| @Eric7272: rockgolf is PARTIALLY correct. The actual reason for Thriller's not being on the list is due entirely to how the song was FINALLY released. The song was getting massive radio airplay during October and November of 1983, then went ballistic after the video debuted. However, there was no commercial single available until late January of 1984. At this point in Billboard's history, a song could only hit the Hot 100 if it had a commercial single available (this meant anyone could buy the song; promo copies played at radio stations and clubs didn't qualify). Once Thriller was released commercially, the song had a very high debut on the Hot 100 (IMS, it debuted in the Top 20) and eventually peaked at #4, but the song only spent about 10 or 11 weeks on the entire Hot 100 (with 9 weeks in the Top 40).
I'll note that a similar thing happened with John Lennon's Imagine. It was very heavily played on radio in the summer and fall of 1971 but wasn't released as a single until late September which caused a very high debut and swift rise to peak at #3 but it also suffered a quick descent.
Billboard now allows a song to appear on the Hot 100 based solely on radio airplay--it's done so since late 1998. That, fellow Sporclers, is why you won't find Stairway to Heaven among Led Zeppelin's most successful US singles--it was played very heavily, even on mainstream Top 40 radio stations, but it was never released in the US as a single. |
