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States of Origin - American Popular Music

Which U.S. states have made the most important contributions to American hit music?
Based on Billboard ratings, not critical ratings
See comments for methodology
Quiz by Quizmaster
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Last updated: August 6, 2019
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First submittedAugust 6, 2019
Times taken9,481
Average score80.0%
Rating4.16
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Points
State
39,479
California
36,488
New York
12,941
Michigan
12,913
Georgia
12,350
Texas
Points
State
10,292
Pennsylvania
9,402
Florida
9,363
New Jersey
8,837
Illinois
6,560
Tennessee
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15 Comments
Quizmaster
+17
Level ∞
Aug 6, 2019
Here's how I made this...

  • Billboard makes a list of the top 100 hits for every year.

  • I looked at the lists for every year from 1962-2018.

  • Each #1 hit got 100 points, each #2 hit got 99 points, etc...

  • Then, using a script, I went to the Wikipedia page of all the musical acts.

  • With a lot of manual effort I determined the state of origin for each act, and then applied the points for each act to the state.
ducktownhusker
+11
Level 66
Aug 6, 2019
Thanks for explaining the methodology. At first I was thinking this was about cultural impact, so you'd expect Mississippi, Louisiana and Tennessee to rank highly, given their history of shaping jazz and country music.

The top five results are more a function of those state's large population, in my opinion, and not because they necessarily had the biggest impact on America's musical history. It's just that those states have produced a lot of people, so the odds are in their favor. In fact, all ten answers are in the Top 15 or so for US States by population.

trombonekid98
+7
Level 70
Aug 11, 2019
I'd say less to do with population and more to do with where the major music hubs have been since the 60s. L.A, NYC, Motown, Atlanta, Austin, Philly, Miami, Chicago and Nashville have been cultural hotbeds in this period, with NJ probably making the list due to the state being a mix of NYC and Philly. (Probably the only big ones missing from this list are Seattle and New Orleans, but jazz and grunge generally don't chart well.)
iRDM
+1
Level 78
Dec 21, 2022
bad take
plattitude
+5
Level 94
Sep 27, 2019
Was surprised Washington didn't make the cut with all the 90s grunge that came out of there, but the methodology makes sense. Thanks for posting it.
FreeStater
+2
Level 76
Sep 24, 2024
That was my third guess. I was also surprised about Ohio.
Quizmaster
+18
Level ∞
Aug 6, 2019
Delaware, Vermont, South Dakota, New Hampshire, and Wyoming have 0 points.
IsleAuHaulte
+2
Level 90
Aug 6, 2019
Phish and Dio never really had a lot of prime time play.
UG332
+4
Level 69
Aug 30, 2019
Yet I guessed Wyoming for whatever reason
FreeStater
+1
Level 76
Sep 24, 2024
Well, I still love Vermont (but it's the season of the sticks).
Quizmaster
+3
Level ∞
Aug 6, 2019
Mississippi punches above its weight, coming in at #14 with 4100 points.
tschutzer
+3
Level 92
Aug 6, 2019
Funny how New Jersey pops up here without a single entry on the Cities of Origin quiz - because it's all a part of either the NYC or Philly metro area. Bon Jovi, Bruce Springsteen, The Four Seasons, Patti Smith, and possibly Steely Dan. Nice.
FlabberBapper
+2
Level 75
Aug 14, 2019
Yo I see Brian, Mike, and Dennis in that thumbnail there, I'm so shooketh.
Chutney
+4
Level 62
Oct 20, 2019
surprised that Louisiana didn't make the list, but then I saw it was 1962-present
Neodymium
+1
Level 61
Oct 7, 2024
Would be better per capita
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