On The Records

Billboard Magazine recently published an article showing the artists who spent the most weeks at #1 on their album chart.  First, we’ll show you the results, and then take a deeper dive.

As you can see, The Beatles have the most weeks at #1 by far, and Taylor Swift has the second most, with a significant lead over Elvis Presley in third place.  Of the nineteen artists on the list, most of them have either died or are unlikely to produce any new music.  Other than possible Greatest Hits or anthology releases, the artists most likely to add to their #1’s through new recordings are Taylor Swift, Adele, Drake, Eminem, and Morgan Wallen.

There are definitely surprises.

Who knew The Kingston Trio (Folk artists from the 1950s) would tun out to be the American group whose albums  spent the most weeks at number one?  Their biggest album, At Large, spent 15 weeks topping the chart.  The only other 1950s solo artist besides Elvis Presley is Harry Belafonte, and who expected that?  His album Calypso accounted for 31 weeks of his 37 at number one.  Other long-running albums were Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours at 31 weeks, and Michael Jackson’s Thriller with 37 weeks.

Besides The Beatles, the only 1960s artists are The Rolling Stones and The Monkees.  The Stones had nine #1 albums from 1965 to 1981.  The Monkees’ time at the top fell within just 13 months, with two albums from November of 1966 to December of 1967.  The lone American Rock band to make the list is the Eagles.  It would be nice to include Fleetwood Mac, but although they were based in America in the 70s, they’re only two-fifths American.

The top two artists, The Beatles & Taylor Swift, not only have the most weeks at #1, they have the most albums that made it to that position.  The Beatles have 19 #1 albums that topped the Billboard 200.

1. Meet The Beatles, 1964
2. The Beatles’ Second Album, 1964
3. A Hard Day’s Night, 1964
4. Beatles ’65, 1964
5. Beatles VI, 1965
6. Help!, 1965
7. Rubber Soul, 1965
8. Yesterday And Today, 1966
9. Revolver, 1966
10. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, 1967
11. Magical Mystery Tour, 1967
12. The Beatles (White Album), 1968
13. Abbey Road, 1969
14. Let It Be, 1970
15. The Blue Album (1967-1970), 1973
16. Anthology 1, 1995
17. Anthology 2, 1996
18. Anthology 3, 1996
19. Beatles 1, 2000

Sgt. Pepper spent 15 weeks at the top.  In England, The Beatles released fewer albums, and had 14 #1’s.  By the way, six more Beatles albums hit #2 in the U.S.

Taylor Swift has 14 albums in a row that reached #1 on the Top 200 album chart…with the certainty that more will follow.  Swift’s 2006 first album, Taylor Swift, “only” hit #5, but it was #1 for 24 weeks on the Country chart.

1. Fearless, 2008
2. Speak Now, 2010
3. Red, 2012
4. 1989, 2014
5. Reputation, 2017
6. Lover, 2019
7. Folklore, 2020
8. Evermore, 2020
9. Fearless (Taylor’s Version), 2021
10. Red (Taylor’s Version), 2021
11. Midnights, 2022
12. Speak Now (Taylor’s Version), 2023
13. 1989 (Taylor’s Version) 2023
14. The Tortured Poets Department, 2024

It was her latest album that spent the most weeks (17) at #1.  Tortured Poets was the most streamed album in the world last year.  Three times more than Billie Eilish, and four times more than Sabrina Carpenter.  Those two had the 2nd & 3rd most streamed albums in the U.S.

These days, it’s easier for well-known artists to get a number one album, because of the rush of streaming and sales the week it comes out.  It used to take time for music listeners to become aware of albums (they had to buy physical copies instead of instantly being able to listen to them).  Normally, the albums would work their way up the charts as the artists toured to support them.  Also, if singles from the albums became hits, people were more likely to take a chance on purchasing the albums.  On the other hand, today’s albums can fade fast unless people find enough good songs to warrant repeat listenings.

Sometimes we take a chance on concerts that don’t feature artist we know really well.  We only have two albums by The Wallflowers, plus songs Jakob Dylan performed in the Echo In The Canyon movie about the musicians of Laurel Canyon in the 1960s.  But, when we saw The Wallflowers were going to be in our hometown of Eugene, Oregon, we bought tickets.

The show was sold out at the 750-seat McDonald Theatre.  We ended up sitting in the balcony.  As you can tell by the marquee, the big draw is Jakob Dylan, the son of music legend Bob Dylan.

Jakob’s voice has always sounded a little smoother than his dad’s, but the similarities are very obvious.  The first album by The Wallflowers was released in 1992, but it was their 1996 album Bringing Down The Horse upon which their reputation and career were built.

The album includes their best known hits… “One Headlight”, “6th Avenue Heartache”, and “”The Difference”.  The only member of the group still active is Jakob Dylan, but that’s okay when he’s the lead vocalist and main songwriter.  The rest of the band was made up of talented backup musicians who have been with Jakob for about five years.

Jakob Dylan’s profile sure looks a lot like his dad’s.  As we watched the band, it was obvious how good all the musicians were, but there was a problem.  The lead vocals were too buried in the mix.  We could see Dylan was making an effort to convey the lyrics, but they were nearly impossible to discern, even for my wife, who has excellent hearing.  Compounding the problem was our unfamiliarity with many of the songs.

For us, the evening was saved by a strong ending.  “One Headlight” and “Who’s That Man Walking ‘Round My Garden” provided a solid finish to the main concert.

When the band returned for an encore, Dylan was wearing a hat, and we had the surprise of two excellent cover songs… “Wild World” by Cat Stevens, and “The Waiting” by Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers.  Tom Petty, who often included covers in his shows, would probably have enjoyed another band covering his song.  Then The Wallflowers closed the evening with their own hit, “The Difference”.  That burst of five really good songs in a row made the whole concert worthwhile.

Taylor Swift is overjoyed!

She had been massively disappointed when she was unable to buy the rights to her own recordings six years ago, but today, May 30th, 2025, Swift announced she has purchased all her early recordings from Shamrock Capital.  Taylor published some photos with her first six albums that she hadn’t previously owned.

Taylor said… “All of the music I’ve ever made now belongs to me.”  Every aspect of her career, including videos, concert films, art, photography, and unreleased material, are all under her control.  Swift praised Shamrock Capital for their handling of the sale, and she said the price was reasonable for both sides, and not the high amount speculated in the media.  Shamrock paid $300-million, so the number was likely somewhere north of that when Swift bought the rights.  The popular estimate is $360-million.

So where does that leave “Taylor’s Version” of her Reputation album?  Fans have been expecting the re-recorded album to be released any day, but Taylor says she hasn’t even recorded a quarter of it.  She says she “kept hitting a stopping point”, and that it may be the only one of her first six albums that can’t be improved upon.  So what about the other album that hasn’t been released in Taylor’s Version?

Better news on this one.  Taylor says the new recording of her debut album is complete, and “I love how it sounds now.”  Unfortunately, no release date was announced.

Taylor Swift’s fight to own her recordings, and the unusual step she made of re-recording her first six albums was a big deal in the music industry.  The “Taylor’s Version” albums were massively successful, and some other artists have made similar moves.  All the attention the Swift saga received has made a difference for artists entering the music industry.  Swift said… “Every time a new artist tells me they negotiated to own their master recordings in their record contract because of this fight, I’m reminded of how important it was for all of this to happen.”

Although it was sad to hear of the passing of Rick Derringer, the music he left us is anything but sad.   There’s the fond memory of listening to the 45 of “Hang On Sloopy” in my room in 1965.

This was the first record I bought that had a lead singer who was a teenager like me.  Rick Derringer was only 16 when he sang the lead vocal, and 17 when the record came out in July of 1965.  By October, “Hang On Sloopy” was #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.  The song became a garage band classic, and I sang it with my band at dances in the late 60’s.

Later in 1965, The McCoys’ Rock cover of the Jazz classic “Fever” hit #7.  I bought that one too, and even their under-the-Top-40 single, “You Make Me Feel So Good” (#53) in 1966.

Rick Derringer went on to perform solo, and with his own group, Derringer, in the 1970s.  His biggest solo hit was in 1973 with a song he wrote, “Rock And Roll Hoochie Koo” (#23).

(Rick performing with his band Derringer in 1977)

Rick Derringer was a Grammy-winning producer, and an excellent guitarist who performed on many hits with famous musicians.  His stint with Ringo Starr And His All Starr Band brought Rick to Eugene, Oregon in 2010.  Here’s what he looked like back then.

We heard him perform “Hang On Sloopy” and “Rock And Roll Hoochie Koo”, and of course he played with the band all night.  Somewhere during the 45-year gap between when I first heard The McCoys and when Rick performed here, the full version of “Hang On Sloopy” was released (of course I bought it), and that’s the one he sang.  If you hear the verse about a “red dress”, that’s the long version from before it was edited down to the hit single.

Rick Derringer…singer-songwriter-guitarist-producer…was 77.

Neil Young, a Canadian who moved to the United States in 1966 to help Stephen Stills form the innovative band Buffalo Springfield, has always been outspoken.  It was the shooting of four Kent State University students by National Guardsmen in 1970 that caused him to quickly write and record the protest song,“Ohio” with Crosby Stills Nash & Young.

The song includes the lyrics “Tin Soldiers and Nixon coming”.  The President at the time, Richard Nixon, was a verbal target of a lot of young people as he expanded the unpopular Vietnam War.  He also was later forced out of office for his part in the Watergate scandal.  He saw his top aides convicted and imprisoned for the coverup of the Watergate break-in, but Nixon was given a pardon by his replacement, President Gerald Ford.

Now, 55-years after “Ohio”, there’s another President who has ticked off dual Canadian & American citizen Neil Young.

Naturally, Neil was not happy with the recent talk of making Canada a state, and with the tariffs that make the normally easy movement of goods and services between the U.S. and our closest ally so difficult and expensive for all North Americans.  Young even said his outspokenness might cause him to not be allowed back in the country after his European tour.

Then another famous Rock Star (who was born in the U.S.A.), Bruce Springsteen, spoke out too.

Springsteen was performing in England when he said… “In my home, the America I love, the America I’ve written about, and that has been a beacon of hope and freedom for 250 years, is currently in the control of a corrupt, incompetent, and treasonous administration.

The sitting president then posted that Springsteen is “Highly Overated”, and threatened that “We’ll see how it goes for him” when he gets back to the country.  He also used the office of the President to call Springsteen “a dried out prune”.  Here’s a recent photo of Bruce, you can decide.

For his part, Bruce Springsteen again spoke out saying… “In my home they’re persecuting people for their right to free speech and for voicing their descent.  In America, the richest men are taking satisfaction in abandoning the world’s poorest children to sickness and death (by ending USAID).  In my country, they’re taking sadistic pleasure in the pain they inflict on loyal American workers (over 260,000 government workers have lost their jobs).”

Of course Neil Young supported his fellow singer-songwriter.  He said… “Bruce and thousands of musicians think you are ruining America.  Stop thinking about what rockers are saying.  Start thinking about saving America from the mess you made.”

The President suggested musicians and entertainers who supported his opponent in the last election should be investigated.  He singled out one pop star for a personal insult by saying “Taylor Swift is no longer hot.”

It was not clear whether he was saying Swift was no longer successful, or no longer looked good.  Just two days ago, it was announced that Taylor Swift became the first woman to have three albums be streamed more than 10-billion times each (Folklore, Lover, & Midnights).  She’s tied with The Weeknd for that distinction.

So, Swift is still hot professionally.  You can bet all your money that her next album will be her 15th straight #1.

He must have meant her looks.  Here she is during a recent appearance at the 2025 Grammys.  You can decide.

Like in the 60s and 70s, artists and all people in America, even presidents, are free to express their opinions, and we can all agree they should be able to do it without threats of persecution.

The Who’s lead guitarist & singer-songwriter, Pete Townshend, is 80.  Lead singer Roger Daltrey is 81.  And 82 is the year of their first Farewell Tour.

It was a big deal those 43 years ago.  The Who had their greatest success in the 60s & 70s, and their original drummer, Keith Moon had died of an overdose in 1978.  Back then, it didn’t seem out of place that a band would retire from touring after nearly two decades of success.  Rolling Stone magazine even put the band (with drummer Kenny Jones and bassist John Entwistle) on the cover and declared it The End.

Now, The Who are doing the 2025 version of their Farewell Tour, which is officially called The Song Is Over.  The tour name is the title of one of The Who’s best songs from their classic 1971 album, Who’s Next.  This tour will probably be the real final tour, at least for fans in the U.S. and Canada, where all the concerts are scheduled.  By the way, between the two farewell tours, the group had a Long Goodbye Tour in 2014.

Back in the heyday of Classic Rock, no one expected the artists to keep performing into their 80s.  After all it was The Who singing “Hope I die before I get old” in their hit “My Generation” in 1965.  Obviously the artists get as much emotional satisfaction out of their performances as their fans.

Here’s wishing the two remaining original members of the band, Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey, the best of health for their tour.  Some of our other Classic Rock artists have had health issues while performing recently, including Billy Joel, Tommy James, and Carlos Santana.  Tour dates for The Who are August 16th through September 28th, 2025.

If you’re old enough, you can remember when music was only available on vinyl records.

As the years passed, it became hard to find anything but new releases and the most popular music on records and cassettes.  Even some well known artists were just available on their Greatest Hits albums.  Record companies were only willing to keep their best selling albums available.  Less popular artists and albums were “out of print”, because of the costs of producing the physical product.

The first major step to digital came with the introduction of Compact Discs in late 1982 and their widespread availability by 1986.  Music collectors loved these handy little shiny discs, and record companies loved that consumers were willing to re-buy albums by their favorite artists in this new format.  However, it was still only the most popular albums and hits packages that dominated, because CDs were another physical medium.

Then came the innovation that brought back millions of recordings that had been unattainable for decades.  Songs and albums became available through digital sales.  Songs on iTunes were only 99-cents.  That had also been a common price for 45-RPM singles in the 1960s.  The main difference was that record companies didn’t have the expense of producing a physical product.  Almost all of our favorite oldies and obscure albums reappeared.

And now we’re in the age of streaming music.  Subscription services like Spotify & Amazon Music have in excess of 70-million recordings available.  They don’t quite have everything, but they’re close.  Streaming is the way the vast majority of music fans listen to music.  Some people still like owning music, whether on vinyl, CDs, or digital tracks, but that’s more of a hobby than a main source for most music fans.

Sometimes audiophiles complain about digital not sounding as good as the analog of vinyl, but the reality is that the best CDs and highest quality streaming might even fool audiophiles when played through their high end equipment.  It was recently discovered that some of the half-speed-mastered vinyl albums prized by collectors were actually run through a digital step in the mastering process.

Today it’s taken for granted that almost all recordings are readily available, and we can thank the digital format for that.

The movie A Complete Unknown has created renewed interest in the music of Bob Dylan.  Although the film is a fantastic recreation of Dylan’s emergence in the early 1960s, it didn’t have time to show how important it was that other artists covered his songs.  The first national and international attention Dylan received was as the songwriter of hits performed by Peter, Paul & Mary.

The trio was the most popular Folk act of the early 60s.  In ‘62 & ‘63 they had hits with “Lemon Tree” (#35), “If I Had A Hammer” (#10), and their #2 smash “Puff (The Magic Dragon” (#1 on the Adult Contemporary chart).  In July of 1963, they duplicated that chart performance with Bob Dylan’s song “Blowin’ In The Wind”.  It remains the definitive version.  Then in September of 1963, they entered the Top 40 with Dylan’s “Don’t Think Twice It’s All Right”, which made it to #9.  Other Folk artists also covered those songs on their albums.  Dylan was becoming known for his great songwriting.

Bob Dylan’s self-titled first album had failed to chart in the Top-200 in 1962.  Then with the notoriety of those two songs Peter, Paul & Mary covered, his second album The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan made it to #22 in 1963.  His 1964 album The Times They Are A-Chagin’ also did well, hitting #20.  However, through 1964, Bob Dylan never had a Top 40 hit on his own.  When another group covered his songs in 1965, he was pushed to the next level.

When Bob Dylan allowed The Byrds to record “Mr. Tambourine Man” in 1965 (before he released it), the Folk Rock movement burst onto the popular music scene.  The Byrds gave the song an electric Rock arrangement, and featured the 12-string guitar of Jim McGuinn.  Besides that #1 record, The Byrds had a Top-40 hit with Dylan’s “All I Really Want To Do”, and featured more of his songs on their popular albums.  Cher had an even bigger hit with “All I Really Want To Do” (#15).

Just a little later in 1965, Bob Dylan had his first Top-40 singles success with three of his own electric Folk Rock songs… “Subterranean Homesick Blues” (#39), “Like A Rolling Stone” (#2,), and “Positively 4th Street” (#7).

During that same time, August of 1965, The Turtles added Dylan’s “It Ain’t Me Babe” (#8) to the Folk Rock surge.

Other notable hit versions of Bob Dylan songs include… “My Back Pages” (#30) by The Byrds in 1967, “All Along The Watchtower” (#20) by Jimi Hendrix in 1968, “The Mighty Quinn” (#10) by Manfred Mann in 1968, “She Belongs To Me” (#33) by Rick Nelson in 1970, and “If Not For You” (#25) by Olivia Newton John in 1970.  That last one was also made famous by George Harrison as an album track that same year.

Some other famous covers of Dylan songs include “I Shall Be Released” by The Band, “I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight” by Linda Ronstadt, “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door” by Eric Clapton, “Down In The Flood” by Blood, Sweat & Tears, and “Tommorow Is Such A Long Time” by Rod Stewart.

During the 1960s and 1970s, Bob Dylan had a total of 12 Top-40 hits.  Besides those three mentioned earlier, his hits included…. “Rainy Day Women” (#2), “Just Like A Woman (#33), “Lay Lady Lay” (#7), “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door” (#12), and “Tangled Up In Blue” (#31).

Bob Dylan’s fans love a lot of his lesser known album tracks, but Dylan’s songwriting fame came with the help of the artists who turned so many of his great songs into popular hits.

One thing many old Rock Stars have proven is that they need to keep performing.  Most 82-year-olds have been retired for about 15 years, but Paul McCartney and other artists from the ‘60s & ‘70s (like The Rolling Stones, the Eagles, & Ringo Starr) keep playing concerts.  The latest example is McCartney doing three surprise shows at a small venue in New York City.

McCartney regularly sells out arenas and stadiums, but he decided to do three nights of surprise shows (February 11th, 12th, & 14th) at the Bowery Ballroom in Manhattan. It holds just 575 people….and tickets were only $50!  They were only sold at the Bowery on the day of the show.

Above are the exterior and interior of the small venue.  It was definitely a more intimate setting than McCartney normally plays, but it was a way to play for an audience without all the hassles and planning of a tour.

Even though the scale of the setting was small, McCartney did a full concert.  Here’s the setlist from the second show, February 12th, 2025.

You can see that 14 of the 20 songs were by The Beatles.

The Rock Stars from our youth don’t need any more money or fame. The only reason they keep performing is they love the thrill of sharing their music with their fans.

Bonus:

And…Paul McCartney closed the 50th Anniversary celebration of Saturday Night Live on February 16th, 2025.  His voice was rough, but he and his band rocked the Abbey Road medley of “Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight/The End”.  It was a rousing and fitting end to the show.  Paul Simon opened the show, and although his voice sounded weak, he later announced he’s doing some tour dates in 2025.  Another of that generation’s artists, Neil Young, is also touring in 2025.

Update:  There will be a new Paul McCartney book, Wings: The Story of a Band On The Run.  It will cover the band’s existence from 1971 to 1979.  The release date is November 4th, 2025.

On his new Country album Look Up, Ringo Starr is wearing a white hat, and we know it’s the good guys who wear those.

Pretty much everyone likes Ringo, but it seemed that in 1964 he was an outlaw.

The same year The Beatles broke big in America, the star of the TV Western Bonanza, Lorne Greene, released his #1 Country song about the outlaw Ringo.  Of course he wasn’t referring to the Liverpool lad, but it was also in 1964 that Ringo Starr recorded the Carl Perkins Country hit “Honey Don’t”.  The following year, Ringo covered the Buck Owens song “Act Naturally”.  He and the rest of The Beatles were fond of Country & Western music from the time they were kids.

When The Beatles split in 1970, Ringo Starr released a Country album, Beaucoups Of Blues.  There were some great Nashville session players on the album, but it only made it to #65 on the album chart.  Fifty-five years later, Ringo has released his second Country album, Look Up.

This time, Ringo enlisted the help of producer T Bone Burnett, famous for Country & Americana music, and again there are excellent Nashville musicians adding a real Country feel.

Burnett, shown here with Ringo, co-wrote 9 of the 11 songs.  Artist Billy Swan wrote one song, and Ringo co-wrote the song “Thankful” with Bruce Sugar.

Even at the age of 84, Ringo’s voice sounds a lot like it always has.  The album is getting mostly positive reviews, so Ringo fans should at least give it a listen on streaming services, or wherever the songs are available online.  The best track is the Country ballad “Time On My Hands”.  It has the typical feel of a sad song about losing the one you love.  The melody is strong, and the steel guitar playing is a definite highlight of the album.  It sounds like it could have been a hit for George Jones (the “She Thinks I Still Care” singer).  Ringo’s “Thankful” is also a good effort that fits well with other songs he’s co-written.

The sound of the record is really good with such a talented producer as Burnett, but his writing the bulk of the songs may have limited the album.  It might have been better if Ringo could have obtained a greater variety of songs from more of Nashville’s big pool of songwriters.

This Spring, CBS will air Ringo & Friends at the Ryman.  It’ll be performances from two shows at the famous Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, recorded January 14th & 15th.  The concerts included many Country Music guests, and featured Beatles songs, as well as tracks from the new album.  Some proceeds from the shows were donated to the Red Cross to help victims of the California wildfires.  The 2-hour TV special included interviews, and was broadcast on Monday March 10th, 2025.

Here’s the setlist from the Ryman performance (click to enlarge).

You might notice three songs were played from Ringo’s new album, “Time On My Hands”, “Thankful”, and “Look Up”.

After the Ryman concerts, Emmylou Harris invited Ringo to play at The Grand Ole Opry in Nashville on February 21st, 2025.  This performance was not used for the TV special.  The Opry concert received positive reviews, and most fans were impressed how the 84-year-old performed like a younger man..

Ringo’s long career continues with his All Starr Band touring with dates currently in May, June, and September.  Between tour dates, Ringo will celebrate his 85th birthday on July 7th.