A hit song , also known as a hit record , hit single or simply hit , is a recorded song or instrumental that becomes broadly popular or well-known. Although hit song means any widely played or big-selling song, the specific term hit record usually refers to a single that has appeared in an official music chart through repeated radio airplay audience impressions, or significant streaming data and commercial sales.
17-589: The Beatmasters are an English electronic music group who gained success in the UK in the late 1980s with four top 20 hit singles . They then went on to produce and remix records for other artists, including Pet Shop Boys , Erasure and Marc Almond . The group's string of chart hit singles include "Burn It Up", " Hey DJ! (I Can't Dance to that Music You're Playing) ", "Who's in the House" (featuring Merlin ) and " Rok da House ". The latter, having been recorded in 1986,
34-468: A period of low sales. (This is also possible in the United States, or anywhere, with slow but steady sellers; a number of minor hits, especially those that are popular in specific genre, have earned gold certifications despite relatively poor pop chart performances.) In the UK, the number of sales required to achieve a hit single steadily declined in line with a general decline in single sales until
51-421: A single be considered a hit due to the increasing singles market after chart rules included download singles. In most cases, the amount of weeks spent on either music chart may also play a big part in its relevance as a 'hit,' regardless of its peak chart position. A hit single is variously called a number one hit , a top 5 hit , a top 10 hit , a top 20 hit or a top 40 hit , depending on its peak position. In
68-445: A valuable promotional tool for marketing sheet music . Audience participation was encouraged, and repeat performances also helped encourage sheet music sales. Several film stars began their careers as models who illustrated lyrics through a series of song slides. These stars included Roscoe Arbuckle , Fanny Brice , Eddie Cantor , George Jessel , Alice Joyce , Florence Lawrence , and Norma Talmadge . The first illustrated song
85-517: A visor like viewing window, displaying accompany still images projected from glass slides , and also flip cards. Flip cards were a series of photos that successively "flipped" by the cranked mechanism of the nickelodeon, and emulated a motion picture. So called nickelodeons, because a nickel was required to engage the cranking mechanism, in order for the viewer to start the show. The images were painted in color by hand, or were photographs which either black and white or were colorized by hand. A single song
102-485: Is one of the earliest examples of hip house and most likely the first song of the genre. Hip house is a subgenre of house music which features rap vocals performed over a house rhythm track. Their initial success brought comparisons with pop record producers Stock Aitken Waterman , but the Beatmasters cited rival producers Coldcut as their major competitor. Manda Glanfield and Paul Carter (both regulars on
119-529: The Cookie Crew , which was their first and biggest hit, peaking at No. 5 in early 1988. Another notable single was "Hey DJ - I Can't Dance to that Music You're Playing" / "Ska Train", which introduced the rapper/singer Betty Boo to the general public and gave the group a No. 7 chart hit in 1989. They released two albums under the Beatmasters moniker: Anywayawanna (1989) and Life & Soul (1992). These albums were later repackaged on BMG Records under
136-738: The London club scene) were working in the TV commercial jingle industry where they were introduced to third member, Richard Walmsley. Signing to the burgeoning record label Rhythm King , they joined labelmates Bomb the Bass and S'Express in regularly appearing in the top 40 of the UK Singles Chart during 1988 and 1989. The group had seven UK chart singles, including the No. 14 hit "Burn It Up", which featured P. P. Arnold and " Rok da House " with
153-670: The United States and the United Kingdom , a single is usually considered a hit when it reaches the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 or the top 75 of the UK Singles Chart . The Guinness Book of British Hit Singles has used this definition since the 1970s. Some argue that reaching at least the top 100—since the Official Charts Company increased the chart size on their website on 23 June 2007—lets
170-479: The Beatmasters continue to produce dance, pop and rock music. Hit single Prior to the dominance of recorded music, commercial sheet music sales of individual songs were similarly promoted and tracked as singles and albums are now. For example, in 1894, Edward B. Marks and Joe Stern released The Little Lost Child , which sold more than a million copies nationwide, based mainly on its success as an illustrated song , analogous to today's music videos . In
187-400: The UK (where radio play is not included in the official charts), this does not completely reflect the song's popularity—as the weekly chart position is based solely on direct comparison with concurrent sales of other singles. It is, therefore, not uncommon that a single fails to chart, but has actually sold more copies than other singles regarded as "hits" based on their higher chart placement in
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#1732764745931204-405: The early 2000s. The number has, however, recovered strongly with growth in official digital downloads . 2011 was a record year for UK singles sales. Actual figures vary considerably depending on the time of year. In 2010 a number one single usually sold around 100,000 copies per week; sales of around 30,000 were often sufficient to reach the top ten, and a single selling over 6,000 copies could make
221-468: The highly controversial " Ebeneezer Goode " - the latter spending a month at No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart. They went on to write, produce and remix for many other artists including Marc Almond , Pet Shop Boys , Blur , Roachford , Betty Boo , Naomi Campbell , Adam Rickitt , Moby , Aswad , Eternal , Tina Turner , David Bowie , Depeche Mode , Scooch and Girls Aloud . Still working,
238-502: The title Anywayawanna – The Best of the Beatmasters (2004). Carter and Glanfield forged a successful writing, remixing and production career. Their first success as a duo came in 1991 with a reworking of the re-released Shamen single " Move Any Mountain /Progen91" which charted at No. 4. In 1992, production work commenced on the Shamen album Boss Drum , which included the singles " LSI (Love Sex Intelligence) ", " Phorever People " and
255-504: The top forty. Record companies often release collections of hit singles by various artists as compilation albums , such as the Now That's What I Call Music! series. Well-known bands and artists also frequently release collections of their most popular singles as Greatest hits albums. Illustrated song An illustrated song is a type of performance art that combines either live or recorded music with projected images. It
272-454: Was a popular form of entertainment in the early 20th century in the United States. Live performers were commonly a vocalist with a pianist accompanying. Music recordings were used by different venues: vaudeville houses hosting the live vocalist and accompanist; or Nickelodeons . Nickelodeons were arcade style machines that worked by hand cranking a mechanical handle which turned an internal mechanism which played an audio recording, and had
289-514: Was usually accompanied by 12 to 16 different images that sequentially "illustrated" the lyrics. Projection booths used either stereopticons with two projectors or machines that combined projection of both slides, or displayed moving pictures . Illustrated songs often preceded silent films and/or took place during reel changes , but some venues relied principally on illustrated songs alone. At least ten thousand small theaters nationwide featured illustrated songs. Illustrated songs were seen as
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