Racial integration is a Cold War imperative so Silent Generation Teens oblige by launching Black R&B records onto the Pop charts for the first time, amplified by Todd Storz’s new Top40 radio format. Meanwhile, songs and sounds from abroad fill the airwaves, a “womens song” conquers the charts, Eddie Fisher and Rosemary Clooney each score two of the year’s top ten hits, Sinatra is back in the Top 5, and it’s Mambo fever!

#1 Song of the Year   The top song according to our Chartcrush ranking of all 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 that spent most of their chart runs in the year

1. Eddie Fisher
2. Rosemary Clooney
3. Patti Page

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

• Eddie Fisher (7)

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

• 30.6

#1 Songs   List of #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. Eddie Fisher – Oh! My Papa (O Mein Papa) (January, 7 wks)
2. Doris Day – Secret Love (March, 2 wks)
3. Jo Stafford – Make Love to Me! (March, 5 wks)
4. Perry Como – Wanted (April, 7 wks)
5. Kitty Kallen – Little Things Mean a Lot (June, 10 wks)
6. The Crew-Cuts – Sh-Boom (August, 8 wks)
7. Rosemary Clooney – Hey There (October, 5 wks)
8. Eddie Fisher – I Need You Now (November, 5 wks)