A decade of Motown, Beatlemania, and a dance craze that swept the world. Ranked by cumulative Billboard Hot 100 performance, these are the singles that defined the 1960s on the American charts.
The full ranking
A decade of Motown, Beatlemania, and a dance craze that swept the world. Ranked by cumulative Billboard Hot 100 performance, these are the singles that defined the 1960s on the American charts.
The Twist (Chubby Checker)
The biggest Hot 100 hit of the decade, and the only single ever to reach No. 1 in two separate chart runs, in 1960 and again in 1962, powered by the worldwide dance craze it launched.
Hey Jude (The Beatles)
It spent nine weeks at No. 1, then a record for the longest Hot 100 chart-topping run of the 1960s, and remains one of the Beatles' biggest American singles.
Theme from A Summer Place (Percy Faith)
A rare instrumental No. 1, it ruled the Hot 100 for nine weeks and won the Grammy for Record of the Year.
Tossin' and Turnin' (Bobby Lewis)
It spent seven weeks at No. 1 and was Billboard's No. 1 single for all of 1961.
I Want to Hold Your Hand (The Beatles)
The Beatles' first American No. 1 spent seven weeks atop the chart and ignited Beatlemania in the United States.
I'm a Believer (The Monkees)
Written by Neil Diamond, it spent seven weeks at No. 1 and was one of the best-selling singles of the decade.
Aquarius / Let the Sunshine In (The 5th Dimension)
The medley from the musical Hair spent six weeks at No. 1 and won the Grammy for Record of the Year.
Sugar, Sugar (The Archies)
A four-week No. 1 credited to a fictional cartoon band, it became one of the defining bubblegum-pop hits of the era.
I Heard It Through the Grapevine (Marvin Gaye)
It spent seven weeks at No. 1 and became one of Motown's signature recordings.
Are You Lonesome Tonight? (Elvis Presley)
A six-week No. 1, it was one of two Elvis chart-toppers from 1960 alone.
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