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Billboard year-end top 50 country & western singles of 1961

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This is a list of Billboard magazine's ranking of the year's top country and western singles of 1961.[1]

Patsy Cline's "I Fall to Pieces" ranked as the year's No. 1 country and western record.[1] It was released in January 1961, entered the Top 40 on Billboard's country and western chart on April 3, and spent a total of 39 weeks on the chart.[2]

George Jones had two records that finished in the year's Top 5 records: "The Window Up Above" spent 34 weeks on the chart and ranked No. 3 on the year-end chart; and "Tender Years" spent 32 weeks on the chart and ranked No. 4 for the year.[1][3]

Webb Pierce and Buck Owens led all other artists, each having four records on the year-end list.[1]

Three labels, Capitol, Decca, and RCA Victor, each had 11 records finish on the year-end list. Columbia had seven, and Mercury five.[1]

Rank Peak[note 1][4] Title Artist(s) Label
1 1 "I Fall to Pieces" Patsy Cline Decca
2 2 "Foolin' Around" Buck Owens Capitol
3 2 "The Window Up Above" George Jones Mercury
4 1 "Tender Years" George Jones Mercury
5 2 "Three Hearts in a Tangle" Roy Drusky Decca
6 1 "Hello Walls" Faron Young Capitol
7 1 "Don't Worry" Marty Robbins Columbia
8 1 "Heartbreak U.S.A." Kitty Wells Decca
9 2 "Sea of Heartbreak" Don Gibson RCA Victor
10 1 "On the Wings of a Dove" Ferlin Husky Capitol
11 3 "Sweet Lips" Webb Pierce Decca
12 4 "I'll Just Have Another Cup of Coffee" Claude Gray Mercury
13 3 "I Missed Me" Jim Reeves RCA Victor
14 5 "Hillbilly Heaven" Tex Ritter Capitol
15 5 "Heart over Mind" Ray Price Columbia
16 2 "Under the Influence of Love" Buck Owens Capitol
17 1 "North to Alaska" Johnny Horton Columbia
18 1 "Walk On By" Leroy Van Dyke Mercury
19 3 "My Ears Should Burn" Claude Gray Mercury
20 5 "Beggar to a King" Hank Snow RCA Victor
21 5 "Let Forgiveness In" Webb Pierce Decca
22 7 "Loving You (Was Worth This Broken Heart)" Bob Gallion Hickory
23 7 "I Think I Know" Marion Worth Columbia
24 6 "When Two Worlds Collide" Roger Miller RCA Victor
25 4 "The Blizzard" Jim Reeves RCA Victor
26 4 "Loose Talk" Buck Owens, Rose Maddox Capitol
27 7 "Odds and Ends (Bits and Pieces)" Warren Smith Liberty
28 4 "Fallen Angel" Webb Pierce Decca
29 7 "Big River, Big Man" Claude King Columbia
30 10 "Louisiana Man" Rusty and Doug Hickory
31 5 "My Last Date (With You)" Skeeter Davis RCA Victor
32 6 "Sweet Dreams" Don Gibson RCA Victor
33 4 "You're the Reason" Bobby Edwards Crest
34 3 "It's Your World" Marty Robbins Columbia
35 9 "Po' Folks" Bill Anderson Decca
36 9 "I Went Out of My Way" Roy Drusky Decca
37 4 "Hello Fool" Ralph Emery Liberty
38 9 "Walk Out Backward" Bill Anderson Decca
39 10 "Your Old Love Letters" Porter Wagoner RCA Victor
40 7 "Oklahoma Hills" Hank Thompson Capitol
41 2 "Excuse Me" Buck Owens Capitol
42 12 "I Love You Best of All" Louvin Brothers Capitol
43 7 "Happy Birthday to Me" Hank Locklin RCA Victor
44 5 "Walking the Streets" Webb Pierce Decca
45 9 "Right or Wrong" Wanda Jackson Capitol
46 1 "Big Bad John" Jimmy Dean Columbia
47 8 "San Antonio Rose" Floyd Cramer RCA Victor
48 9 "Three Steps to a Phone (Millions of Miles)" George Hamilton IV RCA Victor
49 8 "Backtrack" Faron Young Capitol
50 10 "I'd Rather Loan You Out" Roy Drusky Decca

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ This column recites the record's peak position on Billboard's weekly charts.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "Hot C.&W. and R.&B. sides of the year". The Billboard. December 18, 1961. p. 14.
  2. ^ Joel Whitburn (1996). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Country Hits. Billboard Books. p. 74. ISBN 0823076326.
  3. ^ Whitburn, p. 166.
  4. ^ Joel Whitburn (1995). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Country Hits. Billboard Books. ISBN 0823076326.