1960
The year in music, movies, TV, fads & memories
In 1960, “Theme from "A Summer Place"” by Percy Faith topped the Billboard year-end Hot 100 and Elvis Is Back! by Elvis Presley and The Genius Hits the Road by Ray Charles were on every turntable. Psycho, Spartacus and The Apartment were in theaters, and The Flintstones, The Andy Griffith Show and My Three Sons were on TV.
The headlines: Greensboro lunch-counter sit-ins. New that year: First working laser. Fads of the year: The Twist dance craze and Hula hoop still spinning. Gas was 31¢ a gallon, a stamp was 4¢ and a movie ticket ran ~70¢.
🎂 What music raised you?
Drop your birthday and we'll rewind to your golden era — the years the songs imprinted for life.
🔙 Backtrack — 1960
The world around the music — what was on screen, and what was on the shelf.
🎬 At the movies
📰 Headlines
- Greensboro lunch-counter sit-ins
- U-2 spy plane shot down
- JFK elected president
- First TV presidential debate
- FDA approves the Pill
💡 Tech & Firsts
- First working laser
- TIROS-1 weather satellite
- Bathyscaphe reaches Mariana Trench
- Echo communications satellite
- Integrated circuit takes off
🏆 Sports
- Pirates win the World Series
- Eagles beat Packers for NFL title
- Celtics win the NBA Finals
- Canadiens win the Stanley Cup
- Rome Summer Olympics
🤪 Crazes & fads
- The Twist dance craze
- Hula hoop still spinning
- Drive-in movies
- Sock hops
- Transistor radios
👖 Clothes
- Jackie Kennedy pillbox hats
- Boxy tailored suits
- Stiletto heels
- Bouffant hairdos
- Capri pants
💵 What it cost
- Gas: 31¢/gal
- Stamp: 4¢
- Movie ticket: ~70¢
- New car avg: ~$2,600
- Median home: ~$11,900
Billboard Year-End Hot 100
📊 Full chart →- 1
Theme from "A Summer Place"Percy Faith - 2
He'll Have to Go (feat. Jim Reeves)Skeeter Davis - 3
Cathy's ClownThe Everly Brothers - 4
Running BearJohnny Preston - 5
Teen AngelMark Dinning - 6
I'm SorryBrenda Lee - 7
It's Now or NeverElvis Presley - 8
Handy Man - OriginalJimmy Jones - 9Stuck On YouElvis Presley
- 10
The TwistChubby Checker - 11
Everybody's Somebody's FoolConnie Francis - 12
Wild OneBobby Rydell - 13
GreenfieldsThe Brothers Four - 14
What In the World's Come Over YouJack Scott - 15
El PasoMarty Robbins - 16
Alley OopThe Hollywood Argyles - 17My Heart Has a Mind of Its OwnConnie Francis
- 18Sweet Nothin'sBrenda Lee
- 19
Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot BikiniBrian Hyland - 20
Only the LonelyRoy Orbison - 21
Where Or WhenDion & The Belmonts - 22
Sixteen ReasonsConnie Stevens - 23
Puppy LovePaul Anka - 24
WhyFrankie Avalon - 25
Walk, Don't RunThe Ventures
More from 1960
🎤 Big in 1960
🎚️ 1960 genres
🎛️ Behind the boards & the pen — 1960
The hands behind 1960 — the producers and songwriters who actually shaped that year's records. Don Costa was on 2 of them.
🎚️ Related vibes
All themes →Themed rooms that lean on the sound of 1960.
What does 1960 remind you of?
The drive, the dance, the heartbreak, the summer. Add a memory of 1960.
Community Memories
How well do you remember 1960?
7 quick questions — the songs, the artists, the year. No cheating. 😏
📀 Take this record with you
Build this in your own Spotify in two taps — free, no account needed here. (For Apple Music or YouTube, open songs one-by-one below.)
Then open the free helper
🎵 1960 albums on vinyl
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📻 60s gear
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