The musical landscape of 1958
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 2 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 18 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 1958
| Rank | Song | Artist | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Volare | Domenico Modugno | Spotify ↗ |
| 2 | All I Have to Do Is Dream | The Everly Brothers | Spotify ↗ |
| 3 | Dont | Elvis Presley | Spotify ↗ |
| 4 | Witch Doctor | David Seville | Spotify ↗ |
| 5 | Patricia | Perez Prado | Spotify ↗ |
| 6 | Sail Along Silvry Moon | Billy Vaughn | Spotify ↗ |
| 7 | Catch a Falling Star | Perry Como | Spotify ↗ |
| 8 | Tequila | The Champs | Spotify ↗ |
| 9 | Its All in the Game | Tommy Edwards | Spotify ↗ |
| 10 | Hes Got the Whole World in His Hands | Laurie London | Spotify ↗ |
| 11 | Twilight Time | The Platters | Spotify ↗ |
| 12 | At the Hop | Danny and the Juniors | Spotify ↗ |
| 13 | The Purple People Eater | Sheb Wooley | Spotify ↗ |
| 14 | Hard Headed Woman | Elvis Presley | Spotify ↗ |
| 15 | Bird Dog | The Everly Brothers | Spotify ↗ |
| 16 | To Know Him Is to Love Him | The Teddy Bears | Spotify ↗ |
| 17 | Return to Me | Dean Martin | Spotify ↗ |
| 18 | Its Only Make Believe | Conway Twitty | Spotify ↗ |
| 19 | Get a Job | The Silhouettes | Spotify ↗ |
| 20 | Sugartime | The McGuire Sisters | Spotify ↗ |
Build a 1958 playlist
Start with “Volare” by Domenico Modugno, 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.