Despite its storied history and massive influence on generations of rock, Sun Records claimed just five Top Ten pop hits in its 16 years of existence. Three of those singles — "Whole Lotta Shakin 'Goin 'On," "Great Balls of Fire" and "Breathless" — were by Jerry Lee Lewis; the others were Carl Perkins '"Blue Suede Shoes" and saxman Bill Justis 'instrumental "Raunchy." Shockingly, Sun never did achieve a pop Number One, though the epochal "Blue Suede Shoes" held the #2 spot for four weeks while hitting #1 country and #2 R&B. "Great Balls of Fire" likewise spent four weeks at #2 pop while going #1 country and #3 R&B. (Remarkably, "Whole Lotta Shakin 'Goin 'On" was #1 on both the country and R&B charts, but only #3 pop.) "Raunchy" was #2 pop for one fleeting week, but actually spent a week atop the R&B charts while peaking at #6 country.

All of which suggests that the charts (or, more to the point, the people who compiled them), which were notoriously hostile to early rock & roll, were even more so when the music came from an independent Southern label. After all, "Red Headed Woman" was one of the wildest singles of… read more »