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50 Song Hits
1960
In 1960 there was the growing popularity of a wide ranging types of songs on records, radio, movies and television.
Just consider these different categories:
-Broadway: Title song from CAMELOT -- a favorite of
President John F. Kennedy
-Country & Western: "El Paso"
-Easy Listening: "Beyond The Sea"
-Novelty: "Mr. Custer"
-Foreign: "Wooden Heart (Muss I Denn)" (German song sung by Elvis)
Americana: "Ballad of the Alamo"
-Movies: Theme From A SUMMER PLACE -- One of the biggest-selling records of the '60s)
-Nostalgia: "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" (song originally written in 1927)
-Rhythm & Blues: "Money (That's What I Want)"
-Rock n' Roll: "The Twist" (New dance craze popularized by Chubby Checker)
On a personal side, 1960 marks the 50th anniversary of my first song lyrics, written in high school, and some of them are included in my book titled, "Dream World" -- Songs, Poems and Stories.
50 Song Hits From 1960
Look at this list and see how many of these songs you know
(arranged in alphabetical order not by record sales)1. +Alley-Oop (Dallas Frazier) -- Hollywood Argyles
2. Angel Baby (Rose Hamlin) -- Rose and The Originals3. +Are You Lonesome Tonight? (Roy Turk-Lou Handman,1927) --
Elvis Presley
4. Beyond The Sea (Jack Lawrence-Charles Trenet, 1947) -- Bobby Darin
5. Burning Bridges(Melvin Miller) -- Jack Scott
6. Camelot (Alan Jay Lerner-Frederick Loewe) -- Richard Burton7. +Cathy's Clown (Don & Phil Everly) -- The Everly Brothers
8. Corrine, Corrina (J. Mayo Williams-Bo Chatman) -- Ray Peterson
9. Devil or Angel (Blanche Carter, 1955) -- Bobby Vee
10. +El Paso (Marty Robbins) -- Marty Robbins11. +Everybody's Somebody's Fool (Howard Greenfield-Jack Keller) --
Connie Francis
12. Fame And Fortune (Fred Wise-Ben Weisman) -- Elvis Presley
13. +Georgia On My Mind (Stuart Gorrell-Hoagy Carmichael) --
Ray Charles
14. +Greenfields ( Terry Gilkyson,Rich Dehr,Frank Miller) -- The Brothers Four
15. Green Leaves Of Summer (Paul Francis Webster-Dimitri Tiomkin) --
The Brothers Four
16. Harbor Lights (Jimmy Kennedy-Hugh Williams,1937) -- The Platters17. +He'll Have To Go (Joe Allison-Audrey Allison) -- Jim Reeves
18. +I'm Sorry (Ronnie Self-Dub Allbritton) -- Brenda Lee
19. +It's Now Or Never (Aarob Schroeder-Wally Gold - based on the Italian song: "O Sole Mio") -- Elvis Presley
20. +Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini
(Paul Vance-Lee Pockriss) --Brian Hyland21. +I Want To Be Wanted (Kim Gannon-Pino Spotti - tune: "Per Tutta la Vita") -- Brenda Lee
22. +Last Date (Floyd Cramer) -- Floyd Cramer23. Lonely Weekends (Charlie Rich) -- Charlie Rich
24. Mama (Harold Barlow, Phil Brito-C.A. Bixio, 1946) --- Connie Francis25. +Mister Custer (Fred Darian, Al DeLory, Joseph Van Winkle) --
Larry Verne
26. Mr. Lucky (Henry Mancini) -- Henry Mancini
27. Money (That's What I Want)(Berry Gordy-Jamie Bradford) -- Barrett Strong
28. +My Heart Has A Mind Of Its Own (Howard Greenfield-Jack Keller) -- Connie Francis
29. Nice N' Easy (Marilyn & Alan Bergman-Lew Spence)-- Frank Sinatra
30. North To Alaska (Mike Phillips) -- Johnny Horton
31. Only The Lonely (Know The Way I Feel)(Roy Orbison-Joe Melson)--
Roy Orbison
32. Rubber Ball (Aaron Schroeder-Anne Orlowski) -- Bobby Vee
33. +Running Bear (J. P. Richardson) -- Johnny Preston
34. +Save The Last Dance For Me (Doc Pomus-Mort Shuman) --
The Drifters
35. So Sad (To Watch Good Love Go Bad) (Don Everly) -- The Everly Brothers
36. +Stay (Maurice Williams) -- Maurice Williams & The Zodiacs
37. +Stuck On You (Aaron Schoeder-J. Leslie McFarland) -- Elvis Presley
38. +Teen Angel ( Jean Surrey-Red Surrey) -- Mark Dinning
39. Tell Laura I Love Her(Jeff Barry-Ben Raleigh) -- Ray Peterson
40. +Theme From A SUMMER PLACE (Max Steiner) --
Percy Faith & His Orchestra
41. Theme From THE APARTMENT (Charles Williams) -- Ferrante and Teicher
42. Theme From THE UNFORGIVEN (Dimitri Tiomkin) -- Don Costa & His Orchestra
43. This Magic Moment (Doc Pomus-Mort Shuman) -- The Drifters
44. +The Twist (Hank Ballard) -- Hank Ballard and Chubby Checker
45. Walking To New Orleans (Antoine Domino) -- Fats Domino
46. (What A) Wonderful World (Barbara Campbell, Lou Adler, Herb Alpert) -- Sam Cooke
47. Where The Boys Are (Howard Greenfield-Neil Sedaka) -- Connie Francis
48. Wings Of A Dove (Bob Ferguson) -- Ferlin Husky
49. Wooden Heart (Muss I Denn)(Bert Kaempfert, Kay Twomey, Ben Wiseman, Fred Wise) -- Elvis Presley (later hit by Joe Dowell, 1961)
50. You Talk Too Much (Joe Jones-Reginald Hall) -- Joe Jones
+ = from Billboard Top 1000 Singles, 1955-1996, compiled by Joel Whitburn
Singers with most recordings listed:
Elvis Presley = 5
Connie Francis =4
Brenda Lee = 2
The Drifters = 2
Bobby Vee = 2
The Everly Brothers = 2
No. 1 Songs from 1960
Arranged by number of weeks at No. 1 and alphaebtical titles for tied weeks (according to The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits by Joel Whitburn)
Theme From A SUMMER PLACE -- Percy Faith & His Orchestra (9 weeks)
Are You Lonesome Tonight -- Elvis Presley (6 weeks)
It's Now Or Never -- Elvis Presley (5 weeks)
Cathy's Clown -- The Everly Brothers (5 weeks)
Stuck On You -- Elvis Presley (4 weeks)
Save The Last Dance For Me -- The Drifters (3 weeks)
Running Bear -- Johnny Preston (3 weeks)
El Paso -- Marty Robbins (2 weeks)
Everybody's Somebody's Fool -- Connie Francis (2 weeks)
My Heart Has A Mind Of Its Own -- Connie Francis (2 weeks)
Teen Angel -- Mark Dinning (2 weeks)
Alley-Oop -- Hollywood Argyles (1 week)
Georgia On My Mind -- Ray Charles (1 week)
Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polkadot Bikini -- Brian Hyland (1 week)
I Want To Be Wanted -- Brenda Lee (1 week)
Mr. Custer -- Larry Verne (1 week)
Stay -- Maurice Williams & The Zodiacs (1 week)
The Twist -- Chubby Checker (1 week)
Are you celebrsating an anniversary for 1960?
To inquire about ordering a personal CD of pop songs from 1960, write to:
Recommended Recordings
Billboard Top Rock n' Roll Hits 1960
Billboard Top Country Hits 1960
Billboard Top Movie Hits 1960s
Songwriter Memories
Read about songs from the 1950s and '60s, including a chapter about Elvis Presley from 1955-1956, in these this illustrated disc playable on any computer, with music files by songwriter Roger Hall:
"Dream World" - Songs, Poems and Stories
Click here to buy your music and other favorite posters!
AMP Song Links
A Century of American Songs (1861 - 1961)
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