1957 Billboard Number One Hits: Pre-Hot 100 Chart-Toppers

The 1957 Billboard Number One Hits list captures American pop just before the Hot 100 era officially began. Elvis Presley was the dominant chart force, but the year also featured teen idols, country crossover, vocal pop, early rock and roll, doo-wop, movie songs, and the first major signs of crossover into the soul era. Guy Mitchell opened the year with Singing the Blues, Elvis ruled the middle with All Shook Up, Teddy Bear, and Jailhouse Rock, and Sam Cooke closed the year’s major story with You Send Me.

This page follows Billboard’s major pre-Hot 100 pop chart history for 1957. The official Billboard Hot 100 did not begin until August 4, 1958, so these songs are best understood as Billboard-era No. 1 pop records before the Hot 100 became the main singles chart.

Before the Hot 100, Billboard used several major pop charts, including Best Sellers in Stores, Most Played by Jockeys, Most Played in Jukeboxes, and the Top 100. For reader-friendly historical continuity, this page keeps the year together within the Billboard No. 1 hits timeline.

1957 Billboard Number One Hits by Week

December 8, 1956 – February 8, 1957: Singing the Blues – Guy Mitchell
February 9 – March 1, 1957: Too Much – Elvis Presley
March 2 – March 29, 1957: Young Love – Tab Hunter
March 30 – April 5, 1957: Party Doll – Buddy Knox
April 6 – April 12, 1957: Round and Round – Perry Como
April 13 – June 7, 1957: All Shook Up – Elvis Presley
June 8 – July 12, 1957: Love Letters in the Sand – Pat Boone
July 13 – August 30, 1957: (Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear – Elvis Presley
August 31 – September 13, 1957: Tammy – Debbie Reynolds
September 14 – September 27, 1957: Diana – Paul Anka
September 28 – October 4, 1957: That’ll Be the Day – The Crickets
October 5 – October 18, 1957: Honeycomb – Jimmie Rodgers
October 19 – October 25, 1957: Wake Up Little Susie – The Everly Brothers
October 26 – December 6, 1957: Jailhouse Rock / Treat Me Nice – Elvis Presley
December 7 – December 27, 1957: You Send Me – Sam Cooke
December 28, 1957 – January 10, 1958: April Love – Pat Boone

Song-by-Song Notes on the 1957 Billboard No. 1 Hits

Singing the Blues – Guy Mitchell

Guy Mitchell opened the 1957 Billboard pop chart year with Singing the Blues, a late-1956 carryover. The song had a bright, whistling pop-country feel that helped it connect with both traditional pop and younger listeners.

Its long run at the top showed that pre-rock-and-roll pop still had major strength, even as Elvis Presley and younger rock acts were changing the shape of the chart. The title said blues, but the sales were anything but sad.

Too Much – Elvis Presley

Elvis Presley reached No. 1 with Too Much, continuing his mid-1950s chart dominance. The record mixed rock and roll, pop appeal, and Elvis’ increasingly polished RCA sound.

Its run helped set up one of the most Elvis-heavy years in Billboard pop history. In 1957, the question was rarely whether Elvis would return to No. 1. It was usually how soon.

Young Love – Tab Hunter

Tab Hunter reached No. 1 with Young Love, a soft romantic ballad that also became a major country hit for Sonny James. Hunter was already a film star, and the song turned his screen popularity into a chart-topping music moment.

The success of Young Love showed how easily teen-idol appeal could move between movies, radio, and record stores in the late 1950s.

Party Doll – Buddy Knox

Buddy Knox reached No. 1 with Party Doll, a rockabilly-flavored hit that came from outside the major pop centers. Knox and his band helped show how regional rock-and-roll records could break nationally.

Its one-week run gave 1957 a strong dose of lean, simple rock energy. Not every No. 1 needed strings, choirs, or a movie tie-in; sometimes a good beat and a party title did the job.

Round and Round – Perry Como

Perry Como reached No. 1 with Round and Round, a traditional pop hit from one of television and radio’s most familiar entertainers. Como represented the older smooth-pop world that still had a real place on Billboard’s pre-Hot 100 charts.

Its brief stay at No. 1 came right before Elvis’ All Shook Up took over. That handoff says a lot about 1957: polished old-school pop was still present, but rock and roll was pushing hard.

All Shook Up – Elvis Presley

Elvis Presley dominated 1957 with All Shook Up, one of his defining early rock-and-roll hits. Written by Otis Blackwell, with Elvis credited as co-writer, the song became Billboard’s year-end No. 1 record of 1957.

The song’s snap, vocal swagger, and clean pop-rock structure made it one of Elvis’ most durable singles. It was short, sharp, and commercially massive — the chart equivalent of a hip shake causing structural damage.

Love Letters in the Sand – Pat Boone

Pat Boone spent a major stretch of 1957 at No. 1 with Love Letters in the Sand. The song’s sentimental pop style fit Boone’s clean-cut image and gave him one of his biggest records.

It ranked among Billboard’s biggest songs of 1957 and showed that smooth romantic pop still had enormous audience appeal. Rock was rising, but Boone was not exactly being swept off the beach.

(Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear – Elvis Presley

Elvis Presley returned to No. 1 with (Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear, from the film Loving You. The song showed Elvis’ lighter, more playful side while still benefiting from his massive rock-and-roll star power.

Its long run helped make 1957 one of the most successful years of Elvis’ career. The title was cuddly; the chart performance was not messing around.

Tammy – Debbie Reynolds

Debbie Reynolds reached No. 1 with Tammy, from the film Tammy and the Bachelor. The song’s gentle romantic mood and movie connection helped it become one of the year’s biggest ballads.

Its success showed that film songs still had major pop-chart power in the rock-and-roll era. Teen guitars were loud, but Hollywood could still whisper its way to No. 1.

Diana – Paul Anka

Paul Anka reached No. 1 with Diana, one of the biggest teen-idol hits of the late 1950s. Anka was still a teenager when the song turned him into an international pop star.

The song’s direct romantic lyric and youthful energy made it one of the defining teen-pop records of the year. It also helped establish Anka as both a performer and songwriter with staying power.

That’ll Be the Day – The Crickets

The Crickets reached No. 1 with That’ll Be the Day, one of Buddy Holly’s defining recordings. Its lean guitar sound, vocal hiccups, and compact structure helped shape the future of rock and roll.

The song became a landmark record for Holly and The Crickets, influencing later rock bands on both sides of the Atlantic. The title was borrowed from a line in the John Wayne film The Searchers, which is a tidy little pop-culture crossover before the term needed a meeting.

Honeycomb – Jimmie Rodgers

Jimmie Rodgers reached No. 1 with Honeycomb, a bright folk-pop hit that launched his chart career. Rodgers’ clean vocal and easygoing style helped the song stand apart from both rock-and-roll records and traditional pop ballads.

Its two-week run made Rodgers one of the year’s major new pop names. Sweet title, sticky hook, successful recipe.

Wake Up Little Susie – The Everly Brothers

The Everly Brothers reached No. 1 with Wake Up Little Susie, one of their signature harmony records. The song’s storyline about two teenagers who fall asleep at the movies created enough suggestive tension to get attention without saying much directly.

Its success helped establish Don and Phil Everly as one of the most important harmony acts in rock and country-pop history. The scandal was mild by modern standards, but in 1957 it had eyebrows working overtime.

Jailhouse Rock / Treat Me Nice – Elvis Presley

Elvis Presley spent another major stretch at No. 1 with Jailhouse Rock / Treat Me Nice. Jailhouse Rock, from the film of the same name, became one of his most famous recordings and one of the great movie-linked rock-and-roll singles.

The song’s famous film dance sequence helped lock it into pop culture far beyond the charts. If 1957 needed one image of Elvis as a movie star and rock star at the same time, this was it.

You Send Me – Sam Cooke

Sam Cooke reached No. 1 with You Send Me, one of the most important crossover records in early soul history. Cooke had come from gospel music, and this single helped introduce his smooth, intimate vocal style to a broad pop audience.

Its success marked a major step toward soul music’s growing presence on the pop chart. Cooke did not shout his way into the mainstream; he glided in.

April Love – Pat Boone

Pat Boone closed the 1957 Billboard pop chart year with April Love, from the film of the same name. The romantic ballad carried into early 1958 and became another major Boone hit.

Its cross-year run gave 1957 a soft, traditional-pop ending after a year dominated by Elvis, rock and roll, teen idols, vocal groups, and movie songs.

Biggest Billboard Chart Stories of 1957

All Shook Up Was Billboard’s Year-End No. 1

Elvis Presley’s All Shook Up was Billboard’s year-end No. 1 song of 1957. It was one of the clearest examples of Elvis’ ability to dominate the pop, rock-and-roll, and youth markets simultaneously.

Elvis Presley Dominated 1957

Elvis reached No. 1 repeatedly with Too Much, All Shook Up, (Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear, and Jailhouse Rock / Treat Me Nice. No other artist shaped the year’s Billboard pop chart as strongly.

Rock and Roll Became Harder to Ignore

Buddy Knox, The Crickets, The Everly Brothers, Elvis Presley, and Sam Cooke all helped move the chart away from older pop traditions. The year still had room for crooners and ballads, but rock and roll was now impossible to treat as a passing fad.

Movie Songs Still Had Major Power

Tammy, Jailhouse Rock, Teddy Bear, and April Love all had film connections. In 1957, the movie and singles charts were still heavily feeding each other.

Sam Cooke Pointed Toward the Soul Era

You Send Me was a major crossover breakthrough for Sam Cooke and helped point toward the soul records that would become more important on the pop chart in the 1960s.

1957 Billboard Number One Hits Trivia

All Shook Up by Elvis Presley was Billboard’s year-end No. 1 song of 1957.
Elvis Presley had four major Billboard No. 1 pop records during the 1957 chart year.
That’ll Be the Day became a defining Buddy Holly and The Crickets record.
Wake Up Little Susie helped make The Everly Brothers one of early rock’s most important harmony acts.
You Send Me was a major pop breakthrough for Sam Cooke.
Tammy, Jailhouse Rock, Teddy Bear, and April Love all had strong movie connections.
Love Letters in the Sand was one of Billboard’s biggest songs of 1957.
Jailhouse Rock became one of Elvis Presley’s most famous film-and-music moments.
April Love closed 1957 and carried into the 1958 Billboard chart year.

Why the 1957 Billboard Number One Hits Matter

The 1957 Billboard Number One Hits list shows American pop in the middle of a major shift. Traditional pop voices like Perry Como and Pat Boone still had chart strength, but Elvis Presley, The Crickets, The Everly Brothers, Buddy Knox, and Sam Cooke were helping push the chart toward rock and roll, teen pop, and soul.

The year also showed how powerful movies remained in the singles market. Elvis’ film songs, Debbie Reynolds’ Tammy, and Pat Boone’s April Love all proved that a strong screen connection could still drive record sales.

For chart fans, 1957 had everything: Elvis everywhere, teen idols rising, Buddy Holly breaking through, Everly harmonies, Pat Boone ballads, Sam Cooke’s smooth crossover, and enough movie tie-ins to make the record store feel like a theater lobby.