First solo male to reach No.1 on the US albums chart

Andy Williams (USA, 1927-2012) secured the first US chart-topper of the “Billboard 200 era” when his Grammy-nominated 11th studio album, Days of Wine and Roses and Other TV Requests, held steady at No.1 on Billboard magazine’s Top LPs chart dated 17 August 1963.

Billboard published its first albums chart (“Best-Selling Popular Record Albums”) in the edition dated 24 March 1945, with the first weekly countdown (“Best-Selling Popular Albums”) debuting on 24 March 1956. The chart was split into stereo (“Best-Selling Stereophonic LPs”) and mono (“Best-Selling Monophonic LPs”) listings on 25 May 1959 and then, after several name changes, returned to one 150-position chart (“Top LPs”) on 17 August 1963. On 13 May 1967, Top LPs expanded to its current 200 positions, finally becoming known as the Billboard 200 on 14 March 1992.

US No.1 albums (significant dates): King Cole Trio by King Cole Trio (24 March 1945); Belafonte by Harry Belafonte (24 March 1956); Days of Wine and Roses and Other TV Requests by Andy Williams (17 August 1963; the album had spent 15 weeks at No.1 on the mono chart and 11 weeks at No.1 on the stereo chart before they merged to form Top LPs on 17 August); More of The Monkees by The Monkees (13 May 1967); Ropin’ the Wind by Garth Brooks (14 March 1992).