Record World

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Record World magazine was one of three major weekly music industry trade magazines in the United States, with Billboard 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.^[1] Many music industry personalities, writers, and critics began their careers there in the early 1970s to 1980s.^{[citation needed]}

Record World has been considered^{[by whom?]} the hipper, faster-moving music industry publication,^{[citation needed]} in contrast to the more staid industry coverage by Billboard and Cashbox. Music Vendor, as it was then known, published its first music chart for the week ending October 4, 1954.^[2]

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 on Sunset and Vine.^{[citation needed]}

Record World showed musical diversity^[3] 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.^{[citation needed]} The chart returned with a weekly top-50 "A/C Chart" on February 16, 1980. Record World initiated first annual jazz award in 1968.^[4]

Young writers laboured writing reviews of records, analyses of sales data and music-related current events. Staffers included Mike Sigman, editor-in-chief (who then went on to become publisher of the LA Weekly); 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, ASCAP and A&M, and who is now a professor of mass communication at Chapman University.^{[citation needed]}

Dede Dabney was from Philadelphia. She was the daughter of a pharmacist who came on board in 1972. She had a weekly column called "Soul Truth". She communicated weekly via phone to major figures in radio programming to get and give info. 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.^[5]

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. Not too long after that role she got a job at Key Talent and Newkeys Music as office manager.^[6] She was pictured with other Newkeys staff in the 9 July, 1966 issue of Record World.^[7] 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.^[8] It seems that her name appeared as a columnist on 23 June 1970.^[9] It was Country Hot Line By MARIE RATLIFF & CHUCK NEESE. Prior to that the magazine didn't name the contributor.^[10][11][12]

In 1982 she was working for as VP for MAF Advertising which was the in-house publishing company for the group Alabama.^[13] In 1986 she joined the staff of Billboard as country charts manager.^[14][15] Her column at Billboard was called Country Corner.^[16] In 1991 she was working for Amusement Business as the manager at Boxscore / Touring database manager. By 1998 she had retired.^[17]

Other staff included writers Vince Aletti (later of The New Yorker); Marc Kirkeby (he went on to CBS/Sony Records); Jeffrey Peisch (later of MTV and independent producing); Dave McGee (later of Rolling Stone); Laurie Lennard (later as a talent booker on The Late Show, then wife of comedian Larry David, and producer of Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth); columnist Sophia Midas; and 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.^{[citation needed]}

Record World's collapse was the result of discord between the two owners,^{[citation needed]} and a sudden downturn in record sales in the early 1980s. However, the new owners and management have revived Record World once again as an online magazine and feature story magazine known as Record World Magazine. Parnes died in 1984.^[18]

In 1978, Record World changed the R&B title to Black-Oriented.^[19]

Here is a list of all the songs that reached #1 on the Music Vendor/Record World chart, obtained from the following cited sources.^[20][21] There were a total of 658 songs that reached #1 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 non-consecutive run at #1.

"The Twist", by Chubby Checker, is the only song to hit #1 in two different chart runs. The record holder for the most weeks at #1 is Debby Boone'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 Record World number-one albums of 1968

• Archive of issues of Record World from americanradiohistory.com.