Elvis Presley fans Question Billboard magazine's Fred Bronson on his claims that Elvis had 36 Top 10 Hits.

Mr. Bronson counted Hound Dog and Don't Be Cruel as one Top 10 Hit in his recent claim that Elvis has 36 Top 10 Hits.

The following is a summary of chart statistics for Hound Dog/Don't Be Cruel as pulled from the Billboard Charts in 1956:

Best Seller in Stores (leading side reported in survey is listed on top)
-Hound Dog/Don't Be Cruel are listed together, for 11 weeks at #1.
-Hound Dog is listed on top for the first 5 weeks.
-Don't Be Cruel is listed on top for the last 6 weeks.

Most Played in Juke Boxes (leading side reported in survey is listed on top)
-Hound Dog/Don't Be Cruel are listed together, for 11 weeks at #1.
-Hound Dog is listed on top for 4 weeks.
-Don't Be Cruel is listed on top for the last 7 weeks.

The Top 100
- Hound Dog & Dont Be Cruel chart seperately as follows:
- Don't Be Cruel is #1 for 7 weeks
- Hound Dog peaks at #2

Most Played by Jockeys (airplay)
- Hound Dog & Dont Be Cruel chart seperately as follows:
- Don't Be Cruel is #1 for 8 weeks
- Hound Dog peaks at #4

Questions that have been put forward to Mr. Bronson that have went unanswered include:

- Which song off the Hound Dog/Don't Be Cruel record are you counting as a top 10 hit?

- How can you justify counting the double sided hit record Hound Dog/Don't Be Cruel as one Top 10 Hit when both Hound Dog and Don't Be Cruel both charted together at #1 on the Best Seller Chart and the the Juke Box chart, and both charted separately in the Top 10 on the Top 100 chart and the Airplay chart?

-If the Best Sellers chart is being used, then would not Hound Dog and Don't Be Cruel be counted as a Top 10 Hit in their own right since Hound Dog was listed on top as the most significant song for 5 weeks, and Don't Be Cruel for 6 weeks of their combined 11 week run at #1?

- Isn't it inconsistent to use a chart that does not treat individual songs separately, when all of the 1958 and later songs that appear on the Hot 100 are listed separately?

-Wouldn't it make more sense to use the Top 100 chart since it lists songs separately and compiles information from the other charts just as today's Hot 100?

Jason Edge
Elvis International Fan Club
www.ElvisInternational.com