Number One Adult Contemporary Hits of the 1960s

The following is a list of songs that spent the most weeks at #1 for each year on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart throughout the 1960s.

The Adult Contemporary chart made its debut in Billboard Magazine in 1961 and went through several name changes over the decades as follows: Easy Listening (1961–1962; 1965–1979), Middle-Road Singles (1962–1964), Pop-Standard Singles (1964–1965), Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks (1979–1982) and Adult Contemporary (1983–present).

1961

"Big Bad John" by Jimmy Dean (10 weeks at #1)

"Big Bad John" was not only a #1 hit on the East Listening chart but was also #1 on the Country chart (2 weeks) and the Top 100 Singles chart (5 weeks).

"Big Bad John" is a talk-sing sort of country-folk song like what one would have heard from Johnny Cash.

"The Boll Weevil Song" by Brook Benton was the song at #1 when the Easy Listening chart made its debut.

Other major Easy Listening hits of 1961 include: "Wooden Heart" by Joe Dowell, and "Michael, Row the Boat Ashore" by The Highwaymen.

1962

"Stranger on the Shore" by Acker Bilk (7 weeks)

The British clarinetist also took the instrumental to #1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart. It was the first song by a British musician to top the charts in the US.

Other major Easy Listening hits of 1962 include: "Can't Help Falling In Love" by Elvis Presley, "Don't Break The Heart That Loves You" by Connie Francis, "I Can't Stop Loving You" by Ray Charles, "Roses Are Red (My Love)" by Bobby Vinton, " Ramblin' Rose" by Nat King Cole, and "All Alone Am I" by Brenda Lee.

1963

"Blue Velvet" by Bobby Vinton (8 weeks)

"Blue Velvet" was first recorded in 1951 by Tony Bennett and reached the US Top 20. Several others have charted with the song, but it is Bobby Vinton's 1963 recording which remains the definitive version.

Other major Easy Listening hits of 1963 include: "Walk Right In" by the Rooftop Singers, "The End of the World" by Skeeter Davis, "Can't Get Used to Losing You" by Andy Williams, "Sukiyaki" by Kyu Sakamoto, "Blowin' in the Wind" by Peter, Paul & Mary, and "Dominique" by The Singing Nun.

1964

"Hello Dolly" by Louis Armstrong (9 weeks)

(*Rick Henry's Note: Louis Armstrong is such an endearing singer, musician, and performer. He is one of my all-time favorites. He's up there on my list of favorites alongside Pink Floyd, Esperanza Spalding, Brian Eno, Donna Summer, Led Zeppelin...)

The show tune "Hello Dolly" is a much-awarded song. It reached #1 on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart and became Armstrong's biggest hit single of his career. "Hello, Dolly!" won the Grammy Award for Song of the Year in 1965, and Armstrong received a Grammy for Best Vocal Performance, Male. Of course, the song was #1 for nine weeks on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart.

Other major Easy Listening hits of 1964 include: "There I've Said it Again" by Bobby Vinton, "Everybody Loves Somebody" by Dean Martin, "We'll Sing in the Sunshine" by Gale Garnett, and "Ringo" by Lorne Greene.

1965

"King of the Road" by Roger Miller (10 weeks)

(*Rick's Note: This is one of my favorite songs)

"King of the Road" was a major hit all the way around. If you were alive in 1965 you knew this song. It was #1 in the UK and Norway as well as Top 5 in the US, France, Holland, and Ireland. In Canada the song made it to #10. Besides being a #1 on the Easy Listening/ Adult Contemporary chart in the US it also was #1 on the Country music chart.

"King of the Road" made such a huge impression that later in 1965 country music singer Jody Miller released an answer song called "Queen of the House" which was a hit reaching #12 on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart and #5 on the Hot Country Singles chart. It also won a Grammy for Female Country Vocal Performance.

Other major Easy Listening hits of 1965 include: "Crying in the Chapel" by Elvis Presley, "You We're on My Mind" by We Five, "A Taste of Honey" by Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass, "Make the World Go Away” by Eddy Arnold.

1966

"Strangers in the Night" by Frank Sinatra (7 weeks)

At the age of 50 Frank Sinatra was experiencing a major career resurgence. "Strangers in the Night" was not only #1 on the Easy Listening/ Adult Contemporary chart but also zoomed to #1 on the all genre Hot 100 singles chart in the US. The song was his first Top 20 hit since 1957's "Witchcraft" and #1 hit since 1955's "Learnin' the Blues." "Strangers in the Night" went on to become one of Sinatra's signature hits.

In total Sinatra topped the Easy Listening/ Adult Contemporary with four songs; the others were: "It Was A Very Good Year," "Summer Wind," and the classic "That's Life."

Other major Easy Listening hits of 1966 include: "Spanish Eyes" by Al Martino, "The Ballad of the Green Berets" by Staff Sgt Barry Sadler, "Somewhere My Love" by the Ray Conniff Singers, "Born Free" by Roger Williams, "The Wheel of Hurt" by Margaret Whiting, and "Winchester Cathedral" by The New Vaudeville Band.

1967

"Somethin' Stupid" by Nancy Sinatra and Frank Sinatra (9 weeks)

(*Rick's Note: I love this song. The harmonies are super-smooth)

Frank Sinatra continued his resurgence into 1967 with "That's Life" placing an additional two weeks atop the Easy Listening/ Adult Contemporary chart and "The World We Knew (Over and Over)" topped 5he AC chart for 5 weeks. But his biggest hit of 1967 was this duet with his daughter Nancy Sinatra. "Somethin' Stupid" was an international #1 hit. It topped the charts almost everywhere around the world.

Not only was Frank's career super-hot at the moment but Nancy was also riding high. She topped the AC chart earlier in 1967 with "Sugar Town" which was #5 on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart. In 1966 she had her breakthrough with her worldwide mega-hit "These Boots are Made for Walkin'."

Other major Easy Listening hits of 1967 include: "My Cup Runneth Over" by Ed Ames, "Lady" by Jack Jones, "The World We Knew (Over and Over)" by Frank Sinatra, "When the Snow is on the Roses" by Ed Ames,

1968

"Love is Blue" by Paul Mauriat (11 weeks)

French orchestra leader, Paul Mauriat, hit it big with the instrumental "Love is Blue." The song became the unexpected sleeper hit of the year and has gone on to become one of the most popular instrumentals of all-time.

Other major Easy Listening hits of 1968 include: "This Guy's In Love With You" by Herb Alpert, "The Fool On The Hill" by Sergio Mendes and Brasil 66, and "Those Were the Days" by Mary Hopkin.

1969

"Love Theme from Romeo and Juliet" by Henry Mancini (8 weeks)

Composer, conductor, stranger, pianist, and flutist, Henry Mancini is often cited as one of the greatest film composers of all-time. He is best remembered for his composition and recording "The Pink Panther Theme." But as far as chart hits go his biggest hit is 1969's "Love Theme from Romeo and Juliet" which spent two weeks at #1 on the Hot 100 Singles chart in the US.

Other major Easy Listening hits of 1969 include: "I've Got to Be Me," "Galveston" by Glen Campbell, and "Jean" by Oliver.

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If you enjoyed this article, you might enjoy reading "Adult Contemporary Female Vocalists of the 1970's":

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