As years go by
Hey Gary. I loved your recent story on Casey Kasem and the 40th anniversary of "American
Top 40". I still miss his weekly countdown. Every now and then, I end up in a conversation
about artists who define decades, based on not only success, but pop culture impact. Of
course, many artists span multiple decades, and perhaps this is subjective. But, to me,
Frank Sinatra "is" the '40s, Elvis Presley the '50s, the Beatles the '60s, the Bee Gees
the '70s and Michael Jackson the '80s.
So, who "is" the '90s? I'm not sure I can put the face on the decade. Nirvana maybe? Kurt
Cobain and company perhaps best define the grunge genre that so took hold that decade, and
Cobain's early death put a mysterious stamp on the era. And the '00s? Perhaps Eminem?
What are your thoughts? Pat Thomas, Sparks, Nevada
Hi Pat. These are some great questions, and what perhaps makes them so fun is that there's
no definitive answer. Joel Whitburn's most recent version of "Top Pop Singles", which
chronicles the first 50 years of the Hot 100 (1958-2008), names the following artists as
the top performers of each decade:
'60s: the Beatles
'70s: Elton John
'80s: Michael Jackson
'90s: Mariah Carey
'00s: Nelly
Whitburn's "The Billboard Albums" similarly logs the chart performances of every title to
grace the Billboard 200 since its launch as a weekly list in March 1956. Here are the
volume's top album artists by decade. You'll likely be surprised at who's tops for the '80s
and '00s:
1956-59: Frank Sinatra
'60s: the Beatles
'70s: Elton John
'80s: Willie Nelson
'90s: Garth Brooks
2000-05: Bill & Gloria Gaither
In Billboard's 1999 year-end issue, the combined song and album decade placement for the
'90s shows as follows:
1. Mariah Carey
2. Janet Jackson
3. Garth Brooks
4. Boyz II Men
5. Celine Dion
This past December, Billboard published a similar retrospective of the '00s, in which
R&B/hip-hop artists blanketed the top five:
1. Eminem
2. Usher
3. Nelly
4. Beyonce
5. Alicia Keys
While digesting all these rankings, since you asked, here are the artists that come to my
mind when I think of each decade's top performers. '50s: Presley. '60s: the Beatles. '70s:
John. '80s: Madonna. '90s: Carey. '00s: Eminem. I choose Carey for the '90s based on her
14 Hot 100 No. 1s during the decade, a run that includes time spent at the top spot in
every year in that span. While grunge, and alternative in general, arguably reached a pop
culture zenith in the '90s, the genre's biggest hits often did not make the impacts on the
Hot 100 that one might expect. (Nirvana's biggest Hot 100 entry, "Smells Like Teen Spirit",
peaked at No. 6.)
As for artist of the '10s: Lady Gaga? Taylor Swift? The Black Eyed Peas? An act yet unknown?
It will be fun to find out. Most importantly, Billboard.com readers, what are your opinions
on the topic? Please feel free to e-mail me at askbb@billboard.com.
(Ask Billboard)
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