Clarinetist and jazz-band leader, Acker Bilk (28 Jan 1929 - 2 Nov 2014) was born in Somerset, England.  He learned to play the clarinet in the army during his National Service.  He formed his own jazz band in 1951, playing around his native West Country of England.  Shortly after, he was booked for a six-month residency in Germany, where he developed his famous image of goatee beard, bowler hat and striped waistcoat.  Billed as Mr Acker Bilk and His Paramount Jazz Band, his first UK hit was this track, culminating in the million-selling "Stranger on the Shore" in 1961-62.  His hit records started a trend for traditional jazz in the UK charts during the early 1960s, with other jazz bands, notably Kenny Ball & His Jazzmen, scoring many hits.  Bilk continued performing to enthusiastic fans until the early 2000s, when ill-health forced his retirement.

Craig Douglas was born on 12 Aug 1941 on the Isle of Wight, England.  He was a milk delivery man (milkman) before he became a professional singer.  He had signed with the newly-launched Top Rank record company, and his first release was a cover of "Teenager in Love", but Marty Wilde had the bigger hit with that song.  His cover of Sam Cooke's song "Only Sixteen" took him to the top of the charts, and gave him instant stardom.  He enjoyed seven Top 10 chart entries from 1959 to 1962, with a tally of 11 hits overall - mostly covers of American originals.  He has continued to perform in nostalgia shows and on cruise ships into the 21st century.
# This song was a cover of the original American hit by Steve Lawrence.  That version peaked at number 9 in the USA, but did not reach the charts in the UK.

Bobby Darin (14 May 1936 - 20 Dec 1973) was born in New York City, USA.  Darin began writing songs in 1955, and wrote a few numbers for Connie Francis.  He also began arranging music for artists on Atlantic Records, with whom Darin had been signed.  His first hit came in 1958, which started a career that lasted through the 1960s, although he would change musical direction a few times.  He made a number of successful recordings for a couple of years from 1959, featuring old songs with a big band backing.  In 1962 he joined Capitol Records to replace Frank Sinatra who had left to form his own record label.  This resulted in a few albums from Darin of standards and new ballads in a pseudo-Sinatra style.  However, in 1966 he returned to mainstream pop.  He had had a weak heart for most of his life, and he died following heart surgery at the age of 37.
# This song originated as a French composition with French lyrics, called "La Mer" (the sea) written by Charles Trenet in 1946.  American, Jack Lawrence wrote the English lyrics, which are unrelated to the original French lyrics.  The song was a hit for the Benny Goodman Orchestra in 1948.
# This version by Bobby Darin is probably the best known.  This recording continued Darin's favour with big band productions, following his hit with "Mack The Knife" in the autumn of 1959.  More hits in this style were to follow.

The Platters were formed in Los Angeles in 1952.  By 1955 they had their first hits in the USA, quickly followed by hits in the UK.  There were several personnel changes, even during their hits period.  Subsequently, changes have been frequent, and ex-members have formed new groups also called The Platters, which led to various legal challenges.  Such legal activity continued right up to 2014, even though most of the original members had died by then.  The current line up has no original members.  This recording was their final hit in the UK.
# This song was originally recorded by American singer Frances Langford (1913-2005) in 1937.  The biggest-selling version was recorded by the Sammy Kaye Orchestra in 1950, reaching Number One on the USA charts. 

Johnny Mathis was born on 30 Sep 1935 in Texas, USA, but his family moved to San Francisco, where he grew up.  His father encouraged him to sing, and he was having voice lessons from the age of 13.  He began singing in clubs in 1955, and was soon given a recording contract.  His crooning style was very popular with the older generation, and TV appearances increased his popularity.  He issued dozens of albums of ballads and standards, as well as having some success in the singles market.  He has continued performing into the 21st century.
# This song was written in 1954 as an instrumental by the Jazz pianist, Erroll Garner (1923-1977), and recorded by him in 1955.  The lyrics were added a little later by American songwriter Johnny Burke (1908-1964).
# In 1975 American singer, Ray Stevens released an up-tempo, country-flavoured version of the song which reached number two in the UK charts.

Emile Ford ( 16 Oct 1937 - 11 Apr 2016) was born the island of St Lucia in the West Indies.  His mother and grandfather were musicians in St Lucia.  In the mid-1950s, Emile and his family relocated to the UK, and he attended a London technical college, where he learned to play a number of musical instruments.  He began singing in 1958, and made a few TV appearances.  He formed his backing band, The Checkmates, and together they won the Soho Fair talent contest in London during July 1959, which resulted in a deal with Pye Records.  From 1959 to 1962 he had eight hit singles.  In 1969, he set up a recording studio in Barbados, West Indies, with the help of his father, before moving to live in Sweden, where he developed a new open-air playback system for stage shows.
# This song was written in 1948 and was recorded by several acts of the day.  This was Emile Ford's follow-up to his chart-topper "What Do You Want To Make Those Eyes At Me For?" (year 1959, song 88 in these lists)

Marv Johnson (15 Oct 1938 - 16 May 1993) was born in Detroit, USA.  He began his career singing with a doo-wop group called the Serenaders in the mid 1950s, and was spotted by Berry Gordy Jr who was about to form the record label, Tamla Motown.  Johnson's recording of "Come to Me" became the label's first single in May 1959.  "You've Got What It Takes" was his first Top 10 hit on both sides of the Atlantic.  In the UK he had two minor hits in 1960 following this, but it was 1969 before he had another British Top 10 entry.  After that he took a back-room job with Motown Records, but continued singing until his death.  He died from a stroke in South Carolina, USA at the age of 54.
# The song was covered at the time in the UK by Johnny Kidd & The Pirates who peaked at number 25 with it.  Subsequently, in 1967, the Dave Clark Five recorded the song, but peaked only at number 28, whilst ten years later, in 1977, British band Showaddywaddy did better than anyone, by getting as high as number two with their version.

Toni Fisher (1931 - 12 Feb 1999)* was born in Los Angeles, USA.  In 1949 she played a small, uncredited part in the musical "Make Believe Ballroom", a film starring several major stars of the day, in cameo roles.  In the early fifties she married composer, arranger and producer Wayne Shanklin (1916-1970), who wrote most of her material, including this hit.  She spent most of the 1950s trying to make it as a singer, working small Los Angeles clubs.  Finally, in 1959, Shanklin wrote this song which Fisher recorded, taking it to number 3 in the USA charts.  She had a few further hits in America, but this was her sole appearance in the UK charts.  She retired from the music business after the death of Wayne Shanklin in 1970.
# The recording is notable because it featured a phasing effect, created when mixing engineer Larry Levine (who went on to help Phil Spector create his wall of sound) mixed the mono and stereo versions of the song together but slightly out of sync.  It is claimed to be the first record to have phasing, a technique that gained popularity in the late 1960s on so-called "psychedelic" recordings.
# In the UK,  British singer Maureen Evans covered the song, and her version did slightly better, peaking at number 26 in January 1960.
* Websites that have information about Toni Fisher are often conflicting.  Her birth date sometimes appears as 1924, although most go for 1931, but no day or month is shown.  There are even conflicts about the date of her death, although the year (1999) is consistent.  Similarly, some sites suggest she may not have been married to Wayne Shanklin, but he certainly acted as her manager and record producer.

These two brothers had roots in American Country Music, but soon became major Rock 'n' Roll stars.  They were Don Everly (1 Feb 1937 - 21 Aug 2021) and Phil Everly (19 Jan 1939 - 3 Jan 2014).  They moved to Nashville in 1955 and made a couple of recordings, but they did not enter the charts.  However, in early 1957 they signed with Cadence Records and recorded "Bye Bye Love" which it is said had been turned down by 30 other acts.  The recording reached number two on the USA pop charts and sold a million copies.  "Bye Bye Love" became their first hit in the UK too, peaking at number six.  After three years with Cadence they moved to Warner Brothers records and the hits continued. They amassed 29 hit singles by 1968, after which the hits stopped.  They both went solo in the 1970s after a falling out, and they did not speak to each other for some years.  However, they reunited in 1983 with a sell-out concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London, and they made a number of concert tours into the 1990s.
# This song was written in 1955 by French singer and composer, Gilbert Bécaud under the title of "Je t'appartiens" (I belong to you).  The original lyrics were in French, but English lyrics were written by American, Mann Curtis.  The Everly Brothers' recording was the first significant English-language version of the song.  The song has been recorded by numerous artists over the decades, including Elvis Presley, mostly as album tracks.  However, in 2000, British singer Justin recorded a version which reached number 15 in the UK charts.

Frank Ifield (30 Nov 1937 - 18 May 2024) was born in Coventry, England.  After the war, he and his parents went to live near Sydney, Australia.  He enjoyed singing, and by his late teens he was a popular performer in Australia.  He decided to return to the UK in 1959.  His first hit came in 1960 (see year 1960, song 15), but 1961 was blank so far as hits were concerned.  However, in 1962 he made a real chart breakthrough with his million-selling Number One hit, "I Remember You", which remained at Number One for seven weeks.  That record made him a star, and he became famous for his yodeling style of singing.  He had three further chart-toppers and a Top 10 hit by 1964 - all revivals of old songs.  After that the hits tailed off as musical trends changed in the mid-1960s.  He continued as a popular performer, however, for many years, and in 1991 he reached the charts again with a new recording of "She Taught Me How To Yodel", which peaked at number 40 in the UK.  Following a divorce, he returned to Australia in 1988 and remarried in 1992.  He was still occasionally performing in the early 21st century, but he died from pneumonia in Australia during May 2024 at the age of 86.
# In the USA, the song was recorded by Carl Dobkins Jr, whose version peaked at number 44 in the UK at the end of March 1960.

Lance Fortune was born on 4 Jan 1940 in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England.  He formed a Rock 'n' Roll group while he was still at school, and they performed at a few local venues.  Having left school, he went to London and was spotted performing at the famous 2i's coffee bar.  A recording contract with Pye Records was set up, and this song became a Top 5 hit for him.  It was produced by Joe Meek (1929-1967), who went on to produce several major hits, notably for The Tornados and John Leyton.  However, only one minor hit followed for Fortune, and he soon faded away.
# This record's success was undoubtedly due in part to the orchestration which featured pizzicato strings, similar to Adam Faith's records at that time.  Indeed, it was Adam Faith's arranger, John Barry, who arranged the orchestral backing on this Lance Fortune track.

Jerry Lordan (30 Apr 1934 - 24 July 1995) was born in London, England.  He taught himself to play piano and guitar as a child, and began songwriting in 1958.  An early success was "I've Waited So Long", which was a hit for Anthony Newley in 1959 (see year 1959, song 45 in these lists).  Although his singing career was not a huge success, his composing certainly was.  He wrote the Number One hits "Apache" and "Wonderful Land", as well as other hits for the Shadows.  He achieved a further Number One, "Diamonds" for the ex-Shadows' Jet Harris and Tony Meehan in 1963; also hits for Cliff Richard and others.

Perry Como (18 May 1912 - 12 May 2001) was born in Pennsylvania, USA to Italian immigrants. In 1933 he took part in a dance band's talent spot, and was immediately offered a job.  By 1943 he had his own radio show, and a recording contract with RCA.  The mid 1950s and 1960s saw him with hit records and his popular TV show that was broadcast in the UK as well.  His first run of hits continued until 1962, but he returned in 1971 with another series of hit singles, when he was nearly 60 years of age!  Como died in his sleep at his home in Florida, USA, six days before his eighty-ninth birthday.
# This song name-checks 15 states of the USA as puns in the lyrics of the song.  Strangely, it reached a higher chart position in the UK (3), than in the USA where it peaked at number 22.
# Delaware itself is a small state on the east coast of the USA.  It is bordered by Maryland to the west and south, and by Pennsylvania to the north.  The population of the whole state is just under 1 million.

Composer and arranger, John Barry (3 Nov 1933 - 30 Jan 2011) was born at York, England.  After National Service, he formed a band in 1957 which he called the John Barry Seven.  He appeared on TV with his band, and they gained a residency on the BBC TV music series "Drumbeat" (1959).  Barry soon developed an interest in arranging music, and was employed by EMI to arrange music for Adam Faith amongst others.  Also in 1959 he was asked to compose the theme music for the BBC TV's musical review panel show "Juke Box Jury", which was hosted by David Jacobs.  This resulted in his first hit record "Hit And Miss".  He eventually became most famous for writing the scores for the James Bond series of films.  He went on to write scores for many successful films and wrote numerous songs, frequently with lyricist Don Black.  He continued to compose into the 21st century, but died from a heart attack at his home in Oyster Bay, New York, USA, at age 77.
# Lead guitar on "Hit And Miss" was played by Vic Flick, a successful session guitarist, born 1937, and still playing.
# The title of the Juke Box Jury theme, "Hit And Miss" is based on chairman David Jacobs' request to the panelists to vote the record under review, a hit or a miss.

Max Bygraves (16 Oct 1922 - 31 Aug 2012) was an English entertainer, comedian and singer, born in Rotherhithe, London, England.  After the second world war, he went into show business and was pretty much an all-round entertainer.  He made some radio broadcasts in the late 1940s, and appeared in several comedy films from 1949.  In 1950 he became a star in the popular, long-running radio series "Educating Archie".  He began making records in 1952, and during his long career, he had 18 hit singles, seven of which reached the Top 10.  In 1972 he started recording albums in his "sing-along" series, which ran into the 1980s and gave him 12 entries in the album chart.  He was a major comedy TV star in the 1960s and 1970s and TV game show host in the 1980s.  He retired to Australia in 2008 and died there in 2012.
# This song is from a Cockney-based musical play, called "Fings Ain't Wot They Used T'Be", written by British novelist Frank Norman, with music and songs composed by Lionel Bart.  It was first performed in the West End of London in February 1960.

Percy Faith (7 Apr 1908 - 9 Feb 1976) was born in Toronto, Canada.  He became a professional musician, and had his own radio show in Canada during the 1930s.  He relocated to the USA in the 1940s and became an American citizen.  He was an accomplished arranger and conductor, and provided the orchestral backing for major recording artists during the 1950s and 1960s.  He also made many albums of his own during the 1960s and 1970s.
# This instrumental was featured in the film "A Summer Place" which starred Sandra Dee and Troy Donahue.  The theme on the film soundtrack was played by the Hugo Winterhalter Orchestra.  Percy Faith's recording went to Number One in the USA where it stayed for nine weeks.  In the UK, the recording remained in the charts for 31 weeks (over seven months).
# The music was covered in the UK by the Norrie Paramor Orchestra, reaching number 36 in the charts.
# There are lyrics to the music, written by Mack Discant.  Vocal versions have been recorded by several acts, as album tracks, including Cliff Richard and Andy Williams.

Billy Fury (17 Apr 1940 - 28 Jan 1983) was born in Liverpool, England.  He bought his first guitar at age 14, entered talent contests, and by 1958 was writing his own songs.  He was spotted by impresario Larry Parnes, who put him on tour, and arranged a recording contract with Decca.  He also appeared on the TV pop show "Oh Boy!", and released his first record in 1959.  He went on to considerable success, and had amassed 26 hit singles by the end of 1966.  Heart problems, which he suffered from childhood, led to surgery in the early 1970s.  He did some touring and recording in the very early 1980s, but his heart problems worsened, and died in London in January 1983, aged just 42.  On 19 April 2003 a bronze statue of Fury was unveiled at the National Museum of Liverpool Life.

Bobby Rydell (26 Apr 1942 - 5 Apr 2022) was born in Philadelphia, USA.  In 1950, he won a talent show on the television series "TV Teen Club" and gained a place in the cast, where he remained for several years.  He signed with Cameo Records in 1959, and had his first American hit that year.  This was his first UK hit, which was a million-seller in the USA.  He enjoyed several hits in the early 1960s, and even starred in a film ("Bye Bye Birdie").  Although he enjoyed some 34 Top 40 hits in the USA, in the UK he was eclipsed by the British beat groups of the mid-1960s.  He continued to tour and appear at various American venues, including Las Vegas, for the rest of his life, despite having a double organ transplant in 2012.  He died from pneumonia in April 2022 at the age of 79.
# His next hit in this list came in September (song 73).

Jimmy Jones (2 June 1937 - 2 Aug 2012) was born in Birmingham, Alabama, USA.  As a teenager, he joined a doo-wop group in 1954, and a year later, wrote the song "Handy Man".  He left that group, and after working and recording with other groups, he went solo.  He enlisted the help of songwriter Otis Blackwell to rework the "Handy Man" song which he recorded in early 1960.  The song was a Top 3 hit on both sides of the Atlantic.  He enjoyed a Number One hit in the UK a little later in 1960, and a few minor hits following, but he faded away after that.
# The song was later recorded by American singer Del Shannon, and his version reached number 36 in the UK during 1964.  A slow version of the song was issued in 1977 by American singer-songwriter, James Taylor, which was a Top 5 hit in the USA, but despite quite a bit of air play, it did not chart in the UK.

They were were an American instrumental Rock 'n' Roll band from Toledo, Ohio, USA.  They were led by saxophonist Johnny Paris (1940 - 2006), and included Paul Tesluk on Hammond organ.  They signed a recording contract and started live performances in early 1959.  After a small USA-only hit, they had their first Top 5 hit on both sides of the Atlantic in October 1959.  They enjoyed three Top 10 hits in the UK during 1960, although those hits did not score as well in their native USA.  Johnny Paris, with different band members, continued performing as Johnny & The Hurricanes at home and abroad until his death.
# The song, better known as "Jimmy Crack Corn" or "Blue Tail Fly" is an American song dating back to the time of Dan Emmett's Virginia Minstrels who performed in New York in the 1840s.  It was revived in the 1940s as a folk song, and was recorded by several American folk singers, including Burl Ives.  The version by Johnny & The Hurricanes is an instrumental, Rock 'n' Roll arrangement.

Lonnie Donegan (29 Apr 1931 - 3 Nov 2002) was born in Glasgow, Scotland, but moved to London with his family when he was only two years old.  His first interest was jazz, and in 1952 he formed his own jazz band.  He also performed with other jazz bands, notably Chris Barber's.  He was interested also in Blues and created a jazz-blues hybrid called Skiffle.  His first hit came in 1956 - "Rock Island Line" - a fast version of the Lead Belly blues number.  He became a well-known performer, with many live and TV appearances in the UK, and was known as 'The King of Skiffle'.  Between 1956 and 1962 he had 32 hit singles.  Although the hits dried up in 1962, he continued performing to loyal fans, and also worked as a record producer at Pye Records.  He died from a heart attack at age 71.
# This song, credited to Donegan and his manager, was based on a similar song that was popular during World War I, although it probably dates from much earlier.  It was quite a well-known song even in the 1950s, but its origins are obscure.  Donegan, however, wrote mostly new lyrics, and included several corny jokes during the performance.  This was his third chart topper; the previous two were in 1957.
# This hit was recorded live at the Gaumont cinema in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, in February 1960.

This was Cliff's follow-up to "A Voice In The Wilderness" (song 5), from January 1960, which also peaked at number 2.  For this, Cliff returned to the songwriting skills of Ian Samwell, who had provided him with his early hits.  Samwell had been a guitarist in Cliff's backing band, The Drifters (later The Shadows), but he left early on to concentrate on songwriting.

This was Newley's follow-up to "Why" (song 3), from January 1960, which also peaked at Number One.  It was Newley's second and final chart topper, although he went on to have a further three Top 10 hits into 1961.
# This was Lionel Bart's second Top 5 hit of 1960.  1960 was also the year that his hit musical "Oliver!", based on the Charles Dickens' novel "Oliver Twist", opened in the West End of London.  Songs from that show also became hits in the UK charts.

Darin was still into his "crooner" style songs with a big band backing in Spring 1960.  This was his second Top 10 hit of 1960, but his next release, the old song "Bill Bayley" did not do as well, peaking at number 34, and spending just two weeks on the UK charts.  1961, however, would see him back in the Top 10 with two more classic songs in the big band style.
# This song, originally called "Oh My Darling Clementine" is an American folk song which originated in the second half of the 19th century.  In 1884 it was credited to Percy Montrose as songwriter, but this may be contentious.  The Darin version has mostly new lyrics written by Woody Harris, and the words have a somewhat comic slant.
# In 1946, a Western film called "My Darling Clementine", starring Henry Fonda, Linda Darnell, and Victor Mature, was released.  An instrumental version of the song is heard, in part, during the opening and closing credits.  The storyline of the film has nothing to do with the lyrics of the song.

Canadian Paul Anka was born on 30 Jul 1941, in Ottawa, Canada.  He went to New York at the age of 14 to audition for a record deal.  His first release, the self-penned "Diana" was a world-wide smash, and his career grew from there, becoming one of the biggest recording stars of the Rock 'n' Roll era.   He wrote most of his big hits himself, and he also wrote songs recorded by other performers including Buddy Holly, Tom Jones and Frank Sinatra.  He continued recording (mostly albums) and performing throughout the remainder of the 20th century, often in Las Vegas, and was working well into the 21st century.   In 2005 he issued an album, "Rock Swings", featuring big band arrangements of rock hits.  A follow-up in similar style, "Classic Hits, My Way", was issued in 2007.  His most recent album was released in 2013.
# This classic Anka recording was a disappointment, especially after his three Top 10 hits of 1959.  Perhaps Anka was falling in popularity in the UK - emphasized by the fact that this record reached number two in the USA.  Certainly, his further releases in the UK sold poorly until 1974, when he returned to the Top 10 for a final fling.
# This song was revived 1972 by American, teenage heart-throb, Donny Osmond, who took it all the way to the top of the UK charts.  It was recorded again in 2002 by the British group S Club Juniors who saw it peak at number six in the UK.

Country Music singer, Jim Reeves (20 Aug 1923 - 31 July 1964) was born in Texas, USA.  After time as a semi-professional baseball player in the late 1940s, he became a radio announcer, and began singing on radio as well during the 1950s.   A contract with RCA records soon followed, and he adopted a soft crooning style of singing on Country-style songs.  This new approach to Country was a hit with fans, and his popularity grew.  This style impressed British record buyers too, and he enjoyed numerous hit singles and albums during the 1960s.  He was killed, aged 40, when a plane he was piloting crashed in Tennessee, USA, on 31st July 1964.  His only Number One hit ("Distant Drums") came posthumously, in 1966.  No less than 33 of his albums entered the UK charts up to 2004.

The King of Rock 'n' Roll (8 Jan 1935 - 16 Aug 1977) was born in Tupelo, Mississippi, USA.  He and his family moved to Memphis, Tennessee when he was 13 years old.  Soon afterwards he acquired his first guitar and began playing and singing.  He started his recording career at Sun Records in Memphis, USA.  It took several attempts to get Sun owner Sam Phillips to let Presley record, but eventually a session was arranged with guitarist Scotty Moore and upright bass player Bill Black providing backing.  The resultant track "That's Alright" was soon on local radio in Memphis, and it became a local hit.  Public performances followed, including numerous appearances on the "Louisiana Hayride" radio show which was broadcast to half the USA.  Eventually he became famous enough for RCA records to buy out his Sun contract and take him to Nashville, in 1956.  He rose to be arguably the biggest music star of the 20th century, with world-wide record sales of over one billion.  Also in 1956 Elvis made his movie debut in the film "Love Me Tender".  By the end of 1969 he had completed 31 films.  He made no more movies after that, instead concentrating on live concert performances, including many in Las Vegas.  His home in Memphis, "Graceland", is now a museum and major tourist attraction, and his recordings continue to be heard throughout the world.
# This recording was made just after he left his army service on 5th March 1960, and so was the first new recording since June 1958, when he had recorded a few songs whilst on army leave.

Brenda Lee was born on 11 Dec 1944 in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.  She began singing at a very young age, and by the time she was 10 she was singing on local radio and TV, and at various events.  In 1955 she made her first national TV appearance, and a recording contract followed in 1956.  Her early recordings did not sell very well, but after some small hits in the USA, her career took off, in 1960, with this song.  It was a Top 10 hit on both sides of the Atlantic.  She went on to have numerous hits, mostly in a Country-ballad style, although there were some up-tempo numbers as well.  After the pop hits dried up in the mid-1960s, she successfully moved into mainstream Country Music, and had 33 entries on the USA Country charts.  She is still occasionally recording and performing.
# Brenda Lee is known by people of all generations as her recording of "Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree" is heard on radio and in shopping centres every December.  It was a number 6 hit in 1962.

This was Adam's follow-up to his Number One hit "Poor Me" (song 4).  After two consecutive chart toppers this one reached a very respectable number two.  He had no more number ones, but his tally of a dozen Top 10 hits is good by any standards.  More hits were to come in 1960.
# During all of April 1960, Adam was on a concert tour of the UK.

Neil Sedaka was born on 13 Mar 1939 in Brooklyn, New York, USA.  He is an American pop singer, pianist, composer and record producer. Since his music career began in 1957, he has sold millions of records as an artist and has written or co-written over 500 songs for himself and others, collaborating mostly with lyricists Howard Greenfield and Phil Cody.  When Sedaka was 13, a neighbour heard him playing piano and introduced him to her 16-year-old son, Howard Greenfield, an aspiring poet and lyricist. They became two of the legendary Brill Building's composers in New York City.  Sedaka co-wrote several hit songs for Connie Francis as well as others, and began his own singing career in 1958.  His first UK hit came in 1959, which led to a run of Top 20 hits in the early 1960s.  After his Rock 'n' Roll style went out of fashion, he reinvented himself in the early 1970s with a series of ballads which charted between 1972 and 1975.  He continues to perform in concert in the USA and overseas in the 21st century.
# This song was his follow-up to "Oh! Carol", a number 3 hit in late 1959.
# This song should not be confused with the song of the same title by Led Zeppelin, written by Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, and which was released in 1971.

This was the brothers' follow-up to "Let It Be Me", which peaked at number 13 in February 1960 (song 14).  It was written by the brothers, and was their first Number One since May 1958.  They had four chart-toppers in total between 1958 and 1961.  This recording spent seven weeks at the top of the UK charts, and was the biggest-selling record of 1960.  It sold eight million copies worldwide, and became the Everly Brothers' biggest hit single.  
# This recording was the Everly Brothers' first  on Warner Bros Records, following their first three years on the Cadence label in the USA.  The Cadence singles were released on the London-American label in the UK.  In the UK (not in the USA), this single was given the iconic catalogue number WB1.

The King Brothers were genuine brothers, born in Essex, England. They were Michael King (25 Apr 1935 - 9 Nov 2018); Anthony King (born 31 Jan 1937) and Denis King (born 25 July 1939).  The brothers first performed professionally in the 1950s on the children's television show "All Your Own".  They also appeared on the BBC television music series "Six-Five Special" in 1957, and were voted "top vocal group" by the readers of the New Musical Express in the same year.  Their first hit was a cover of "A White Sport Coat" which reached number 6 in June 1957.  Three smallish hits followed until this recording reached number 4 - their highest position on the charts.  Their popularity dropped off after 1961, although they continued recording, without success, until 1967.  The youngest brother, Denis, later became an award-winning composer for television, film, and musicals.  Among other things, he wrote the theme music for the TV shows "The Adventures of Black Beauty" and "Lovejoy".
# This song is from the Broadway musical "The Most Happy Fella", written by Frank Loesser, which opened in 1956.  The song was recorded by the Four Lads in the USA in 1956, which was a chart hit in America only, reaching number 3.  The show opened in the West End of London in 1960, prompting the King Brothers to record this song.  In the wake of the King Brothers version, the Four Lads original was issued in the UK, and it reached number 34 on the charts.

Steve Lawrence (8 Jul 1935 - 7 Mar 2024) was born in New York, USA.  He began recording in the early 1950s, but his run of hit records began in 1957 with his recording of "Party Doll" which was a number 5 hit in the USA.  Many more American hits followed, but in the UK, most of his output was covered by British singers, restricting his chart appearances, until this song finally got him into the Top 10.  As for "Party Doll", the hit version in the UK was by fellow American, Buddy Knox.  Lawrence was mostly a cabaret and supper-club singer, and frequently performed with his wife, Eydie Gormé, who also had her own solo career.  From the 1970s he was also an actor, and appeared in several films and TV shows.  He died aged 88 in March 2024.
# In the UK the song was covered by Ronnie Carroll, who peaked at number 36 with it in the same month.

Johnny Preston (18 Aug 1939 - 4 Mar 2011) was born in Texas, USA.  He formed a band at high school, and in 1958 he recorded what turned out to be a trans-Atlantic Number One, "Running Bear".  That recording was his first UK hit and only Number One.  This follow-up was his only other Top 10 hit.  Three minor hits followed in 1960, but he then disappeared from the charts.

This was Craig's follow-up to "Pretty Blue Eyes".  After three hits with covers of American originals, he released this track composed by British songwriters.  The song was, in turn, covered by American actor and singer, George Chakiris.  His version of the song made a minor appearance in the UK charts in June 1960, peaking at number 49.  Douglas followed this hit with a recording that only reached number 43, but he returned in 1961 with two more Top 10 entries.

Duane Eddy (26 Apr 1938 - 30 Apr 2024) was born in Corning, New York, USA.  His family moved to Arizona when he was a young teen, and he started playing guitar with a friend when he was 16.  They got a few gigs on a local radio station, where Duane met Lee Hazlewood, who would help develop the "twangy" guitar sound that was Eddy's trademark.  He began recording in 1957, and the recording of "Rebel Rouser" became an international hit in 1958.  Eddy enjoyed numerous hit singles and albums after that, mostly in partnership with Lee Hazlewood.  Eddy continued to make a few live appearances in the 21st century, and he made a brief tour of the UK in 2018.  He was featured as guest guitarist on the Elvis Presley with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra remix album "If I Can Dream" in 2015.  He died from cancer on 30 Apr 2024 at the age of 86.
# This was Eddy's first Top 10 hit of 1960, and another followed in the summer.  Although this recording reached number 4 in the UK, it peaked at a rather lowly number 45 in the USA.  This might be because Americans were beginning to buy albums in larger numbers, and Eddy's hit singles were all taken from albums.

Connie Stevens was born in New York City, USA on 8 Aug 1938.  She is primarily an actress who appeared in various American TV series from 1958 to 2005, and in many low-budget films from 1957 to 2014.  Notably, she featured in the US TV crime dramas "77 Sunset Strip" and "Hawaiian Eye" (latter not shown in the UK).  Her recording career began in 1959 and continued into the early 1970s, but this recording was the only one to reach the Top 10 on either side of the Atlantic.  She was briefly married to American crooner, Eddie Fisher from 1967 to 1969, and she is the mother of film actress Joely Fisher, half-sister to "Star Wars" actress Carrie Fisher.

Eddie Cochran (3 Oct 1938 - 17 Apr 1960) was born in Minnesota, USA, but moved with his family to California in the early 1950s.  He began playing music at high school, and writing songs with Jerry Capehart, who became his manager.  His first success came when he performed the song "Twenty Flight Rock" in the 1956 film "The Girl Can't Help It", prompting Liberty Records to offer him a recording contract.  More hits followed, but his career was cut short when he was killed in a road accident whilst on tour in England. 
# This was a posthumous chart topper for Cochran.  He never had another Top 10 hit in the UK.  It failed to reach even the Top 100 in his native USA.
# This recording features the guitar of Sonny Curtis and the drums of Jerry Allison, both of The Crickets.
# The song was covered by British band Showaddywaddy in 1975, reaching number 2 in the UK charts.

Soul and R&B singer, Billy Bland (5 Apr 1932 - 22 Mar 2017) was born in Wilmington, North Carolina, USA.  He was the youngest of 19 children, and first sang professionally during 1947 in New York.  He was in a group called the Four Bees in the 1950s, but left the group for a solo career in 1955.  This recording reached number 7 in the USA charts, but further releases performed badly, and he quit the music industry in 1963.  In the 1980s, he ran a soul food restaurant in Harlem, New York.  It was reported on Facebook by his grandson that Bland had died, aged 84, in March 2017.

Connie Francis was born on 12 Dec 1938 in Newark, New Jersey, USA.  She entered talent contests as a young teenager, and even made some records, but did not score her first hit until 1958.  She often recorded older ballads, but usually put a modern Rock 'n' Roll number on the B-side of the discs.  Her record success continued into the early 1960s, but she has continued  performing live, with some long breaks, into the 21st century.
# This recording is an upbeat Rock 'n' Roll number.  The flip side was a slow ballad titled "Mama", an Italian song written in 1941, with English lyrics added in 1946.  British singer, David Whitfield had charted with it in the UK during 1955.

Tommy Bruce (16 July 1937 - 10 July 2006) was born in east London, England.  He grew up in an orphanage, and later began working as a market porter.  He became friends with his neighbour, songwriter Barry Mason, who suggested he record a version of the song "Ain't Misbehavin'".  Produced by Norrie Paramor, Bruce's recording rose to number 3 in the UK Singles Chart in 1960.  He had no musical training, and described his own gravelly singing voice as 'diabolical'.  His subsequent releases did not do as well, but from 1963 he became a regular performer on the TV variety show "Stars and Garters", acting in comedy routines as well as singing.  After that he largely made a living in cabaret, much of it in Spain and Malta, with some appearances on the 1960s nostalgia circuit.  He died in 2006 from stomach cancer, at the age of 68.
# This song was written in 1929 for the Broadway musical comedy "Hot Chocolates", which had Louis Armstrong as the orchestra director.  Several hit recordings were made that year, notably by Fats Waller and Louis Armstrong.  Waller re-recorded the song with vocals for the 1943 film "Stormy Weather".

This was Donegan's follow-up to his Number One hit "My Old Man's A Dustman" (song 26).  This song took him away from music hall-style comic numbers, and back to his original folksy, blues songs.  This was not Skiffle, however, it was produced as a ballad with an orchestral backing.
# Originally called "The John B. Sails", it is a traditional folk song from The Bahamas. A transcription by Richard Le Gallienne was published in 1916.  In 1927 Carl Sandburg produced a collection of folk songs. He republished this song with some new lyrics.  The earliest recording may be from 1935.  Several recordings followed in the 1950s, notably from the Kingston Trio and Johnny Cash, with title and lyric variations.  Donegan's version was the first to make the charts in the UK, and this also had some lyric variations.  In 1966, The Beach Boys recorded the song, titled simply "Sloop John B", which reached number 2 in the UK.  Again, there were some changes to the lyrics.

After breaching the Top 10 with his previous hit, "Colette" (song 22), this follow-up performed disappointingly on the UK charts.  It was another of his own songs, and pointedly, he would not return to the Top 10 until 1961, and that was with a cover of an American song.  Meanwhile in 1960 he issued his first album "The Sound of Fury" on which all ten tracks were written by Fury.  It reached number 18 in the album chart.

Buddy Holly is one of the legendary early Rock 'n' Roll stars.  He was born in Lubbock, Texas, USA on 7 Sep 1936, and died on 3 Feb 1959.  He was highly influential to immerging musicians of the time, and his records are still widely played on radio stations throughout the world.  He had learned to play guitar whilst at school, and he formed a band after graduation.  The band played on local radio, and even provided the opening act for stars performing in Lubbock, including Elvis Presley.  He and his band moved to Nashville in 1956, and began making demo recordings, which led to a record contract.  Unusually for the time, his debut single was self-penned, and most of his output was written by Holly with contributions from band members and manager Norman Petty.  His career flourished with hit records and TV appearances during 1957 and 1958.  He died in a plane crash whilst on a tour of the USA, along with two other stars of the period.  
# This was another posthumous release.  It had been recorded in October 1958 during what turned out to be his last recording session.  Despite its lowly chart position, the song is regarded as a Holly classic, and has been recorded by numerous artists.
# Three subsequent versions have entered the UK charts.  They are by: Peter & Gordon (1965, number 2); Cliff Richard with the London Philharmonic Orchestra (1983, number 8); and David Essex & Catherine Zeta Jones (1994, number 38).  Furthermore, the original Holly version was re-released in 1988, reaching number 65 in the UK charts.

Michael Cox was born on 19 Mar 1940 in Liverpool, England.  He was given a chance to audition for the TV pop show "Oh Boy!", and made his first appearance on the show in April 1959.  Performances on other TV shows brought him to the attention of record producer Joe Meek (1929-1967) who was setting up his own record label called Triumph.  Cox's first record for Triumph was "Angela Jones", a song written by American, John D. Loudermilk.  A follow-up single made the Top 50, but that was it.  Cox continued to record under Joe Meek for a few years, for different labels, but none of the output reached the charts.  In 1966 Cox decided to give up singing and go to drama school.  This resulted in a few film and TV drama roles during the late 1960s and early 1970s.  He emigrated to New Zealand in 1979, where he continued his acting career.
# Johnny Ferguson had the American hit with "Angela Jones", which reached the USA Top 30.

This was Jones' follow up to his number 3 hit "Handy Man" (song 24).  It was his second and last Top 10 hit in the UK.  Three minor hits followed, and then he disappeared from the UK charts.  See song 24 in this list for info about Jimmy Jones.

Johnny Kidd (23 Dec 1935 - 7 Oct 1966) was born in north-west London, England.  He formed a Skiffle group in the mid-1950s, and began writing songs.  He managed to get a recording test with HMV, and he was rewarded with a contract.  His first hit came in June 1959, "Please Don't Touch", which reached number 25 in the UK charts.  With his backing band, The Pirates, he dressed as a pirate on stage, complete with eye patch.  This hit was his big breakthrough, reaching Number One in the UK, and selling well in Europe.  In the USA, the song was covered by a Canadian band.  Kidd went on to have just one more Top 10 hit, in 1963.  Sadly, Kidd died in a car accident in 1966 at age 30.

This was the band's follow-up to their previous hit, "Beatnik Fly" (song 25), and was their fourth consecutive Top 20 hit.  One final UK Top 10 hit followed later in the year.
# The song had been written in 1921, and a number of, mostly instrumental, versions were recorded in the 1950s.  This song is nothing to do with "Way Down Yonder In New Orleans", another old song, which was a hit for Freddy Cannon earlier in 1960 (song 2).

Gene Vincent (11 Feb 1935 - 12 Oct 1971) was born in Norfolk, Virginia, USA.  He joined the US Navy in 1952, but after a motoring accident that broke his leg, he left the navy.  Following that he formed a group and began playing around Norfolk, Virginia.  He was spotted and was given a recording contract with Capital records.  His first release, "Be-Bop-A-Lula", reached number 5 in the USA, and number 16 in the UK during 1956.  He made many more records, but none made the Top 10 on either side of the Atlantic.  Nevertheless he recorded and toured throughout the 1960s, mainly in the UK and other parts of Europe.  He died in California, USA from a ruptured stomach ulcer during 1971.
# The song dates from 1942 when Al Dexter added new lyrics to an old song called "Boil Them Cabbage Down", and recorded the new song himself, with a Country Music arrangement.  It was also recorded by Bing Crosby with the Andrews Sisters during the 1940s with a Swing arrangement.  Vincent's version is, of course, produced as a Rock 'n' Roll number.
# This recording was made at the EMI studios in London (as was most of his material from 1960 to 1964), with The Beat Boys as backing band, which included Georgie Fame on piano.

This was Faith's follow-up to "Someone Else's Baby" which had been a number two hit in April 1960.   For this release, he moved away from newly-written songs to one which was about 100 years old (see below).  Nevertheless, his fans were happy with it, taking it into the Top 5 of the UK charts.
# The song dates from the time of the American Civil War, being published in 1863.  The song is about a Civil War soldier returning home from the battlefield.  Various recordings were made in the 20th century, including a Swing version by the Andrews Sisters in the 1940s.

Back at the top of the charts, after his two previous releases of 1960 only reached number two!  This was also a slightly more up-tempo number than his offerings since "Living Doll" started a more mellow series of recordings.  Interestingly, it was co-written by Bruce Welsh of Cliff's backing band, The Shadows.  Welsh would write a few more hits for Cliff over the following years.  Co-writer, Peter Chester was the son of veteran comedian Charlie Chester.  Peter had become involved in various aspects of the music industry, and had once formed a band that included a young Bruce Welch.

This was Lee's follow-up to her debut Top 10 hit "Sweet Nuthin's", which was also written by Ronnie Self.  This was an out-and-out ballad, albeit with a Country Music feel.  The recording was a Number One hit in the USA, where Lee was arguably more popular than in the UK.  Plenty more hits came along for her, but she didn't hit the UK Top 10 again until spring 1962.

Sam Cooke (22 Jan 1931 - 11 Dec 1964) was born in Mississippi, USA, but he moved with his family to Chicago when he was two..  He started singing with his siblings at a young age, and by his late teens he was singing with a local Gospel group called the Soul Stirrers who made a number of Gospel records.  In 1957 he signed a recording contract and began his career as a Soul singer.  His first hit was "You Send Me", which topped the charts in the USA. It was less successful in the UK, but later releases confirmed him as an international star.  His 1959 recording of "Only Sixteen", which he also wrote himself, was out-sold by the Craig Douglas cover version.  This recording was not up against any covers, but still only managed to just enter the Top 30.  However, he started a run of three Top 10 hits later in 1960.  He was shot dead at a motel in Los Angeles in December 1964.
# The song was recorded by Herman's Hermits in 1965, reaching number seven in the UK and number 4 in the USA.  American singer, Johnny Nash revived the song in 1976, and his rendition peaked at number 25 in the UK.  In 1986, Cooke's original version was reissued after the song (but not Cooke's recording) was used in a Levi jeans TV commercial, and this time Cooke climbed to number two in the UK - his highest chart position.

Brian Hyland was born on 12 Nov 1943 in New York City, USA.  He learned to play guitar at a young age, and formed a group when he was 14.  He signed a record deal as a solo artist in 1959, and although his first two releases didn't do so well, this third recording went all the way to Number One in the USA.  A few more hits followed including two UK Top 10s in 1962.  As his popularity waned in the wake of the British beat groups of the mid-1960s, he turned towards Country-flavoured songs, with some success in the USA.  In the 1990s and 2000s, he toured the USA and UK in Sixties package shows.
#  In 1990, British band Bombalurina, featuring Timmy Mallett, star of a then-popular children's TV show,  along with two dancers, Dawn and Annie, hit Number One in the UK with their version of the song.  Dawn later married Gary Barlow of Take That.

The Everly Bothers had left their original record company, Cadence, and signed with Warner Brothers, with whom they enjoyed their Number One hit "Cathy's Clown" in spring 1960.  However, Cadence still had the brother's earlier recordings, and they released this to cash in.  It was a Top 10 hit on both sides of the Atlantic.

This was his follow-up to "Do You Mind" (song 28).  This was a straight ballad of Italian origin, with English lyrics added by American Alec Wilder.  Newley continued with hits for a couple of years, some of them being novelty songs.  For info about Newley, see song 3 in this list.

The Hollywood Argyles were a studio band comprising Gary Paxton on lead vocals, who also produced the recording, plus various session musicians which included drummer Sandy Nelson and the song's writer, Dallas Frazier.  The recording was a Number One hit in the USA.  They released a few more singles, but none entered the UK charts.
# The song was written by Dallas Frazier (27 Oct 1939 - 14 Jan 2022) as a Country Music number in 1957.  The title and lyric of the song is based on a newspaper caveman comic strip, also called Alley Oop, first launched in 1932.

This instrumental recording peaked at number two, which was the highest position Eddy reached in the UK charts.  His single "Pepe", in 1961, also peaked at number two, but he never managed to climb to the top of the charts in the UK.
#  This music was the theme from the film of the same title, starring Dick Clark and Tuesday Weld.  Duane Eddy had a cameo role in the film.  There were lyrics to the music, and a vocal version by American, James Darren reached number 29 in the UK charts during August 1960.
# For many years, this Duane Eddy recording was used as a theme tune by British radio DJ, Johnny Walker.

Fats Domino ( 26 Feb 1928 - 24 Oct 2017) was born in New Orleans, USA.  His father and uncle were musicians and Domino learned to play piano at a young age.  He was seen by a band leader who invited Domino to join the band, and a recording contract followed in 1950.  Fats Domino (given the nickname Fats after Fats Waller) soon had a number of hits in the US R&B chart.  His records started appearing on the US pop chart from about 1956, and hits continued into the mid 1960s.  He continued performing and recording until the early 1980s, when he chose to retire to New Orleans.  His house was badly damaged by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 when he was 77, following which he performed at a few benefit concerts to raise money for rebuilding the parts of New Orleans that were devastated by the hurricane.  He died of natural causes at age 89.
# Although Domino had 20 hits in the UK from 1956 to 1963, he only enjoyed one Top 10 entry, and that was back in 1956.  His style of R&B never seemed to be totally popular in the UK, although he is regarded as an important contributor to popular music of the 1950s, in particular Rhythm & Blues.
# This was the second song of the year to name-check New Orleans.  See song 2 above.
# New Orleans is a city in Louisiana, USA, on the Mississippi River, close to the Gulf of Mexico.  It is noted for its Cajun and Creole foods, and is regarded as the birth place of Jazz.

The Shadows were Cliff Richard's backing band, who were at first called The Drifters.  All of Cliff's hits from 1958 to mid-1959 were credited to Cliff Richard and The Drifters.  However, there was an American vocal group called The Drifters, so the band's name was changed.  At the time of this hit, The Shadows were Hank B Marvin (born 28 Oct 1941), lead guitar, Bruce Welch (born 2 Nov 1941), rhythm guitar, Jet Harris (6 July 1939 - 18 Mar 2011), bass guitar, and Tony Meehan (2 Mar 1943 - 28 Nov 2005), drums.  A number of personnel changes occurred during the following years, but Hank and Bruce remained a constant.
Despite continuing to be Cliff Richard's backing band for several years, The Shadows enjoyed considerable success in their own right, and in the early to mid-1960s, were Britain's top instrumental group, achieving five Number One hits plus an additional nine Top 10 entries out of 24 hits in total during the 1960s.  Not content with that, they had more hits in the 1970s and early 1980s.
# This hit was written by Jerry Lordan who had enjoyed a few chart hits as a singer earlier in 1960 (see song 17 in this list), but was more successful as a songwriter.  
# The track was also recorded by British guitarist Bert Weedon, who peaked at number 24 in the UK, also in July 1960.  In the USA, the instrumental was covered by Danish guitarist Jørgen Ingmann, who reached number two on the American charts with his version in 1961.

This was his follow-up to "Stuck On You" (song 32) which had been a number three hit in April 1960.  Written by the classic Rock 'n' Roll songwriters Pomus & Shuman, it confirmed that Presley's two years away in the US Army had not diminished his popularity in the UK.  The record peaked at a lowly number 32 on the American charts, but that was because the song was only a B-side to "It's Now Or Never" - Number One in the USA and later in the UK as well.  
# British band Status Quo recorded a version of "Mess Of Blues" in 1983, and they reached number 15 with it in the UK charts.

Shirley Bassey was born on 8 Jan 1937 in Tiger Bay, Cardiff, Wales. She went on to become an international star with countless hit singles and albums throughout the world.  She began singing professionally in 1953, and performed up and down the UK.  She signed a recording contract in 1956, and had her first Top 10 hit in 1957 ("Banana Boat Song").  She enjoyed a string of hits during the 1960s, and recorded three James Bond movie themes.  She had her own TV series during the 1970s, and continued performing into the 21st century.  By 2015 she had scored 33 hit singles and 39 hit albums.  She was honoured with a Damehood in 2000, and was back in the recording studios in 2014.
# The song comes from Lionel Bart's stage musical and, later, film "Oliver!", based on the Charles Dickens novel "Oliver Twist".  The Broadway production of the musical won a Tony Award for Best Original Score.  The film adaptation (1968) won six Academy Awards (Oscars), including Best Picture.

Roy Orbison (23 Apr 1936 - 6 Dec 1988) was born in Vernon, Texas, USA.  He started playing guitar as a child, and formed a high school band, playing mostly Country Music.  The band remained together and, called The Teen Kings", they began playing on local radio stations.  At one of those broadcasts, Johnny Cash was in the radio station, and suggested the group approached Sam Phillips at Sun Records in Memphis, Tennessee.  They duly went, and recorded a song called "Ooby Dooby" which reached number 59 in the USA charts.  He struggled with hits after that, and concentrated on songwriting.  In 1960 he signed for Monument Records, and very soon recorded his classic hit "Only The Lonely".  More major hits followed during the 1960s, and he continued to tour during the 1970s and 1980s.  He died from a heart attack in 1988, following which recordings made earlier in the 1980s began reaching the charts, including two Top 10 entries from 1989 to 1992.

Hank Locklin (15 Feb 1918 - 8 Mar 2009) was born in Florida, USA.  He was an old-style Country Music singer, who had his first hit in 1949, and was a member of the Grand Ole Opry for almost fifty years, making his final appearance there in 2007.  He amassed some 70 hit records on the USA Country Music charts during his long career.

This was Connie's third hit of the year, and her first American Number One.  She had had two chart toppers in the UK during 1958, but it took another two years for her the replicate the feat in her homeland.  She had a further Top 10 hit later in 1960.
# The song was co-written by Howard Greenfield who had provided songs to Francis previously, in collaboration with Neil Sedaka.  However, as Sedaka was pursuing his performing career in 1960, Greenfield worked with other composers, such as Jack Keller.

This was Donegan's follow-up to "I Wanna Go Home" (song 47), and was his third Top 10 hit of the year.  He had a further two hits in 1960, making it a very successful year for "The King of Skiffle".
# The song was written by famous American composers Leiber and Stoller, but no version was a hit in the USA.

Rydell followed his Top 10 hit "Wild One" (song 23), with a song that had been a hit only two years previously.  Dean Martin had been at number two in the UK during September 1958 with the song, and that is generally considered to be the definitive version.  Rydell's cover was more up tempo with a Rock 'n' Roll-style beat, and was a good solid production.  However, the then recent version by Dean Martin may have put off the record-buying public, consigning it to only a Top 30 position in the charts.  No such problem existed in the USA where it climbed to number four.
# Volare, pronounced vol-ar-ray,  is Italian for Fly, hence the line in the song "Let's fly way up to the clouds".

Emile Ford continued his trend of reviving songs from the 1920s and 1930s.  However, it seemed that the fans were maybe growing a little tired of hearing songs that their parents remembered.  Sensing this, perhaps, Ford recorded a new song later in 1960 which propelled him back into the Top 10.
# This song was published in 1930.  One of the early recorded versions was performed by Louis Armstrong in 1931, and Billie Holiday recorded her version in 1939.

Wanda Jackson was born on 20 Oct 1937 in Oklahoma, USA.  She began performing on local radio stations while still at high school, and signed a record deal in 1956.  Her style was a mix of Country, Rockabilly, and Rock 'n' Roll.  As her style declined in popularity during the 1960s, she moved into mainstream Country Music, and enjoyed many hits during the 1970s on the Country charts.  After a flirtation with Gospel music, she returned to Rockabilly in the 1980s, and was still performing and recording in the early 21st century.  In March 2019, Jackson announced her official retirement from performing, following an earlier stroke.
# This song was written in 1957, and is raw American Rock 'n' Roll.  Elvis Presley recorded it for the 1957 movie "Loving You", and Wanda Jackson had the song on her first album in 1958.  The Jackson version was not released as a single until 1960, by which time it was already sounding somewhat dated, reflecting the peak position of 32 in the UK charts, and 37 in the USA charts.

Country Music singer Bob Luman (15 Apr 1937 - 27 Dec 1978) was born in Texas, USA.  His father was a musician, and Bob got his first guitar at age 13.  He formed a band at high school, and was soon entering talent contests.  This led to appearances on local radio and TV during 1956.  The following year he signed a record contract, but eventually moved to Warner Bros records.  This track was issued In 1960 whilst he was in army service.  Following his stint in the army, he toured extensively and recorded several albums during the rest of the 1960s and 1970s.  He had numerous hits on the American Country charts, but he died from pneumonia in 1978, at the age of 41.

The Ventures are an American instrumental guitar band formed in 1958 in Tacoma, Washington, USA, by members Don Wilson (born 10 Feb 1933) and Bob Bogle (16 Jan 1934 - 14 June 2009).  As well as by the composer, "Walk Don't Run" had been recorded for an album by legendary American guitarist Chet Atkins.  The Ventures heard the Atkins track and decided to record it as a single.  It went on to sell a million copies.  They recorded many albums over the years that followed, and are still touring and making records in the 21st century.  They did not enjoy as much success in the UK as in America, mainly because Britain had their own guitar group - The Shadows.
# In the UK the track was covered by the John Barry Seven who reached number 11 in the charts and remained on the chart for 14 weeks.

This was Faith's follow-up to his double A-side hit "Johnny Comes Marching Home"/"Made You" (songs 55/56).  This climbed one place higher than those songs, and was written by the composer who provided Faith's first three hits.  The hits kept coming for Adam Faith at this time, and he went on to put his only Christmas song ("Lonely Pup") into the Top 5 for December 1960, making five Top 5 hits for the year.  In addition, his first album, "Adam", entered the album chart in November, eventually reaching number 6.

Having written most of his previous hits himself, Fury decided to record a song by other composers.  The American original was made by Jimmy Jones who had enjoyed two Top 3 hits earlier in 1960, but his version failed to take off.  Fury's cover did, at least, chart, but the peak of number 25 was somewhat disappointing.  1961 would see an upturn in his fortunes, however.

Cliff's fourth Top 3 hit of the year saw him back in a Rock 'n' Roll groove.  After several mellow hits, he was back at his rocking best,  He mellowed again, however, in December 1960 with his fourth Number One hit

Another big hit for the Everly Brothers who were now, arguably, at their peak.  It was also another song written by Don Everly, showcasing his talent as a composer as well as a performer.  This recording was a double A-side with song 82 below.

This was a cover of a song made famous by Little Richard, who reached number 10 in the UK charts with it during the summer of 1957.  The brothers' version, however, was less raw Rock 'n' Roll and more vocal harmony, as would be expected from them.  It was a double A-side with song 81 above.
# The song was written by Albert Collins.  However, Little Richard bought half of the song's rights while Collins was in a Louisiana State prison, and later releases of the song usually credit Collins & Penniman (Little Richard's surname).

Chubby Checker was born on 3 Oct 1941 in South Carolina, USA, but he grew up in Philadelphia, USA.  He began singing for customers in a street market, and came to the attention of a songwriter who worked for a record company.  Checker's first release was a medium-sized hit in the USA, and then along came "The Twist", which topped the American charts twice, in 1960 and 1962.  This was followed by more releases which were based on The Twist.  He has continued performing in oldies revival shows for several decades, and even had an American chart entry in 2008.
# Although some believe that this song gave birth to the dance craze The Twist, it is generally acknowledged that the dance came first, and the song was named after the dance!  In the wake of Checker's hit, several acts issued recordings with "twist" or "twisting" in the title, which was big business for a couple of years.
# This hit did first enter the UK charts on 22 October 1960, but it stayed for just a couple of weeks.  However, it returned to the charts, along with the follow up single "Let's Twist Again" during January 1962, when it reached its peak and remained for a further 10 weeks.
# Chubby Checker returned to the UK charts with a remake of "The Twist" in the company of hip-hop band, The Fat Boys, which peaked at number two in the summer of 1988.

After three Top 30 hits on the UK charts, Sam Cooke finally made it to the Top 10.  Unusually at the time, this was not a love song, but it was about prisoners working as part of a chain gang.  This was Cooke's last hit of 1960, but he had two Top 10 hits over the following two years.

Johnny Burnette (25 Mar 1934 - 14 Aug 1964) was born in Memphis, Tennessee, USA.  During the early 1950s, Burnette was living in the same neighbourhood of Memphis as Elvis Presley.  Johnny with his brother Dorsey and other personnel, began performing in local bars in Memphis in the early 1950s.  In 1956 they moved to New York where they won a talent contest, and gained a recording deal.  No hit records resulted, and the band broke up in 1957.  The two brothers then moved to Los Angeles where they wrote several songs, some of which were taken up and recorded by Ricky Nelson.  Finally, in 1959 Johnny signed a solo record deal with Liberty Records, and his first major hit, "Dreamin'", released in 1960 sold over a million copies.  A few more hits followed until 1962, but recordings made with other record companies after that failed to enter charts on either side of the Atlantic.  He was killed in a boating accident on Clear Lake, California, USA, at age 30.

This was the last of a run of five Top 20 hits, for the American instrumental group, four of which made the Top 10.  Two smaller hits followed in 1961, but then they were gone from the UK charts.  Strangely, this track only reached number 60 on the USA charts.  For info about Johnny & The Hurricanes see song 25 in this list.

Mathis had only enjoyed two Top 10 hits previously, one each in 1958 and 1959, and it was 1975 before he was back in the UK Top 10 again.  In fact, he was absent from the British singles charts from April 1963 to January 1975.  During that period, however, he did have entries in the UK albums chart.  For more info about Mathis, see song 10 in this list.

Don Costa (10 June 1925 - 19 Jan 1983) was an American orchestra leader, musical arranger, and record producer.  He was born in Boston, Massachusetts, USA.  He had an interest in music from an early age, and by his teens he was a member of the CBS Radio Orchestra.  In the late 1940s he began writing musical arrangements, and offered them to various bands of the day.  This led to a position with ABC-Paramount Records as chief arranger and producer during 1955.  In the early 1960s, he arranged and produced Frank Sinatra's new album, and later did the same for other major stars such as Sarah Vaughan and Tony Bennett.  In the 1970s he worked with some new acts including The Osmonds.  He continued in the record industry until his death from a heart attack in New York at age 57.
# This instrumental music is from the film of the same title, released in 1960, and starring Melina Mercouri.  The action takes place in Greece, and the score was composed by Greek writer, Manos Hadjidakis.  He won an Academy Award (Oscar) for "Never on Sunday", as Best Original Film Music.
# There was a deluge of versions in the UK charts at this time.  In addition to Don Costa, they were by: Chaquito (actually Johnny Gregory), reached number 50; Lynn Cornell with the only vocal version, reached number 30; Makadopulos and his Greek Serenaders, reached number 36; and Manuel and his Music of The Mountains (actually Geoff Love), which peaked at number 29.  Sales of the recordings were spread so thinly over the five versions, that none rose higher than 27 on the UK charts.

This was Orbison's follow-up to his Number One hit "Only The Lonely".  It had a very similar arrangement and sound to the chart topper, and was by the same songwriting team, but just missed the Top 10.  Perhaps that was the problem - a little too samey!  Orbison was back  in the Top 10 in the spring of 1961, though.

The Drifters are an American vocal group, formed in the early 1950s, and with a constant rotation of members.  A recent count indicates that some 60 individuals have performed under the band name at one time or another.  At the time of this particular hit, the lead singer was Ben E King (28 Sep 1938 - 30 Apr 2015), who went on to have a successful solo career.  In the 1970s, The Drifters, with lead singer Johnny Moore (14 Dec 1934 - 30 Dec 1998), based themselves in the UK and enjoyed several UK-only hits, including eight Top 10s from 1972 to 1976.  The band has continued performing in the 21st century, but there have been numerous lawsuits over the use of the group name.  No members of the hits-making versions of the band are in the current lineup.

Back with her third Top 10 entry since May, this was from the same songwriting team as her previous hit, "Everybody's Somebody's Fool" (song 71).  It was her second consecutive Number One hit in the USA.
# Writers Greenfield and Keller were composing numerous hits from their base in the Brill Building in New York City.

This was Presley's first UK Number One hit for 18 months, but the first in a run of four chart toppers.  The lyrics for this song were written especially for him.  Unusually for the time, it entered the UK chart at Number One where it stayed for eight weeks, and went on to sell well over a million copies.  Worldwide, it sold over 25 million copies, and is one of Presley's biggest recordings. 
# The song is based on the Italian song "'O Sole Mio" (music by Eduardo di Capua), written in 1898.  The song with the original Italian lyrics has been recorded by many artists, including Enrico Caruso, Mario Lanza and Luciano Pavarotti.
# In early 2005, the recording was re-released along with the other Presley singles in the UK, and again reached Number One on the UK Singles Chart for the week of 5 February 2005. 

This was the instrumental guitar group's follow-up to their debut hit "Apache".  That hit had reached the top of the charts, but a Top 5 position for a second hit is pretty good.  No need to worry, they added a further four Number One hits to their tally by the middle of 1963.
# "Man of Mystery" was the theme music for the early 1960s film series "Edgar Wallace Mysteries" based on the works of the writer Edgar Wallace, who was known as the "man of mystery".  It was played much slower in the films.  In recent years this instrumental has featured in the repertoire of the British alternative rock band Muse. 

Duane Eddy followed his big hit "Because They're Young" with this tune, which Eddy wrote together with his record producer, Lee Hazlewood.  The single only got as high as number 78 in the USA, but it was taken from Eddy's album "$1,000,000.00 Worth of Twang", so many American record buyers probably already had the track.

This was Cliff's fifth hit of 1960 and his second Number One of the year.  It was back to his more mellow style, following his rocker "Nine Times Out Of Ten" (song 80).  This song was written by Bruce Welch, the rhythm guitarist in Cliff's backing band, The Shadows.  It was the Christmas Number One that year, Cliff's first Christmas hit - something for which he became famous in the 1980s and 1990s.

Johnny Tillotson was born on 20 Apr 1938 in Jacksonville, Florida, USA.  He is primarily a Country Music singer, who began appearing on local TV in Jacksonville in the mid-1950s.  He entered a talent contest in Nashville during 1957, and this led to a record deal with Cadence Records, who had the Everly Brothers on their books at that time.  He had a few moderate hits in the USA in the late 1950s, but his big breakthrough came in 1960 with the recording "Poetry In Motion" - his first success in the UK.  Further releases were Country Music slanted, a genre of music that was not particularly popular in Britain.  As a result, he had no further Top 20 entries in the UK, although he enjoyed three more Top 10 hits in the USA.  He continued to be successful in the Country Music field, and had hits in the 1980s in the American Country charts.  He has continued to perform into the 21st century.

After reviving old songs for most of his previous hits, Emile Ford released a new song, which turned out to be his final Top 10 appearance in the UK charts.  He had three more Top 30 hits, and then he was finished with the UK singles charts.  A compilation double CD containing 61 of his his recordings, released in 2001, was given the album title "Counting Teardrops".  For more info about Emile Ford, see song 11 in this list.
# The song was originally recorded by the co-writer, Barry Mann, and released in the USA as a B-side.
# The B-side of Ford's recording was his version of "White Christmas", made famous by Bing Crosby.

This was Acker Bilk's second Top 10 hit, but there had been a couple of smaller hits in between.  Although he is primarily a clarinetist, he often sang a vocal refrain, as he does on this recording.  He enjoyed a few more hits over next couple of years, but remained immensely popular as a live act into the 21st century.  For more info about Acker Bilk, see song 6 in this list.
# The song was written in the late 1940s and first recorded by band leader Louis Prima in 1950.  A re-recording by him entered the UK charts in early 1958, peaking at number 25.  (See year 1958, song 22 in these lists).
# Buona Sera is Italian for Good Evening.

Rydell's follow-up to his recording of Dean Martin's "Volare" (song 73) was a revival of "Sway" which had been a hit for Dean Martin in the early 1950s.  Rydell was nowhere near as popular in the UK as he was in the USA, where he enjoyed 17 Top 30 hits.  After this he had a minor hit in 1961 and a Top 20 hit in 1963 which was his final visit to the British charts.   For more info about Bobby Rydell, see song 23 in this list.
# The song was written in 1953 by Mexican composers as an instrumental Mambo.  English lyrics were added, and it was recorded by Dean Martin in 1954, reaching number six in the UK charts later that year.  Rydell's recording is the only other version to enter the British charts.  It has, however, been recorded by numerous artists, including Frank Sinatra and Michael Bublé.

Matt Monro (1 Dec 1930 – 7 Feb 1985) was born in London, England.  He began singing on talent shows while in the British Army in the early 1950s.  He made some records in the mid-1950s, but none met with any success.  In 1959 he was asked to record a demo record for EMI, and when producer, George Martin heard the track, he arranged for Monro to record a new song, "Portrait Of My Love".  It reached number three on the UK charts and started his international career.  He recorded several film themes including "From Russia With Love" for the James Bond movie.  He spent some time in America during the mid-1960s, making albums of standards and new ballads, and was hailed as the new Frank Sinatra.  He toured the world extensively, especially during the 1970s and early 1980s.  He died from liver cancer at age 54.
# The song was covered in the USA by Steve Lawrence who peaked at number nine with it there in 1961.