(Monday, August 4, 1958) — “Poor Little Fool” by Ricky Nelson peaked at #1 on today’s debut Billboard Hot 100 singles chart for two consecutive weeks (Aug. 4/11, 1958).

The Billboard Hot 100 would become the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings would be based on sales (physical and digital), radio play and online streaming.

Prior to 1958, Billboard did not have a unified, all-encompassing popularity chart for pop singles, instead measuring songs with separate charts, including Best Sellers in Stores, Most Played by Jockeys, Most Played in Jukeboxes and The Top 100.