The Heavy Hitters of Country, R&B; Music

Elvis Presley was far and away the most successful record artist of the modern pop era, a point that Wisconsin researcher Joel Whitburn has documented in a series of books devoted to the history of the Billboard magazine pop charts.

But who are the most successful artists in country music and rhythm and blues, the two styles whose fusion in the ‘50s gave birth to rock ‘n’ roll and which have continued, in varying degrees, to influence the pop-rock mainstream?

Whitburn supplies the answer in a pair of new books: The top R&B; and country artists, respectively, are James Brown and Eddy Arnold.

The books--”Top R&B; Singles 1942-1988” and “Top Country Singles 1944-1988”--chronicle the magazine’s weekly pop and country charts for the years involved and assign points to individual artists for every week they have a single on the charts, with bonus points for Top 10 or No. 1 hits.

Brown’s victory isn’t a surprise. Despite such worthy rivals as Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye, Brown remains a major presence in R&B.; His passionate vocal and performance styles have influenced hundreds of artists, both in rock and in R&B--from; Mick Jagger and Prince to Michael Jackson.

But Arnold’s victory will probably be a surprise to most contemporary pop fans because Arnold is far less known today than such other country artists as Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash.

Arnold, who enjoyed his greatest success between 1945 and 1969, was a break from Nashville’s hard-core “hillbilly” tradition--someone whose smooth vocal style was closer to pop in many ways than the rural emphasis of such rivals as Roy Acuff and Hank Williams.

Arnold, whose 91 Top 10 country hits included “Bouquet of Roses” and “Make the World Go Away,” helped win new fans for country music among previously skeptical pop fans and is a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame. But he has far less influence on today’s crop of “back-to-basics” country stars (including Randy Travis and Dwight Yoakam) than such former contemporaries as Hank Williams and Lefty Frizzell.

Seventy-one-year-old Arnold lives in semi-retirement near Nashville. Brown, 55, has been in prison in Columbia, S.C., since December, serving a six-year sentence for failing to stop for a police car, a felony in that state.

Keep in mind that chart success is not an exact measurement of sales, but Whitburn’s stats do provide the most comprehensive evaluation of an artist’s popularity.

The most popular R&B; singles artists, according to Whitburn’s research (along with the number of points they received in his evaluation system):

1--James Brown (11,872 points--57 Top 10 hits).

2--Aretha Franklin (8,732--48).

3--Ray Charles (8,462--40).

4--Temptations (8,065--42).

5--Louis Jordan (7,361--54).

6--Stevie Wonder (7,122--42).

7--Marvin Gaye (7,029--33).

8--B.B. King (6,760--24).

9--Fats Domino (6,735--39).

10--Gladys Knight & the Pips (6,282--30).

Whitburn, who has published nearly three dozen musical research books since forming his company in 1970, also notes in “Top R&B; Singles” the most successful R&B; artists by decade: Jordan in the ‘40s, Domino in the ‘50s, Brown in the ‘60s and ‘70s, and Prince so far in the ‘80s.

Diana Ross, he says, has achieved more points as a solo artist (4,541) than as a member of the Supremes (4,405). If the figures were combined, she would move into second place, ahead of Franklin.

However, Michael Jackson’s solo points (3,525) place him slightly behind the points he earned as a member of the Jackson 5 (3,805). Surprisingly, Elvis Presley, with 3,934 points, ranks higher on the charts than the either the solo Jackson or the Jackson 5.

The most successful country artists:

1--Eddy Arnold (17,092 points--91 Top 10 hits).

2--George Jones (16,198--77).

3--Johnny Cash (13,356--51).

4--Merle Haggard (12,171--70).

5--Conway Twitty (11,905--72).

6--Ray Price (10,870--46).

7--Webb Pierce (10,791--58).

8--Willie Nelson (10,570--37).

9--Marty Robbins (10,550--47).

10--Dolly Parton (10,191--51).

Unlike Brown in the R&B; field, no one dominated the country charts for two decades in a row, according to statistics in Whitburn’s “Top Country Singles.” Arnold was the leader in the ‘40s, followed by Pierce in the ‘50s, Jones in the ‘60s, Twitty in the ‘70s and Nelson so far in the ‘80s.

“The thing that struck me about the country charts is the loyalty of the fans,” Whitburn said.

“When an artist breaks through with a couple of Top 10 hits, he’s almost guaranteed of a long career. We found five country artists who had hits in five different decades. It’s almost the opposite in R&B;, where there is an enormous amount of turnover on the charts. You obviously have some R&B; artists with long careers, but not nearly as many.”

A few of Whitburn’s pop books are sold in stores, but most of his collections--including the new R&B; and country volumes--are available only by mail order through his company. Catalogues may be obtained by writing him at Record Research Inc., Menomonee Falls, Wis. 53051.

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