When introduced by ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' in March 1981, the

Mainstream Rock Mainstream rock (also known as heritage rock) is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations in the United States and Canada. Format background Mainstream rock stations represent the middle ground between classic rock and active rock ...

chart was entitled Top Tracks and designed to measure the airplay of songs being played on

album-oriented rock Album-oriented rock (AOR, originally called album-oriented radio) is an FM radio format created in the United States in the 1970s that focuses on the full repertoire of rock albums and is currently associated with classic rock. Album-oriente ...

radio stations. The chart has undergone several name changes over the years, first to Top Rock Tracks in September 1984 and then to Album Rock Tracks in April 1986. The chart would not be called "mainstream" until 1996. The term "tracks" was used to distinguish itself from singles charts (such as the ''Billboard'' Hot 100) as songs played on rock radio were not always released as singles. When an established rock artist released a new album, for example, it was not uncommon for multiple songs from the album to become popular simultaneously. The song that had the longest run atop the chart during the 1980s was "

Start Me Up "Start Me Up" is a song by the English rock band the Rolling Stones from their 1981 album ''Tattoo You''. Released as the album's lead single, it reached number one on Australian Kent Music Report, number two in Canada, number two on the ''Bi ...

" by

the Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...

at 13 weeks from the beginning of September through the first week of December in 1981. No other song had a run of more than 10 weeks.

Tom Petty Thomas Earl Petty (October 20, 1950October 2, 2017) was an American musician who was the lead vocalist and guitarist of the rock band Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, formed in 1976. He previously led the band Mudcrutch, was a member of the lat ...

(with and without the Heartbreakers) was the act with the most number ones during the 1980s with 6.

Number-one songs

– Number-one song of the year

Notes

References

Bibliography

External links

''Billboard'' website
{{DISPLAYTITLE:List of ''Billboard'' Mainstream Rock number-one songs of the 1980s Mainstream 1980s United States Mainstream Rock