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1950s radio
1950s Music

1950s Radio Station broadcasting the very best in retro, vintage 50's music. Playing your favourite rock and roll, doo-wop, pop, swing, rhythm and blues, blues, Country music, rockabilly, and jazz music. The music that dominated and defined the decade. Vintage news items, adverts and historical soundbites from the decade that was the 1950's.

 

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The best rock and roll, doo-wop, pop, swing, rhythm and blues, blues, Country music, rockabilly, and jazz and much more... 64kbps Feed MP3
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The best music and old time radio programming from the 1950s. This is an aacPlus v2 encoded stream for improved listening quality. 128kbps Feed aac+
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Billboard number-one singles from 1950 to 1958

Billboard number-one singles charts preceding the Billboard Hot 100 were updated weekly by Billboard magazine and the leading indicator of popular music for the American music industry since 1940 and until the Billboard Hot 100 chart was established in 1958.

Before the Billboard Hot 100 chart was established in August 1958, Billboard used to publish several weekly charts. Throughout most of the 1950s, the magazine published the following three charts to measure a song's popularity:

  • Best Sellers in Stores – ranked the biggest selling singles in retail stores, as reported by merchants surveyed throughout the country.
  • Most Played by Jockeys – ranked the most played songs on United States radio stations, as reported by radio disc jockeys and radio stations.
  • Most Played in Jukeboxes – ranked the most played songs in jukeboxes across the United States. At that time, this chart used to be one of the most important channels for measuring the popularity of a song among the younger generation of listeners, as many US radio stations resisted adding rock and roll music to their playlists for many years.
  • The chart shown in this article comes from the Best Sellers in Stores chart only.
Reached number oneArtist(s)Single
1950
January 7, 1950Gene Autry"Rudolph, The Red-nosed Reindeer"
January 14, 1950The Andrews Sisters"I Can Dream, Can't I"
February 11, 1950The Ames Brothers"Rag Mop"
February 18, 1950Red Foley"Chattanoogie Shoe Shine Boy"
March 18, 1950Teresa Brewer"Music! Music! Music!"
April 15, 1950Eileen Barton"If I Knew You Were Comin' I'd've Baked a Cake"
April 29, 1950Anton Karas"The Third Man Theme"
July 15, 1950Nat King Cole"Mona Lisa"
August 19, 1950Gordon Jenkins and The Weavers"Goodnight Irene"♪ (1950)
November 18, 1950Sammy Kaye"Harbor Lights"
December 2, 1950Phil Harris"The Thing"
December 30, 1950Patti Page"The Tennessee Waltz"
1951
March 3, 1951Perry Como"If"
March 10, 1951Mario Lanza"Be My Love"
April 21, 1951Les Paul and Mary Ford"How High The Moon"
June 23, 1951Nat King Cole"Too Young"♪ (1951)
July 28, 1951Rosemary Clooney"Come On-a My House"
September 8, 1951Tony Bennett"Because Of You"
November 3, 1951Tony Bennett"Cold, Cold Heart"
December 15, 1951Eddy Howard"Sin (It's No Sin)"
December 29, 1951Johnnie Ray and The Four Lads"Cry"
1952
March 15, 1952Kay Starr"Wheel Of Fortune"
May 17, 1952Leroy Anderson"Blue Tango"♪ (1952)
June 21, 1952Al Martino"Here In My Heart"
July 5, 1952Percy Faith"Delicado"
July 12, 1952Vera Lynn"Auf Wiederseh'n Sweetheart"
September 13, 1952Jo Stafford"You Belong To Me"
October 18, 1952Patti Page"I Went To Your Wedding"
November 22, 1952Johnny Standley"It's In The Book (parts 1 & 2)"
November 29, 1952Joni James"Why Don't You Believe Me"
December 27, 1952Jimmy Boyd"I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus"
1953
January 10, 1953Perry Como"Don't Let the Stars Get in Your Eyes"
February 14, 1953Teresa Brewer"Till I Waltz Again With You"
March 21, 1953Patti Page"The Doggie In The Window"
May 16, 1953Percy Faith"The Song From Moulin Rouge (Where Is Your Heart)"♪ (1953)
July 25, 1953Eddie Fisher"I'm Walking Behind You"
August 8, 1953Les Paul and Mary Ford"Vaya Con Dios (May God Be With You)"
October 10, 1953Stan Freberg"St. George And The Dragonet"
November 21, 1953Tony Bennett"Rags To Riches"
1954
January 2, 1954Eddie Fisher"Oh! My Pa-pa (O Mein Papa)"
February 27, 1954Doris Day"Secret Love"
March 13, 1954Jo Stafford"Make Love To Me!"
April 10, 1954Perry Como"Wanted"
June 5, 1954Kitty Kallen"Little Things Mean A Lot"♪ (1954)
August 7, 1954The Crew Cuts"Sh-Boom"
September 25, 1954Rosemary Clooney"Hey There"
November 6, 1954Rosemary Clooney"This Ole House"
November 13, 1954Eddie Fisher"I Need You Now"
December 4, 1954The Chordettes"Mr. Sandman"
1955
January 22, 1955Joan Weber"Let Me Go, Lover!"
February 5, 1955The Fontane Sisters"Hearts Of Stone"
February 12, 1955The McGuire Sisters"Sincerely"
March 26, 1955Bill Hayes"The Ballad Of Davy Crockett"
April 30, 1955Pérez Prado"Cherry Pink And Apple Blossom White"♪ (1955)
July 9, 1955Bill Haley & His Comets"(We're Gonna) Rock Around The Clock"
September 3, 1955Mitch Miller"The Yellow Rose of Texas"
October 15, 1955The Four Aces"Love Is A Many Splendored Thing"
October 29, 1955Roger Williams"Autumn Leaves"
November 26, 1955Tennessee Ernie Ford"Sixteen Tons"
1956
January 14, 1956Dean Martin"Memories Are Made Of This"
February 18, 1956Kay Starr"Rock And Roll Waltz"
February 25, 1956Nelson Riddle"Lisbon Antigua"
March 24, 1956Les Baxter"Poor People Of Paris"
April 21, 1956Elvis Presley"Heartbreak Hotel"♪ (1956)
June 16, 1956Gogi Grant"The Wayward Wind"
July 28, 1956Elvis Presley"I Want You, I Need You, I Love You"
August 4, 1956The Platters"My Prayer"
August 18, 1956Elvis Presley"Don't Be Cruel" / "Hound Dog"
November 3, 1956Elvis Presley"Love Me Tender"
December 8, 1956Guy Mitchell"Singing The Blues"
1957
February 9, 1957Elvis Presley"Too Much"
March 2, 1957Tab Hunter"Young Love"
March 30, 1957Buddy Knox"Party Doll"
April 6, 1957Perry Como"Round And Round"
April 13, 1957Elvis Presley"All Shook Up"♪ (1957)
June 8, 1957Pat Boone"Love Letters In The Sand"
July 13, 1957Elvis Presley"(Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear"
August 31, 1957Debbie Reynolds"Tammy"
September 14, 1957Paul Anka"Diana"
September 28, 1957The Crickets"That'll Be The Day"
October 5, 1957Jimmie Rodgers"Honeycomb"
October 19, 1957The Everly Brothers"Wake Up Little Susie"
October 26, 1957Elvis Presley"Jailhouse Rock"/"Treat Me Nice"
December 7, 1957Sam Cooke"You Send Me"
December 28, 1957Pat Boone"April Love"
1958
January 11, 1958Danny & the Juniors"At The Hop"
February 15, 1958Elvis Presley"Don't"/"I Beg of You"
March 22, 1958The Champs"Tequila"
April 26, 1958The Platters"Twilight Time"
May 3, 1958David Seville"Witch Doctor"
May 17, 1958The Everly Brothers"All I Have To Do Is Dream"
June 14, 1958Sheb Wooley"The Purple People Eater"
July 26, 1958Elvis Presley"Hard Headed Woman"