Flashback: 1992

Here’s an interesting chart flashback: Name the song that reached top 10 on Billboard’s Hot 100 and Casey’s Top 40 (Radio and Records’ CHR chart) but did not chart on American Top 40 with Shadoe Stevens…

The answer is “Smells Like Teen Spirit” by Nirvana. The song did not reach the top 40 portion of the Hot 100 Airplay chart, the chart AT40 was using at the time. However, as noted above, it made the top 10 on the Radio and Records’ Pop (CHR) chart, which is also based on airplay. Back in 1992 Hot 100 Airplay was not the all-encompassing chart it is now. It too focused on Pop airplay, but the chart was based on the number of people listening to the song (audience impressions). The R&R chart was based on the number of times a song was played, as reported by the radio stations.

So why the discrepancy?  I honestly do not have the definitive answer. Was it because the song was mainly played on stations that did not have a huge audience? Was it because pop stations inflated the number of times they actually played the song? What do you think?

By the way, the song made the top 10 on the Hot 100 due to the number of singles sold.