List of UK top-ten singles in 1956

The UK Singles Chart is one of many music charts compiled by the Official Charts Company that calculates the best-selling singles of the week in the United Kingdom.[1] Before 2004, the chart was only based on the sales of physical singles.[2][3] This list shows singles that peaked in the Top 10 of the UK Singles Chart during 1956, as well as singles which peaked in 1955 and 1957 but were in the top 10 in 1956. The entry date is when the single appeared in the top 10 for the first time (week ending, as published by the Official Charts Company, which is six days after the chart is announced).

1950s in music in the UK
Events
Pat Boone (pictured in 1960) had the best-selling single of 1956 with "I'll Be Home", topping the charts for five weeks and spending seventeen weeks in the top 10.
Dean Martin scored his only UK number-one single this year with "Memories Are Made of This", which spent four weeks at the top of the chart.
Johnnie Ray spent seven weeks at number-one with "Just Walking in the Rain", which also became the Christmas number-one of 1956.
Tennessee Ernie Ford was one of two artists to reach the top 10 with "The Ballad of Davy Crockett". His version peaked at number three in January, while Bill Hayes took it to number two in the same month. Ford also reached number-one with "Sixteen Tons" around the same time.

Eighty-four singles were in the top ten in 1956. Eight singles from 1955 remained in the top 10 for several weeks at the beginning of the year, while "Make It a Party" by Winifred Atwell, "Singing the Blues" by Guy Mitchell and "True Love" by Bing Crosby & Grace Kelly were all released in 1956 but did not reach their peak until 1957. "Meet Me on the Corner" by Max Bygraves, "Suddenly There's a Valley" by Petula Clark and "Twenty Tiny Fingers" by The Stargazers were the singles from 1955 to reach their peak in 1956. Eighteen artists scored multiple entries in the top 10 in 1956. Elvis Presley, Frankie Vaughan and Lonnie Donegan were among the many artists who achieved their first UK charting top 10 single in 1956.

The 1955 Christmas number-one, "Christmas Alphabet" by Dickie Valentine, remained at number-one for the first week of 1956. The first new number-one single of the year was "Sixteen Tons" by Tennessee Ernie Ford. Overall, eleven different singles peaked at number-one in 1956, with eleven unique artists having the most singles hit that position.

Background

Multiple entries

Eighty-four singles charted in the top 10 in 1956, with seventy-nine singles reaching their peak this year. The EP All Star Hit Parade consisted of six songs by different artists who are all credited for the individual songs but only counts as one entry in the table. Fourteen songs were recorded by several artists with each version reaching the top 10:

Eighteen artists scored multiple entries in the top 10 in 1956. Bill Haley & His Comets secured the record for most top 10 hits in 1956 with six hit singles.

Ronnie Hilton was one of a number of artists with two top-ten entries, including the number-one single "No Other Love". David Whitfield, Frank Sinatra, Jimmy Young, Perry Como and Tennessee Ernie Ford were among the other artists who had multiple top 10 entries in 1956.

Chart debuts

Thirty-six artists achieved their first top 10 single in 1956, either as a lead or featured artist. Of these, three went on to record another hit single that year: Dave King, The Goons and The Platters. Lonnie Donegan achieved two more chart hits in 1956. Elvis Presley had three other entries in his breakthrough year.

The following table (collapsed on desktop site) does not include acts who had previously charted as part of a group and secured their first top 10 solo single.

Artist Number of top 10s First entry Chart position Other entries
The George Chisholm Sour-Note Six 1 "Join In and Sing Again" 9 —
Bill Hayes 1 "The Ballad of Davy Crockett" 2 —
Lonnie Donegan 3 "Rock Island Line" 8 "Lost John"/"Stewball" (2), "Bring a Little Water, Sylvie"/"Dead or Alive" (7)
Eve Boswell 1 "Pickin' a Chicken" 9 —
Gary Miller 1 "Robin Hood" 10 —
Lou Busch 1 "Zambezi" 2 —
The Hilltoppers 1 "Only You (And You Alone)" 3 —
The Dream Weavers 1 "It's Almost Tomorrow" 1 —
Don Cherry 1 "Band of Gold" 6 —
Edmund Hockridge 1 "Young and Foolish" 10 —
Dave King 2 "Memories Are Made of This" 5 "No Other Love" (2)
The Keynotes 1 —
Jimmy Parkinson 1 "The Great Pretender" 9 —
Dick Hyman Trio 1 "Theme from The Threepenny Opera" 9 —
Billy May 1 "Main Title Theme from The Man with the Golden Arm" 9 —
Don Robertson 1 "The Happy Whistler" 8 —
Elvis Presley 4 "Heartbreak Hotel" 2 "Blue Moon", "Blue Suede Shoes" (9), "Hound Dog" (2)
Carl Perkins 1 "Blue Suede Shoes" 10 —
Morris Stoloff 1 "Moonglow and Theme from Picnic" 7 —
Johnny Dankworth 1 "Experiments with Mice" 7 —
Various Artists 1 "All Star Hit Parade (EP)" 2 —
The Goons 2 "I'm Walking Backwards for Christmas"/"Bluebottle Blues" 4 "The Ying Tong Song"/"Bloodnok's Rock 'N' Roll Call" (3)
Frankie Lymon 1 "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" 1 —
The Teenagers
Gogi Grant 1 "The Wayward Wind" 9 —
Tex Ritter 1 "The Wayward Wind" 8 —
Mel Tormé 1 "Mountain Greenery" 4 —
Anne Shelton 1 "Lay Down Your Arms" 1 —
The Chordettes 1 "Born to Be with You" 8 —
The Platters 2 "The Great Pretender"/"Only You (And You Alone)" 5 "My Prayer" (4)
The Jordanaires 1 "Hound Dog" 2 —
Freddie Bell and the Bellboys 1 "Giddy Up a Ding Dong" 4 —
Jim Lowe 1 "The Green Door" 8 —
The High Fives
Mitchell Torok 1 "When Mexico Gave Up the Rhumba" 6 —
Grace Kelly 1 "True Love" [A] 4 —
Notes

The EP All Star Hit Parade, which peaked at number two in July, featured the following songs: "Out of Town" by Dickie Valentine; "My September Love" by Joan Regan; "Theme from The Threepenny Opera" by Winifred Atwell; "No Other Love" by Dave King; "A Tear Fell" by Lita Roza and "It's Almost Tomorrow" by David Whitfield. Dave King was the only artist from this set who had not recorded a top 10 single until this year but he appeared in the chart earlier in the year with "Memories Are Made of This", a number five entry in March.

Songs from films

Original songs from various films entered the top 10 throughout the year. These included "Rock-A-Beatin' Boogie", "Only You (And You Alone)" & "The Great Pretender" (The Platters versions), "See You Later, Alligator" and "Giddy Up a Ding Dong" (all from Rock Around the Clock), "(Love Is) The Tender Trap" (The Tender Trap), "The Main Title Theme from "The Man with the Golden Arm" (The Man with the Golden Arm), "Moonglow and Theme from Picnic" (Picnic), "Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be)" (The Man Who Knew Too Much), "A Woman in Love" (Guys and Dolls), "Rip It Up" (Don't Knock the Rock) and "True Love" (High Society) .

Additionally, several versions of The Ballad of Davy Crockett entered the chart as part of the "Crockett craze", inspired by the 1955 Disney film Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier. Elvis Presley re-recorded his song "Blue Suede Shoes" for the 1960 film he starred in, G.I. Blues. "Hound Dog" was first recorded by Bill Haley & His Comets and featured in Rock Around the Clock, but Elvis Presley took the song into the top ten. Mel Torme's "Mountain Greenery" was a cover of a song that appeared in the 1948 film Words and Music. "My Prayer" by The Platters was originally recorded by Vera Lynn for the 1944 film "One Exciting Night".

Best-selling singles

Until 1970 there was no universally recognised year-end best-sellers list. However in 2011 the Official Charts Company released a list of the best-selling single of each year in chart history from 1952 to date. According to the list, "I'll Be Home" by Pat Boone is officially recorded as the biggest-selling single of 1956.

Top-ten singles
Key
Symbol Meaning
‡ Single peaked in 1955 but still in chart in 1956.
♦ Single released in 1956 but peaked in 1957.
(#) Year-end best-selling single.
Entered The date that the single first appeared in the chart.
Peak Highest position that the single reached in the UK Singles Chart.
Entered
(week ending)		 Weeks
in
top
10		 Single Artist Peak Peak reached
(week ending)		 Weeks
at
peak
Singles in 1955
27 October 1955 20 "Rock Around the Clock" ‡ [B] Bill Haley & His Comets 1 1 December 1955 5
17 November 1955 9 "Let's Have a Ding Dong" ‡ Winifred Atwell 3 8 December 1955 1
1 December 1955 11 "Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing" ‡ The Four Aces featuring Al Alberts 2 1 December 1955 2
8 "Twenty Tiny Fingers" The Stargazers 4 12 January 1956 1
8 December 1955 6 "Christmas Alphabet" ‡ Dickie Valentine 1 22 December 1955 3
8 "Meet Me on the Corner" Max Bygraves 2 12 January 1956 1
15 December 1955 5 "Suddenly There's a Valley" Petula Clark 7 12 January 1956 1
29 December 1955 3 "Hawkeye" ‡ Frankie Laine 7 29 December 1955 2
Singles in 1956
5 January 1956 1 "Join In and Sing Again" The Johnston Brothers & The George Chisholm Sour-Note Six 9 5 January 1956 1
3 "Never Do a Tango with an Eskimo" Alma Cogan 6 12 January 1956 2
12 January 1956 6 "Rock-A-Beatin' Boogie" Bill Haley & His Comets 4 19 January 1956 2
19 January 1956 8 "Sixteen Tons" Tennessee Ernie Ford 1 26 January 1956 4
7 "The Ballad of Davy Crockett" Bill Hayes 2 26 January 1956 3
6 "Love and Marriage (from Our Town)" Frank Sinatra 3 26 January 1956 1
26 January 1956 4 "The Ballad of Davy Crockett" Tennessee Ernie Ford 3 2 February 1956 1
8 "(Love Is) The Tender Trap" Frank Sinatra 2 16 February 1956 1
6 "Rock Island Line" [C] The Lonnie Donegan Skiffle Group 8 9 February 1956 2
2 February 1956 1 "Sixteen Tons" Frankie Laine with The Mellomen 10 2 February 1956 1
9 February 1956 1 "Pickin' a Chicken" Eve Boswell 9 9 February 1956 1
1 "Robin Hood" Gary Miller 10 9 February 1956 1
16 February 1956 12 "Memories Are Made of This" Dean Martin 1 23 February 1956 4
12 "Zambezi" Lou Busch & His Orchestra 2 1 March 1956 4
14 "Only You (And You Alone)" The Hilltoppers 3 17 May 1956 1
23 February 1956 14 "It's Almost Tomorrow" The Dream Weavers 1 22 March 1956 3
17 "Rock and Roll Waltz" Kay Starr 1 5 April 1956 1
6 "Band of Gold" Don Cherry 6 8 March 1956 1
1 March 1956 1 "Dreams Can Tell a Lie" Nat King Cole 10 1 March 1956 1
8 March 1956 2 "Young and Foolish" Edmund Hockridge 10 8 March 1956 2
15 March 1956 8 "Memories Are Made of This" Dave King with The Keynotes 5 15 March 1956 3
8 "See You Later Alligator" [D] Bill Haley & His Comets 7 22 March 1956 3
22 March 1956 3 "The Great Pretender" [E] Jimmy Parkinson 9 12 April 1956 1
29 March 1956 11 "The Poor People of Paris" Winifred Atwell 1 19 April 1956 3
3 "Chain Gang" Jimmy Young 9 29 March 1956 2
5 April 1956 3 "Theme from The Threepenny Opera" [F] Dick Hyman Trio 9 19 April 1956 3
26 April 1956 13 "My September Love" David Whitfield 3 24 May 1956 1
3 May 1956 11 "No Other Love (from Me and Juliet)" Ronnie Hilton 1 10 May 1956 6
10 "A Tear Fell" Teresa Brewer 2 31 May 1956 1
10 May 1956 1 "A Theme from The Threepenny Opera (Mack the Knife)" Louis Armstrong with His All-Stars 8 10 May 1956 1
4 "Main Title Theme from The Man with the Golden Arm" Billy May 9 10 May 1956 2
17 May 1956 11 "Lost John"/"Stewball" Lonnie Donegan 2 7 June 1956 3
17 "I'll Be Home" (#1) Pat Boone 1 21 June 1956 5
24 May 1956 3 "The Happy Whistler" Don Robertson 8 24 May 1956 1
31 May 1956 16 "Heartbreak Hotel" Elvis Presley 2 28 June 1956 2
7 June 1956 9 "The Saints Rock 'N' Roll" [G] Bill Haley & His Comets 5 12 July 1956 1
14 June 1956 9 "Hot Diggity (Dog Ziggity Boom)" Perry Como 4 28 June 1956 1
4 "Blue Suede Shoes" Elvis Presley 9 21 June 1956 1
21 June 1956 1 "Blue Suede Shoes" Carl Perkins 10 21 June 1956 1
28 June 1956 1 "Moonglow and Theme from Picnic" Morris Stoloff conducting the Columbia Pictures Orchestra 7 28 June 1956 1
5 July 1956 1 "Too Young to Go Steady" Nat King Cole 8 5 July 1956 1
4 "Experiments with Mice" Johnny Dankworth & His Orchestra 7 19 July 1956 2
12 July 1956 5 "All Star Hit Parade (EP)" [H] Dickie Valentine, Joan Regan, Winifred Atwell, Dave King, Lita Roza & David Whitfield 2 19 July 1956 1
5 "I'm Walking Backwards for Christmas"/"Bluebottle Blues" The Goons 4 19 July 1956 1
19 July 1956 11 "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers 1 26 July 1956 3
2 "The Wayward Wind" Gogi Grant 9 19 July 1956 2
26 July 1956 12 "Walk Hand in Hand" Tony Martin 2 16 August 1956 1
4 "Who Are We" Ronnie Hilton 6 9 August 1956 1
2 August 1956 15 "Whatever Will Be, Will Be (Que Sera, Sera)" Doris Day 1 16 August 1956 6
5 "The Wayward Wind" Tex Ritter 8 9 August 1956 2
9 August 1956 9 "A Sweet Old Fashioned Girl" Teresa Brewer 3 23 August 1956 3
8 "Mountain Greenery" Mel Tormé 4 16 August 1956 1
23 August 1956 14 "Rockin' Through the Rye" Bill Haley & His Comets 3 27 September 1956 1
30 August 1956 2 "Serenade" Slim Whitman 8 6 September 1956 1
13 September 1956 11 "Lay Down Your Arms" Anne Shelton 1 27 September 1956 4
1 "Born to Be with You" The Chordettes 8 13 September 1956 1
20 September 1956 7 "The Great Pretender"/"Only You (And You Alone)" The Platters 5 27 September 1956 2
6 "The Ying Tong Song"/"Bloodnok's Rock 'N' Roll Call" The Goons 3 4 October 1956 1
7 "Bring a Little Water, Sylvie"/"Dead or Alive" Lonnie Donegan 7 4 October 1956 2
4 October 1956 17 "Hound Dog" [I] Elvis Presley with The Jordanaires 2 1 November 1956 3
14 "A Woman in Love (from Guys and Dolls)" Frankie Laine with Percy Faith & His Orchestra 1 25 October 1956 4
11 October 1956 6 "Giddy Up a Ding Dong" Freddie Bell and the Bellboys 4 25 October 1956 2
1 November 1956 14 "Just Walking in the Rain" Johnnie Ray 1 22 November 1956 7
8 November 1956 9 "My Prayer" The Platters 4 15 November 1956 3
6 "More" Jimmy Young 4 22 November 1956 2
15 November 1956 1 "More" Perry Como 10 15 November 1956 1
22 November 1956 9 "Rip It Up" Bill Haley & His Comets 4 13 December 1956 2
1 "The Green Door" Jim Lowe & The High Fives 8 22 November 1956 1
12 "The Green Door" Frankie Vaughan 2 13 December 1956 3
29 November 1956 2 "When Mexico Gave Up the Rhumba" Mitchell Torok 6 29 November 1956 1
3 "Blue Moon" Elvis Presley 9 29 November 1956 3
13 "St. Therese of the Roses" Malcolm Vaughan 3 20 December 1956 4
13 December 1956 19 "True Love (from High Society)"♦ Bing Crosby & Grace Kelly 4 14 February 1957 1
20 December 1956 17 "Singing the Blues" ♦ Guy Mitchell 1 10 January 1957 3
9 "Cindy, Oh Cindy" Eddie Fisher 5 27 December 1956 2
27 December 1956 2 "Make It a Party" ♦ Winifred Atwell 7 3 January 1957 1

Entries by artist
See also: List of UK Singles Chart number ones of the 1950s § 1956
Elvis Presley made his UK top 10 debut in 1956 with four singles making the countdown. "Heartbreak Hotel" and "Hound Dog" both peaked at number two, while "Blue Moon" and "Blue Suede Shoes" landed at number nine.
US singer and actor Tony Martin reached number two in the UK in August with "Walk Hand in Hand", which spent 12 weeks in the top 10.
American vocal quartet The Hilltoppers spent 14 weeks in the UK top 10 in 1956 with their cover version of "Only You (And You Alone)", which peaked at number three.

The following table shows artists who achieved two or more top 10 entries in 1956, including singles that reached their peak in 1955 or 1957. The figures include both main artists and featured artists. The total number of weeks an artist spent in the top ten in 1956 is also shown.

Entries Artist Country of origin Weeks Singles
6 Bill Haley & His Comets [J]  United States 56 "Rip It Up", "Rock-A-Beatin' Boogie", "Rock Around the Clock", "Rockin' Through the Rye", "See You Later Alligator", "The Saints Rock 'N' Roll"
4 Elvis Presley 35 "Blue Moon", "Blue Suede Shoes", "Heartbreak Hotel", "Hound Dog"
Winifred Atwell [J][K][L]  Trinidad and Tobago 19 "Let's Have a Ding Dong", "Make It a Party", "The Poor People of Paris", "Theme from The Threepenny Opera" (on All Star Hit Parade)
3 Frankie Laine [J]  United States 16 "A Woman in Love", "Hawkeye", "Sixteen Tons"
Lonnie Donegan  United Kingdom 24 "Bring a Little Water, Sylvie"/"Dead or Alive", "Lost John"/"Stewball", "Rock Island Line"
2 Dave King [L] 13 "Memories Are Made of This", "No Other Love" (on All Star Hit Parade)
David Whitfield [L] 18 "It's Almost Tomorrow" (on All Star Hit Parade), "My September Love"
Dickie Valentine [J][L] 7 "Christmas Alphabet", "Out of Town" (on All Star Hit Parade)
Frank Sinatra  United States 14 "Love and Marriage", "(Love Is) The Tender Trap"
The Goons  United Kingdom 11 "I'm Walking Backwards for Christmas"/"Bluebottle Blues", "The Ying Tong Song"/"Bloodnok's Rock 'N' Roll Call"
Jimmy Young 9 "Chain Gang", "More"
Nat King Cole  United States 2 "Dreams Can Tell a Lie", "Too Young to Go Steady"
Perry Como 10 "Hot Diggity (Dog Ziggity Boom)", "More"
The Platters 15 "My Prayer", "The Great Pretender"/"Only You (And You Alone)"
Ronnie Hilton  United Kingdom 15 "No Other Love", "Who Are We"
Tennessee Ernie Ford  United States 12 "Sixteen Tons", "The Ballad of Davy Crockett"
Teresa Brewer 19 "A Tear Fell", "A Sweet Old Fashioned Girl"

Notes
  • a "True Love" reached its peak of number four on 14 February 1957 (week ending).
  • b "Rock Around the Clock" re-entered the top 10 at number 8 on 18 October 1956 (week ending) for 5 weeks.
  • c "Rock Island Line" re-entered the top 10 at number 9 on 8 March 1956 (week ending) and at number 9 on 22 March 1956 (week ending).
  • d "See You Later Alligator" re-entered the top 10 at number 10 on 10 May 1956 (week ending).
  • e "The Great Pretender" (Jimmy Parkinson version) re-entered the top 10 at number 9 on 12 April 1956 (week ending) for 2 weeks.
  • f "Theme from The Threepenny Opera" (Dick Hyman Trio version) re-entered the top 10 at number 9 on 19 April 1956 (week ending) for 2 weeks.
  • g "The Saints Rock 'N' Roll" re-entered the top 10 at number 10 on 23 August 1956 week ending) and at number 10 on 6 September 1956 (week ending) for 2 weeks.
  • h "All Star Hit Parade (EP)" re-entered the top 10 at number 8 on 16 August 1956 (week ending).
  • i "Hound Dog" re-entered the top 10 at number 8 on 10 January 1957 (week ending) for 4 weeks and at number 10 on 14 February 1957 (week ending).
  • j Figure includes single that peaked in 1955.
  • k Figure includes single that peaked in 1957.
  • l Figures includes single that appeared on the "All Star Hit Parade" EP.

See also

References

General

  • "Six decades of singles charts". The Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on 3 March 2011. Retrieved 18 January 2018.

Specific

  1. "The Official UK Charts Company". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
  2. Roberts, David (2005). Guinness World Records: British Hit Singles and Albums (18th edition). Guinness World Records Limited. p. 14. ISBN 1-904994-00-8.
  3. "New singles formats to save the charts". BBC News. 16 October 2003. Retrieved 21 February 2010.
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