List of UK Albums Chart number ones of the 1950s

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Frank Sinatra spent 14 weeks at the top of the UK Album Chart during the 1950s, longer than any other artist. Frank Sinatra laughing.jpg
Frank Sinatra spent 14 weeks at the top of the UK Album Chart during the 1950s, longer than any other artist.

The UK Albums Chart is a record chart based on weekly album sales; during the 1950s, a total of 17 different albums reached number one. The longest run at number one was the original soundtrack of the movie South Pacific , which held on to the top spot for 60 consecutive weeks in the 1950s, and went on to attain another 55 weeks in 1960 and 1961, totalling a record of 115 weeks at number-one in the UK. It was number-one for the entire year in 1959.

Contents

The UK Albums Chart canon was modified when chart fans Alan Smith and Keith Badman discovered that charts of albums in the UK dated back to 28 July 1956, not 8 November 1958 as previously thought. [1] The first album chart was a Top 5 published in Record Mirror . [2] The album at number one on this chart was Songs for Swingin' Lovers! by Frank Sinatra. From 8 November 1958, a Top 10 album chart was compiled by Melody Maker . [2] Although the Record Mirror chart continued to run after this date, Melody Maker is taken as the canonical source as it had a larger sample. [3] In 1959, from June to August a newspaper strike prevented the album chart from being published and the previous chart was duplicated in these weeks. [2] Nevertheless, the South Pacific soundtrack was number one for the entire duration of 1959.

Number ones

Key
No.nth album to top the UK Albums Chart
reReturn of an album to number one
† Best-selling album of the year [3] [4] [5] [6]
‡The album spent a week at number one
where it shared the top spot with another album
Contents
1956  • 1957  • 1958  • 1959  • 1960s →
No.Artist [nb 1] Album [nb 1] Record label [nb 2] Reached number one [nb 1] Weeks at
number one [nb 1]
1956
1 Frank Sinatra Songs for Swingin' Lovers! Capitol 22 July 19562
2Original soundtrack Carousel † Capitol 5 August 19562
re Frank Sinatra Songs for Swingin' Lovers! Capitol 19 August 19561
reOriginal soundtrack Carousel † Capitol 26 August 19564
3Original soundtrack Oklahoma! Capitol 23 September 19562
4Original soundtrack The King and I Capitol 7 October 19562
5 Bill Haley & His Comets Rock 'n' Roll Stage Show Brunswick 21 October 19561
reOriginal soundtrack The King and I Capitol 28 October 19561
6 Elvis Presley Rock 'N' Roll His Master's Voice 4 November 19561
reOriginal soundtrack The King and I Capitol 11 November 195615 ‡ [nb 3]
1957
7Original soundtrack High Society Capitol 10 February 19571 ‡ [nb 3]
8 Frank Sinatra This Is Sinatra! Capitol 24 February 19571
reOriginal soundtrack The King and I † Capitol 3 March 19571
re Frank Sinatra This Is Sinatra! Capitol 10 March 19571
reOriginal soundtrack The King and I † Capitol 17 March 19571
re Frank Sinatra This Is Sinatra! Capitol 24 March 19571
reOriginal soundtrack The King and I † Capitol 31 March 19573
re Frank Sinatra This Is Sinatra! Capitol 21 April 19571
reOriginal soundtrack The King and I † Capitol 28 April 19576 ‡ [nb 4]
9 Nat 'King' Cole Love Is the Thing Capitol 2 June 19571 ‡ [nb 4]
reOriginal soundtrack Oklahoma! Capitol 9 June 19571
reOriginal soundtrack The King and I † Capitol 16 June 19574
10 Tommy Steele The Tommy Steele Story Decca 14 July 19573
reOriginal soundtrack The King and I † Capitol 4 August 19573
re Tommy Steele The Tommy Steele Story Decca 25 August 19571
11 Elvis Presley Loving You RCA 1 September 19572
12 Frank Sinatra A Swingin' Affair! Capitol 15 September 19577
re Elvis Presley Loving You RCA 3 November 19571
reOriginal soundtrack The King and I † Capitol 10 November 195711
1958
13Original soundtrack Pal Joey Capitol 25 January 19587
reOriginal soundtrack The King and I Capitol 16 March 19581
reOriginal soundtrack Pal Joey Capitol 23 March 19584
14Original soundtrack The Duke Wore Jeans Decca 20 April 19582
15Original cast My Fair Lady † Philips 4 May 195819
16 Elvis Presley King Creole RCA 14 September 19587
17Original soundtrack South Pacific RCA Victor 2 November 195870
1959
No new number one – the original soundtrack to South Pacific remained at the top of the chart throughout 1959 † and into 1960 †
Contents
1956  • 1957  • 1958  • 1959  • 1960s →

By artist

Elvis Presley topped the UK Albums Chart for 11 weeks during the 1950s. Elvis Presley promoting Jailhouse Rock.jpg
Elvis Presley topped the UK Albums Chart for 11 weeks during the 1950s.

Five artists topped the album chart during the 1950s. Original soundtracks and cast recordings are omitted.

ArtistNumber onesWeeks at number oneAlbums
Frank Sinatra 314

 • Songs for Swingin' Lovers! (1956, three weeks at number one)
 • This Is Sinatra! (1957, four weeks)
 • A Swingin' Affair! (1957, seven weeks)

Elvis Presley 311

 • Rock 'N' Roll (1956, one week at number one)
 • Loving You (1957, three weeks)
 • King Creole (1958, seven weeks)

Tommy Steele 14

 • The Tommy Steele Story (1957, four weeks at number one)

Nat 'King' Cole 11

 • Love Is the Thing (1957, one week at number one)

Bill Haley & His Comets 11

 • Rock 'n' Roll Stage Show (1957, one week at number one)

Christmas number ones

In the UK, Christmas number-one albums are those that are at the top of the UK Albums Chart on Christmas Day. Typically, this will refer to the album that was announced as number one on the Sunday before 25 December—when Christmas Day falls on a Sunday itself, the official number one is considered by the OCC to be the one announced on that day's chart. [9] During the 1950s, the following albums were Christmas number ones. [10]

YearArtistAlbumRecord labelWeeks at
number one
1956 Original soundtrack The King and I Capitol 48
1957 Original soundtrack The King and I Capitol 48
1958 Original soundtrack South Pacific RCA Victor 115
1959 Original soundtrack South Pacific RCA Victor 115

Comparison to Record Mirror album chart

From 8 November 1958, Melody Maker is regarded as the canonical source. Record Mirror continued to compile an album chart with the following differences: [3]

DatesMelody MakerRecord Mirror
8 November –
27 December 1958		Original soundtrack – South Pacific (8 weeks) Elvis Presley – King Creole (1 week)
Original cast – My Fair Lady (4 weeks)
Original soundtrack – South Pacific (3 weeks)

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 The artist, album, date of reaching number one and number of weeks at number one are those given by Official Charts Company. [7]
  2. ↑ The record labels are those given by the OCC. [8]
  3. 1 2 Both Original soundtracks for The King and I and High Society were classified jointly as number one on 16 February 1957. In the weeks before and after The King and I held the number-one spot outright. [7]
  4. 1 2 Both the Original soundtrack for The King and I and Nat 'King' Cole's Love Is the Thing were classified jointly as number one on 8 June 1957. The King and I was in the number-one spot the previous week, and the following week the Oklahoma! soundtrack took the top spot. [7]

Related Research Articles

This is a list of the number one hits in the UK Albums Chart, from its inception in 1956 to the present. The sources are the Record Mirror chart from 1956 to the end of 1958, the Melody Maker chart from November 1958 to March 1960, the Record Retailer chart from March 1960 to March 1972 and the Music Week chart from then onwards. In January 1989 the compilation album chart started, and compilation albums were excluded from the main chart.

The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts Company (OCC) on Fridays. It is broadcast on BBC Radio 1 and found on the OCC website as a Top 100 or on UKChartsPlus as a Top 200, with positions continuing until all sales have been tracked in data only available to industry insiders. However, even though number 100 was classed as a hit album in the 1980s until January 1989, since the compilations were removed, this definition was changed to Top 75 with follow-up books such as The Virgin Book of British Hit Albums only including this data. As of 2021, Since 1983, the OCC generally provides a public charts for hits and weeks up to the Top 100. Business customers can require additional chart placings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">UK singles chart</span> British singles sales chart

The UK singles chart is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-selling singles in the United Kingdom, based upon physical sales, paid-for downloads and streaming. The Official Chart, broadcast on BBC Radio 1 and formerly MTV, is the UK music industry's recognised official measure of singles and albums popularity because it is the most comprehensive research panel of its kind, today surveying over 15,000 retailers and digital services daily, capturing 99.9% of all singles consumed in Britain across the week, and over 98% of albums. To be eligible for the chart, a single is currently defined by the OCC as either a "single bundle" having no more than four tracks and not lasting longer than 25 minutes or one digital audio track not longer than 15 minutes with a minimum sale price of 40 pence. The rules have changed many times as technology has developed, with digital downloads being incorporated in 2005 and streaming in July 2014.

<i>The Sound of Music</i> (soundtrack) 1965 soundtrack album by Rodgers and Hammerstein

The soundtrack of the film The Sound of Music, music and lyrics by Rodgers and Hammerstein, was released in 1965 by RCA Victor and is one of the most successful soundtrack albums in history, having sold more than 20 million copies worldwide. The soundtrack has been issued in German, Italian, Spanish and French.

References

Footnotes
  1. ↑ Sharp, Johnny (29 July 2006). "Chart and soul". The Guardian . Retrieved 30 October 2010.
  2. 1 2 3 Warwick, Kutner & Brown 2004, p. viii.
  3. 1 2 3 Mawer, Sharon. "Album Chart History: 1958". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on 22 June 2007. Retrieved 30 October 2010.
  4. ↑ Mawer, Sharon. "Album Chart History: 1956". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on 13 June 2007. Retrieved 30 October 2010.
  5. ↑ Mawer, Sharon. "Album Chart History: 1957". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on 22 June 2007. Retrieved 30 October 2010.
  6. ↑ Mawer, Sharon. "Album Chart History: 1959". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on 4 July 2007. Retrieved 30 October 2010.
  7. 1 2 3 "Number 1 Albums – 1950s". London: Official Charts Company. 2001. Archived from the original on 27 October 2005. Retrieved 12 January 2012.
  8. ↑ "Artist Chart History". London: Official Charts Company. 2010. Retrieved 12 January 2012.
  9. ↑ "Get into The Festive Spirit With Music". Easier. 20 December 2006. Archived from the original on 26 March 2012. Retrieved 27 June 2011.
  10. ↑ "Christmas No.1s: Albums". The Official UK Charts Company. 2007. Archived from the original on 18 December 2007. Retrieved 24 October 2011.
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