Paul Simon's debut in the top five on this week's Billboard 200 wasn't surprising, but it is remarkable. Simon landed his first top five album more than 44 years ago. Only four acts in chart history--Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Barbra Streisand and the Rolling Stones--have had longer spans of top five albums.
Lyndon Johnson was President when Simon & Garfunkel first cracked the top five on Dec. 17, 1966 with their album Parsley, Sage, Rosemary And Thyme. Bonanza was the top-rated TV show. Hawaii, starring Julie Andrews, would become the year's top-grossing movie.
And of course the Billboard album chart looked far different from how it does today. The top five that week included the Monkees and the Supremes. All these years later, Simon is competing with the likes of 22-year old Adele and the Latin rock group Mana.
Simon is one of 16 artists who have had top five albums spanning 40 or more years. In a business in which even highly successful acts often have just a few years at the
Read More »from Chart Watch Extra: The 40-Year Club