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The Song of the Year 1960

This was the year of Chubby Checker and the Twist. It became  the craze of 1960. Its impact was felt as millions who could not do the Jitterbug took to the dance floors. Around the world freeform dancing began which has lasted until today. 

Billboard Top 40 of 1960

1. The Twist - Chubby Checker
2. Beyond The Sea - Bobby Darin
3. Are You Lonesome Tonight? - Elvis Presley
4. Wild One - Bobby Rydell
5. Volare - Bobby Rydell
6. I'm Sorry - Brenda Lee
7. Money (That's What I Want) - Barrett Strong
8. This Magic Moment - the Drifters
9. It's Now Or Never - Elvis Presley
10. Wonderful World - Sam Cooke
11. You're Sixteen - Johnny Burnette
12. Cathy's Clown - the Everly Brothers
13. Georgia On My Mind - Ray Charles
14. Only The Lonely - Roy Orbison
15. Hot Rod Lincoln - Johnny Bond
16. Tell Laura I Love Her - Ray Peterson
17. Harbor Lights - the Platters
18. Shimmy Shimmy Ko-Ko-Bop - Little Anthony & the Imperials
19. Chain Gang - Sam Cooke
20. Save The Last Dance For Me - the Drifters
21. Stuck On You - Elvis Presley
22. Where Or When - Dion & The Belmonts
23. Teen Angel - Mark Dinning
24. Devil Or Angel - Bobby Vee
25. Stay - Maurice Williams and the Zodiaks
26. Swingin' School - Bobby Rydell
27. Finger Poppin' Time - Hank Ballard & The Midnighters
28. Sweet Nothin's - Brenda Lee
29. Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polkadot Bikini - Brian Hyland
30. Poetry In Motion - Johnny Tillotson
31. Last Date - Floyd Cramer
32. Baby (You've Got What It Takes) - Dinah Washington & Brook Benton
33. Let's Go, Let's Go, Let's Go - Hank Ballard & The Midnighters
34. Puppy Love - Paul Anka
35. When Will I Be Loved? - the Everly Brothers
36. Walk, Don't Run - the Ventures
37. Mama - Connie Francis
38. Theme From "A Summer Place" - Percy Faith
39. Running Bear - Johnny Preston
40. Alley-Oop - Hollywood Argyles

Top Albums of 1960

Bob Newhart - Button Down Mind

Oliver - Original London Cast

Everly Brothers's - Everly Time

Elvis Presley - Elvis Is Back

South Pacific - Original Soundtrack

The Grammy's 1960

Record of the Year  - Theme From A Summer Place, Percy Faith

Album of the Year - Button Down Mind, Bob Newhart

Song of the Year  - Theme From Exodus, Ernest Gold, songwriter

Best New Artist of 1960 - Bob Newhart

Best Performance By a Pop Single Artist -  Georgia on My Mind, Ray Charles

Best Vocal Performance Single Record Female -  Mack the Knife, Ella Fitzgerald

Best Country and Western Performance - El Paso, Marty Robbins

The Tony's (Musicals) 1960

Musical - Fiorello!The Sound of Music

Actor - Jackie Gleason, Take Me Along

Actress - Mary Martin, The Sound of Music

Supporting  Actor - Tom Bosley, Fiorello!

Supporting Actress - Patricia Neway, The Sound of Music

Director - George Abbott, Fiorello!

The Sound of Music

Rodgers and Hammerstein with Mary Martin in the lead role, 1443 performances.

Memorable Songs: Edelweiss My Favorite Things Climb Every Mountain Do-Re-Mi

Fiorello!, the story of NY mayor La Guardia who busted Tammany Hall.

Oliver, original London production with Davy Jones (The Monkees) and Phil Collins (Genesis) to name of few of the child stars.

Jazz 1960

Dave Brubeck and saxophonist Paul Desmond release Take Five. It becomes the top selling jazz single of all time.

15 minutes of 1960 radio

Music News 1960

The heyday of Rock & Roll seemed over, a fad they claimed. Elvis, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Bo Diddley had taken back seats to the pretty boy crooners and the new rumblings of Soul. Rock & Roll stagnated until the British Invasion of 1964.

Elvis Presley who had been drafted in 1958 returned to the real world. Something happened over those years which caused him to lose his Rhythm & Blues roots. He spent the rest of his life making mediocre music and awful movies.

The House of Representatives investigated the "Payola" scam which dominated the record industry in the late fifties. Dick Clark got in some trouble while the father of Rock & Roll (who gave it it's name) Alan Freed took the brunt of it with eight other disc jockeys and was convicted on two counts of bribery. Though his fines were light and his sentence suspended, he was fired from WINS in New York, moved to Los Angeles and faded away.

Soul music developed out of a mix of gospel and rock. Examples in 1960 were Cathy's Clown by the Everly Brothers and Chain Gang by Sam Cooke. This led Berry Gordy to open a studio in Detroit called Motown Records. He began with a Black girl's group called The Shirelles who had the hit Will You Love MeTomorrow. That song became the template for the next decade of harmonic multi-part singing. As the decade progressed Gordy signed such notables as Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, The Supremes, The Temptations, The Four Tops, The Jackson 5, and Gladys Knight & the Pips.

The 1950's brought us the 45 single and the album which replaced the 78. But it wasn't until the Beatles that Rock musicians began putting many hits on each album that albums finally replaced the 45rpm single. In 1960 the expense of albums was beyond most teenage allowances resulting in most sales to adults who bought movie soundtracks, comedy, Broadway musicals, Blues and Jazz.

Rock & Roll 1960

It was a very slow year for any real Rock & Roll other than Chubby Checker and The Twist. The only guitar work of the year was from the Ventures with their instrumental album, Walk Don't Run.

In the top 40 we lost Tommy to a car crash, an Angel to a train wreck, a young cowboy to a bullet and of course both  Running Bear and Little White Dove to that raging river. The musicians holding the longest run over these years were the Everly Brothers, Ray Charles, Roy Orbison, Brenda Lee, Connie Frances, Bobby Darin and Chubby Checker who managed a hit with a new spin on the twist or some other new dance craze for years to come.

Rhythm & Blues 1960

Though the 1960 Newport Jazz Festival was shut down because of rioting college students outside the venue (which also caused the cancellation of the festival the following year) one of the great live albums came out of it: Muddy Waters, Live at Newport. The riots (125 injured and 170 arrested)  concerned both race and the highbrow Newport attitude of "let them eat cake."

Ray Charles has his first hit album, The Genius Hits the Road. The album includes his big hit from 1959, Georgia on My Mind and Hit the Road Jack

Country & Western 1960

El Paso by Marty Robbins became the top Country song of the year. Other notable C&W hits were Hank Locklin with  Please Help Me, I'm Falling and Ferlin Husky with Wings of a Dove.

The Porter Wagoner Show premiered and became the most successful country music television show of all time. It ran in syndication for 21 more years and in 1968 created a Country Western icon in a young singer named Dolly Parton.

Folk Music 1960

Joan Baez begins her career.