. "Jesus Is Coming Soon" was the first number one song and this honor was shared by the Oak Ridge Boys, Inspirations, Florida Boys, and the Downings. The first few charts placed an emphasis on the song, so it was possible for more than one artist to share the same position. By the end of 1971, the chart featured specific recordings, so only one artist was credited for each song going forward. The same song could still appear more than once on a chart if multiple groups had recorded it.

In late 1972, The Singing News added a "Top 10 Songs" chart which only listed song titles. It was similar to the first charts except no artist was listed. It pretty much paralleled the main chart, except in instances where multiple artists had recorded the same song; points for those songs were combined which could result in a higher position.

In 1973, several "Top 20" charts were launched for various sheet music companies, and several "Top 10" album charts were launched for various record labels. It is not clear whether these were advertisements purchased by the sheet music companies and record labels.

A "Sacred Hits" chart was added in September 1973. This chart covered artists that would typically be categorized in later years as "Inspirational" in style.

Several more charts have come and gone over the years. There were Traditional and Contemporary charts for a while. In more recent years, charts have been included for Bluegrass Gospel, New Releases, and Faith Country. The main airplay chart began with 20 songs per month was expanded to include 40 songs and later to include 80 songs each month. In February 2023, the magazine began publishing a Weekly Chart on their website to provide a timely report on song movement.

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NOTE TO SITE EDTORS: Please use July 1970, January 1980, and May 2019 for reference on format.