# Best #1 single of the year retrospective: 1955-56 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 21, 2014, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1955-56/696098 "2014-08-21T15:39:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2014, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1955-56/696098/1 "2014-08-21T15:39:56Z")
So, for a couple years now, I’ve been doing an end-of-the-year poll of all the songs to hit #1 on the Billboard charts that year, to find out which ones the Teeming Millions thought stood above the rest. I’ve been getting itchy waiting for the end of the year to do another one, so in the meantime I thought it’d be fun to start a year-by-year retrospective of every song to hit #1 in the history of the Hot 100, and take a look at what popular songs of yesteryear have stood the test of time and which have been forgotten. I’m using the Hot 100 because it’s the oldest and best recognized of the various music charts published in the US, and if it was good enough for Casey Kasem, it’s good enough for the Dope. The Hot 100 launched in November 1955 (though it was called the _Top_ 100 until 1958), so we’ll start there and lump the end of '55 in with '56, and I’ll start a new poll for each passing year every week or so or until people lose interest. That being said, the above options are the songs that were the most popular in America in 1955 and 1956. Which one is your favorite? Previous polls: [2012](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=675664) [2013](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=710843) ---
**Author:** ![dba\_Fred](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c37758/32.png) [@dba\_Fred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dba_Fred)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2014, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1955-56/696098/2 "2014-08-21T16:03:28Z")
I recognize most of the songs, enough to sing a snippet in my head. I went with _Green Door_ over _Singing The Blues_ in a fun/catchy showdown. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2014, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1955-56/696098/3 "2014-08-21T16:09:54Z")
_Sixteen Tons_, without a doubt. Beautiful, informative, nice beat, great words. ---
**Author:** ![Ruby\_Slippers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/94ad74/32.png) [@Ruby\_Slippers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruby_Slippers)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2014, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1955-56/696098/4 "2014-08-21T16:17:38Z")
I voted for _Wayward Wind_. No particular reason, I just liked it. I do remember the weeks when _Green Door_ ruled the weekly TV show, _Your Hit Parade_. Each week they came up with something different behind the green door. Since it was still number 1 on New Years Eve, it was the baby new year behind the door that week. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2014, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1955-56/696098/5 "2014-08-21T16:35:14Z")
The greatest song on that list is the one that happened to be #1 on the day I was born–“Heartbreak Hotel.” ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2014, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1955-56/696098/6 "2014-08-21T16:59:04Z")
I took the Platters, just ahead of “Don’t Be Cruel.” ---
**Author:** ![Gordon\_Urquhart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/db5fbb/32.png) [@Gordon\_Urquhart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gordon_Urquhart)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2014, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1955-56/696098/7 "2014-08-21T17:02:28Z")
It’s a tough list from which to choose just one: three highly influential songs from Elvis alone, and my favorite Dino song … hmmm. Definitely a transition year from crooners to rock & roll. I have to go with “Heartbreak Hotel” – it just paved the way for so much that came after it. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2014, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1955-56/696098/8 "2014-08-21T17:29:59Z")
All this was before my time. Still, I picked “Heartbreak Hotel” slightly over “Sixteen Tons”. Didn’t “Hound Dog” came out in 1956? I would’ve voted for that one if it had been on the list. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2014, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1955-56/696098/9 "2014-08-21T17:45:32Z")
> [@NDP](#): > > All this was before my time. Still, I picked “Heartbreak Hotel” slightly over “Sixteen Tons”. > > Didn’t “Hound Dog” came out in 1956? I would’ve voted for that one if it had been on the list. It did, but it only made it to #2 on the Hot 100. It did score #1 on the sales chart and the jukebox chart, and it also made #1 on the Cash Box chart, but on the overall chart it was stuck behind “My Prayer” and “Don’t Be Cruel”. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2014, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1955-56/696098/10 "2014-08-21T17:47:41Z")
The Platters, hands down. A great R&B group with a gifted lead singer in Tony Williams, whose gorgeous vocals in songs like _[Only You](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FygIKsnkCw)_ and _[Smoke Gets In Your Eyes](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2di83WAOhU)_ stand the test of time. ---
**Author:** ![Waterman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b2d939/32.png) [@Waterman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waterman)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2014, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1955-56/696098/11 "2014-08-21T18:25:08Z")
A little off subject, but back in the early 80’s I made one 90 minute cassette tape for each year of the Billboard Top & Hot 100 Songs for the period of 1955 to 1979 (1974 and 1975 wouldn’t fit on a single tape so the extras for both years were put on a second tape). Any additional space on each tape was filled using top ten songs from that same year. The most surprising years, to me, are the tapes from the 50’s and their mix of pop, rock and novelty songs and 1966, which had the pro-war and protest songs mixed in. I see that **Smapti’s** list of songs agrees with what I had for 1955/56. Look forward to your remaining posts. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2014, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1955-56/696098/12 "2014-08-21T19:24:06Z")
Not a single vote yet for Guy Mitchell, and his tune spent ten weeks at number one --a record that wouldn’t be broken until Olivia Newton John’s “Physical.” And “Rock Around the Clock?” Where’s that? ETA: I see. It was June 1955. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2014, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1955-56/696098/13 "2014-08-21T19:28:41Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Not a single vote yet for Guy Mitchell, and his tune spent ten weeks at number one --a record that wouldn’t be broken until Olivia Newton John’s “Physical.” > > And “Rock Around the Clock?” Where’s that? I loved that song when it came out, but most popular doesn’t mean best, IMO. It was good rock-a-billy music and in my register, so I could really belt it. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2014, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1955-56/696098/14 "2014-08-21T19:32:21Z")
Tough choice, but I went with _ **Great Pretender** _. I love The Platters! 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2014, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1955-56/696098/15 "2014-08-21T19:36:07Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Not a single vote yet for Guy Mitchell, and his tune spent ten weeks at number one --a record that wouldn’t be broken until Olivia Newton John’s “Physical.” I just checked it out on Youtube and I can’t ever recall hearing it played on the Oldies stations when I was growing up. Either it wasn’t a frequent part of their play lists or the song failed to leave any kind of impression on me. It’s not a bad song but I’d rather listen to most of the other songs listed on the poll. Honestly, I really can’t just pick one song. I love “16 Tons” because it’s got a good tune and touches on issues that are still relevant today but I couldn’t really pick it over many of the others. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2014, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1955-56/696098/16 "2014-08-21T21:20:14Z")
I keep “16 Tons” on my playlist. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2014, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1955-56/696098/17 "2014-08-21T22:23:33Z")
I saw the list, expecting to vote for HH. However, decided to listen to the songs I didn’t recognize/know and, WOW, “16 Tons” is a great song! So it got my vote - sorry, Elvis. His reputation and influence doesn’t depend upon my vote in this thread, so I didn’t feel too bad. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Waterman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b2d939/32.png) [@Waterman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waterman)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2014, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1955-56/696098/18 "2014-08-21T23:26:03Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Not a single vote yet for Guy Mitchell, and his tune spent ten weeks at number one --a record that wouldn’t be broken until Olivia Newton John’s “Physical.” Not to nitpick but _Singing the Blues_ was #1 on the Top 100 charts for 9 weeks (from Dec 8, 1956 to Feb 2, 1957), which was also the same duration as _Mack the Knife_ for Darin in 1959 and _Theme from a Summer Place_ for Percy Faith & Orch in 1960. _You Light Up My Life_ by Debby Boone in 1977 and _Physical_ in 1981/1982 were both #1 for 10 weeks. This was next topped by _End of the Road_ by Boyz to Men at 13 weeks in 1992 and then quickly displaced by _I Will Always Love You_ by Whitney Houston at 14 weeks in 1992/1993 and, for the same duration, by Boyz to Men with _I’ll Make Love to You_ in 1994 and then beaten by Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men in 1995/1996 with _One Sweet Day_ at 16 weeks which still remains as the record. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2014, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1955-56/696098/19 "2014-08-22T05:44:52Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > I took the Platters, just ahead of “Don’t Be Cruel.” This. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2014, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1955-56/696098/20 "2014-08-22T05:51:58Z")
> [@scabpicker](#): > > _Sixteen Tons_, without a doubt. Beautiful, informative, nice beat, great words. Oh, you guys are talking about “Company Store”! Yeah, that’s a good one. When I was a ten-year-old at summer camp, I wondered what rock group played that closing slow-dance song “Makes Me Wonder.” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1955-56/696098.md?page=2)