Top songs of 1962

What was the number one song of 1962?

The number one song of 1962 was “Stranger on the Shore” by Acker Bilk, the top song on Billboard's year-end Hot 100 for 1962.

“I Can't Stop Loving You” by Ray Charles, “Sherry” by The Four Seasons and “Big Girls Don't Cry” by The Four Seasons were each number one for 5 weeks of 1962, the most of any song that year.

Born in 1962? 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 1962, year-end Hot 100 of 1962).

How many songs reached number one in 1962?

19 songs reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time in 1962. Counting “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” and “The Twist”, which were already at number one when the year began, 21 songs held the top spot across the year's 52 weekly charts.

Of the songs that first reached number one in 1962, “I Can't Stop Loving You” by Ray Charles stayed there longest: 5 weeks in total, from the chart dated June 2, 1962.

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 1962. Dates are chart issue dates.

Which artists had more than one number one in 1962?

The Four Seasons was the only act with more than one number one in 1962, counting lead and featured credits: “Sherry” and “Big Girls Don't Cry”.

What were the biggest songs of 1962?

The five biggest songs of 1962 on Billboard’s year-end Hot 100 were “Stranger on the Shore” by Acker Bilk, “I Can't Stop Loving You” by Ray Charles, “Mashed Potato Time” by Dee Dee Sharp, “Roses Are Red (My Love)” by Bobby Vinton and “The Stripper” by David Rose.

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. “Don't Break the Heart That Loves You” Connie Francis
32. “Dear Lady Twist” Gary U.S. Bonds
33. “Norman” Sue Thompson
34. “Love Letters” Ketty Lester
35. “Party Lights” Claudine Clark
36. “Cotton Fields” The Highwaymen
37. “Alley Cat” Bent Fabric
38. “Twist and Shout” The Isley Brothers
39. “Theme from Dr. Kildare (Three Stars Will Shine Tonight)” Richard Chamberlain
40. “Tuff” Ace Cannon
41. “Lover Please” Clyde McPhatter
42. “I Know (You Don't Love Me No More)” Barbara George
43. “Young World” Ricky Nelson
44. “Baby It's You” The Shirelles
45. “Speedy Gonzales” Pat Boone
46. “A Little Bitty Tear” Burl Ives
47. “Crying in the Rain” The Everly Brothers
48. “Al di là” Emilio Pericoli
49. “Shout! Shout! (Knock Yourself Out)” Ernie Maresca
50. “What's Your Name” Don and Juan
51. “Smoky Places” The Corsairs
52. “Having a Party” Sam Cooke
53. “Green Onions” Booker T. & the M.G.'s
54. “You Don't Know Me” Ray Charles
55. “Sherry” The Four Seasons
56. “Johnny Get Angry” Joanie Sommers
57. “Can't Help Falling in Love” Elvis Presley
58. “Shout” Joey Dee and the Starliters
59. “Rinky Dink” Dave "Baby" Cortez
60. “Moon River” Henry Mancini
61. “Ahab the Arab” Ray Stevens
62. “Things” Bobby Darin
63. “(The Man Who Shot) Liberty Valance” Gene Pitney
64. “You Belong to Me” The Duprees
65. “Dream Baby (How Long Must I Dream)” Roy Orbison
66. “Snap Your Fingers” Joe Henderson
67. “Lovers Who Wander” Dion
68. “Let's Dance” Chris Montez
69. “Cindy's Birthday” Johnny Crawford
70. “You Beat Me to the Punch” Mary Wells
71. “You'll Lose a Good Thing” Barbara Lynn
72. “Uptown” The Crystals
73. “Everybody Loves Me But You” Brenda Lee
74. “Patches” Dickey Lee
75. “Venus in Blue Jeans” Jimmy Clanton
76. “Love Me Warm and Tender” Paul Anka
77. “Teen Age Idol” Rick Nelson
78. “She's Got You” Patsy Cline
79. “Dear One” Larry Finnegan
80. “Her Royal Majesty” James Darren
81. “Old Rivers” Walter Brennan
82. “Funny Way of Laughin'” Burl Ives
83. “A Swingin' Safari” Billy Vaughn
84. “Tell Me” Dick and Dee Dee
85. “PT-109” Jimmy Dean
86. “Little Diane” Dion
87. “Percolator (Twist)” Billy Joe and the Checkmates
88. “Twist, Twist Senora” Gary U.S. Bonds
89. “Twistin' Matilda” Jimmy Soul
90. “Gravy (For My Mashed Potatoes)” Dee Dee Sharp
91. “Walk on the Wild Side” Jimmy Smith
92. “Soul Twist” King Curtis
93. “I'll Never Dance Again” Bobby Rydell
94. “I'm Blue (The Gong-Gong Song)” The Ikettes
95. “Where Have All the Flowers Gone?” The Kingston Trio
96. “(Girls, Girls, Girls) Made to Love” Eddie Hodges
97. “Town Without Pity” Gene Pitney
98. “If I Had a Hammer” Peter, Paul and Mary
99. “I Wish That We Were Married” Ronnie & the Hi-Lites
100. “Surfin' Safari” The Beach Boys

Chart data: Billboard Hot 100, as compiled on Wikipedia (number ones of 1962, year-end Hot 100 of 1962).

What songs should go on a 1962 mix CD?

A 1962 mix that fits one 80-minute CD holds 29 of the year's biggest songs, opening with “The Twist” by Chubby Checker and closing with “Telstar” by The Tornados, for 76:22 of music.

We built it from the year-end top 30 and every number one of 1962, 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 77:20, 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 1962 into a CD. Send us this list, or your own 1962 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).