ABSTRACT
There was no record Hit Parade in Britain before 1952 when the New Musical Express started publishing a weekly Top Twelve. But in the United States there was already a weekly list of the top hundred best-selling pop singles, as well as a Country Music Chart, and a Rhythm’N’Blues Chart. They reflected the different groups of record-buyers into which the record industry saw the country divided. Local radio stations divided themselves up in the same way too.
