Why a Top 40 Chart?
As a pre-teen I listened to a lot of radio, most of which was from far-off locales like WLS in Chicago. Many of the stations I listened to had some sort of weekly show which counted down the station's Top 10 hits. But, I became disillusioned because these countdowns did not represent what I was listening to on my local radio stations. So, beginning in June of 1968, I began attempting to create a Top 20 chart. After many stops and starts over the next six months or so, I finally settled upon a formula of monitoring the pop music stations in my area and compiling a Top 40 chart.

Where are you located?
The MBG Top 40 is located in the heart of Texoma, the region of southern Oklahoma and north central Texas. It is radio airplay within this region that determines placement within the MBG Top 40.

Who is the MBG Top 40?
The MBG Top 40 is composed of one middle-aged white guy with a love for and a compulsion about popular music.

What makes your site different from other Internet music sites?
There are a couple of things that make this site different from all the others. As far as my research can determine, this is the oldest of all personal charts, having begun on June 9, 1968. Initially, it took a while for me to create a workable ratings sytem and to generally work-out all the kinks, which made my official start on Sunday, November 2, 1969. The major difference between this site and the others is the depth of content available here that is all based on our chart history, now in its 39th chart year!

Why don't you advertise on your site?
Up to this point, I have not been in a position to have to advertise in order to pay for my site. I also like going to sites where the viewer can go unmolested by ad bots or whatever else might pop-up. That being said, it is something that I have seriously begun to contemplate. So, advertising might appear at some point in the future. If so, I will try to make it as unobtrusive as possible.

What is a chart year?
When I was doing my initial experimenting with charts and how best to operate one, I came up with a solution that I called a 'chart year' that would extend from the first week of November and run through the last week of October the following calendar year. In so doing, it made most Top 40 hits fall from the active chart by February or March, which meant that a Final Top 100 could be complete and available relatively early in each successive calendar year.

When are your charts updated?
Generally, the current week's Top 40 chart is almost always updated on Sunday of each week. Because I am just one person, that sometimes creates hardships for me if I find myself out-of-town for whatever reason. However, it is becoming increasingly easier to load files remotely these days, so that is less a worry now than in the past. The MBG Top 40 has been live on the Internet since May 27, 1997. More often than not, delays in weekly updating are related to weather or server problems than any other reason. In any event, if this is ever the case for you, I do apologize for whatever inconvenience you might experience due to my failure to upload charts appropriately. This Week In History charts are generally loaded each week on Mondays. Yearly Chart Reviews charts are updated weekly within the chart year, such as 2008. The #1 Singles Chart is updated weekly and as new #1 singles are recorded. The Top 100's and specialty 100's charts are generally updated once each six month period. Summer Song competitions are recorded and uploaded during September/October of each year. And, the Mikie Awards are recorded and uploaded during March/April of each year.

Why do your charts not reflect my memories?
This is the favorite question I ever received so I decided to place it here. When I initially read this question, my first thought was that the questioner's time frame and the time the song charted must be different. But, I came to believe that it might have meant that the individual was questioning the date the single had charted on my chart. For instance, several Beatles, Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, and other act's singles have charted more than once on the MBG Top 40. I have always been 'strictly' an airplay chart; consequently, I never kept a song from scoring airplay points because the song had charted previously. So as was the case much more frequently in the 1970's and early '80's when there were a large number of independently-owned radio stations in my area, singles were able to chart during numerous chart years...but none ever matched the original popularity that each single had first earned.

How can I link to the MBG Top 40?
If you think enough of my chart to want to link to it, link away! We are http://www.mbgtop40.com. If you would like a jpg file to use as a button, just message me and I will gladly send you one.

How do I contact the MBG Top 40?
You can always e-mail the MBG Top 40 here..