The UK Singles Chart is one of many music charts compiled by the Official Charts Company that calculates the best-selling singles of the week in the United Kingdom. Before 2004, the chart was only based on the sales of physical singles. This list shows singles that peaked in the Top 10 of the UK Singles Chart during 1956, as well as singles which peaked in 1955 and 1957 but were in the top 10 in 1956. The entry date is when the single appeared in the top 10 for the first time (week ending, as published by the Official Charts Company, which is six days after the chart is announced).
Eighty-four singles were in the top ten in 1956. Eight singles from 1955 remained in the top 10 for several weeks at the beginning of the year, while "Singing the Blues" by Guy Mitchell and "True Love" by Bing Crosby & Grace Kelly were both released in 1956 but did not reach their peak until 1957. "Meet Me on the Corner" by Max Bygraves, "Never Do a Tango with an Eskimo" by Alma Cogan, "Suddenly There's a Valley" by Petula Clark and "Twenty Tiny Fingers" by The Stargazers were the singles from 1955 to reach their peak in 1956. Eighteen artists scored multiple entries in the top 10 in 1956. Elvis Presley, Frankie Vaughan and Lonnie Donegan were among the many artists who achieved their first UK charting top 10 single in 1956.
"Rock Around the Clock" by Bill Haley & His Comets, which had spent three weeks at number-one in 1955, returned to number-one in the first week of 1956 for another two weeks. The first new number-one single of the year was "Sixteen Tons" by Tennessee Ernie Ford. Overall, eleven different singles peaked at number-one in 1956, with eleven unique artists having the most singles hit that position.
Background Multiple entries Eighty-four singles charted in the top 10 in 1956, with seventy-nine singles reaching their peak this year. The EP All Star Hit Parade consisted of six songs by different artists who are all credited for the individual songs but only counts as one entry in the table. Fourteen songs were recorded by several artists with each version reaching the top 10:
"A Tear Fell" – Lita Roza (on All Star Hit Parade), Teresa Brewer "Blue Suede Shoes" – Carl Perkins, Elvis Presley "It's Almost Tomorrow" – David Whitfield, The Dream Weavers "Memories Are Made of This" – Dave King with The Keynotes, Dean Martin "More" – Jimmy Young, Perry Como "My September Love" – David Whitfield, Joan Regan (on All Star Hit Parade) "No Other Love" – Dave King (on All Star Hit Parade), Ronnie Hilton "Only You (And You Alone)" – The Hilltoppers, The Platters "Sixteen Tons" – Frankie Laine with The Mellomen, Tennessee Ernie Ford "The Ballad of Davy Crockett" – Bill Hayes, Tennessee Ernie Ford "The Great Pretender" – Jimmy Parkinson, The Platters "The Green Door" – Frankie Vaughan, Jim Lowe & The High Fives "Theme from The Threepenny Opera" – Dick Hyman Trio, Louis Armstrong with His All-Stars, Winifred Atwell "The Wayward Wind" – Gogi Grant, Tex Ritter
Eighteen artists scored multiple entries in the top 10 in 1956. Bill Haley & His Comets secured the record for most top 10 hits in 1956 with six hit singles.
Ronnie Hilton was one of a number of artists with two top-ten entries, including the number-one single "No Other Love". David Whitfield, Frank Sinatra, Jimmy Young, Perry Como and Tennessee Ernie Ford were among the other artists who had multiple top 10 entries in 1956.
Chart debuts Thirty-four artists achieved their first top 10 single in 1956, either as a lead or featured artist. Of these, three went on to record another hit single that year: Dave King, The Goons and The Platters. Lonnie Donegan achieved two more chart hits in 1956. Elvis Presley had three other entries in his breakthrough year.
The following table (collapsed on desktop site) does not include acts who had previously charted as part of a group and secured their first top 10 solo single.
Artist Number of top 10s First entry Chart position Other entriesBill Hayes1"The Ballad of Davy Crockett"2—Lonnie Donegan3"Rock Island Line"8"Lost John"/"Stewball" (2), "Bring a Little Water, Sylvie"/"Dead or Alive" (7)Eve Boswell1"Pickin' a Chicken"9—Gary Miller1"Robin Hood"10—Lou Busch1"Zambezi"2—1"Only You (And You Alone)"3—1"It's Almost Tomorrow" 1—Don Cherry1"Band of Gold"6—Edmund Hockridge1"Young and Foolish"10—Dave King2"Memories Are Made of This"5"No Other Love" (2)The Keynotes1—Jimmy Parkinson1"The Great Pretender"9—Dick Hyman Trio1"Theme from The Threepenny Opera"9—Billy May1"Main Title Theme from The Man with the Golden Arm"9—Don Robertson1"The Happy Whistler"8—Elvis Presley4"Heartbreak Hotel"2"Blue Moon", "Blue Suede Shoes" (9), "Hound Dog" (2)Carl Perkins1"Blue Suede Shoes"10—Morris Stoloff1"Moonglow and Theme from Picnic"7—Johnny Dankworth1"Experiments with Mice"7—Various Artists1"All Star Hit Parade (EP)"2—2"I'm Walking Backwards for Christmas"/"The Bluebottle Blues"4"Ying Tong Song"/"Bloodnok's Rock 'N' Roll Call" (3)Frankie Lymon1"Why Do Fools Fall in Love"1—Gogi Grant1"The Wayward Wind"9—Tex Ritter1"The Wayward Wind"8—Mel Tormé1"Mountain Greenery"4—Anne Shelton1"Lay Down Your Arms"1—1"Born to Be with You"8—2"The Great Pretender"/"Only You"5"My Prayer" (4)Freddie Bell and the Bellboys1"Giddy Up a Ding Dong"4—Jim Lowe1"The Green Door"8—The High FivesMitchell Torok1"When Mexico Gave Up the Rhumba"6—Grace Kelly1"True Love" 4—
Notes The EP All Star Hit Parade, which peaked at number two in July, featured the following songs: "Out of Town" by Dickie Valentine; "My September Love" by Joan Regan; "Theme from The Threepenny Opera" by Winifred Atwell; "No Other Love" by Dave King; "A Tear Fell" by Lita Roza and "It's Almost Tomorrow" by David Whitfield. Dave King was the only artist from this set who had not recorded a top 10 single until this year but he appeared in the chart earlier in the year with "Memories Are Made of This", a number five entry in March.
Songs from films Original songs from various films entered the top 10 throughout the year. These included "Rock-A-Beatin' Boogie", "Only You (And You Alone)" & "The Great Pretender" (The Platters versions), "See You Later, Alligator" and "Giddy Up a Ding Dong" (all from Rock Around the Clock), "(Love Is) The Tender Trap" (The Tender Trap), "The Main Title Theme from The Man with the Golden Arm"(The Man with the Golden Arm), "Moonglow and Theme from Picnic" (Picnic), "Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be)" (The Man Who Knew Too Much), "A Woman in Love" (Guys and Dolls), "Rip It Up" (Don't Knock the Rock) and "True Love" (High Society) .
Additionally, several versions of The Ballad of Davy Crockett entered the chart as part of the "Crockett craze", inspired by the 1955 Disney film Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier. Elvis Presley re-recorded his song "Blue Suede Shoes" for the 1960 film he starred in, G.I. Blues. "Hound Dog" was first recorded by Bill Haley & His Comets and featured in Rock Around the Clock, but Elvis Presley took the song into the top ten. Mel Torme's "Mountain Greenery" was a cover of a song that appeared in the 1948 film Words and Music. "My Prayer" by The Platters was originally recorded by Vera Lynn for the 1944 film "One Exciting Night".
Best-selling singles Until 1970 there was no universally recognised year-end best-sellers list. However, in 2011 the Official Charts Company released a list of the best-selling single of each year in chart history from 1952 to date. According to the list, "I'll Be Home" by Pat Boone is officially recorded as the biggest-selling single of 1956.
Top-ten singles Key SymbolMeaning‡Single peaked in 1955 but still in chart in 1956.♦Single released in 1956 but peaked in 1957.(#)Year-end best-selling single.EnteredThe date that the single first appeared in the chart.PeakHighest position that the single reached in the UK Singles Chart.
Entered(week ending) Weeksintop10 Single Artist Peak Peak reached(week ending) WeeksatpeakSingles in 195520"Rock Around the Clock" ‡ Bill Haley & His Comets159"Let's Have a Ding Dong" ‡Winifred Atwell3111"Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing" ‡228"Twenty Tiny Fingers" The Stargazers416"Christmas Alphabet" ‡Dickie Valentine138"Meet Me on the Corner" Max Bygraves215"Suddenly There's a Valley" Petula Clark713"Hawkeye" ‡Frankie Laine723"Never Do a Tango with an Eskimo" Alma Cogan62Singles in 19566"Rock-A-Beatin' Boogie" Bill Haley & His Comets428"Sixteen Tons" Tennessee Ernie Ford147"The Ballad of Davy Crockett" Bill Hayes236"Love and Marriage" Frank Sinatra314"The Ballad of Davy Crockett" Tennessee Ernie Ford318"(Love Is) The Tender Trap" Frank Sinatra216"Rock Island Line" Lonnie Donegan811"Sixteen Tons" Frankie Laine with The Mellomen1011"Pickin' a Chicken" Eve Boswell911"Robin Hood" Gary Miller10112"Memories Are Made of This" Dean Martin1412"Zambezi" Lou Busch2414"Only You (And You Alone)" 3114"It's Almost Tomorrow" 1317"(The) Rock and Roll Waltz" Kay Starr116"Band of Gold" Don Cherry611"Dreams Can Tell a Lie" Nat King Cole1012"Young and Foolish" Edmund Hockridge1028"Memories Are Made of This" Dave King with The Keynotes538"See You Later Alligator" Bill Haley & His Comets733"The Great Pretender" Jimmy Parkinson9111"The Poor People of Paris" Winifred Atwell133"Chain Gang" Jimmy Young923"Theme from The Threepenny Opera" Dick Hyman Trio9313"My September Love" David Whitfield3111"No Other Love" Ronnie Hilton1610"A Tear Fell" Teresa Brewer211"A Theme from The Threepenny Opera (Mack the Knife)" Louis Armstrong with His All-Stars814"Main Title Theme from The Man with the Golden Arm" Billy May9211"Lost John"/"Stewball"Lonnie Donegan2317"I'll Be Home" (#1)Pat Boone153"The Happy Whistler"Don Robertson8116"Heartbreak Hotel" Elvis Presley229"The Saints Rock 'N' Roll" Bill Haley & His Comets519"Hot Diggity (Dog Ziggity Boom)" Perry Como414"Blue Suede Shoes" Elvis Presley911"Blue Suede Shoes" Carl Perkins1011"Moonglow and Theme from Picnic"Morris Stoloff711"Too Young to Go Steady" Nat King Cole814"Experiments with Mice" Johnny Dankworth725"All Star Hit Parade (EP)" Various artists215"I'm Walking Backwards for Christmas"/"The Bluebottle Blues" 4111"Why Do Fools Fall in Love" Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers132"The Wayward Wind" Gogi Grant9212"Walk Hand in Hand" Tony Martin214"Who Are We" Ronnie Hilton6115"Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be)"Doris Day165"The Wayward Wind" Tex Ritter829"A Sweet Old Fashioned Girl" Teresa Brewer338"Mountain Greenery" Mel Tormé4114"Rockin' Through the Rye" Bill Haley & His Comets312"Serenade" Slim Whitman8111"Lay Down Your Arms" Anne Shelton141"Born to Be with You" 817"The Great Pretender"/"Only You (And You Alone)"526"Ying Tong Song"/"Bloodnok's Rock 'N' Roll Call" 317"Bring a Little Water, Sylvie"/"Dead or Alive" Lonnie Donegan7217"Hound Dog" Elvis Presley2314"A Woman in Love"Frankie Laine146"Giddy Up a Ding Dong" Freddie Bell and the Bellboys4214"Just Walkin' in the Rain" Johnnie Ray179"My Prayer" 436"More" Jimmy Young421"More" Perry Como1019"Rip It Up" Bill Haley & His Comets421"The Green Door" Jim Lowe & The High Fives8112"The Green Door" Frankie Vaughan232"When Mexico Gave Up the Rhumba" Mitchell Torok613"Blue Moon" Elvis Presley9313"St. Therese of the Roses" Malcolm Vaughan3419"True Love"♦Bing Crosby & Grace Kelly4117"Singing the Blues" ♦Guy Mitchell139"Cindy, Oh Cindy" Eddie Fisher522"Make It a Party"Winifred Atwell711"Christmas Island" Dickie Valentine81
Entries by artist
The following table shows artists who achieved two or more top 10 entries in 1956, including singles that reached their peak in 1955 or 1957. The figures include both main artists and featured artists. The total number of weeks an artist spent in the top ten in 1956 is also shown.