The Top 10 Best Hit Songs of 1958

 

The Top 10 Best Hit Songs of 1958

Hey everyone!! It’s Fire from Fire’s Flaming Hot Takes back with the top 10 BEST hit songs of 1958!! As I said in my worst list, 1958 was the very first year of the Hot 100’s existence, and thus the very first year where there was a definitive standardized all-encompassing chart measuring all outlets of music consumption. It’s only a 50-song year-end list (technically 51 since they had an unbroken tie at #50), and in that short 50 song list, there was a pretty noticeable split in popular music in 1958 between music that catered to the younger generation in rock and roll and easy listening music that catered to the older generation. And this split was so apparent that it would even sometimes show up on the A-sides and B-sides of a single release!! Both sides of this binary produced some highlights and low points. This resulted in a year where the quality kinda balanced everything out to being decent. It’s not a polarizing year in quality like, say, 2013 or 2005, but it’s still pretty much balanced out perfectly nonetheless.

As you all know, the songs eligible for this list must’ve made the Hot 100 year-end list for 1958, which does mean I have a smaller pool of songs than normal to pick from, but I still managed to throw something together so let’s start things off with our honorable mentions!!

HM #1: Dean Martin - Return To Me (YE: #10, PEAK: #4)

Yeah, we’re starting with a song I really am kinda shocked grabbed me the way it did. It’s a slow piece of traditional pop that I ordinarily would’ve found too boring to be enjoyable. But when you take some genuinely beautiful composition that only helps in amplifying the heartache of the song with Dean Martin’s great vocals selling the anguish of the breakup exquisitely, that’s kinda what happens. Yeah, this is a great track, highly recommended!!

HM #2: Elvis Presley - Hard Headed Woman (YE: #49, PEAK: #34)

I told you that this would have a shot at this list!! Elvis just throws himself into this rock and roll banger and it makes the song feel super colorful as a result. Is Elvis’s delivery on here kinda silly? Yes. But is the production still a ton of fun? Yes. The horns, fast percussion, and genuinely great electric guitar solos help this not really feel like a bad joke. This is a ton of fun, absolutely recommended!!

HM #3: The McGuire Sisters - Sugartime (YE: #27, PEAK: #1)

Yeah, I can appreciate a really endearing borderline bubblegum pop song when I hear it. It might be kinda lame and/or cheesy, but the McGuire Sisters just sell this so well with enough genuine sweetness (pun not intended) to make this feel really cute. I don’t know, when sugartime is this nice, I think the sugar crash that’ll follow will be worth it. This is a great sugar rush of a song. But speaking of sweetness...

HM #4: Elvis Presley - Wear My Ring Around Your Neck (YE: #22, PEAK: #2)

This was the A-side to “Doncha’ Think It’s Time”, which was one of the very last cuts from this list and while that song is also pretty great, “Wear My Ring Around Your Neck” just gripped me more on first listen. Elvis once again really throws himself onto this rock and roll banger as he sounds genuinely elated to have his girl and is encouraging her to wear the ring he bought her around her neck as a point of genuine pride and gratitude. Yeah, this is a really cute track, great stuff!!

HM #5: The Coasters - Yakety Yak (YE: #21, PEAK: #1)

Another rock and roll banger, The Coasters have great personality and they really elevate this to being fun. Aside from that, the horn is pretty memorable. Yeah, this is a great song, I don’t really have much to say.

HM #6: Conway Twitty - It's Only Make Believe (YE: #11, PEAK: #1)

This is a fairly standard traditional pop song about heartache on the surface, where the narrator has to grapple with the reality that his visions of his ex still caring about him are likely only make believe. But I think what really elevates this to being great are the country textures and Conway Twitty’s delivery. He’s selling this song with so much sincerity and is walking a very thin line between sounding devastated and sounding overwrought and he absolutely succeeds!! And that fact is NOT make believe.

HM #7: Ricky Nelson - Waitin' In School (YE: #17, PEAK: #18)

If there’s anything that every generation from boomers to Gen Alpha can share in common, it’s that believing school just fucking sucks. Ricky Nelson flips “One Two Buckle My Shoe” for a pretty fun song about him waitin’ in school to enjoy the rest of his day and it’s all the more fun for it! Yeah, when your song is this fun, maybe it makes the end of the school day worth the wait.

Alright now before the list proper, let’s get our ineligible honorable mention out of the way!!

IHM: Chuck Berry - Johnny B. Goode (YE: N/A, PEAK: #8)

Yeah, no way I wasn’t gonna talk about this banger. And really, if you have even a slight knowledge of pop music in 1958, you can’t avoid talking about “Johnny B. Goode”, a real rock and roll banger using a classic name pun. The way Chuck Berry plays on the name “Johnny B. Goode” is the sort of clever play on words that you can’t be surprised has been used before. I also love the electrifying piano keys playing into the chaotic vibe of the rest of the production and Chuck Berry just has charisma galore on this. In other words, it’s absolutely no surprise that this is still considered a classic today. This would’ve been a very strong contender to top this list if it was eligible.

Alright, onto the list proper!!

10…Well, there’s rock and roll bangers, and then there’s the really charming traditional pop....

10. The Everly Brothers - Devoted To You (YE: #13, PEAK: #10)

“Devoted To You” isn’t a very unique song in any sense of the word, but it works so well on its basic foundation that I still find it great in the end. It’s just a simple song about how the Everly Brothers will stay devoted to their partners through the years. It straddles a very thin line between being slow and charming and being slow and boring and it manages to just avoid falling into the latter category because The Everly Brothers sing it so sincerely without sounding overwrought. But yeah, if someone used this song to express how much they love me, I think I’d be happy with that devotion. This is a great little song.

9...But speaking of great traditional pop from The Everly Brothers...

9. The Everly Brothers - All I Have to Do Is Dream (YE: #2, PEAK: #1)

This song is just so dreamy, the composition just makes you feel like you’re walking on clouds staring at the sunset thanks to the gentle electric guitar and the bass guitar’s foundation. And The Everly Brothers’ sincere deliveries really make this feel all the more dreamy. I never really even pay attention to the lyrics of this song because the music just sweeps me up in its beauty. But sure, I guess I’ll touch a bit on the lyrics too. The narrator is singing how all he has to do to be with his unrequited love is to dream about her. The production just accents that longing tone so well and The Everly Brothers just sell it so well; they even show some self awareness that they are just dreaming their life away by thinking of this unrequited love. Yeah, great little tune. When it sounds this good, that dream doesn’t seem so unattainable, right?

8...So one thing you might have noticed with my worst list is that a lot of the tracks were goofy novelty songs where I even admitted that I probably wasn’t able to grasp the humor of the jokes since I wasn’t alive in 1958. That meant that some of those tracks felt a bit dated. But what happens if you have a song that directly references slang of the time and somehow doesn’t feel dated?...

8. Danny & The Juniors - At The Hop (YE: #20, PEAK: #1)

What makes “At The Hop” feel like it’s held up so much better than all the novelty hits of 1958 despite using slang specifically tied to that time period is the energy. The piano keys are incredibly electrifying and the percussion is lively as hell. The phrase “let’s go to the hop” is something that I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone outside of grandmas say and yet the way our frontman delivers it makes it clear that you could apply the word “hop” to your school dance. Also, I literally found out as I was researching for this review that this was originally supposed to be titled “Do The Bop”. And...yeah, it was probably the right call to call this “At The Hop” because I literally had to search up what the Bop was to understand what that title was trying to convey, which would’ve thoroughly dated this song. “The Hop” is pretty widely understood as “at the dance” so this is much easier to slot into any modern context even if no one uses the slang term “the hop” anymore. I can only imagine how many teenagers were blasting this track before they headed to prom back in 1958, I’m sure it was a hell of a fun time. Great song!!

7...I think it’s safe to say in 1958 country music was dominated by the Nashville Sound, a sound that blended elements of country, pop, rockabilly, honky tonk, and Western, among other genres. So let’s get a great country hit from 1958 in here!...

7. Don Gibson - Oh Lonesome Me (YE: #50, PEAK: #8)

What really makes “Oh Lonesome Me” work is the really sweet groove that contrasts the more melancholic lyrics, which rather than creating tonal clash, actually makes this feel like a classic cornerstone song of country music. The lyrics of the song detail the narrator getting dumped and knowing that he should move on but still plainly not being over it. That groove also makes the “oh lonesome me” part feel self-deprecating, which overall works to the song’s advantage. He knows his ex is probably flirting with every guy at the bar and he should get up off his ass and have some fun rather than moping around all day and he’s just saying “wow...look at me, what a pathetic loser. I’ve thought of everything from A-Z and still can’t get over her, oh lonesome me”. Pop music has a long and proud history of pouring all the artist’s heartache following a breakup into their songs, which has created hundreds, if not thousands, of great songs, but it’s nice to know that a bit of self-deprecation like this has some room to shine in the pop music scene. Great stuff!!

6...But switching gears from a classic country breakup song into a song that questions a classic idea...

6. The Monotones - The Book Of Love (YE: #32, PEAK: #5)

Let me get some light criticisms out of the way first. I have no clue why our frontman here was trying to do a Squidward impression at various points in this song. Now for the reason this song placed so high on this list; the lyrics. The lyrics see the narrator question who wrote the “book of love” and wonder why it applies so much to his relationship with his girlfriend. What does this “book of love” say, you might ask? Well, it shows the cycle of a couple who have an on-again-off-again relationship. There are only 4 chapters, with the 4th chapter implying that the couple breaks up and then they give each other just one more chance, implying that this is an endless cycle. Not much else to say, it’s just a cute song.

5...But now onto the real rock and roll classics...

5. Bobby Day - Rockin' Robin (YE: #23, PEAK: #2)

When I heard this song while listening to this year-end list, it immediately unlocked a forgotten memory for me from when I was in 1st grade; my teacher made us sing this song at a school assembly but instead of “rockin’ robin”, we had to sing “rockin’ parents” and change the lyrics to fit our school (like changing “Jaybird Street” to the name of the street our school was on and every mention of “robin” to “parents” haha). I’d honestly be lying if I said that that really silly memory didn’t play at least a tiny part in this song placing so highly here. But even on its own merits, “Rockin’ Robin” is just a damn fun song. The energetic and lively percussion and the whistling give the song its signature “walk-in-the-neighborhood” sound that makes it such a fun song. Not much else to say, this is a great ass song and I kinda want my future kid to sing “rockin’ parents” one day for me, you know, to pass the torch on.

4...Okay, the next two songs on this list have some rather problematic baggage tied to them and I really considered whether I could in good faith put them on my best list at all, let alone so high. But in the end...

4. Jerry Lee Lewis - Great Balls Of Fire (YE: #36, PEAK: #2)

Obviously there’s some...heavy subtext I need to address. Shortly after Jerry Lee Lewis released this song, he married his 13-year-old cousin. That’s deeply reprehensible, and I want to make it clear that putting this high on my list does not mean I endorse what he did. That said, when I listened to this song and read the lyrics, I honestly just thought he was singing about being wildly in love with any girl, a girl who, in my mind, is of age and not related to him, of course. And honestly, when I listen to this song, I hear one of the most electrifyingly fun rock and roll instrumentals on a hit song in 1958. The chaotic piano keys smashing off the electric guitar and tight groove is like the audio equivalent of being on a rollercoaster and taking a 500 ft drop. Yeah, heavy baggage aside, I really can’t pretend that this doesn’t just hit me with a ton of fun with the force of a brick wall.

3...Look, if “Johnny B. Goode” wasn’t gonna be eligible for this list, I’ll take what I can get...

3. Chuck Berry - Sweet Little Sixteen (YE: #29, PEAK: #2)

Like “Great Balls Of Fire”, “Sweet Little Sixteen” has some heavy baggage tied to it, in this case it’s that in 1960 Chuck Berry was convicted of transporting a 14 year old girl across state lines. And I fully get how that subtext can make a song where Berry reacts with fascination of a 16 year old girl obsessed with rock and roll who’s now traveling around the world to collect autographs a bit harder to stomach. But that’s the trick when you get smart enough framing that keeps the focus narrowly on hyping up the rockstar-chasing lifestyle without veering into anything overtly sexual, and that makes it easier to separate the art from the artist. This is obviously not as good as “Johnny B. Goode”, and I get it if you are hesitant to return to this song after what Berry has been convicted with (and that subtext was what ultimately made me elbow this song off of topping this list), but fuck it, I still think this is an excellent banger.

2...Okay, obvious picks are obvious for a reason...

2. Buddy Holly - Peggy Sue (YE: #50, PEAK: #3)

“Peggy Sue” is a song that’s pretty important in the evolution of rock and roll, bridging pop and early rock thanks to its great rockabilly groove. It’s innovative and a pivotal moment in popular music in that the vocals fade in and out of the track, a production choice almost nobody was doing at the time. It’s a song that doesn’t come in saying anything, as the lyrics here are just about the narrator being in love with the titular Peggy Sue. But the sound here just speaks for itself even if it doesn’t exactly arrive with a bang. I love the more understated rockabilly groove that makes it feel like there’s an earthquake rumbling below. Don’t get me wrong, there’ve been many more songs in this that I’d argue have been more pivotal in the history of pop music while simultaneously doing way more with its soundscape (if there was more to this song, I’d have put it at #1), but I do still love this song’s sound enough to place it way up here.

1..I gotta be honest, when I was writing this review, this song was only an honorable mention. “Peggy Sue” was originally my #1. But every subsequent listen revealed something new to love…

1. The Teddy Bears - To Know Him Is To Love Him (YE: #44, PEAK: #1)

This song is so corny but so sweet that I can’t help but call it incredible. Carol Connors’s vocals really are the star of the show here. She sells the song so sincerely to help this not feel corny. And the production is really damn nice too, it’s the audio equivalent of walking on puffy clouds under a rainbow. And literally as I was writing this review I found out there’s another sadder layer to this song. It was written by Phil Spector, who was inspired by words that were written on the gravestone of his father, who had taken his own life 9 years earlier. The gravestone read "To have known him was to have loved him." And you can hear an extra tinge of sadness in the song when you get the full context. And it all comes together to create an absolutely beautiful song. “To Know Him Is To Love Him” by The Teddy Bears: the best hit song of 1958.

Alright, that’s a wrap!! My next list will probably be 1978 next since that rankdown’s open now on Pulse. So until the next article, whenever or whatever that may be, Spotify playlist with every song mentioned on this list is linked right here and remember to keep it Fire!!