Teens take over the Pop charts in Rock ‘n Roll’s “toddler year” as Billboard unveils the Hot100, silly hits abound and Elvis reports for duty in the Army, but The Kingston Trio brings back Folk, and grownups celebrate the start of the Jet Age with “Volare” and other songs sung in Italian.

#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. Elvis Presley
2. Rick Nelson
3. The Everly Brothers

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

• Pat Boone (10)

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

• 27.9 years

#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. Danny & The Juniors – At the Hop (January, 5 wks)
2. Elvis Presley with The Jordanaires – Don’t (February, 5 wks)
3. The Champs – Tequila (March, 4 wks)
4. Laurie London – He’s Got the Whole World (In His Hands) (April, 3 wks)
5. Elvis Presley with The Jordanaires – Wear My Ring Around Your Neck (April, 1 wk)
6. The Music of David Seville – Witch Doctor (April, 3 wks)
7. The Platters – Twilight Time (April, 2 wks)
8. The Everly Brothers – All I Have to Do Is Dream (May, 6 wks)
9. Sheb Wooley – The Purple People Eater (June, 6 wks)
10. Elvis Presley with The Jordanaires – Hard Headed Woman (July, 1 wk)
11. Perez Prado & His Orchestra – Patricia (July, 1 wk)
12. Ricky Nelson – Poor Little Fool (August, 2 wks)
13. Domenico Modugno – Nel Blu Dipinto di Blu (Volare) (August, 5 wks)
14. The Elegants – Little Star (August, 1 wk)
15. Tommy Edwards – It’s All in the Game (September, 6 wks)
16. Conway Twitty – It’s Only Make Believe (November, 2 wks)
17. The Kingston Trio – Tom Dooley (November, 1 wk)
18. The Teddy Bears – To Know Him, Is to Love Him (December, 3 wks)