Name changes for black music are off the charts

Q. A friend asked me why country music has always been calledCountry Music on music sales charts, classical has always beenClassical, and jazz has always been Jazz, but black music has gonethrough about a dozen different names. I would appreciate a rundownof the names used by the charts and the industry to identify blackmusic.

A. Explaining the reasons--even those that are rational--forevents in history is sometimes close to impossible. Reporting thoseevents is an easier task, so we'll just do that. According to JoelWhitburn's Top Billboard R&B Singles reference book, here are thenames given to Billboard's various black music charts:

1942-1945: Harlem Hit …