Top songs of 1966

What was the number one song of 1966?

The number one song of 1966 was “California Dreamin'” by The Mamas & the Papas, the top song on Billboard's year-end Hot 100 for 1966.

“The Ballad of the Green Berets” by SSgt. Barry Sadler was number one for the most weeks of 1966: 5 of the year's 53 weekly charts, starting with the chart dated March 5, 1966.

Born in 1966? 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 1966, year-end Hot 100 of 1966).

How many songs reached number one in 1966?

27 songs reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1966, across the year's 53 weekly charts.

Of the songs that first reached number one in 1966, “I'm a Believer” by The Monkees stayed there longest: 7 weeks in total, from the chart dated December 31, 1966, with 6 of those weeks on charts dated after 1966.

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 1966. Dates are chart issue dates.

Which artists had more than one number one in 1966?

3 acts had more than one number one in 1966, counting lead and featured credits. The Beatles, The Monkees and The Supremes had 2 each.

• The Beatles: “We Can Work It Out” and “Paperback Writer”
• The Monkees: “Last Train to Clarksville” and “I'm a Believer”
• The Supremes: “You Can't Hurry Love” and “You Keep Me Hangin' On”

What were the biggest songs of 1966?

The five biggest songs of 1966 on Billboard’s year-end Hot 100 were “California Dreamin'” by The Mamas & the Papas, “96 Tears” by ? and the Mysterians, “What Becomes of the Brokenhearted” by Jimmy Ruffin, “Last Train to Clarksville” by The Monkees and “Reach Out I'll Be There” by Four Tops.

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. “When a Man Loves a Woman” Percy Sledge
32. “Time Won't Let Me” The Outsiders
33. “Bus Stop” The Hollies
34. “Paint It Black” The Rolling Stones
35. “Summer in the City” The Lovin' Spoonful
36. “I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry” B. J. Thomas & the Triumphs
37. “My Love” Petula Clark
38. “Daydream” The Lovin' Spoonful
39. “Ain't Too Proud to Beg” The Temptations
40. “Wild Thing” The Troggs
41. “Elusive Butterfly” Bob Lind
42. “I Am a Rock” Simon & Garfunkel
43. “Dirty Water” The Standells
44. “Hooray for Hazel” Tommy Roe
45. “Crying Time” Ray Charles
46. “Sweet Pea” Tommy Roe
47. “Secret Agent Man” Johnny Rivers
48. “Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind?” The Lovin' Spoonful
49. “We Can Work It Out” The Beatles
50. “Homeward Bound” Simon & Garfunkel
51. “Uptight (Everything's Alright)” Stevie Wonder
52. “Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)” Cher
53. “Sloop John B” The Beach Boys
54. “19th Nervous Breakdown” The Rolling Stones
55. “Wipe Out” The Surfaris
56. “Psychotic Reaction” Count Five
57. “Paperback Writer” The Beatles
58. “Beauty Is Only Skin Deep” The Temptations
59. “No Matter What Shape (Your Stomach's In)” The T-Bones
60. “Barefootin'” Robert Parker
61. “Just Like Me” Paul Revere & the Raiders
62. “Love Makes the World Go Round” Deon Jackson
63. “The Pied Piper” Crispian St. Peters
64. “Somewhere My Love” Ray Conniff Singers
65. “Almost Persuaded” David Houston
66. “If I Were a Carpenter” Bobby Darin
67. “Don't Mess with Bill” The Marvelettes
68. “Cherry, Cherry” Neil Diamond
69. “Message to Michael” Dionne Warwick
70. “Love Is a Hurtin' Thing” Lou Rawls
71. “Gloria” The Shadows of Knight
72. “My World Is Empty Without You” The Supremes
73. “Barbara Ann” The Beach Boys
74. “Rainy Day Women #12 & 35” Bob Dylan
75. “Guantanamera” The Sandpipers
76. “I'm Your Puppet” James & Bobby Purify
77. “Land of 1000 Dances” Wilson Pickett
78. “Oh How Happy” The Shades of Blue
79. “Woman” Peter and Gordon
80. “You Baby” The Turtles
81. “Sweet Talkin' Guy” The Chiffons
82. “Five O'Clock World” The Vogues
83. “Black Is Black” Los Bravos
84. “Nowhere Man” The Beatles
85. “Dandy” Herman's Hermits
86. “Baby Scratch My Back” Slim Harpo
87. “She's Just My Style” Gary Lewis & the Playboys
88. “The More I See You” Chris Montez
89. “I Fought the Law” The Bobby Fuller Four
90. “Yellow Submarine” The Beatles
91. “Hungry” Paul Revere & the Raiders
92. “Zorba the Greek” Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass
93. “Shapes of Things” The Yardbirds
94. “Along Comes Mary” The Association
95. “634-5789 (Soulsville, U.S.A.)” Wilson Pickett
96. “Devil with a Blue Dress On/Good Golly, Miss Molly” Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels
97. “Wouldn't It Be Nice” The Beach Boys
98. “This Old Heart of Mine” The Isley Brothers
99. “Green Grass” Gary Lewis & the Playboys
100. “A Well Respected Man” The Kinks

Chart data: Billboard Hot 100, as compiled on Wikipedia (number ones of 1966, year-end Hot 100 of 1966).

What songs should go on a 1966 mix CD?

A 1966 mix that fits one 80-minute CD holds 27 of the year's biggest songs, opening with “California Dreamin'” by The Mamas & the Papas and closing with “B-A-B-Y” by Carla Thomas, for 76:59 of music.

We built it from the year-end top 30 and every number one of 1966, 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 77:53, 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 1966 into a CD. Send us this list, or your own 1966 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).