TOP 100 DANCE HITS
OF THE '50S AND '60S
- The Twist - Chubby Checker - 1960, 1962
- The Tennessee Waltz - Patti Page - 1951
- Blue Tango - Leroy Anderson - 1952
- Till I Waltz Again With You - Teresa Brewer - 1953
- Rock and Roll Waltz - Kay Starr - 1956
- Peppermint Twist - Joey Dee and the Starliters - 1962
- Save the Last Dance For Me - The Drifters - 1960
- Pony Time - Chubby Checker - 1961
- Tighten Up - Archie Bell and the Drells - 1968
- Monster Mash - Bobby (Boris) Pickett - 1962
- Limbo Rock - Chubby Checker - 1962
- The Loco-Motion - Little Eva - 1962
- Dance With Me Henry (Wallflower) - Georgia Gibbs - 1955
- Mashed Potato Time - Dee Dee Sharp - 1962
- Bristol Stomp - The Dovells - 1961
- Dancing in the Street - Martha and the Vandellas - 1964
- The Stroll - The Diamonds - 1958
- The Wah-Watusi - The Orlons - 1962
- Twist and Shout - The Beatles - 1964
- Papa Loves Mambo - Perry Como - 1954
- Do You Want to Dance - Bobby Freeman - 1958
- Let the Little Girl Dance - Billy Bland - 1961
- You Can't Sit Down - The Dovells - 1963
- Slow Twistin' - Chubby Checker with Dee Dee Sharp - 1962
- Shotgun - Jr. Walker and the All Stars - 1965
- Let's Dance - Chris Montez - 1962
- Let's Twist Again - Chubby Checker - 1961
- Rhumba Boogie - Hank Snow - 1951
- Keep On Dancing - The Gentrys - 1965
- Loop De Loop - Johnny Thunder - 1963
- Takes Two to Tango - Pearl Bailey - 1952
- Boogaloo Down Broadway - The Fantastic Johnny C - 1967
- Ride! - Dee Dee Sharp - 1962
- The Walk - Jimmy McCracklin - 1958
- Blame it on the Bossa Nova - Eydie Gorme - 1963
- Blue Tango - Hugo Winterhalter - 1952
- C'mon and Swim - Bobby Freeman - 1964
- Baby Workout - Jackie Wilson - 1963
- Cool Jerk - The Capitols - 1966
- Barefootin' - Robert Parker - 1966
- The Jerk - The Larks - 1964
- Land of 1000 Dances - Wilson Pickett - 1966
- Nobody But Me - The Human Beinz - 1968
- Dance to the Music - Sly and the Family Stone - 1968
- Willie and the Hand Jive - The Johnny Otis Show - 1958
- The Fly - Chubby Checker - 1961
- Dear Lady Twist - Gary (U.S.) Bonds - 1962
- Shake - Sam Cooke - 1965
- Tennessee Waltz - Les Paul and Mary Ford - 1951
- Twistin' the Night Away - Sam Cooke - 1962
- The Monkey Time - Major Lance - 1963
- Mambo Baby - Ruth Brown - 1954
- Mickey's Monkey - The Miracles - 1963
- Dance, Dance, Dance - The Beach Boys - 1964
- The Wallflower - Etta James - 1955
- Mambo Italiano - Rosemary Clooney - 1954
- I Can't Stop Dancing - Archie Bell and the Drells - 1968
- Twist, Twist Señora - Gary (U.S.) Bonds - 1962
- Get On Up - The Esquires - 1967
- They Were Doin' the Mambo - Vaughn Monroe - 1954
- (Dance With The) Guitar Man - Duane Eddy - 1962
- Pata Pata - Miriam Makeba - 1967
- The Duck - Jackie Lee - 1966
- Dance With Me - The Drifters - 1959
- Twist and Shout - The Isley Brothers - 1962
- Twine Time - Alvin Cash and the Crawlers - 1965
- The Cha-Cha-Cha - Bobby Rydell - 1962
- Do the Bird - Dee Dee Sharp - 1963
- The Hucklebuck - Chubby Checker - 1960
- Dance On Little Girl - Paul Anka - 1961
- I'll Never Dance Again - Bobby Rydell - 1962
- Dancin' Party - Chubby Checker - 1962
- Sway - Bobby Rydell - 1960
- The Twist - Hank Ballard and the Midnighters - 1960
- Do You Wanna Dance? - The Beach Boys - 1966
- Sway - Dean Martin - 1954
- The Wedding Samba - Edmundo Ros - 1950
- Shimmy, Shimmy, Ko-Ko Bop - Little Anthony and the
Imperials - 1960 - Carioca - Les Paul - 1951
- Mambo Rock - Bill Haley and his Comets - 1955
- Foot Stomping - The Flares - 1961
- When You Dance - The Turbans - 1955
- Do the Freddie - Freddie and the Dreamers - 1965
- Crossfire! - The Orlons - 1963
- The Madison - Al Brown's Tunetoppers - 1960
- Let's Limbo Some More - Chubby Checker - 1963
- Let's Turkey Trot - Little Eva - 1963
- The Hoochi Coochi Coo - Hank Ballard and the
Midnighters - 1961 - Hully Gully Baby - The Dovells - 1962
- Land of 1000 Dances - Cannibal and the
Headhunters - 1965 - The Matador - Major Lance - 1964
- Rock-A-Hula Baby - Elvis Presley - 1961
- The Cinnamon Cinder - The Pastel Six - 1963
- Shake a Tail Feather - James and Bobby Purify - 1967
- The Last Waltz - Engelbert Humperdinck - 1967
- Do the Clam - Elvis Presley - 1965
- Everybody Likes to Cha Cha Cha - Sam Cooke - 1959
- The Watusi - The Vibrations - 1961
- The Push and Kick - Mark Valentino - 1962
- 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.