The Billboard Hot 100 is a chart that ranks the best-performing songs in the United States. The chart was first issued in the magazine issue of August 4, 1958. Prior to that, Billboard published four popular song charts; the Top 100, the first Billboard chart to feature a combined tabulation of sales, airplay and jukebox play; Best Sellers in Stores, ranking the best-selling singles in retail stores; Most Played by Jockeys, ranking the most played songs on US radio stations; and the leading song chart, Honor Roll of Hits, which ranked the most popular songs (not singles) in the country. With the foundation of the Hot 100, Top 100 and Most Played by Jockeys were discontinued. Best Sellers in Stores continued until October 13, 1958, while Honor Roll of Hits continued until 1963.
In 1958, twenty-five different songs were able to top one of the four charts. A majority of the songs which topped the Best Sellers in Stores, which Billboard considered the predecessor of the Hot 100, were able to also top the two other singles-tracking charts. The first song to top all three charts was Danny & the Juniors' "At the Hop".
On the Hot 100, eight acts hit the top, which were also their first. Those acts include Ricky Nelson, Domenico Modugno, The Elegants, Tommy Edwards, Conway Twitty, The Kingston Trio, The Teddy Bears, and The Chipmunks (even though David Seville went to number one earlier this year with “Witch Doctor“, which hit prior to the creation of the Hot 100).
Pre-Hot 100
NOTE: The Hot 100 Era officially began on Monday, August 4, 1958, which would be the week ending August 10 (issue date August 4). The Best Sellers in Stores list issued through October 13.
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! Issue date
! Best Sellers in Stores
! Most Played by Jockeys
! Honor Roll of Hits
! Top 100
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|rowspan="3"|"At the Hop"<br><small>Danny & the Juniors</small>
|rowspan="4"|"At the Hop"<br><small>Danny & the Juniors</small>
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|rowspan="5"|"Don't"/I Beg of You"<br><small>Elvis Presley with The Jordanaires</small>
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|rowspan="4"|"Sugartime"<br><small>The McGuire Sisters with Neal Hefti</small>
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|rowspan="3"|""Sugartime"<br><small>The McGuire Sisters</small>
|rowspan="2"|"Get a Job"<br><small>The Silhouettes</small>
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|"Don't"<br><small>Elvis Presley with The Jordanaires</small>
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|rowspan="5"|"Tequila"<br><small>The Champs</small>
|"Don't"<br><small>Elvis Presley with The Jordanaires</small>
|"Catch a Falling Star"<br><small>Perry Como</small>
|rowspan="5"|"Tequila"<br><small>The Champs</small>
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|"Catch a Falling Star"<br><small>Perry Como with Mitchell Ayres and The Ray Charles Singers</small>
|rowspan="4"|"Tequila"<br><small>The Champs</small>
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|rowspan="2"|"Tequila"<br><small>The Champs</small>
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|rowspan="4"|"He's Got the Whole World in His Hands"<br><small>Laurie London with Geoff Love</small>
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|"Twilight Time"<br><small>The Platters</small>
|rowspan="2"|"He's Got the Whole World in His Hands"<br><small>Laurie London</small>
|"Twilight Time"<br><small>The Platters</small>
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|rowspan="2"|"Witch Doctor"<br><small>David Seville</small>
|rowspan="3"|"Witch Doctor"<br><small>David Seville</small>
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|rowspan="2"|"Witch Doctor"<br><small>David Seville</small>
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|rowspan="4"|"All I Have to Do Is Dream"/"Claudette"<br><small>The Everly Brothers</small>
|"Twilight Time"<br><small>The Platters</small>
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|rowspan="5"|"All I Have To Do Is Dream"<br><small>The Everly Brothers</small>
|rowspan="4"|"All I Have To Do Is Dream"<br><small>The Everly Brothers</small>
|rowspan="3"|"All I Have To Do Is Dream"<br><small>The Everly Brothers</small>
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|rowspan="6"|"The Purple People Eater"<br><small>Sheb Wooley</small>
|rowspan="6"|"The Purple People Eater"<br><small>Sheb Wooley</small>
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|rowspan="5"|"The Purple People Eater"<br><sup>Sheb Wooley</sup>
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|rowspan="4"|"The Purple People Eater"<br><sup>Sheb Wooley</sup>
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|rowspan="2"|"Hard Headed Woman"/"Don't Ask Me Why"<br><small>Elvis Presley with The Jordanaires</small>
|"Hard Headed Woman"<br><small>Elvis Presley with The Jordanaires</small>
|"Hard Headed Woman"<br><small>Elvis Presley</small>
|"Yakety Yak"<br><small>The Coasters</small>
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|"Patricia"<br><small>Pérez Prado and His Orchestra</small>
|rowspan="3"|"Patricia"<br><small>Pérez Prado and His Orchestra</small>
|"Patricia"<br><small>Pérez Prado and His Orchestra</small>
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|rowspan="2"|"Poor Little Fool"<br/>
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|rowspan="22"
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|"Volare (Nel blu dipinto di blu)"<br />
|rowspan="7"|"Volare (Nel blu dipinto di blu)"<br />
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|"Bird Dog"<br />
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|rowspan="4"|"Volare (Nel blu dipinto di blu)"<br />
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|rowspan="3"|"It's All in the Game"<br><small>Tommy Edwards</small>
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|rowspan="6"|"It's All in the Game"<br><small>Tommy Edwards</small>
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|"Tom Dooley"<br><small>The Kingston Trio</small>
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Hot 100
thumb
thumb|150px|[[Ricky Nelson's (pictured in 1966) "Poor Little Fool" was the first song to top the Billboard Hot 100.]]
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
|+Key
|style="background-color:#FFFF99"|
|Indicates best-performing single of 1958
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{|class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
! scope="col" style="width:2em;" |
! Issue date
!Song
!Artist(s)
!Reference
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|style="background-color:#EDEAE0;" rowspan="2"|1
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|rowspan="2"|"Poor Little Fool"
|rowspan="2"|Ricky Nelson
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|style="background-color:#EDEAE0;"|5
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|"It's Only Make Believe"
|Conway Twitty
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|style="background-color:#EDEAE0;"|6
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|"Tom Dooley"
|The Kingston Trio
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|style="background-color:#EDEAE0;"|re
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|"It's Only Make Believe"
|Conway Twitty
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|style="background-color:#EDEAE0;" rowspan="3"|7
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|rowspan="3"|"To Know Him Is to Love Him"
|rowspan="3"|The Teddy Bears
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|style="background-color:#EDEAE0;" rowspan="2"|8
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|rowspan="2"|"The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late)"
|rowspan="2"|The Chipmunks with David Seville
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|align="center"|
|- style="display:none;" <!-- Non-displayed row to fix table rendering. Without this, rowspan fails in the last row -->
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Number-one artists
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
|+ List of number-one artists by total weeks at number one
! Position
! Artist
! Weeks at No. 1
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| 1
| Tommy Edwards
| 6
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| 2
| Domenico Modugno
| 5
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| 3
| The Teddy Bears
| 3
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| rowspan=3| 4
| Ricky Nelson
| rowspan=3| 2
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| Conway Twitty
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| The Chipmunks with David Seville
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| rowspan=2| 7
| The Elegants
| rowspan=2| 1
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| The Kingston Trio
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See also
- 1958 in music
- Lists of Billboard number-one singles
- List of Billboard Hot 100 top-ten singles in 1958
- List of Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles from 1958 to 1969
References
Further reading
- Fred Bronson's Billboard Book of Number 1 Hits, 5th Edition ()