''Record World'' magazine was one of three major weekly

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s in the

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, with ''

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'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 as ''Music Vendor''. In 1964, it was changed to ''Record World'' under the ownership of Sid Parnes and Bob Austin. It ceased publication on April 10, 1982.

History

Growth

''Music Vendor'' published its first music chart for the week ending October 4, 1954. ''Record World'' was housed in New York City at 1700 Broadway, at 53rd Street, across the street from the Ed Sullivan Theater. Its West Coast editorial offices were located in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

on Sunset and Vine.

Peak

''Record World'' showed musical diversity by printing a "Non-Rock" survey, comparable to ''Billboard's'' "Easy Listening" / "Adult Contemporary" chart. This chart began in the February 4, 1967, issue, and ended on April 1, 1972, having morphed to the name "The MOR Chart" by 1971. Several titles of interest appeared on this 40-position list without making the ''Billboard'' Easy Listening survey. The chart returned with a weekly top-50 "A/C Chart" on February 16, 1980. ''Record World'' initiated first annual jazz award in 1968.

Contributors

Staffers included Mike Sigman, editor-in-chief (who then went on to become publisher of the ''

LA Weekly ''LA Weekly'' is a free weekly alternative newspaper in Los Angeles, California. The paper covers music, arts, film, theater, culture, and other local news in the Los Angeles area. ''LA Weekly'' was founded in 1978 by Jay Levin (among others), ...

''); Howie Levitt, managing editor (later of ''Billboard'' and BMI, the music royalty service); Pat Baird, who went on to key publicity positions at both RCA and BMI; associate editor Allen Levy, who went to become a public relations person for

United Artists Records United Artists Records was an American record label founded by Max E. Youngstein of United Artists in 1957 to issue movie soundtracks. The label expanded into other genres, such as easy listening, jazz, pop, and R&B. History Genres In 1958 ...

, ASCAP and A&M, and who is now a professor of mass communication at Chapman University.

Dede Dabney

Dede Dabney was from Philadelphia. She, the daughter of a pharmacist, came on board in 1972. She had a weekly column called "Soul Truth". She communicated weekly by phone to major figures in radio programming to get and give information. These figures included Frankie Crocker of WBLS-FM, New York, E. Rodney Jones of WVON, Chicago, and Joe "Butterball" Tamburro of WDAS, Philadelphia. When an artist or group's record was mentioned in "Dede's Ditties to Watch", it was one that was watched.

Marie Ratliff

Marie Ratliff hailed from Missouri. Following a weekend visit to the Grand Ole Opry, she moved to Nashville. She started out in the music business in a part-time role, handling the mail for artists Skeeter Davis and

Ralph Emery Walter Ralph Emery (March 10, 1933 – January 15, 2022) was an American country music disc jockey, radio and television host from McEwen, Tennessee. Emery promoted numerous stars on his radio and TV shows, and was called the Dick Clark (ent ...

. Not too long after that role, she got a job at Key Talent and Newkeys Music as office manager. She was pictured with other Newkeys staff in the 9 July 1966 issue of ''Record World''. She also worked with Tom T. Hall. Later at some stage, she was employed at ''Record World'' and at some stage became the country chart manager. Her role there was selecting and maintaining the reporting panels for radio and retail. It seems that her name appeared as a columnist on 23 June 1970. It was Country Hot Line By MARIE RATLIFF & CHUCK NEESE. Prior to that the magazine didn't name the contributor. In 1982, she was working as VP for MAF Advertising, which was the in-house publishing company for the group

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

. In 1986, she joined the staff of ''

'' as country charts manager. Her column at ''Billboard'' was called Country Corner. In 1991 she was working for ''Amusement Business'' as the manager at Boxscore / Touring database manager. By 1998 she had retired.

Others

Other staff included writers Vince Aletti (later of ''

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''); Marc Kirkeby (he went on to CBS/

Sony Records Sony Records was a record label founded by R&B duo Ike & Tina Turner in 1963. It was not affiliated with Sony Group Corporation. Ike Turner produced singles by members of the Kings of Rhythm and the Ikettes on Sony Records. Records on the la ...

); Jeffrey Peisch (later of

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

and independent producing); Dave McGee (later of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

''); Laurie Lennard (later as a talent booker on ''The Late Show'', then wife of comedian

Larry David Lawrence Gene David (born July 2, 1947) is an American comedian, writer, actor, and television producer. He is known for his dry wit, portrayals of awkward social situations, and brutally honest takes on everyday life. He has received two Prim ...

, and producer of

Al Gore Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American former politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. He previously served as ...

's '' An Inconvenient Truth''); columnist Sophia Midas; chart editor and assistant editor Fred Goodman (later editor of ''Cash Box'' and current managing editor of '' Pro Sound News'' and a songwriter/music publisher; radio director Neil McIntyre; and art director David Ray Skinner, who also contributed a weekly cartoon from 1978 until the magazine's demise in 1982
www.RWCartoons.com
.

Charts

In 1978, ''Record World'' changed the R&B title to Black-Oriented.

List of number-one singles

Here is a list of all the songs that reached number one on the ''Music Vendor/Record World'' chart, obtained from the cited sources. In total, 658 songs reached number one on the chart. In the early history of the chart, multiple versions of the same song charted as one entry, so the most successful recording of these songs is listed. An asterisk (*) denotes a nonconsecutive run at number one. " The Twist", by

Chubby Checker Chubby Checker (born Ernest Evans; October 3, 1941) is an American singer and dancer. He is widely known for popularizing many dance styles, including the Twist, with his 1960 hit cover of Hank Ballard & The Midnighters' R&B song " The Twis ...

, is the only song to hit number one in two different chart runs. The record holder for the most weeks at number one is

Debby Boone Deborah Anne Boone (born September 22, 1956) is an American singer, author, and actress. She is best known for her 1977 hit, " You Light Up My Life", which spent ten weeks at No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart and led to her winning the G ...

's " You Light Up My Life", which stayed on top for 13 weeks. " I Love Rock 'n Roll", by Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, was the last song to top the chart before the magazine ceased publication.

List of number-one albums

RECORD WORLD #1 POP ALBUMS: 1964–1973

References

{{Reflist

External links

Archive of issues of ''Record World'' from americanradiohistory.com.
Defunct music magazines published in the United States Defunct magazines published in New York City Magazines established in 1946 Magazines disestablished in 1982 Record charts Entertainment trade magazines Defunct professional and trade magazines published in the United States