Scope and Content Note
The Phonolog Serial Collection contains tri-weekly, bi-weekly, and weekly publications ranging from 1948-2003 with some gaps in issues and nearly the entirety of 1948. Included are newsletters and some advertisements.
The Phonolog collection at the Library of Congress consists of regularly released serial issues of the Phonolog Reports and Numerical Reports periodicals, running from 1948-2003. Phonolog ran as a tri-weekly for many years, before becoming a bi-weekly, and finally a weekly issue. Numerical Reports were issued every other week from the 60’s to the 80’s. Unlike typical serials, Phonolog consists of packets of loose leaf sheets of paper that were intended to be added and deleted from a master catalog of commercially available North American sound recording releases. Due to the constant refreshing of pages within the catalog, Phonolog provides a unique cross label index of commercial records as they came on and off the market over a multiple decade timespan.
Sound recordings listed in Phonolog were cross indexed across multiple categories, including Pop Albums, Artists, and Titles; Classical Albums, Artists, and Composers; and specialty categories such as Latin American, Sacred, Christmas, Show Tunes, and other genres. Most issues were devoted to 1 or 2 of these categories.
Weekly pages of New Releases provided at-a-glance information of additions to the catalog. The bi-weekly Phonolog Top Hits chart provided a unique departure from other record charts by listing all currently available releases of a hit song.
The companion serial Numerical Reports ran separately from Phonolog. It uniquely lists currently available product according to label and catalog number, functionally essentially as a union catalog of all record labels.
The Phonolog collection at the Library of Congress was received for decades as a serial acquisition by the Music Division, before being passed along with the transfer of the Recorded Sound Section to the Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division. There are an estimated 9,000 individual issues in the collection (156 issues per year for Phonolog Reports, and 26 issues per year of Numerical Reports). It is believed the Library of Congress possesses the most complete collection of Phonolog, making this a unique resource for discographical researchers.
Series 1, Phonolog Reports, contains the full range of the Library's coverage of Phonolog from 1948-2003. The serial was issued at various stages as once, twice, or three times per week. Most issues were devoted to replacement pages for 1 or 2 of the various catalog sections. These sections include the following indexes:
- Pop Titles: Alphabetical list of songs, with entries for all in-print albums and/or singles covered by Phonolog. This section typically updated every week.
- Pop Artists: Alphabetical list of performers, with entries for all in-print albums and/or singles by the same. This section typically updated every other week, alternating with pop albums.
- Pop Albums: Alphabetical list of in-print long-play records. This section typically updated every other week, alternating with pop artists.
- Classical Titles: Alphabetical list of classical music works, with entries for all in-print albums and/or singles covered by Phonolog. This section typically updated every other week, paired with classical artists.
- Classical Artists: Alphabetical list of classical music performers, with entries for all in-print albums and/or singles by the same. This section typically updated every other week, paired with classical titles.
- Composers: Alphabetical list of classical music composers, with entries for all in-print albums and/or singles by the same.
- Christmas Titles: Alphabetical list of holiday songs, with entries for all in-print albums and/or singles covered by Phonolog.
- Christmas Albums: Alphabetical list of in-print long-play records of holiday music.
- Band Titles: Alphabetical list of marching band songs, with entries for all in-print albums and/or singles covered by Phonolog.
- Motion Picture Music: Alphabetical list of songs featured in motion pictures, with entries for all in-print albums and/or singles covered by Phonolog.
- Show Tunes: Alphabetical list of songs featured in musical stage plays, with entries for all in-print albums and/or singles covered by Phonolog.
- Sacred: Alphabetical list of religious songs, with entries for all in-print albums and/or singles covered by Phonolog. This section typically updated twice a year, just before the Easter and Christmas holidays.
Series 2, Phonolog Top Hits, consist of bi-weekly ranked lists of top selling hit records. In contrast with other hit record charts, the Phonolog includes every currently available recording of a given song for each entry.
Series 3, One-Stop Numerical Reporter, contains a companion serial from Phonolog's publisher Trade Service Publications, Inc. The Numerical Reporter was issued every two weeks and consisted of discographical listings for record labels. For each label, a current prices list was followed by a listing of the label's catalog by prefix and number.
Series 4, List-o-Tapes, was a short lived companion serial from the 1960's covering tape formats. The Library's coverage is from 1967 only.
Series 5, Miscellaneous, contains advertisements and communications from Phonolog's publisher to subscribers.