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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.

Records debuted in 1962 but peaked in 1963:

Title Highest Ranking Week Debuted Week Highest Rank

Go Away Little Girl by Steve Lawrence # 1 12/8/1962 1/12/1963
Zip A Dee Do Dah by Bob B.Soxx & The Blue Jeans # 8 12/8/1962 1/12/1963
Hotel Happiness by Brook Benton # 3 12/8/1962 1/19/1963
Two Lovers by Mary Wells # 7 12/15/1962 1/19/1963
My Dad by Paul Petersen # 6 12/15/1962 1/26/1963
Tell Him by The Exciters # 4 12/15/1962 1/19/1963
Everybody Loves a Lover by The Shirelles # 19 12/15/1962 1/26/1963
The Night Has a Thousand Eyes by Bobby Vee # 3 12/22/1962 2/2/1963
Up on the Roof by The Drifters # 5 12/29/1962 2/9/1963
It's Up To You by Rick Nelson # 6 12/29/1962 2/2/1963
I Saw Linda Yesterday by Dickey Lee # 14 12/29/1962 1/19/1963
Pepino The Italian Mouse by Lou Monte # 3 12/31/1962 1/12/1963

Several big hits of 1963 failed to do well in the Billboard year end rankings due to their initial success coming in late 1962. The most impacted was Steve Lawrence's "Go Away Little Girl." Cashbox ranked the song #2 for 1963 and it was #20 for G&T, yet it barely made the Billboard Top 100 (#91). Lawrence's ode to the attractions of a younger girl (too young) had initially cracked the top twenty in December of '62 and it was #1 for two weeks in January of '63. Its overall success earns it the #9 spot in the EE rankings. Bobby Vee had been consistently scoring top twenty records but falling short of the top ten until "The Night Has a Thousand Eyes" was released in late 1962. It climbed to #3 in February of 1963 and its #34 EE rank is far better than the #78 it scored for Billboard. "Tell Him" by The Exciters was ignored by Billboard but earns a #57 rank on the EE chart. It was in the top ten for seven weeks and was recognized by Cashbox as the #43 song of the year.

"Since I Fell For You" by Lenny Welch peaked at #4 the final week of 1963 and remained in the top ten for several weeks into 1964 and its success placed it at #40 on the EE chart although it failed to be listed by Billboard. Two songs that went to #1 in 1963 did not make Billboard's end of the year chart. "There I've Said It Again" by Bobby Vinton, which would be the first #1 of 1964, was #7 on the EE chart (It would receive a #98 ranking for 1964) and "Dominique" by The Singing Nun was ranked #2 by EE, spending the whole month of December at the top.

But perhaps one of the biggest slights of Billboard in 1963 was "Louie Louie" by The Kingsmen. The Wand version of the record debuted in October of 1963 and it quickly gained popular notice, climbing to #2 in December. It dropped one spot in the last week of the year, but reclaimed the #2 slot the next week and remained #2 for four weeks. In all, the record spent 16 weeks in the Hot 100. But it was not in the Billboard top 100 for 1963 and only ranked #99 for 1964. On the EE Chart, one of the most recognizable records of the era was the 6th best of the year.



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 Sugar Shack Jimmy Gilmer & The Fireballs 283 1 12 13 1963/09/28 1963/10/12
2 Dominique The Singing Nun 246 1 11 12 1963/11/16 1963/12/07
3 5 He's So Fine The Chiffons 238 1 11 12 1963/03/09 1963/03/30
4 7 Hey Paula Paul & Paula 237 1 10 12 1963/01/12 1963/02/16
5 98 There I've Said It Again Bobby Vinton 233 1 10 12 1963/12/07 1964/01/04
6 99 Louie Louie The Kingsmen 232 2 10 16 1963/11/30 1963/12/14
7 6 Blue Velvet Bobby Vinton 231 1 10 12 1963/08/24 1963/09/21
8 12 My Boyfriend's Back The Angels 230 1 10 12 1963/08/10 1963/08/31
9 91 Go Away Little Girl Steve Lawrence 223 1 12 12 1962/12/08 1963/01/12
10 13 Sukiyaki Kyu Sakamoto 215 1 11 12 1963/05/25 1963/06/15
11 8 Fingertips - Part 2 Little Stevie Wonder 215 1 10 12 1963/07/06 1963/08/10
12 26 I Will Follow Him Little Peggy March 213 1 9 11 1963/04/06 1963/04/27
13 24 Walk Like A Man The Four Seasons 205 1 9 12 1963/01/26 1963/03/02
14 4 Rhythm of the Rain The Cascades 204 3 11 13 1963/01/26 1963/03/09
15 18 I'm Leaving It Up To You Dale & Grace 195 1 10 12 1963/10/26 1963/11/23
16 29 It's My Party Lesley Gore 192 1 9 11 1963/05/18 1963/06/01
17 34 Walk Right In The Rooftop Singers 190 1 9 11 1963/01/12 1963/01/26
18 28 Surf City Jan & Dean 189 1 10 11 1963/06/22 1963/07/20
19 39 Easier Said Than Done The Essex 188 1 9 10 1963/06/22 1963/07/06
20 15 So Much In Love The Tymes 182 1 9 12 1963/06/22 1963/08/03
21 19 Deep Purple Nino Tempo & April Stevens 182 1 9 12 1963/10/05 1963/11/16
22 35 If You Wanna Be Happy Jimmy Soul 180 1 9 11 1963/04/20 1963/05/18
23 11 Can't Get Used to Losing You Andy Williams 173 2 9 12 1963/03/23 1963/04/13
24 3 The End of the World Skeeter Davis 172 2 9 13 1963/02/16 1963/03/23
25 9 Washington Square The Village Stompers 171 2 9 12 1963/10/05 1963/11/23
26 42 Our Day Will Come Ruby & the Romantics 170 1 8 10 1963/02/23 1963/03/23
27 23 You're the Reason I'm Living Bobby Darin 169 3 10 12 1963/02/02 1963/03/16
28 16 Puff, The Magic Dragon Peter, Paul & Mary 167 2 10 11 1963/03/30 1963/05/11
29 40 Ruby Baby Dion 162 2 8 11 1963/01/26 1963/02/23
30 17 Blowing in the Wind Peter, Paul & Mary 161 2 8 12 1963/07/12 1963/08/17
31 2 Surfin' U.S.A. The Beach Boys 161 3 10 14 1963/04/13 1963/05/25
32 20 Wipe Out The Surfaris 159 2 9 10 1963/07/06 1963/08/10
33 45 Be My Baby The Ronettes 157 2 9 10 1963/09/14 1963/10/12
34 78 The Night Has a Thousand Eyes Bobby Vee 150 3 8 11 1962/12/22 1963/02/02
35 55 Busted Ray Charles 147 4 8 11 1963/09/14 1963/10/19
36 82 Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh Alan Sherman 145 2 8 8 1963/08/10 1963/08/24
37 32 Heat Wave Martha & the Vandellas 143 4 9 11 1963/08/17 1963/09/21
38 66 Sally Go Round the Roses The Jaynetts 140 2 7 9 1963/09/07 1963/09/28
39 38 Everybody Tommy Roe 140 3 8 11 1963/10/26 1963/12/07
40 Since I Fell For You Lenny Welch 140 4 10 12 1963/11/23 1963/12/28
41 50 Candy Girl The Four Seasons 138 3 8 10 1963/07/20 1963/08/24
42 69 Devil in Disguise Elvis Presley 138 3 8 8 1963/07/13 1963/08/10
43 37 If I Had a Hammer Trini Lopez 136 3 8 11 1963/08/10 1963/09/07
44 53 Cry Baby Garnet Mimms & The Enchanters 136 4 8 11 1963/09/07 1963/10/12
45 31 You Can't Sit Down The Dovells 135 3 9 11 1963/05/11 1963/06/15
46 52 Blue On Blue Bobby Vinton 134 3 8 10 1963/06/01 1963/07/06
47 35 The Name Game Shirley Ellis 133 3 8 10 1965/01/09 1965/01/30
48 21 I Love You Because Al Martino 133 3 7 11 1963/05/04 1963/06/01
49 Forget Him Bobby Rydell 133 4 8 12 1963/12/07 1964/01/18
50 47 South Street The Orlons 129 3 7 10 1963/03/02 1963/04/13
51 27 Pipeline The Chantays 127 4 8 11 1963/04/06 1963/05/04
52 46 Mean Woman Blues Roy Orbison 127 5 8 10 1963/09/28 1963/11/02
53 71 Baby Workout Jackie Wilson 127 5 7 9 1963/03/23 1963/04/13
54 44 Hello Stranger Barbara Lewis 125 3 7 10 1963/05/25 1963/06/22
55 56 Da Doo Ron Ron The Crystals 124 3 8 10 1963/05/11 1963/06/08
56 84 Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport Rolf Harris 124 3 7 9 1963/06/22 1963/07/13
57 Tell Him The Exciters 122 4 7 10 1962/12/15 1963/01/19
58 14 She's a Fool Lesley Gore 122 5 9 11 1963/10/19 1963/12/07
59 83 Judy's Turn to Cry Lesley Gore 121 5 7 9 1963/07/20 1963/08/17
60 58 Memphis Lonnie Mack 119 5 8 10 1963/06/22 1963/07/20
61 30 Blame It On the Bossa Nova Eydie Gorme 119 7 8 11 1963/02/09 1963/03/02
62 Hotel Happiness Brook Benton 113 3 7 10 1962/12/08 1963/01/19
63 You Don't Have To Be A Baby To Cry The Caravelles 110 3 7 10 1963/11/23 1963/12/21
64 70 Those Lazy Hazy Crazy Days of Summer Nat King Cole 101 6 7 9 1963/05/25 1963/06/28
65 62 Losing You Brenda Lee 100 6 7 10 1963/04/20 1963/05/25
66 54 Two Faces Have I Lou Christie 100 6 7 10 1963/04/27 1963/06/01
67 68 Then He Kissed Me The Crystals 99 6 8 9 1963/08/31 1963/09/14
68 98 One Fine Day The Chiffons 98 5 6 9 1963/06/08 1963/07/13
69 86 Donna the Prima Donna Dion 98 6 7 8 1963/09/28 1963/10/26
70 Two Lovers Mary Wells 96 7 7 10 1962/12/15 1963/01/19
71 57 Foolish Little Girl The Shirelles 95 4 7 9 1963/04/20 1963/05/25
72 My Dad Paul Petersen 95 6 7 10 1962/12/15 1963/01/26
73 76 What Will Mary Say Johnny Mathis 95 9 7 10 1963/02/09 1963/03/09
74 59 In Dreams Roy Orbison 94 7 8 10 1963/02/23 1963/03/30
75 75 Up on the Roof The Drifters 93 5 7 11 1962/12/29 1963/02/09
76 Be True To Your School The Beach Boys 93 6 7 8 1963/11/23 1963/12/21
77 36 Surfer Girl The Beach Boys 93 7 9 11 1963/08/17 1963/09/14
78 41 Maria Elena Los Indios Tabajaras 90 6 6 10 1963/10/12 1963/11/16
79 74 From a Jack to a King Ned Miller 90 6 6 8 1963/01/26 1963/02/16
80 51 Still Bill Anderson 87 8 7 11 1963/05/11 1963/06/08
81 Loop De Loop Johnny Thunder 86 4 7 9 1963/01/05 1963/02/09
82 65 You've Really Got a Hold on Me The Miracles 85 8 7 10 1963/01/12 1963/02/09
83 Drip Drop Dion 84 6 6 9 1963/11/23 1963/12/28
84 Young Lovers Paul & Paula 84 6 5 8 1963/01/12 1963/04/20
85 25 Mockingbird Inez Foxx 84 7 6 10 1963/08/03 1963/09/07
86 22 Wild Weekend The Rockin' Rebels 84 8 6 12 1963/01/26 1963/03/09
87 60 More Kai Winding 83 8 6 9 1963/07/27 1963/08/24
88 Talk Back Trembling Lips Johnny Tillotson 81 7 6 10 1963/11/30 1964/01/04
89 79 Don't Say Nothin' Bad (About My Baby) The Cookies 79 7 5 9 1963/03/23 1963/04/27
90 43 I Can't Stay Mad At You Skeeter Davis 76 7 6 11 1963/09/21 1963/11/02
91 95 Bossa Nova Baby Elvis Presley 76 8 4 7 1963/11/02 1963/11/16
92 Zip A Dee Do Dah Bob B.Soxx & The Blue Jeans 73 8 6 9 1962/12/08 1963/01/12
93 Pepino The Italian Mouse Lou Monte 71 3 5 9 1962/12/31 1963/01/12
94 It's Up To You Ricky Nelson 71 6 6 9 1962/12/29 1963/02/02
95 49 The Monkey Time Major Lance 71 8 6 10 1963/08/10 1963/09/07
96 73 Walking The Dog Rufus Thomas 71 10 6 9 1963/11/02 1963/12/07
97 Wonderful! Wonderful! The Tymes 70 7 5 8 1963/08/31 1963/09/28
98 85 Mickey's Monkey The Miracles 65 8 5 9 1963/08/31 1963/09/21
99 Reverend Mr. Black The Kingston Trio 64 8 6 8 1963/04/20 1963/05/18
100 63 Our Winter Love Bill Pursell 61 9 6 10 1963/02/16 1963/03/30