
50 Song Hits
1960
by Roger Lee Hall
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 Presley)
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 my senior year of high school, and some of them are included in my eBooks:

"Dream World"
Songs, Poems and Stories
"Free As The Breeze"
Confessions of a Struggling Songwriter
Look at this list and see how many you know of these...
50 Song Hits from 1960
+Alley-Oop -- Hollywood Argyles
+Are You Lonesome Tonight? --Elvis Presley
Ballad Of The Alamo
-- Marty Robbins
Beyond The Sea -- Bobby Darin
Camelot -- Richard Burton
+Cathy's Clown -- The Everly Brothers
Corruna, Corrina -- Ray Peterson
Devil Or Angel -- Bobby Vee
+El Paso -- Marty Robbins
+Everybody's Somebody's Fool -- Connie Francis
Fame And Fortune -- Elvis Presley
+Georgia On My Mind -- Ray Charles
+Greenfields -- The Brothers Four
Green Leaves Of Summer -- The Brothers Four
+He'll Have To Go -- Jim Reeves
+I'm Sorry -- Brenda Lee
+It's Now Or Never -- Elvis Presley
+Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini --Brian Hyland
+I Want To Be Wanted -- Brenda Lee
+Last Date -- Floyrd Cramer
Lonely Weekends -- Charlie Rich
Mama -- Connie Francis
+Mister Custer -- Larry Verne
Mr. Lucky -- Henry Mancini
Money (That's What I Want) -- Barrett Strong
+My Heart Has A Mind Of Its Own -- Connie Francis
Nice 'N' Easy -- Frank Sinatra
North To Alaska -- Johnny Horton
Only The Lonely (Know The Way I Feel) -- Roy Orbison
+Running Bear -- Johnny Preston
Rubber Ball -- Bobby Vee
+Save The Last Dance For Me -- The Drifters
So Sad (To Watch Good Love Go Bad) -- The Everly Brothers
+Stay -- Maurice Williams & The Zodiacs
+Stuck On You -- Elvis Presley
+Teen Angel -- Mark Dinning
Tell Laura I Love Her-- Ray Peterson
+Theme From A SUMMER PLACE -- Percy Faith & His Orchestra
Theme From THE APARTMENT -- Ferrante and Teicher
Theme From THE UNFORGIVEN -- Don Costa & His Orchestra
This Magic Moment
-- The Drifters
+The Twist -- Hank Ballard/ Chubby Checker
The Village Of St. Bernadette -- Andy Williams
Walking To New Orleans
-- Fats Domino
(What A) Wonderful World -- Sam Cooke
What In The World's Come Over You -- Jack Scott
Where The Boys Are -- Connie Francis
Wings Of A Dove -- Ferlin Husky
Wooden Heart (Muss I Denn) -- Elvis Presley
You Talk Too Much -- 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 -- Percvy Faith & His Orchestra (9 weeks at #1)
Are You Lonesome Tonight -- Elvis Presley (6 weeks at #1)
It's Now Or Never -- Elvis Presley (5 weeks at #1)
Cathy's Clown -- The Everly Brothers (5 weeks at #1)
Stuck On You -- Elvis Presley (4 weeks at #1)
Save The Last Dance For Me -- The Drifters (3 weeks at #1)
Running Bear -- Johnny Preston (3 weeks at #1)
El Paso -- Marty Robbins (2 weeks at #1)
Everybody's Somebody's Fool -- Connie Francis (2 weeks at #1)
My Heart Has A Mind Of Its Own -- Connie Francis (2 weeks at #1)
Teen Angel -- Mark Dinning (2 weeks at #1)
Alley-Oop -- Hollywood Argyles (1 week at #)
Georgia On My Mind -- Ray Charles (1 week at #1)
Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polkadot Bikini -- Brian Hyland (1 week at #1)
I Want To Be Wanted -- Brenda Lee (1 week at #1)
Mr. Custer -- Larry Verne (1 week at #1)
Stay -- Maurice Williams & The Zodiacs (1 week at #1)
The Twist -- Chubby Checker (1 week at #1)
Recommended Recordings on CD
Billboard Top Rock n' Roll Hits 1960
Billboard Top R & B Hits 1960
Billboard Top Pop Hits 1960
Billboard Top Movie Hits 1960s

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