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1961

ABC-Paramount
Dance On Little Girl by Paul Anka #10
Gypsy Woman by The Impressions #20
Hit the Road Jack by Ray Charles #1
Let Me Belong To You by Brian Hyland #20
The Story of My Love by Paul Anka #16
Tonight My Love Tonight by Paul Anka #13
Who Put the Bomp by Barry Mann #7

Amor
Please Love Me Forever by Cathy Jean & The Roommates #12


Argo
But I Do by Clarence Henry #4
You Always Hurt the One you Love by Clarence Henry #12

Atco
AMOR by Ben E. King #18
Apache by Jorgen Ingmann #2
Lazy River by Bobby Darin #14
Spanish Harlem by Ben E. King #10
Stand by Me by Ben E. King #4
You Must Have Been A Beautiful Baby by Bobby Darin #5
Little Egypt by The Coasters #23*

Atlantic
Gee Whiz by Carla Thomas #10
I Count the Tears by The Drifters #17
Please Stay by The Drifters #14
Sweets For My Sweet by The Drifters #16
Some Kind of Wonderful by The Drifters #32*

Beltone
My True Story by The Jive Five #3
One Track Mind by Bobby Lewis #9
Tossin' and Turnin' by Bobby Lewis #1

BIGTOP
Hats Off to Larry by Del Shannon #5
Runaway by Del Shannon #1

Brunswick
I'm Comin' On Back To You by Jackie Wilson #19
My Empty Arms by Jackie Wilson #9
Please Tell Me Why by Jackie Wilson #20

Cadence
I'm Gonna Knock On Your Door by Eddie Hodges #12
Never On Sunday by The Chordettes #13
Without You by Johnny Tillotson #7

Cameo
Good Time Baby by Bobby Rydell #11

Canadian American
Don't Bet Money Honey by Linda Scott #9
I Don't Know Why by Linda Scott #12
I've Told Every Little Star by Linda Scott #3

Capitol
Hello Walls by Faron Young #12
More Money For You and Me Medley by The Four Preps #17
The Way You Look Tonight by The Lettermen #13
The Wings of a Dove by Ferlin Husky #12
Right Or Wrong by Wanda Jackson #29*

Carlton
Look in My Eyes by The Chantels #14
Wonderland By Night by Anita Bryant #18

Challenge
There She Goes by Jerry Wallace #26*

COED
AS IF I DIDN'T KNOW by Adam Wade #10
Model Girl by Johnny Maestro #20
Take Good Care Of Her by Adam Wade #7
The Writing On The Wall by Adam Wade #5

Colpix
Blue Moon by The Marcels #1
Goodbye Cruel World by James Darren #3
Heartaches by The Marcels #7

Columbia
Baby Sittin' Boogie by Buzz Clifford #6
Big Bad John by JImmy Dean #1
Don't Worry About Me by Marty Robbins #3
North To Alaska by Johnny Horton #4
Tennessee Flat Top Box by Johnny Cash #*
Take Five by Dave Brubeck #25*

Coral
Just For Old Time's Sake by The McGuire Sisters #20

CREST
You're The Reason by Bobby Edwards #11

Decca
Crazy by Patsy Cline #9
Dum Dum by Brenda Lee #4
Emotions by Brenda Lee #7
Fool Number One by Brenda Lee #3
I Fall to Pieces by Patsy Cline #12
White Christmas by Bing Crosby #38
Wonderland By Night by Bert Kaempfert #1
You Can Depend On Me by Brenda Lee #6

Del-fi
Those Oldies But Goodies by Little Caesar & the Romans #9

Dolton
Tragedy by The Fleetwoods #10
The Great Imposter by The Fleetwoods #30*

Dot
Big Cold wind by Pat Boone #19
Calcutta by Lawrence Welk #1
Does Your Chewing Gum Lose Its Flavor by Lonnie Donegan #5
Moody River by Pat Boone #1
Wonderland By Night by Louis Prima #15
Wheels by Billy Vaughn #28*

Dunes
Corinna, Corinna by Ray Peterson #9
Pretty Little Angel Eyes by Curtis Lee #7
Missing You by Ray Peterson #29*

EPIC
Bless You by Tony Orlando #15
You Can Have Her by Roy Hamilton #12

ERA
Sacred by The Castells #20

Felsted
Asia Minor by Kokomo #8

Fury
Ya Ya by Lee Dorsey #7

Gee
Barbara Ann by The Regents #13
Heart and Soul by The Cleftones #18

Gone
Girl of My Best Friend by Ral Donner #19
You Don't Know What You've Got by Ral Donner #4

GregMark
I Love How You Love Me by The Paris Sisters #5

Gusto
I Dreamed of A Hillbilly HeAVEN by Tex Ritter #20

Heritage
When We Get Married by The Dreamlovers #10

HiFi
Yellow Bird by Arthur Lyman #4

Highland
Angel Baby by Rosie & the Originals #5

Hull
Daddy's Home by Shep & the Limelites #2

Imperial
A WONDER LIKE YOU by Rick Nelson #11
Everlovin' by Rick Nelson #16
Hello Mary Lou by Ricky Nelson #9
Let the Four Winds Blow by Fats Domino #15
Let There Be Drums by Sandy Nelson #7
Travelin' Man by Ricky Nelson #1

Impulse
One Mint Julep by Ray Charles #8

Indigo Records
A Thousand Stars by Kathy Young & the Innocents #3

Instant
I Like It Like That by Chris Kenner #2

Jamie
Pepe by Duane Eddy #18

Kapp
Sailor by Lolita #5
The Astronaut by Jose Jimenez #19

Laurie
A Little Bit of Soap by The Jarmels #12
Lonely Teenager by Dion #12
Runaround Sue by Dion #1
Runaway Girl by Dion #*

LeGrand
Quarter to Three by Gary "U.S." Bonds #1
School is Out by Gary "U.S." Bonds #5

Liberty
A Hundred Pounds of Clay by Gene McDaniels #3
God, Country and My Baby by Johnny Burnette #18
Hurt by Timi Yuro #4
Little Boy Sad by Johnny Burnette #17
Rubber Ball by Bobby Vee #6
Run to Him by Bobby Vee #2
Take Good CAre of My Baby by Bobby Vee #1
The Mountain's High by Dick & Dee Dee #2
This Time by Troy Shondell #6
Tower of Strength by Gene McDaniels #5
You're Sixteen by Johnny Burnette #8
Big, Big World by Johnny Burnette #*
It Will Stand by The Showmen #61*

Mercury
FRANKIE & JOHNNY by Brook Benton #20
I'll Be There by Damita Jo #12
The Boll Weevil Song by Brook Benton #2
Think Twice by Brook Benton #11
Walk On By by LeRoy Van Dyke #5

MGM
Breaking In A Brand New Broken Heart by Connie Francis #7
He’s My DREAMBOAT by Connie Francis #14
Many Tears Ago by Connie Francis #7
Together by Connie Francis #6
Where the Boys Are by Connie Francis #4

Minit
Mother-in-Law by Ernie K-Doe #1

Monument
Crying by Roy Orbison #2
Mexico by Bob Moore & His Orchestra #7
Running Scared by Roy Orbison #1
I'm Hurtin' by Roy Orbison #27*
Candy Man by Roy Orbison #25*

Musicor
I Wanna Love My Life Away by Gene Pitney #39*
Every Breath I Take by Gene Pitney #42*
Mr. Moon, Mr. Cupid and I by Gene Pitney #42*

Nomar
ALL IN MY MIND by Maxine Brown #19

Old Town
There's a Moon Out Tonight by The Capris #3

Parkway
Bristol Stomp by The Dovells #2
Let's Twist Again by Chubby Checker #8
Pony Time by Chubby Checker #1
The Fly by Chubby Checker #7
The Twist by Chubby Checker #1

RCA Victor
Are You Lonesome Tonight by Elvis Presley #1
Calendar Girl by Neil Sedaka #4
Cupid by Sam Cooke #17
Feel So Bad by Elvis Presley #5
Flaming Star by Elvis Presley #14
His Latest Flame by Elvis Presley #4
I Just Don't Understand by Ann-Margaret #17
Last Date by Floyd Cramer #2
Little Devil by Neil Sedaka #11
Little Sister by Elvis Presley #5
Moon River by Henry Mancini #11
On the Rebound by Floyd Cramer #4
San Antonio Rose by Floyd Cramer #8
Surrender by Elvis Presley #1
The Lion Sleeps Tonight by The Tokens #1
Sea of Heartbreak by Don Gibson #21*
A Dollar Down by The Limelighters #60*
That’s It, I Quit, I’m Movin’ On by Sam Cooke #31*

Satellite
Last Night by The Mar-Keys #3

Scepter
Dedicated to the One I Love by The Shirelles #3
Mama Said by The Shirelles #4
Will You Love Me Tomorrow by The Shirelles #1
Big John by The Shirelles #21*

SEG-WAY
Baby Blue by The Echoes #12

Smash
Wooden Heart by Joe Dowell #1

Sue
It’s Gonna Work Out Fine by Ike & Tina Turner #14

Surprise
TELL ME WHY by The Belmonts #18

Tag
Once In A While by The Chimes #11
Once In A While by The Chimes #11*

Tamla
Please Mr. Postman by The Marvelettes #1
Shop Around by The Miracles #2

United Artists
Bonanza by Al Caiola #19
Exodus by Ferrante & Teicher #2
Michael by The Highwaymen #1
Portrait of My Love by Steve Lawrence #9
Tonight by Ferrante & Teicher #8

Vee-Jay
Every Beat of My Heart by The Pips #6
He Will Break Your Heart by Jerry Butler #7
Moon River by Jerry Butler #11
Raindrops by Dee Clark #2

Vista
Let's Get Together by Hayley Mills #8

Warner Brothers
DON'T BLAME ME by The Everly Brothers #20
Ebony Eyes by The Everly Brothers #8
Walk Right Back by The Everly Brothers #7
The Great Snowman by Bob Luman #*

Warwick
My Kind of Girl by Matt Monro #18
Tonight I Fell In Love by The Tokens #15
Wheels by The String-a-Longs #3

* = RECORD RANKING WAS NOT IN THE TOP TWENTY OF THE TOP 100 BILLBOARD RANKING

Click on the appropriate button above to view an historical acccount of the record labels for the year, a chart ranking the popularity of the labels in the Billboard top twenty for the year, or a list of the labels that had records in the top twenty for the year.
Scepter records and The Shirelles had been around for several years and the group was very popular in the New York City area. The song writing team of Carole King and Gerry Goffin brought them "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" in late 1960. It became one of the top records of the year, hitting #1 on January 28th.
Beltone records didn't have a lot of hit records, but it did have two of the best in 1961. While Bobby Lewis's "Tossin' And Turnin'" was the top record of the year, The Jive Five's "My True Story" was also a big hit with Billboard ranking in #6 for the year.
Big Top records had Del Shannon and his two songs were enough to make it a very successful year for the label. "Runaway" went all the way to #1 and the follow-up "Hat's Off To Larry" was also a top ten hit.
MGM and Connie Francis continued to produce hit records. She put six records in the top twenty in 1961, including the theme song from her first motion picture, "Where The Boys Are."
Ral Donner produced two top twenty records for Gone records in 1961, the most successful being "You Don't Know What You've Got."
Gene Pitney didn't crack the top twenty in 1961, but the Musicor label did get three records into the top fifty -- it's just the beginning for Pitney. He did have a top ten record as a writer -- "Hello Mary Lou" by Rick Nelson.
Pat Boone had his first #1 since 1957 with "Moody River" and Dot records combined that with another #1, "Calcutta" by Lawrence Welk to climb back into the top ten in label popularity.
Chris Kenner almost gave Instant records a number one, but "I Like It Like That" stalled for three weeks at #2.
Gee records had a hit in Barbara Ann but it would be even bigger hit for The Beach Boys in 1966 (#2).
"There's a Moon Out Tonight" had originally been released by Planet records in 1959. It was rediscovered by Lost Nite Records in 1961 and when they could not keep up with the demand, it was sold to Old Town.