Hit Parade | Music History and Music Trivia
Hosted by Chris Molanphy · Slate Podcasts
4.8from 2,626 ratings
- 222
- Episodes
- 55
- Transcribed
- 2,626
- Ratings
- Daily
- Cadence
- 2017
- First episode
About Hit Parade | Music History and Music Trivia
What makes a song a smash? Talent? Luck? Timing? All that—and more. Chris Molanphy, pop-chart analyst and author of Slate’s “Why Is This Song No. 1?” series, tells tales from a half-century of chart history. Through storytelling, trivia and song snippets, Chris dissects how that song you love—or hate—dominated the airwaves, made its way to the top of the charts and shaped your memories forever.Get more of Hit Parade with Slate Plus! Join for monthly early-access episodes, bonus episodes of "The Bridge," and ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe directly from the our show page on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Or visit slate.com/hitparadeplus to get access wherever you listen. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.
- Publisher
- Slate Podcasts
- Category
- music
- Language
- en
- Explicit
- No
- First episode
- 28 Apr 2017
- Latest episode
- 4 Sept 2026
Latest episodes
55 of 222 episodes have a transcript.
4 Sept 2026TRANSCRIPT
Decoder Ring: Why Do Actors Act Like They Can Sing?
21 Aug 2026TRANSCRIPT
The Harrisong Edition
8 Aug 2026TRANSCRIPT
Her Heart Will Go On Edition
Inside a recent episode
Decoder Ring: Why Do Actors Act Like They Can Sing?
Published 4 Sept 2026 · Transcript excerpt
[…] The highest praise we have for an actor is that we really believed they were their character. And every effort should be made to achieve this effect, even if it results in movie stars singing when maybe they shouldn't. But as you've already heard, this ideal we now have is not set in stone. It's subject to trends and changing norms. At one point, during Hollywood's golden age, actors' voices in musicals were routinely replaced by those of ghost singers, and it was fine. With filmmakers, actors, and audiences. In other words, whatever's driving actors to sing for themselves is not correct. It's merely a convention. […]
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See plansWho has been a guest on Hit Parade | Music History and Music Trivia
Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.
- Jack Hamilton
- Dominic Broomfield-McHugh
- Stephen Cole
- Isaac Butler
- Nasreen Munni Kabir
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
- Apple Podcasts (US)
- 4.8 / 5
- 2,074 ratings
- Spotify
- 4.8 / 5
- 552 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 45 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
- Quality
- 50
- Social presence
- 0
- YouTube
- 0
- Engagement
- 99
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Questions about Hit Parade | Music History and Music Trivia
Who hosts Hit Parade | Music History and Music Trivia?
Chris Molanphy host the show. Published by Slate Podcasts.
How often do new episodes come out?
The show publishes daily, based on its RSS feed.
Where can I read transcripts?
55 of 222 episodes have a transcript on Pod Engine. Full transcripts are available with a Pod Engine plan.
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