Hit Parade | Music History and Music ...
What makes a song a smash? Talent? Luck? Timing? All that—and more. Chris Molanphy, pop-chart analyst and author of Slate’s “Why Is This Song No. 1?” series, tells tales from a half-century of chart history. Through storytelling, trivia and song snippets, Chris dissects how that song you love—or hate—dominated the airwaves, made its way to the top of the charts and shaped your memories forever.
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76
Still Billy Joel to Me Part 2
42 min
77
Still Billy Joel to Me Part 1
56 min
78
Point of No Return Part 2
45 min
79
Point of No Return Part 1
58 min
80
A Deal with the TV God Part 2
37 min
81
A Deal with the TV God Part 1
50 min
82
Flip It and Reverse It Part 2
How Pharrell, Timbaland and Missy, three nerds from Virginia, added quirk to pop and gave us all a dope beat to step to.
63 min
83
Flip It and Reverse It Part 1
How Pharrell, Timbaland and Missy, three nerds from Virginia, added quirk to pop and gave us all a dope beat to step to.
66 min
84
Decoder Ring: "We Got Ourselves a Convoy"
How a fake country star gave voice to frustrated truckers across America.
30 min
85
I Got Five on It Part 2
Hit Parade celebrates its fifth anniversary with a Top 20 countdown of your favorite episodes.
53 min
86
I Got Five on It Part 1
Hit Parade celebrates its fifth anniversary with a Top 20 countdown of your favorite episodes.
49 min
87
Killing Me Softly Part 2
How four R&B queens—Dionne, Patti, Roberta and Chaka—evolved into chart-toppers through the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s.
58 min
88
Killing Me Softly Part 1
How four R&B queens—Dionne, Patti, Roberta and Chaka—evolved into chart-toppers through the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s.
74 min
89
We Invented the Remix Part 2
In part 2 we continue to story of the remix.
60 min
90
We Invented the Remix Part 1
Today on Hit Parade, we trace the multifarious history of the remix.
64 min
91
Rock ’n Soul, Part 2
The second part of our deep dive on how Hall and Oates took a decade to find their sound, created their own ’80s genre and made their dreams come true.
56 min
92
Rock ’n Soul, Part 1
Hall and Oates took a decade to find their sound, created their own ’80s genre and made their dreams come true.
56 min
93
One Year: Hey Macarena!
A musical phenomenon that wormed its way into our brains, and maybe never left.
58 min
94
Chestnut Roasters, Part 2
The second part of our festive retrospective on the artists whose holiday hits outperform the rest of their catalog combined.
45 min
95
Chestnut Roasters, Part 1
A festive retrospective on the artists whose holiday hits outperform the rest of their catalog combined.
61 min
96
Be the One to Walk in the Sun, Part 2
73 min
97
Be the One to Walk in the Sun, Part 1
64 min
98
I Write Sins, Not Tragedies, Part 2
The pop-punk and emo boom of the ’90s and ’00s, continued.
59 min
99
I Write Sins, Not Tragedies, Part 1
The pop-punk and emo boom of the ’90s and ’00s shows how punk keeps selling out and buying in.
42 min
100
Spirit of ’71, Part 2
The hits of 1971 in a very special episode of Hit Parade, continued.
60 min