Top 100 songs for May 1, 1961
This weekly snapshot follows the songs and artists competing across the Billboard Hot 100. Open any entry for its full chart history, or explore 1961 and the 1960s.
This week’s No. 1 is “Runaway” by Del Shannon. Meanwhile, “(Dance The) Mess Around” by Chubby Checker rises from No. 79 to No. 28. 14 songs are listed in their first chart week.
See debuts and biggest movers
This week’s chart highlights
Biggest climbers
- (Dance The) Mess Around — Chubby Checkerup 51 places, No. 79 → No. 28
- Travelin' Man — Ricky Nelsonup 37 places, No. 71 → No. 34
- Tragedy — The Fleetwoodsup 28 places, No. 74 → No. 46
New to this week’s Top 40
- Mama Said — The ShirellesNo. 18
- (Dance The) Mess Around — Chubby CheckerNo. 28
- Bonanza — Al Caiola And His OrchestraNo. 33
- Travelin' Man — Ricky NelsonNo. 34
- Girl Of My Best Friend — Ral DonnerNo. 36
- The Continental Walk — Hank Ballard And The MidnightersNo. 37
- Saved — LaVern BakerNo. 38
- Hello Walls — Faron YoungNo. 39
- Some Kind Of Wonderful — The DriftersNo. 40
First-week entries
- That Old Black Magic — Bobby RydellNo. 53
- Little Devil — Neil SedakaNo. 56
- Hello Mary Lou — Ricky NelsonNo. 73
- Those Oldies But Goodies (Remind Me Of You) — Little Caesar and The RomansNo. 80
- Buzz Buzz A-Diddle-It — Freddy CannonNo. 88
- Raindrops — Dee ClarkNo. 90
- Big Big World — Johnny BurnetteNo. 92
- You're Gonna Need Magic — Roy HamiltonNo. 93
- Count Every Star — Donnie and The DreamersNo. 94
- Moody River — Pat BooneNo. 95
- Halfway To Paradise — Tony OrlandoNo. 96
- A Cross Stands Alone — Jimmy WitterNo. 97
- Kissin Game — DionNo. 99
- Rama Lama Ding Dong — The EdselsNo. 100
First-week entries have one recorded chart week. Climbs and Top 10/Top 40 arrivals use recorded previous positions for consecutive chart weeks; returning songs without a previous position are not classified as debuts.