This Week in Music History: Elvis Puts 10 Songs in the Top 100... at the Same Time
In late December 1956, Elvis Presley established a record (pardon the pun) for the number of
simultaneous singles on Billboard’s Top 100 chart with 10. In other words, one-tenth of the world’s Top 100 singles belonged to him at the same time.
This was truly his breakout year. During 1956, Elvis placed 17 songs on the Billboard Top 100 singles chart. A trio of those hits reached No. 1: Don’t Be Cruel, Heartbreak Hotel, and Love Me Tender. Also that year, Presley made his first film, Love Me Tender. He also performed live in concert 143 times in 79 cities in 1956.
But Elvis made an even bigger impact on television, where he was seen by millions at a time, than in his concerts. Among his 11 prime-time variety show appearances in 1956 were six on Stage Show with Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey; twice on The Ed Sullivan Show; two times on The Milton Berle Show; and once on The Steve Allen Show.
Born in Tupelo, Mississippi in 1935, the “King of Rock ‘n’ Roll” moved to Memphis, Tennessee with his family at age 13 and began his music career in 1954. A pioneer of rockabilly, he served in the U.S. military for two years and eventually sold approximately 500 million records.
Here’s a quick look at some other musical notes from this week (December 24-31) in history:
December 25, 1965 – For the third consecutive Christmas, the Beatles owned the country’s No. 1 album (Rubber Soul). Songs on this record include Drive My Car, Nowhere Man, and I’m Looking Through You.
December 25, 2006 – The godfather of soul, James Brown, passed away at age 73 from pneumonia. Among hits recorded by “The Hardest Working Man in Show Business” were Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag, I Got You (I Feel Good), and Get on Up.
December 26, 1979 – Pink Floyd’s The Wall rose to the No. 1 album in America and spent 15 weeks in that position. Songs on this iconic double-album include Another Brick in the Wall (Parts 1, 2, and 3), Hey You, and Comfortably Numb.
December 26, 1999 – Featuring one of the sweetest and most soulful voices ever, Curtis Mayfield died at age 57 from complications of type 2 diabetes. Among the many R&B, soul, and funk songs he sang were Superfly, Move On Up, and Freddie’s Dead.
December 26, 1970 – George Harrison became the first Beatle to score a No. 1 hit single in the U.S. with My Sweet Lord. Originally written for Billy Preston, the song spent four weeks at the top of the charts.
December 26, 1964 – I Feel Fine reached No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart. It was the Beatles’ sixth No. 1 hit of the year.
December 27, 1969 – Led Zeppelin’s second album – aptly named Led Zeppelin II – reached No. 1 on the U.S. album chart. It ended up selling 6 million copies in America.
December 31 – Three bands made their live debuts on this date: the Beach Boys in 1961 at Long Beach Civic Auditorium in Southern California, the Kinks in 1963 at the Lotus House Restaurant in London, and AC/DC in 1973 at Chequers Bar in Sydney, Australia.
I hope you enjoyed this week’s trip down music’s memory lane. Feel free to check out my books on the Home and Books page of this site.