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
Point of No Return Part 1
58 min
77
A Deal with the TV God Part 2
37 min
78
A Deal with the TV God Part 1
50 min
79
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
80
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
81
Decoder Ring: "We Got Ourselves a Convoy"
How a fake country star gave voice to frustrated truckers across America.
30 min
82
I Got Five on It Part 2
Hit Parade celebrates its fifth anniversary with a Top 20 countdown of your favorite episodes.
53 min
83
I Got Five on It Part 1
Hit Parade celebrates its fifth anniversary with a Top 20 countdown of your favorite episodes.
49 min
84
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
85
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
86
We Invented the Remix Part 2
In part 2 we continue to story of the remix.
60 min
87
We Invented the Remix Part 1
Today on Hit Parade, we trace the multifarious history of the remix.
64 min
88
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
89
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
90
One Year: Hey Macarena!
A musical phenomenon that wormed its way into our brains, and maybe never left.
58 min
91
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
92
Chestnut Roasters, Part 1
A festive retrospective on the artists whose holiday hits outperform the rest of their catalog combined.
61 min
93
Be the One to Walk in the Sun, Part 2
73 min
94
Be the One to Walk in the Sun, Part 1
64 min
95
I Write Sins, Not Tragedies, Part 2
The pop-punk and emo boom of the ’90s and ’00s, continued.
59 min
96
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
97
Spirit of ’71, Part 2
The hits of 1971 in a very special episode of Hit Parade, continued.
60 min
98
Spirit of ’71, Part 1
Did music 50 years ago really “change everything”? How a new generation of singer-songwriters rebooted the charts.
67 min
99
What a Fool Believes, Part 2
Chris Molanphy's deep dive on Yacht Rock, continued.
41 min
100
What a Fool Believes, Part 1
This is the story of Yacht Rock.
55 min