The show's ad agencies-initially Lord and Thomas and later Batten, Barton, Durstine & Osborne-never revealed the specific sources or the methods that were used to determine top hits. Some believe song choices were often arbitrary due to various performance and production factors. Listeners were informed that the " Your Hit Parade survey checks the best sellers on sheet music and phonograph records, the songs most heard on the air and most played on the automatic coin machines, an accurate, authentic tabulation of America's taste in popular music." However, the exact procedure of this "authentic tabulation" remained a secret.
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Occasional performances of standards and other favorite songs from the past were known as "Lucky Strike Extras". Later, a countdown with fanfares led to the top three finalists, with the number one song for the finale. The earliest format involved a presentation of the top 15 songs. Įvery Saturday evening, the program offered the most popular and bestselling songs of the week. The program title officially became "Your Hit Parade" on November 9, 1935. The press referred to it by several names, with the most common being "Hit Parade", "The Hit Parade", and even "The Lucky Strike Hit Parade", also "The Lucky Strike Parade". When the show debuted, there was no agreement on its title. Many fans inaccurately referred to the show as The Hit Parade. During its 24-year run, the show had 19 orchestra leaders and 52 singers or groups. It was sponsored by American Tobacco's Lucky Strike cigarettes. Your Hit Parade was an American radio and television music program that was broadcast from 1935 to 1953 on radio, and seen from 1950 to 1959 on television.
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American radio and television music program (1935–1959) Your Hit Parade