TOP 100 DANCE HITS
OF THE '50S AND '60S

1. The Twist - Chubby Checker - 1960, 1962
2. The Tennessee Waltz - Patti Page - 1951
3. Blue Tango - Leroy Anderson - 1952
4. Till I Waltz Again With You - Teresa Brewer - 1953
5. Rock and Roll Waltz - Kay Starr - 1956
6. Peppermint Twist - Joey Dee and the Starliters - 1962
7. Save the Last Dance For Me - The Drifters - 1960
8. Pony Time - Chubby Checker - 1961
9. Tighten Up - Archie Bell and the Drells - 1968
10. Monster Mash - Bobby (Boris) Pickett - 1962
11. Limbo Rock - Chubby Checker - 1962
12. The Loco-Motion - Little Eva - 1962
13. Dance With Me Henry (Wallflower) - Georgia Gibbs - 1955
14. Mashed Potato Time - Dee Dee Sharp - 1962
15. Bristol Stomp - The Dovells - 1961
16. Dancing in the Street - Martha and the Vandellas - 1964
17. The Stroll - The Diamonds - 1958
18. The Wah-Watusi - The Orlons - 1962
19. Twist and Shout - The Beatles - 1964
20. Papa Loves Mambo - Perry Como - 1954
21. Do You Want to Dance - Bobby Freeman - 1958
22. Let the Little Girl Dance - Billy Bland - 1961
23. You Can't Sit Down - The Dovells - 1963
24. Slow Twistin' - Chubby Checker with Dee Dee Sharp - 1962
25. Shotgun - Jr. Walker and the All Stars - 1965
26. Let's Dance - Chris Montez - 1962
27. Let's Twist Again - Chubby Checker - 1961
28. Rhumba Boogie - Hank Snow - 1951
29. Keep On Dancing - The Gentrys - 1965
30. Loop De Loop - Johnny Thunder - 1963
31. Takes Two to Tango - Pearl Bailey - 1952
32. Boogaloo Down Broadway - The Fantastic Johnny C - 1967
33. Ride! - Dee Dee Sharp - 1962
34. The Walk - Jimmy McCracklin - 1958
35. Blame it on the Bossa Nova - Eydie Gorme - 1963
36. Blue Tango - Hugo Winterhalter - 1952
37. C'mon and Swim - Bobby Freeman - 1964
38. Baby Workout - Jackie Wilson - 1963
39. Cool Jerk - The Capitols - 1966
40. Barefootin' - Robert Parker - 1966
41. The Jerk - The Larks - 1964
42. Land of 1000 Dances - Wilson Pickett - 1966
43. Nobody But Me - The Human Beinz - 1968
44. Dance to the Music - Sly and the Family Stone - 1968
45. Willie and the Hand Jive - The Johnny Otis Show - 1958
46. The Fly - Chubby Checker - 1961
47. Dear Lady Twist - Gary (U.S.) Bonds - 1962
48. Shake - Sam Cooke - 1965
49. Tennessee Waltz - Les Paul and Mary Ford - 1951
50. Twistin' the Night Away - Sam Cooke - 1962
51. The Monkey Time - Major Lance - 1963
52. Mambo Baby - Ruth Brown - 1954
53. Mickey's Monkey - The Miracles - 1963
54. Dance, Dance, Dance - The Beach Boys - 1964
55. The Wallflower - Etta James - 1955
56. Mambo Italiano - Rosemary Clooney - 1954
57. I Can't Stop Dancing - Archie Bell and the Drells - 1968
58. Twist, Twist Señora - Gary (U.S.) Bonds - 1962
59. Get On Up - The Esquires - 1967
60. They Were Doin' the Mambo - Vaughn Monroe - 1954
61. (Dance With The) Guitar Man - Duane Eddy - 1962
62. Pata Pata - Miriam Makeba - 1967
63. The Duck - Jackie Lee - 1966
64. Dance With Me - The Drifters - 1959
65. Twist and Shout - The Isley Brothers - 1962
66. Twine Time - Alvin Cash and the Crawlers - 1965
67. The Cha-Cha-Cha - Bobby Rydell - 1962
68. Do the Bird - Dee Dee Sharp - 1963
69. The Hucklebuck - Chubby Checker - 1960
70. Dance On Little Girl - Paul Anka - 1961
71. I'll Never Dance Again - Bobby Rydell - 1962
72. Dancin' Party - Chubby Checker - 1962
73. Sway - Bobby Rydell - 1960
74. The Twist - Hank Ballard and the Midnighters - 1960
75. Do You Wanna Dance? - The Beach Boys - 1966
76. Sway - Dean Martin - 1954
77. The Wedding Samba - Edmundo Ros - 1950
78. Shimmy, Shimmy, Ko-Ko Bop - Little Anthony and the
    Imperials - 1960
79. Carioca - Les Paul - 1951
80. Mambo Rock - Bill Haley and his Comets - 1955
81. Foot Stomping - The Flares - 1961
82. When You Dance - The Turbans - 1955
83. Do the Freddie - Freddie and the Dreamers - 1965
84. Crossfire! - The Orlons - 1963
85. The Madison - Al Brown's Tunetoppers - 1960
86. Let's Limbo Some More - Chubby Checker - 1963
87. Let's Turkey Trot - Little Eva - 1963
88. The Hoochi Coochi Coo - Hank Ballard and the
    Midnighters - 1961
89. Hully Gully Baby - The Dovells - 1962
90. Land of 1000 Dances - Cannibal and the
    Headhunters - 1965
91. The Matador - Major Lance - 1964
92. Rock-A-Hula Baby - Elvis Presley - 1961
93. The Cinnamon Cinder - The Pastel Six - 1963
94. Shake a Tail Feather - James and Bobby Purify - 1967
95. The Last Waltz - Engelbert Humperdinck - 1967
96. Do the Clam - Elvis Presley - 1965
97. Everybody Likes to Cha Cha Cha - Sam Cooke - 1959
98. The Watusi - The Vibrations - 1961
99. The Push and Kick - Mark Valentino - 1962
100. The Freeze - Tony and Joe - 1958

Songs about specific dances comprise the majority of this list; songs on the subject of dancing are also included. Rankings are based on the popularity of each song during the period of 1950 through 1969. The Twist is the most popular of all dances, with ten hits represented. The Waltz and the Mambo each have five, followed by the Tango with three.

Chubby Checker is the leading purveyor of dance with nine hits on the list. Dee Dee Sharp is next with four, followed by The Dovells and Sam Cooke with three apiece. Dance music hit its stride in the early 1960s; 1962, the year the Twist was at its peak, is tops by far with 20 hits on the list.

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