JANUARY
Top hit
There! I've Said It Again · Bobby Vinton
Top album
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Year
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One moment while we pull together the music from this year.
Transatlantic pop revolution
1964
Beatlemania rewires American radio, British bands flood the Atlantic, and Motown answers from Detroit with precision, grace, and unstoppable hooks.
The British Invasion Lands
Beatlemania rewires the radio — four lads from Liverpool make the charts feel like a national event again, and every band with an R on their amp rushes the Atlantic. Motown answers from Detroit with precision and grace, while America discovers that the British don't just copy, they reinvent. The room got louder, the hair got longer, and pop would never pretend to be adult-only again.
- British Invasion
- Beatlemania
- Motown
- Merseybeat
- sixties pop
- The Beatles on Ed Sullivan — 73 million viewers
- The Rolling Stones release their debut U.S. singles
- The Supremes' 'Where Did Our Love Go' launches a dynasty
- The Animals' 'House of the Rising Sun' tops the Hot 100
Hot 100 · weeks at #1
Top songs
Album chart · weeks at #1
Top albums
Through the year
Tap a month to drill into chart weeks.
FEBRUARY
Top hit
I Want To Hold Your Hand · The Beatles
Top album
Meet The Beatles! · The Beatles
MARCH
Top hit
I Want To Hold Your Hand · The Beatles
Top album
Meet The Beatles! · The Beatles
APRIL
Top hit
Can't Buy Me Love · The Beatles
Top album
Meet The Beatles! · The Beatles
MAY
Top hit
Can't Buy Me Love · The Beatles
Top album
The Beatles' Second Album · The Beatles
JUNE
Top hit
Chapel Of Love · The Dixie Cups
Top album
Hello Dolly · Louis Armstrong
JULY
Top hit
I Get Around · The Beach Boys
Top album
Hello Dolly · Louis Armstrong
AUGUST
Top hit
A Hard Day's Night · The Beatles
Top album
A Hard Day's Night (Soundtrack) · The Beatles
SEPTEMBER
Top hit
House Of The Rising Sun · The Animals
Top album
A Hard Day's Night (Soundtrack) · The Beatles
OCTOBER
Top hit
Oh, Pretty Woman · Roy Orbison And The Candy Men
Top album
A Hard Day's Night (Soundtrack) · The Beatles
NOVEMBER
Top hit
Baby Love · The Supremes
Top album
People · Barbra Streisand
DECEMBER
Top hit
Ringo · Lorne Greene
Top album
Beach Boys In Concert · The Beach Boys