Billboard Hot 100 #1 Hits of 1961

There were 22 different songs that reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1961. Given the artist and their respective issue dates, can you name every song?

The weeks are listed as "issue date," meaning the song was at #1 when the list was published on that Saturday

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Last updated: May 28, 2026

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First submitted	May 28, 2026
Times taken	3
Average score	69.2%
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Issue Date	#1 Hit	Artist
January 2	Are You Lonesome Tonight?	Elvis Presley
January 9	Wonderland By Night	Bert Kaempfert
January 16
January 23
January 30	Will You Love Me Tomorrow	The Shirelles
February 6	Will You Love Me Tomorrow	The Shirelles
February 13	Calcutta	Lawrence Welk
February 20	Calcutta	Lawrence Welk
February 27	Pony Time	Chubby Checker
March 6
March 13
March 20	Surrender	Elvis Presley
March 27	Surrender	Elvis Presley
April 3	Blue Moon	The Marcels
April 10
April 17
April 24	Runaway	Del Shannon
May 1
May 8
May 15	Runaway	Del Shannon
May 22	Mother-in-Law	Ernie K-Doe
May 29	Travelin' Man	Ricky Nelson
June 5	Running Scared	Roy Orbison
June 12	Travelin' Man	Ricky Nelson
June 19	Moody River	Pat Boone
June 26	Quarter to Three	U.S. Bonds
July 3	Quarter to Three	U.S. Bonds
July 10	Tossin' and Turnin'	Bobby Lewis
July 17
July 24
July 31
August 7
August 14
August 21
August 28	Wooden Heart	Joe Dowell
September 4	Michael	The Highwaymen
September 11	Michael	The Highwaymen
September 18	Take Good Care of My Baby	Bobby Vee
September 25
October 2
October 9	Hit the Road Jack	Ray Charles
October 16	Hit the Road Jack	Ray Charles
October 23	Runaround Sue	Dion
October 30	Runaround Sue	Dion
November 6	Big Bad John	Jimmy Dean
November 13
November 20
November 27
December 4
December 11	Please Mr. Postman	The Marvelettes
December 18	The Lion Sleeps Tonight	The Tokens
December 25	The Lion Sleeps Tonight	The Tokens