Chris Molanphy on The Hot 100, Popular Songs, Billy Joel, Garth Brooks + More!

09/05/22 • 85 min

The Hot 100 has been the leading arbiter of song popularity within America since its conception in 1958. To better understand its nooks and crannies, and to better contextualize what makes a song so popular nationwide, we brought in the chart expert himself, Chris Molanphy, to break it all down. Molanphy is the author of the Slate series "Why Is This Song No. 1?" and the host of the Slate podcast Hit Parade.
In this conversation, Tim, Chris, and Chris discuss popular songs, changes in the charts, and specific Hall of Songs topics such as freestyle, Billy Joel, and the fall and rise of country music as a crossover-capable genre.

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Social: http://www.twitter.com/hallofsongs
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Website: http://www.hallofsongs.com
Social: http://www.twitter.com/hallofsongs
Please rate and review us on Apple Podcasts!
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hall-of-songs/id1550546067

Previous Episode

1988! An Historic Year When Pop Expands: Our Top-12 Songs!

1988 is a wild year in music. Most of the big names that defined the 1980s are taking a break, leaving the door open for a number of new faces to break in and help define the sound that'll take us into the 1990s. This is a year of rap, of freestyle- and house-inspired dance, of alternative rock, and of off-centered mainstream pop.
Join Tim and Chris as they pick their top-12 songs of 1988. These are nominees for the prestigious Hall of Songs, the hall of fame for songs that currently includes 72 songs. Listen to the episode, then vote for your Hall of Songs picks at hallofsongs.com.

Website: http://www.hallofsongs.com
Social: http://www.twitter.com/hallofsongs
Please rate and review us on Apple Podcasts!
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hall-of-songs/id1550546067

Next Episode

34th Election Results: Small Ballot ... Big Results as We Welcome New Hall of Songs Members

We knew going into the 34th election that we could see some fireworks. The latest ballot was the smallest in Hall of Songs history: 18 songs, all of which released between 1984 and '88. With records by the likes of Prince, Cyndi Lauper, Madonna, N.W.A., Metallica and more on the list, we were pretty excited heading into this show.
Listen to find out if any songs ... or how many songs ... got enough voter support to be inducted into the Hall of Songs. Learn more about all that we do at hallofsongs.com.

Website: http://www.hallofsongs.com
Social: http://www.twitter.com/hallofsongs
Please rate and review us on Apple Podcasts!
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hall-of-songs/id1550546067