Top songs of 1960

What was the number one song of 1960?

The number one song of 1960 was “Theme from A Summer Place” by Percy Faith, the top song on Billboard's year-end Hot 100 for 1960. It spent 9 weeks at number one on the weekly chart, starting with the chart dated February 22, 1960.

“Theme from A Summer Place” by Percy Faith and his orchestra was number one for the most weeks of 1960: 9 of the year's 52 weekly charts, starting with the chart dated February 22, 1960.

Born in 1960? The birthday number one finder shows the song at number one in the exact week of your birthday, and the number one on every birthday since.

Chart data: Billboard Hot 100, as compiled on Wikipedia (number ones of 1960, year-end Hot 100 of 1960).

How many songs reached number one in 1960?

19 songs reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1960, across the year's 52 weekly charts.

Of the songs that first reached number one in 1960, “Theme from A Summer Place” by Percy Faith and his orchestra stayed there longest: 9 weeks in total, from the chart dated February 22, 1960.

Weeks at No. 1 counts every week the song spent at the top, including weeks in other years; the number in brackets is the weeks on charts dated 1960. Dates are chart issue dates.

Which artists had more than one number one in 1960?

3 acts had more than one number one in 1960, counting lead and featured credits. Elvis Presley had the most, with 3: “Stuck on You”, “It's Now or Never” and “Are You Lonesome Tonight?”.

• Elvis Presley: “Stuck on You”, “It's Now or Never” and “Are You Lonesome Tonight?”
• Brenda Lee: “I'm Sorry” and “I Want to Be Wanted”
• Connie Francis: “Everybody's Somebody's Fool” and “My Heart Has a Mind of Its Own”

What were the biggest songs of 1960?

The five biggest songs of 1960 on Billboard’s year-end Hot 100 were “Theme from A Summer Place” by Percy Faith, “He'll Have to Go” by Jim Reeves, “Cathy's Clown” by The Everly Brothers, “Running Bear” by Johnny Preston and “Teen Angel” by Mark Dinning.

The year-end chart ranks songs by how they performed on the weekly Hot 100 across Billboard’s chart year, so a song that peaked late in the year can rank lower than its weekly peak suggests, or count toward the next year’s list. The top 30 below show each song’s length where we could match the recording.

Numbers 31 to 100

31. “Good Timin'” Jimmy Jones
32. “Beyond the Sea” Bobby Darin
33. “Go, Jimmy, Go” Jimmy Clanton
34. “Night” Jackie Wilson
35. “Burning Bridges” Jack Scott
36. “The Big Hurt” Toni Fisher
37. “Because They're Young” Duane Eddy
38. “Lonely Blue Boy” Conway Twitty
39. “Pretty Blue Eyes” Steve Lawrence
40. “Way Down Yonder in New Orleans” Freddy Cannon
41. “Paper Roses” Anita Bryant
42. “Mr. Custer” Larry Verne
43. “I Want to Be Wanted” Brenda Lee
44. “Mule Skinner Blues” The Fendermen
45. “Cradle of Love” Johnny Preston
46. “You Got What It Takes” Marv Johnson
47. “Please Help Me, I'm Falling” Hank Locklin
48. “Love You So” Ron Holden
49. “Finger Poppin' Time” Hank Ballard & The Midnighters
50. “Harbor Lights” The Platters
51. “Let the Little Girl Dance” Billy Bland
52. “He'll Have to Stay” Jeanne Black
53. “Theme from The Apartment” Ferrante & Teicher
54. “Volare” Bobby Rydell
55. “A Million to One” Jimmy Charles
56. “The Village of St. Bernadette” Andy Williams
57. “White Silver Sands” Bill Black's Combo
58. “The Old Lamp-Lighter” The Browns
59. “Devil or Angel” Bobby Vee
60. “Down by the Station” The Four Preps
61. “Forever” The Little Dippers
62. “Image of a Girl” The Safaris & The Phantom's Band
63. “Kiddio” Brook Benton
64. “Mission Bell” Donnie Brooks
65. “I Love the Way You Love” Marv Johnson
66. “It's Time to Cry” Paul Anka
67. “Tell Laura I Love Her” Ray Peterson
68. “Mama” Connie Francis
69. “Footsteps” Steve Lawrence
70. “So Sad” The Everly Brothers
71. “That's All You Gotta Do” Brenda Lee
72. “Walking to New Orleans” Fats Domino
73. “Among My Souvenirs” Connie Francis
74. “Swingin' School” Bobby Rydell
75. “A Rockin' Good Way (to Mess Around and Fall in Love)” Dinah Washington & Brook Benton
76. “Stairway to Heaven” Neil Sedaka
77. “My Home Town” Paul Anka
78. “Georgia on My Mind” Ray Charles
79. “Cherry Pie” Skip & Flip
80. “Wonderful World” Sam Cooke
81. “Tracy's Theme” Robert Mersey
82. “Lady Luck” Lloyd Price
83. “Step by Step” The Crests
84. “Happy-Go-Lucky Me” Paul Evans
85. “Young Emotions” Ricky Nelson
86. “Dreamin'” Johnny Burnette
87. “Poetry in Motion” Johnny Tillotson
88. “O Dio Mio” Annette Funicello
89. “You Talk Too Much” Joe Jones
90. “Beatnik Fly” Johnny and the Hurricanes
91. “When Will I Be Loved” The Everly Brothers
92. “Let's Think About Living” Bob Luman
93. “Heartaches by the Number” Guy Mitchell
94. “My Little Corner of the World” Anita Bryant
95. “Doggin' Around” Jackie Wilson
96. “Little Bitty Girl” Bobby Rydell
97. “Money (That's What I Want)” Barrett Strong
98. “Stay” Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs
99. “Lonely Weekends” Charlie Rich
100. “Sandy” Larry Hall

Chart data: Billboard Hot 100, as compiled on Wikipedia (number ones of 1960, year-end Hot 100 of 1960).

What songs should go on a 1960 mix CD?

A 1960 mix that fits one 80-minute CD holds 28 of the year's biggest songs, opening with “El Paso” by Marty Robbins and closing with “Are You Lonesome Tonight?” by Elvis Presley, for 78:01 of music.

We built it from the year-end top 30 and every number one of 1960, taking songs in year-end order until the disc was full, then sequenced it to follow the year: the number ones in the order they reached the top, with the year’s other big hits placed between them. With a 2-second gap before each track it runs 78:57, under the 79 minutes we fill a CD to.

Lengths are the recordings matched in Deezer’s catalog. Single edits, album versions and remasters can run a little longer or shorter, so check your own playlist before you burn it.

Turn 1960 into a CD. Send us this list, or your own 1960 songs, and we burn it to a real audio CD, test-play it and post it. It makes a good gift for a birth year, a graduation year or a wedding year.

To change the songs, paste the list into the playlist length calculator to keep it under 80 minutes, then print an insert with the CD case template. Our guide to making a mixtape covers sequencing, and nostalgic gift ideas has more ways to give a year as a present.

What was popular music like in the 1960s?

Popular music in the 1960s moved from teen idols, girl groups and dance crazes to the British Invasion, Motown and folk rock. The Beatles' first US number one, "I Want to Hold Your Hand", topped the chart dated February 1, 1964, and Motown acts such as the Supremes and the Temptations reached number one through the rest of the decade.

From 1960 to 1969, 203 songs reached number one on the Hot 100, and no song stayed there for 10 weeks or more. Of those 203, “Theme from A Summer Place” by Percy Faith and his orchestra and “Hey Jude” by The Beatles spent the most weeks at number one, 9 each. The Beatles had the most number ones that reached the top in these years, with 18. The typical number one of these years ran 2:41 (the median of the 184 with a known length).