POP QUIZ

“Top R&B; Albums 1965-1998” is the 76th volume in publisher Joel Whitburn’s remarkable series of pop reference books, and Pop Eye continues its tradition of using new releases for a brief trivia quiz.

1: Who is the most successful R&B; chart artist ever?

(a) Aretha Franklin

(b) Michael Jackson

(c) The Supremes

(d) The Temptations

(e) Stevie Wonder

(f) James Brown

Even Whitburn was surprised at the answer he discovered.

“I was happy to see that the Temptations win because I’ve always been such a big fan of the group, but it was hard to believe at first that they have done better on the charts than Aretha Franklin or James Brown,” Whitburn said last week. “But the Temptations won by a comfortable margin. The important thing in all three cases was those acts have such longevity.

The Motown quintet’s first 10 albums--from 1965’s “The Temptations Sing Smokey” to 1969’s “TCB” (with Diana Ross & the Supremes)--all went to No. 1 on the R&B; charts, as did seven subsequent Temptations albums. That gives the group 5,749 points under Whitburn’s system, which gives artists points based on the number of weeks their albums spent on the charts and the highest position reached by each album.

The rest of the Top 5: Aretha Franklin, 4,555 points; James Brown, 3,867; Stevie Wonder, 3,371; and the Supremes, 3,205.

2: Who is the most successful rap artist on the R&B; charts?

(a) LL Cool J

(b) Notorious B.I.G.

(c) Run-DMC

(d) 2 Live Crew

(e) 2Pac

The winner: 2Pac, who finished at No. 54 with 1,264 points.

In the book, Whitburn lists every album that made the Billboard magazine R&B; chart between 1965 and 1998. It also notes the number of weeks each album spent on the chart and the highest position reached. Information on the book and other Whitburn books, which cover topics ranging from pop to country, can be obtained by calling (414) 251-5408 or e-mailing record@execpc.com.

And what will be the 77th book in Whitburn’s mounting collection? “Everyone has been asking for some kind of millennium collection,” he said, “so we’re doing a book called ‘A Century of Pop Music.’ It’ll include the Top 40 hits for every year of the century. We should have it done by late November.”