The musical landscape of 1956
Popular music was balancing traditional pop, vocal harmony, country influence and the fast-growing force of rock and roll. Singles, jukeboxes, radio and television helped create a distinct youth market.
Elvis Presley appears 4 times in the Top 20, making the artist one of the clearest recurring presences in this year’s list.
What to listen for
Listen for the contrast between polished orchestral records, vocal-group harmonies and the sharper backbeat of early rock and roll.
This list contains 16 different credited artists. The number gives a quick indication of whether the year was concentrated among repeat hitmakers or spread across a wider field.
Billboard Year-End Top 20 songs of 1956
| Rank | Song | Artist | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Heartbreak Hotel | Elvis Presley | Spotify ↗ |
| 2 | Dont Be Cruel | Elvis Presley | Spotify ↗ |
| 3 | The Wayward Wind | Gogi Grant | Spotify ↗ |
| 4 | Lisbon Antigua | Nelson Riddle | Spotify ↗ |
| 5 | My Prayer | The Platters | Spotify ↗ |
| 6 | The Poor People of Paris | Les Baxter | Spotify ↗ |
| 7 | Whatever Will Be Will Be | Doris Day | Spotify ↗ |
| 8 | Hound Dog | Elvis Presley | Spotify ↗ |
| 9 | Rock and Roll Waltz | Kay Starr | Spotify ↗ |
| 10 | Memories Are Made of This | Dean Martin | Spotify ↗ |
| 11 | Moonglow and Theme from Picnic | Morris Stoloff | Spotify ↗ |
| 12 | The Great Pretender | The Platters | Spotify ↗ |
| 13 | I Almost Lost My Mind | Pat Boone | Spotify ↗ |
| 14 | Love Me Tender | Elvis Presley | Spotify ↗ |
| 15 | Hot Diggity | Perry Como | Spotify ↗ |
| 16 | Singing the Blues | Guy Mitchell | Spotify ↗ |
| 17 | Canadian Sunset | Hugo Winterhalter and Eddie Heywood | Spotify ↗ |
| 18 | Blue Suede Shoes | Carl Perkins | Spotify ↗ |
| 19 | The Green Door | Jim Lowe | Spotify ↗ |
| 20 | No Not Much | The Four Lads | Spotify ↗ |
Build a 1956 playlist
Start with “Heartbreak Hotel” by Elvis Presley, then alternate familiar high-ranking records with contrasting selections from the lower half of the list.
How this page should be used
Year-End charts summarize performance across an extended chart year. They are not simply a list of songs that reached number one, and historical methodology has changed. Treat this page as a guided listening resource and compact chart-history reference rather than a mathematical comparison with other eras.