Remember when being THE NUMBER ONE SONG IN THE COUNTRY meant something? Sean Ross does:

Listen to N/T WABC New York on holiday weekends, when it pulls out the PAMS jingles and recreates its top 40 heyday of the '60s and '70s for a few hours, and you'll hear a lot of ideas that are so basic that, of course, nobody has used them in 25 years. One is the idea of creating a cult of personality around the jocks (WABC's "All-Americans," who battled with WMCA's "Good Guys"). But the one that stands out most is the emphasis that WABC placed on its No. 1 song, and the lack of attention that radio shows the "No. 1 record in America" today.

The No. 1 Song was preceded by a "number one, one, one, one" jingle that built the excitement. The jocks would talk about how songs were on the way up or down - the same way college football analysts talk about the AP Coaches Poll. The chart itself was simply part of the reason Top 40 radio was exciting, and the "No. 1 song coming up" was a reason to stay tuned. Somehow, over the years, Radio has largely dropped this once-essential part of its programming.

But America is still obsessed with "No. 1," and it was radio that practically invented this obsession. Stations were building up the "No. 1 Song" in the '60s, back when weekly box office grosses rarely ventured beyond the pages of Variety. Besides local radio highlighting its No. 1 single, there was also "American Top 40," likely a formative experience for many of those reading this article. Now, there are consumer press stories on the No. 1 box-office movie in America well before the weekend is over, with studio executives working furiously to explain why not being No. 1 was still a win for their film, (or why being No. 1, but with a lower gross than expected was alright). The consumer press tells us the No. 1 album, the top-selling DVD and the top movie rental.

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