Joel Whitburn, Pop Chart Expert Who Published Hundreds of Books, Dies at 82

variety.com:

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music CriticJoel Whitburn, whose books of research on the charts were a staple of the bookshelves of anyone who cared about the history or business of pop music for decades, died Tuesday at age 82.No cause of death was immediately given, although Whitburn was reported to have been in ill health for some time.The Wisconsin native’s company, Record Research, had been publishing books based on the Billboard charts going back to 1970, with a count of tomes that as of a little under a decade ago amounted to 122 books.Amid all the genre-specific books he published, Whitburn’s “flagship” book and top seller was “Top Pop Singles.” That book covered everything that was a hit from 1955 forward, with Whitburn throwing in three years worth of mid-’50s stats from a chart that predated the Hot 100’s beginning in 1958 because he “wanted to include that early rock ‘n’ roll history.” But he was never under the delusion that music started with Elvis Presley, as evidenced by his also having publishing a book titled “Pop Memories: 1890-1954.” His completism wasn’t limited to pure data: Whitburn’s home in Menomonee Falls, Wis.

had an underground vault that contained every single to ever chart on the Billboard Hot 100 since it began in 1958 (on 7-inch vinyl records for the first few decades, and official or burned CDs for later years).Talking with former Billboard  bureau chief in 2013, Whitburn estimated he had over 200,000 45 rpm singles in his vault (including an estimated 18,000 with picture sleeves), and claimed to have a copy of every pop album that ever charted in the magazine dating back to 1945, too.Whitburn’s name was also familiar to oldies fans via a series of compilation CDs issued by.