The payola scandal chills Rock ‘n Roll on radio and adult genres like Easy Listening, Soundtracks, Jazz and Rat Pack Swing dominate music with albums (now in stereo!) outselling singles, and hi-fi’s debuting in the Sears catalog. But Elvis is back from the Army, The Nashville Sound puts Country front and center, and American Bandstand starts a wave of dance crazes with “The Twist.”

#1 Song of the Year   The top song according to our Chartcrush ranking of all Hot100 songs that earned the majority of their chart ranking points in the year

Artists of the Year   The top three artists based on all charted songs during the calendar year

1. Connie Francis
2. Brenda Lee
3. Bobby Rydell

Artist with Most Charting Songs   Artist(s) with the most Hot100 charting songs during the year (song count in parentheses)

• Fats Domino (10)

Average #1 Artist Age   The average of how old artists who scored #1 Hot100 hits during the year were when their songs first reached #1

• 24.5 years

#1 Songs   List of Hot100 #1 songs that earned the majority of their chart ranking points in the year, and (in parentheses), the month the song first hit #1 and the total number of weeks it was #1

1. Frankie Avalon – Why (December ’59, 1 wk)
2. Marty Robbins – El Paso (January, 2 wks)
3. Johnny Preston – Running Bear (January, 3 wks)
4. Mark Dinning – Teen Angel (February, 2 wks)
5. Percy Faith & His Orchestra – The Theme from “A Summer Place” (February, 9 wks)
6. Elvis Presley with The Jordanaires – Stuck on You (April, 4 wks)
7. The Everly Brothers – Cathy’s Clown (May, 5 wks)
8. Connie Francis – Everybody’s Somebody’s Fool (June, 2 wks)
9. Hollywood Argyles – Alley-Oop (July, 1 wk)
10. Brenda Lee – I’m Sorry (July, 3 wks)
11. Brian Hyland – Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polkadot Bikini (August, 1 wk)
12. Elvis Presley with The Jordanaires – It’s Now or Never (August, 5 wks)
13. Chubby Checker – The Twist (September, 1 wk)
14. Connie Francis – My Heart Has a Mind of Its Own (September, 2 wks)
15. Larry Verne – Mr. Custer (October, 1 wk)
16. The Drifters – Save the Last Dance for Me (October, 3 wks)
17. Brenda Lee – I Want to Be Wanted (Per Tutta la Vita) (October, 1 wk)
18. Ray Charles – Georgia on My Mind (November, 1 wk)
19. Maurice Williams & The Zodiacs – Stay (November, 1 wk)