This is a list of Billboard magazine's top 50 singles of 1956 according to retail sales. [1]
This is a list of Billboard magazine's top 50 singles of 1956 according to retail sales. [1]
"Mack the Knife" or "The Ballad of Mack the Knife" is a song composed by Kurt Weill with lyrics by Bertolt Brecht for their 1928 music drama The Threepenny Opera. The song tells of a knife-wielding criminal of the London underworld from the musical named Macheath, the "Mack the Knife" of the title.
The Billboard 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by Billboard magazine to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists. Sometimes, a recording act is remembered for its "number ones" that outperformed all other albums during at least one week. The chart grew from a weekly top 10 list in 1956 to become a top 200 list in May 1967, acquiring its existing name in March 1992. Its previous names include the Billboard Top LPs (1961–1972), Billboard Top LPs & Tape (1972–1984), Billboard Top 200 Albums (1984–1985) and Billboard Top Pop Albums (1985–1992).
"The Great Pretender" is a popular song recorded by the Platters, with Tony Williams on lead vocals, and released as a single in November 1955. The words and music were written by Buck Ram, the Platters' manager and producer who was a successful songwriter before moving into producing and management. The song reached No. 1 on Billboard's Top 100, and No. 5 on the UK charts.
"The Wayward Wind" is a country song written by Stanley Lebowsky (music) and Herb Newman (lyrics), and first recorded by American singer Gogi Grant in 1955, and released in 1956. Grant's version reached No. 1 on both the Cash Box charts, where it remained at No. 1 for five weeks, and the Billboard charts, remaining at No. 1 for six weeks, ending Elvis Presley's seven-week run at No. 1 with "Heartbreak Hotel". It remained in the top 10 for fifteen weeks, and was ranked as the No. 5 song for 1956 according to Billboard. It became a Gold record. Members of the Western Writers of America chose the song as one of the Top 100 Western songs of all time.
"Memories Are Made of This" is a popular song about nostalgia, written in 1955 by Terry Gilkyson, Richard Dehr, and Frank Miller. They were the members of a three-pieced group called "The Easy Riders", who served as a backing band for Dean Martin's version of this song, also released in 1955.
"Fever" is a song written by Eddie Cooley and Otis Blackwell, who used the pseudonym "John Davenport". It was originally recorded by American R&B singer Little Willie John for his debut album, Fever (1956), and released as a single in April of the same year 1956. The song topped the Billboard R&B Best Sellers in the US and peaked at number 24 on the Billboard pop chart. It was received positively by music critics and included on several lists of the best songs during the time it was released.
"I Almost Lost My Mind" is a popular song written by Ivory Joe Hunter and published in 1950. Hunter's recording of the song was a number one hit on the US Billboard R&B singles chart in that year.
"Tell Me Why" is a popular song, written by Titus Turner in 1956. It is a slow, strong rhythm and blues ballad, and has a melody reminiscent of "Just a Closer Walk with Thee". The first hit version was by Marie Knight, a black R&B singer, on the Mercury's subsidiary label, Wing. It was a local hit in New Orleans and Texas.
"Why Do Fools Fall in Love" is a song by American rock and roll band Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers that was released on January 10, 1956. It reached No. 1 on the R&B chart, No. 6 on Billboard's Pop Singles chart, and No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart in July. Many renditions of the song by other artists have also been hit records in the U.S., including versions by the Diamonds, the Beach Boys, and Diana Ross.
Billboard Year-End charts are cumulative rankings of entries in Billboard magazine charts in the United States in any given chart year. Several hundred Year-End charts are now published by Billboard, the most important of which are the single or album charts based on Hot 100 and Billboard 200 respectively.
"Let It Be Me" is a popular song originally published in French in 1955 as "Je t'appartiens" interpreted by Gilbert Bécaud. It became popular worldwide with an English version by the Everly Brothers and later with the duet by Betty Everett and Jerry Butler.
"Young Love" is a popular song, written by Ric Cartey and Carole Joyner, and published in 1956. The original version was recorded by Ric Cartey with the Jiva-Tones on November 24, 1956. Joyner was a high school student when she co-wrote the song with Cartey, her boyfriend at the time. It was released in 1956 by Stars Records as catalog number 539 and one month later by RCA Records as catalog number 47-6751. Cartey's version never charted.
"Sweet Dreams" or "Sweet Dreams (of You)" is a country ballad, which was written by Don Gibson. Gibson originally recorded the song in 1955; his version hit the top ten of Billboard's country chart, but was eclipsed by the success of a competing recording by Faron Young. In 1960, after Gibson had established himself as a country music superstar, he released a new take as a single. This version also charted in the top ten on the country chart and also crossed over to the Billboard Hot 100, where it peaked at No.93. The song has become a country standard, with other notable versions by Patsy Cline and Emmylou Harris.
"Eddie My Love" is a 1956 doo wop song. According to BMI and ASCAP, the song was written by Maxwell Davis (BMI), Aaron Collins, Jr. (ASCAP), and Sam Ling (BMI). Maxwell Davis played sax on the Teen Queens record. Aaron Collins was the brother of the Teen Queens. Sam Ling was an alias of Saul Bihari, co-founder of Modern, RPM, and other labels.
"I'll Be Home" is a 1955 song that was written by Ferdinand Washington and songwriter, Stan Lewis.
"Standing on the Corner" is a popular song written by Frank Loesser and published in 1956. It was introduced by Shorty Long, Alan Gilbert, John Henson, and Roy Lazarus in the Broadway musical, The Most Happy Fella.
"Paralyzed" is a 1956 song recorded by Elvis Presley for his album Elvis. The song was recorded on September 1, 1956, and has been well received by music critics. The song was written by Otis Blackwell, and Elvis.