CLICK BELOW TO DISPLAY SECTIONS FOR
1961

The year end charts as published by Billboard each year were necessarily limited.  In order to publish the chart the last week of December, the magazine stopped including rankings effectively the final week of November.  In some cases, this caused records whose popularity crossed over from one year to another to be underrated.  In some cases, these records ended up on the year end chart for two different years.  In some cases, the records were not included in either chart in spite of significant popularity.  The “Elvis Era Power Ranking” is an effort to correct this oversight by including all the weeks a record was on the charts, not just the weeks of a particular year.  The rating is based on the record's performance in the top twenty: 20 points for being #1, 19 for #2, etc. The record gets 5 additional points for each week it is in the top ten, 5 additional pointsfor each week it is #1, and one additional point for each week it was in the top forty.  In the case of the “cross-over” records, whether a record is included in the chart for the year it first entered or the year it last charted, the record was assigned the year in which it enjoyed its highest popularity.  In some cases, there were records that were so closely split that they were included on two year end charts.
Click below to display rankings by the designated chart:
Records debuted in 1960 but peaked in 1961:

Title Highest Ranking Week Debuted Week Highest Rank

Angel Baby by Rosie & the Originals # 5 12/12/1960 1/21/1961
Calcutta by Lawrence Welk # 1 12/30/1960 2/11/1961
Calendar Girl by Neil Sedaka # 4 12/31/1960 2/11/1961
Corinna, Corinna by Ray Peterson # 9 12/19/1960 1/7/1961
Exodus by Ferrante & Teicher # 2 11/28/1960 1/21/1961
I Count the Tears by The Drifters # 17 12/31/1960 1/28/1961
Rubber Ball by Bobby Vee # 6 12/22/1960 1/7/1961
Shop Around by The Miracles # 2 12/31/1960 2/18/1961
Will You Love Me Tomorrow by The Shirelles # 1 12/12/1960 1/28/1961
The Wings of a Dove by Ferlin Husky # 12 12/26/1960 2/11/1961
Wonderland By Night by Louis Prima # 15 12/12/1960 1/7/1961
Wonderland By Night by Anita Bryant # 18 12/26/1960 1/7/1961
Wonderland By Night by Bert Kaempfert # 1 11/20/1960 1/7/1961

Three different versions of "Wonderland by Night" made the top twenty in 1961, all three debuting in 1960. The most popular was Bert Kaempfert's instrumental which reached #1 on January 7th. With the additional weeks in the top twenty, Kaempfert's version managed a #3 EE ranking in contrast to its #72 Billboard spot. Another instrumental, Lawrence Welk's "Calcutta" also debuted in 1960, climbing to the top spot on February 11th. The biggest hit to cross the calendar year was The Shirelle's "Will You Love Me Tomorrow." It first entered the Billboard top twenty in December and was #1 for two weeks beginng on January 28th. It was ranked #16 on Billboard's end of year chart for 1961, #3 by Cashbox and #7 by Gilbert & Theroux.

One of the most significant records of 1961 was "Shop Around" by The Miracles. It was the first top ten record for Barry Gordy's Tamla label which would soon become Motown. It was released in December and rose to #2 on February 18th.

One of the most puzzling rankings by Billboard is "I Fall To Pieces" by Patsy Cline. It was a #1 Country record that crossed over to the pop chart, but had limited success, peaking at #12 with three weeks in the top twenty and only 34 top twenty points. It didn't reach the top 100 on the EE list (#124). But Billboard listed it as the #2 song for 1961. The disparage in these rankings can probably be explained by the slow ascent and descent in the Billboard Top 100. The record was released in January, but didn't enter the top forty until July and didn't peak at #12 until September. Billboard's calculations for end of year rankings included points for every week in the top 100 while the EE rankings only credit weeks in the top forty.

Another one of the more puzzling Billboard rankings was Ray Peterson's "Missing You" which only reached #29 on the weekly chart and yet made the year end ranking of #90. Of course, with no time in the top twenty it is missing from the EE top 100.
EE Rank BB Rank title artist Top Twenty Points highest ranking Weeks in Top Twenty Weeks in Top Forty week debuted Date Highest Rank
1 1 Tossin' and Turnin' Bobby Lewis 354 1 15 17 05/29/1961 07/08/1961
2 86 Big Bad John JImmy Dean 272 1 13 13 10/09/1961 11/04/1961
3 72 Wonderland By Night Bert Kaempfert 268 1 13 15 11/20/1960 01/07/1961
4 17 Exodus Ferrante & Teicher 264 2 14 18 11/28/1960 01/21/1961
5 The Lion Sleeps Tonight The Tokens 262 1 12 13 11/27/1961 01/06/1962
6 46 Runaround Sue Dion 246 1 11 12 10/02/1961 10/21/1961
7 5 Runaway Del Shannon 245 1 10 12 03/27/1961 04/22/1961
8 11 Calcutta Lawrence Welk 242 1 11 13 12/30/1960 02/11/1961
9 7 Pony Time Chubby Checker 235 1 11 14 01/30/1961 02/25/1961
10 3 Michael The Highwaymen 230 1 10 11 07/31/1961 09/02/1961
11 23 Travelin' Man Ricky Nelson 220 1 12 15 05/01/1961 05/27/1961
12 22 Bristol Stomp The Dovells 218 2 11 14 09/18/1961 10/21/1961
13 40 Blue Moon The Marcels 215 1 9 11 03/20/1961 04/01/1961
14 16 Will You Love Me Tomorrow The Shirelles 213 1 12 15 12/12/1960 01/28/1961
15 31 Quarter to Three Gary U.S. Bonds 212 1 10 12 06/05/1961 06/24/1961
16 Please Mr. Postman The Marvelettes 212 1 12 15 10/16/1961 12/09/1961
17 14 Dedicated to the One I Love The Shirelles 211 3 11 14 02/06/1961 03/25/1961
18 Goodbye Cruel World James Darren 211 3 11 12 11/06/1961 12/02/1961
19 19 Hit the Road Jack Ray Charles 206 1 9 11 09/18/1961 10/14/1961
20 Walk On By LeRoy Van Dyke 202 5 11 12 11/20/1961 12/09/1961
21 51 Surrender Elvis Presley 201 1 9 11 02/20/1961 03/18/1961
22 21 Mother-in-Law Ernie K-Doe 200 1 9 12 04/03/1961 05/20/1961
23 Run to Him Bobby Vee 195 2 12 13 11/20/1961 12/23/1961
24 9 Raindrops Dee Clark 195 2 10 12 05/22/1961 06/24/1961
25 12 Take Good CAre of My Baby Bobby Vee 194 1 8 11 08/21/1961 09/16/1961
26 25 The Boll Weevil Song Brook Benton 193 2 10 12 06/05/1961 07/08/1961
27 26 A Hundred Pounds of Clay Gene McDaniels 178 3 10 12 04/03/1961 05/06/1961
28 10 Wooden Heart Joe Dowell 177 1 9 12 07/17/1961 08/26/1961
29 28 Don't Worry About Me Marty Robbins 177 3 10 12 02/13/1961 03/18/1961
30 59 Moody River Pat Boone 168 1 9 12 05/22/1961 06/17/1961
31 34 I Like It Like That Chris Kenner 168 2 8 10 07/03/1961 07/29/1961
32 4 Crying Roy Orbison 160 2 10 14 08/28/1961 10/07/1961
33 76 Angel Baby Rosie & the Originals 160 5 9 12 12/12/1960 01/21/1961
34 24 Shop Around The Miracles 158 2 9 13 12/31/1960 02/18/1961
35 35 Apache Jorgen Ingmann 157 2 10 13 02/20/1961 04/01/1961
36 29 On the Rebound Floyd Cramer 146 4 9 11 03/13/1961 04/15/1961
37 8 Wheels The String-a-Longs 143 3 8 13 01/23/1961 03/04/1961
38 42 This Time Troy Shondell 142 6 10 12 09/25/1961 10/21/1961
39 13 Running Scared Roy Orbison 141 1 9 15 04/21/1961 06/03/1961
40 91 Dum Dum Brenda Lee 141 4 9 10 06/26/1961 07/29/1961
41 15 Last Night The Mar-Keys 138 3 7 12 07/17/1961 08/05/1961
42 Fool Number One Brenda Lee 135 3 8 12 10/09/1961 11/11/1961
43 18 Where the Boys Are Connie Francis 134 4 9 12 01/30/1961 03/18/1961
44 68 Hats Off to Larry Del Shannon 129 5 9 11 06/19/1961 07/29/1961
45 Every Beat of My Heart The Pips 129 6 7 10 06/05/1961 07/08/1961
46 33 Calendar Girl Neil Sedaka 127 4 8 12 12/31/1960 02/11/1961
47 63 Stand by Me Ben E. King 127 4 7 24 05/22/1961 06/10/1961
48 43 But I Do Clarence Henry 124 4 7 11 03/20/1961 04/22/1961
49 41 Daddy's Home Shep & the Limelites 123 2 8 11 04/10/1961 05/27/1961
50 83 The Writing On The Wall Adam Wade 122 5 7 9 05/29/1961 07/01/1961
51 Tower of Strength Gene McDaniels 120 5 8 10 10/16/1961 11/11/1961
52 70 The Fly Chubby Checker 120 7 8 11 10/02/1961 11/11/1961
53 74 I've Told Every Little Star Linda Scott 119 3 7 10 04/03/1961 04/29/1961
54 47 Yellow Bird Arthur Lyman 119 4 7 10 06/12/1961 07/22/1961
55 56 You Don't Know What You've Got Ral Donner 119 4 7 9 07/24/1961 09/02/1961
56 89 Rubber Ball Bobby Vee 116 6 9 11 12/22/1960 01/07/1961
57 20 Sad Movies (Make Me Cry) Sue Thompson 114 5 7 11 09/25/1961 10/21/1961
58 94 Let's Twist Again Chubby Checker 112 8 7 15 07/03/1961 08/05/1961
59 61 Take Good Care Of Her Adam Wade 109 7 8 10 03/27/1961 04/29/1961
60 Corinna, Corinna Ray Peterson 108 9 7 9 12/19/1960 01/07/1961
61 Let There Be Drums Sandy Nelson 107 7 8 12 11/20/1961 12/16/1961
62 81 Mama Said The Shirelles 105 4 7 8 05/01/1961 05/27/1961
63 6 My True Story The Jive Five 104 3 6 12 08/14/1961 09/09/1961
64 39 Little Sister Elvis Presley 104 5 7 10 08/28/1961 09/30/1961
65 52 I Love How You Love Me The Paris Sisters 103 5 8 11 10/02/1961 10/28/1961
66 93 You Can Depend On Me Brenda Lee 102 6 7 10 04/03/1961 05/06/1961
67 50 There's a Moon Out Tonight The Capris 101 3 7 10 01/23/1961 02/25/1961
68 Together Connie Francis 100 6 8 9 07/03/1961 08/05/1961
69 79 Does Your Chewing Gum Lose Its Flavor Lonnie Donegan 98 5 6 9 06/14/1961 09/23/1961
70 27 The Mountain's High Dick & Dee Dee 97 2 6 10 08/28/1961 09/23/1961
71 Emotions Brenda Lee 96 7 6 9 01/16/1961 02/11/1961
72 Let's Get Together Hayley Mills 95 8 7 11 09/18/1961 10/21/1961
73 67 Baby Sittin' Boogie Buzz Clifford 92 6 7 10 01/30/1961 03/11/1961
74 57 Walk Right Back The Everly Brothers 92 7 6 10 02/13/1961 03/25/1961
75 Ebony Eyes The Everly Brothers 92 8 7 9 02/13/1961 03/18/1961
76 54 School is Out Gary U.S. Bonds 91 5 6 9 07/31/1961 09/02/1961
77 55 Mexico Bob Moore & His Orchestra 91 7 7 10 09/11/1961 09/30/1961
78 53 Ya Ya Lee Dorsey 88 7 7 10 09/25/1961 10/28/1961
79 77 Pretty Little Angel Eyes Curtis Lee 88 7 5 8 07/17/1961 08/05/1961
80 99 You Must Have Been A Beautiful Baby Bobby Darin 86 5 6 9 09/11/1961 10/14/1961
81 48 Hurt Timi Yuro 85 4 7 10 07/31/1961 09/09/1961
82 80 Breaking In A Brand New Broken Heart Connie Francis 85 7 6 9 04/24/1961 05/27/1961
83 60 One Mint Julep Ray Charles 81 8 6 9 03/27/1961 04/29/1961
84 Feel So Bad Elvis Presley 77 5 6 7 05/22/1961 06/03/1961
85 69 Those Oldies But Goodies Little Caesar & the Romans 76 9 6 9 05/29/1961 06/24/1961
86 49 Hello Mary Lou Ricky Nelson 69 9 8 13 05/08/1961 05/20/1961
87 32 Who Put the Bomp Barry Mann 67 7 5 9 08/21/1961 09/23/1961
88 Tonight Ferrante & Teicher 67 8 7 8 11/13/1961 12/09/1961
89 88 San Antonio Rose Floyd Cramer 63 8 7 8 06/26/1961 07/15/1961
90 37 Without You Johnny Tillotson 62 7 6 8 08/28/1961 09/16/1961
91 36 Don't Bet Money Honey Linda Scott 62 9 5 10 07/24/1961 08/26/1961
92 30 Portrait of My Love Steve Lawrence 61 9 6 10 04/03/1961 05/06/1961
93 44 Asia Minor Kokomo 58 8 5 11 03/06/1961 04/15/1961
94 As If I Didn't Know Adam Wade 56 10 4 7 08/07/1961 09/02/1961
95 Crazy Patsy Cline 55 9 5 7 11/06/1961 11/25/1961
96 Dance On Little Girl Paul Anka 55 10 5 7 06/12/1961 07/08/1961
97 38 The Wings of a Dove Ferlin Husky 54 12 8 13 12/26/1960 02/11/1961
98 62 Gee Whiz Carla Thomas 52 10 5 10 02/20/1961 03/25/1961
99 64 Spanish Harlem Ben E. King 52 10 5 10 01/30/1961 03/11/1961
100 Moon River Henry Mancini 51 11 5 16 11/13/1961 12/23/1961