Top Artists of the 60’s Overview
During the decade of the 60’s, there were many new acts that came on the scene and performed very well. The Beatles came to American in 1964, along with other British Invasion groups as well. How well did they rank among the other artists? This is where the top music artists of the 60’s will help. The chart will show the top 50 artists from 1960-1969.
In the decade, there were a total of 6,900 songs that made the charts. The year of 1966 had the most charted singles with 743. There were over 700 unique artists that charted a single during this era. There were a total of 204 songs that peaked at the #1 position in this decade. The year of 1966 had the most #1 songs with 27.
Ranking System Used
To determine the top 50 artists, we had to use a point system that would be fair to all artists that charted singles in this period. The point system used is as follows:
1. The highest chart position reached on the Hot 100, Hot 100 Airplay or Bubbling Under charts.
2. Point breakdown as follows:
- #1 = 100 points for its first week at #1, plus 10 points for each additional week.
- #2 = 90 points for its first week at #2, plus 5 points for each additional week.
- #3 = 80 points for its first week at #3, plus 3 points for each additional week.
- #4-5 = 70 points
- #6-10 = 60 points
- #11-15 = 50 points
- #16-20 = 45 points
- #21-30 = 40 points
- #31-40 = 35 points
- #41-50 = 30 points
- #51-60 = 25 points
- #61-70 = 20 points
- #71-90 = 15 points
- #91-100 = 10 points
- #101-110 = 5 points
- #111-120 = 4 points
- #121-135 = 3 points
3. Total weeks charted are added in.
4. In case of a tie, the artist listed first is determined by the following tie breaker rules:
1). Most charted singles
2). Most Top 40 singles
3). Most Top 10 singles
When two artists combine for a hit single, such as Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton, the full point total is given to both artists. Duos like Simon & Garfunkel and Hall & Oates are considered recording teams and their points are not shared.
Adjustments are made for featured and lead artists. A featured artist on a single will receive 20% of the point total and the lead artist receives 100% of the point total.
The Top 50 Artists List
| Rank / Artist | Points |
| 1. The Beatles | 4,490 |
| 2. Elvis Presley | 4,015 |
| 3. Ray Charles | 2,581 |
| 4. Brenda Lee | 2,502 |
| 5. The Suprems | 2,425 |
| 6. The 4 Seasons | 2,278 |
| 7. The Beach Boys | 2,194 |
| 8. Connie Francis | 2,177 |
| 9. James Brown | 2,119 |
| 10. Marvin Gaye | 1,969 |
| 11. Bobby Vinton | 1,834 |
| 12. Chubby Checker | 1,805 |
| 13. The Rolling Stones | 1,668 |
| 14. Roy Orbison | 1,667 |
| 15. Jackie Wilson | 1,663 |
| 16. The Temptations | 1,663 |
| 17. Brook Benton | 1,631 |
| 18. The Miracles | 1,608 |
| 19. Aretha Franklin | 1,490 |
| 20. Bobby Vee | 1,476 |
| 21. Dion | 1,468 |
| 22. Bobby Darin | 1,465 |
| 23. Sam Cooke | 1,459 |
| 24. Dionne Warwick | 1,459 |
| 25. Ricky Nelson | 1,428 |
| 26. Dave Clark Five | 1,387 |
| 27. Herman’s Hermits | 1,375 |
| 28. Frank Sinatra | 1,313 |
| 29. Bobby Rydell | 1,294 |
| 30. Stevie Wonder | 1,271 |
| 31. The Drifters | 1,256 |
| 32. The Everly Brothers | 1,254 |
| 33. Fats Domino | 1,226 |
| 34. The Impressions | 1,222 |
| 35. The Shirelles | 1,212 |
| 36. Andy Williams | 1,206 |
| 37. Gene Pitney | 1,202 |
| 38. Jerry Butler | 1,159 |
| 39. Four Tops | 1,158 |
| 40. Paul Anka | 1,152 |
| 41. The Monkees | 1,140 |
| 42. Herb Albert & The Tijuana Brass | 1,134 |
| 43. Johnny Tillotson | 1,124 |
| 44. Petula Clark | 1,118 |
| 45. Johnny Rivers | 1,111 |
| 46. Ptos Reddomg | 1,102 |
| 47. Tommy James & The Shondells | 1,079 |
| 48. The Rascals | 1,076 |
| 49. Wilson Pickett | 1,069 |
| 50. The Marvelettes | 1,042 |
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