hit parade
hit parade
Pronunciation
/hɪt pəˈreɪd/
hit: /hɪt/
/h/ - voiceless glottal fricative
/ɪ/ - near-close near-front unrounded vowel
/t/ - voiceless alveolar plosive
pa-rade: /pəˈreɪd/
/pə/ - schwa vowel sound
/p/ - voiceless bilabial plosive
/ə/ - schwa vowel
/reɪd/ - /r/ + /eɪ/ + /d/
/r/ - voiced alveolar approximant
/eɪ/ - close-mid front unrounded to close-mid front unrounded diphthong
/d/ - voiced alveolar plosive
Word Form Variations
Singular: hit parade
Plural: hit parades
Definitions, Synonyms and Antonyms
Noun
A list, chart, or broadcast that ranks the most popular songs of a specific period (e.g., week, month) based on sales, airplay, or streaming data.
Synonyms: chart, countdown, top 40, music chart
Antonyms: (There are no direct antonyms for this specific use. The opposite would be a list of unpopular songs, but no common term exists.)
A succession of commercially successful or widely popular songs.
Synonyms: string of hits, smash hits, popular songs
Antonyms: flops, duds, misses
Examples of Use
Books
"In the 1960s, Motown Records dominated the hit parade, producing an unprecedented number of chart-topping singles." (Excerpt from a historical non-fiction book about music)
Newspapers and Online Publications
"The singer’s latest single is a certified smash hit, having climbed to the top of the local hit parade within a week of its release." (Article in a music industry trade publication, Music Week, July 2024)
"We’ll be playing some of the biggest songs from the UK hit parade of 1985, from Tears for Fears to Madonna." (Radio station promotional content, June 2024)
Entertainment Mediums and Platforms
Radio Show Title: The Weekend Hit Parade with DJ Jazzy
Television: "We’ve got a fantastic lineup for you tonight, with performances from some of the artists who are currently dominating the international hit parade." (Announcer on a music awards show)
Film Dialogue: "Do you remember when 'Bohemian Rhapsody' was at the top of the hit parade for months? What a song." (Dialogue from a film set in the 1970s)
General Public Discourse
"My dad says all the songs on the hit parade sound the same these days." (Comment on social media)
"I used to love listening to the radio countdown show to see what was new on the hit parade." (Casual conversation)
10 Famous Quotes Using Hit Parade
"I listen to music every day for study reasons, and I confess that I have very little knowledge of what is going on in the hit parades around the world." - Andrea Bocelli
"The measure of success was writing a song, recording it and for it being in the hit parade in England." - Gilbert O'Sullivan
"There can't be any greater feeling in the world than making it when you're young." - Joe Elliott, on Def Leppard's rise to the top of the hit parade.
"The sage knows himself, but does not parade. He cherishes himself, but does not praise himself." - Laozi
"Then again, all human beings are just actors. Everyone's a fake. It's one thing if you're aware of it, but some people seem convinced the role they're playing is the real them. They're the worst." (Izumi Suzuki, Hit Parade of Tears)
"Moon River" was written to explain that Audrey/Holly was really a yearning country girl; it becomes an anachronism, therefore, to have it sung by a male singer, although Danny Williams's version later became a top-of-the-hit-parade best-seller." (From a biography of Audrey Hepburn)
"In a February 1967 review, Hit Parader declared: 'Revolver' represents the pinnacle of pop music." (From a review of The Beatles album Revolver)
"A lot of people don't want to be gotten out of jail. They've been in there too long... With the hit parade, all those hits for 75 years, controlled by radio and controlled by what I call the gatekeepers." - Wayne Shorter
"When this old world starts getting me down, and people are just too much for me to take, I climb way up to the top of the stairs and I'm on the roof." (Carole King, a songwriter for the hit parade for years before her own career took off)
"The real in the 21st century, LGBTQ artists have greater freedom than ever to be who they are even as there is still so much further to go and the new millennium saw the first fully out gay performer with a number one album. That answer might surprise you. I'll explain that at least that S my a**. Load me Today on hitip Parade we will cross intersectional identity with hit making data to discuss the many queer performers who have topped the charts both in and out over the decades." (Transcript from a podcast episode of Hit Parade)
Etymology
The word "hit parade" is a combination of two separate English words: "hit" and "parade."
The term "hit" in this context is a shortened form of "hit record" or "hit song," referring to a piece of music that is a commercial success. This use of "hit" to mean a success or a popular achievement dates back to the early 20th century, particularly in the context of entertainment like theater and film.
"Parade" comes from the French word "parade," which originally meant a military formation or a public procession. The English language adopted this meaning, and it later expanded to mean any kind of organized procession or display.
When these two words were combined, they created the term "hit parade," which essentially means a "parade of hits" or a "procession of successful songs." The first known use of "hit parade" was in the United States in the 1930s, specifically in the context of a popular radio program called Your Hit Parade. This show would broadcast the week's most popular songs, presenting them as a ranked procession. The term quickly became a common way to refer to any list or ranking of the most popular songs of a given time period.
Phrases + Idioms Containing Hit Parade
Top the hit parade: To reach the number one spot on a music chart.
On the hit parade: Currently ranked among the most popular songs.
A hit parade of [something]: A succession of similar successful or popular things, not just limited to music (e.g., "a hit parade of fashion trends," "a hit parade of new movies").
A blast from the hit parade: A nostalgic reference to a popular song from a past era.
The hit parade of the airwaves: A metaphorical phrase referring to the most-played songs on the radio.
Vocabulary-Based Stories from SEA
Source Information
Definition of hit parade from The Academic Glossary at Self Exploration Academy, a Urikville Press Publication. © All rights reserved.
