In 2018, to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Hot 100, Billboard magazine published a list of the top 600 songs in the history of the chart (see here). However, that ignored the 60+ years of charts the magazine had done prior to that. This rectifies that situation by offering a list of the top songs from the pre-Hot 100 era.
See other chart-based lists here and specific Billboard lists here.
1. Elvis Presley “Don’t Be Cruel” / “Hound Dog” (1956)
2. Gene Austin “My Blue Heaven” (1927)
3. The Ink Spots “The Gypsy” (1946)
4. Guy Mitchell “Singing the Blues” (1956)
5. Anton Karas “The Third Man Theme” (1950)
6. Bing Crosby with the Ken Darby Singers “White Christmas” (1942)
7. Patti Page “Tennessee Waltz” (1950)
8. The Mills Brothers “Paper Doll” (1942)
9. Arthur Collins with Byron Harlan “Alexander’s Ragtime Band” (1911)
10. Haydn Quartet “Sweet Adeline (You’re the Flower of My Heart)” (1904)
11. Ben Selvin “Dardanella” (1920)
12. Vernon Dalhart “The Prisoner’s Song” (1925)
13. Francis Craig with Bob Lamm “Near You” (1947)
14. The Weavers with Gordon Jenkins’ Orchestra “Goodnight Irene” (1950)
15. Jo Stafford “You Belong to Me” (1952)
16. Tommy Dorsey with Frank Sinatra “I’ll Never Smile Again” (1940)
17. Artie Shaw “Frenesi” (1940)
18. Glenn Miller “In the Mood” (1939)
19. Henry Burr with Albert Campbell “Till We Meet Again” (1919)
20. George J. Gaskin “On the Banks of the Wabash” (1897)
21. Byron Harlan “School Days (When We Were a Couple of Kids)” (1907)
22. Johnnie Ray & the Four Lads “Cry” (1951)
23. Harry James with Helen Forrest “I’ve Heard That Song Before” (1943)
24. Vaughn Monroe “Riders in the Sky (A Cowboy Legend)” (1949)
25. Paul Whiteman’s Orchestra “Whispering” (1920)
26. Frankie Carle & Marjorie Hughes “Oh What It Seemed to Be” (1946)
27. Dinah Shore & Her Harper Valley Boys “Buttons and Bows” (1948)
28. Ted Weems with Elmo Tanner “Heartaches” (1947)
29. George J. Gaskin “After the Ball” (1893)
30. Les Paul with Mary Ford “Vaya Con Dios (May God Be with You)” (1953)
31. The Harmonicats “Peg O’ My Heart” (1947)
32. Al Jolson “Sonny Boy” (1928)
33. Byron Harlan “My Gal Sal” (1907)
34. Henry Burr “Beautiful Ohio” (1919)
35. American Quartet “Over There” (1917)
36. Perry Como “Till the End of Time” (1945)
37. Percy Faith with Felicia Sanders “Where Is Your Heart (Song from “Moulin Rouge”)” (1953)
38. American Quartet with Billy Murray “Casey Jones” (1910)
39. Ella Fitzgerald with Chick Webb & His Orchestra “A-Tisket, A-Tasket” (1938)
40. Jimmy Dorsey & His Orchestra with Bob Eberly & Helen O’Connell “Amapola (Pretty Little Poppy)” (1941)
41. Tony Bennett “Because of You” (1951)
42. Arthur Collins “The Preacher and the Bear” (1905)
43. Henry Burr “Just a Baby’s Prayer at Twilight (For Her Daddy Over There)” (1918)
44. The Andrews Sisters with Vic Schoen’s Orchestra “Rum and Coca-Cola” (1945)
45. Guy Lombardo “The Third Man Theme” (1950)
46. Leo Reisman & His Orchestra with Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers “Cheek to Cheek” (1935)
47. Al Jolson “April Showers” (1922)
48. Leo Reisman’s Orchestra with Fred Astaire “Night and Day” (1932)
49. Bill Haley & the Comets “We’re Gonna Rock Around the Clock” (1954)
50. Haydn Quartet “Put on Your Old Grey Bonnet” (1909)
51. Billy Murray “You’re a Grand Old Flag (aka “The Grand Old Rag”)” (1906)
52. Bing Crosby with George Stoll’s Orchestra “Pennies from Heaven” (1936)
53. Harry MacDonough with Elise Stevenson (as Miss Walton) “Shine on, Harvest Moon” (1909)
54. Paul Whiteman & His Orchestra with Franklyn Baur “Valencia (A Song of Spain)” (1926)
55. Elvis Presley “Heartbreak Hotel” (1956)
56. Bing Crosby with Lani McIntire & His Hawaiians “Sweet Leilani” (1937)
57. Nick Lucas “Tip-Toe Thru the Tulips with Me” (1929)
58. Vaughn Monroe’s Orchestra “Ballerina” (1947)
59. Elvis Presley “All Shook Up” (1957)
60. George Olsen with Joe Morrison “The Last Round-Up” (1933)
61. Larry Clinton with Bea Wain “Deep Purple” (1939)
62. Byron Harlan “Wait Till the Sun Shines, Nellie” (1906)
63. Ted Lewis & His Band “In a Shanty in Old Shanty Town” (1932)
64. Rudy Vallee & His Connecticut Yankees “Stein Song (University of Maine)” (1930)
65. Len Spencer “Arkansaw Traveler” (1902)
66. Elvis Presley “Jailhouse Rock” (1957)
67. Glenn Miller Orchestra with Ray Eberle & The Modernaires “Moonlight Cocktail” (1942)
68. Tennessee Ernie Ford “Sixteen Tons” (1955)
69. Kay Starr “Wheel of Fortune” (1952)
70. Dan Quinn “The Band Played On” (1895)
71. Eddy Howard “To Each His Own” (1946)
72. Dan Quinn “The Sidewalks of New York” (1895)
73. The McGuire Sisters “Sincerely” (1955)
74. Elvis Presley “Love Me Tender” (1956)
75. George W. Johnson “The Laughing Song” (1891)
76. Perez “Prez” Prado “Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White” (1955)
77. Pat Boone “Love Letters in the Sand” (1957)
78. Danny & The Juniors “At the Hop” (1957)
79. Elvis Presley “Let Me Be Your Teddy Bear” (1957)
80. Mitch Miller “The Yellow Rose of Texas” (1955)
81. Haydn Quartet “In the Good Old Summertime” (1903)
82. Haydn Quartet “Bedelia” (1904)
83. Tab Hunter “Young Love” (1956)
84. Victor Orchestra “The Glow-Worm” (1908)
85. Eileen Barton “If I Knew You Were Comin’ I’d’ve Baked a Cake” (1950)
86. George J. Gaskin “My Old New Hampshire Home” (1898)
87. John McCormack “It’s a Long, Long Way to Tipperary” (1915)
88. Dinah Shore “The Gypsy” (1946)
89. J.W. Myer “In the Good Old Summertime” (1902)
90. The Four Aces “Love is a Many Splendored Thing” (1955)
91. George J. Gaskin “When You Were Sweet Sixteen” (1900)
92. Gogi Grant “The Wayward Wind” (1956)
93. Blue Baron & His Orchestra “Cruising Down the River on a Sunday Afternoon” (1949)
94. Gene Austin “Ramona” (1928)
95. Dean Martin “Memories Are Made of This” (1955)
96. John Philip Sousa “The Stars and Stripes Forever” (1897)
97. The Everly Brothers “Wake Up Little Susie” (1957)
98. Nat “King” Cole “Mona Lisa” (1950)
99. Al Jolson “Swanee” (1920)
100. Harry MacDonough “Down by the Old Mill Stream” (1911)
101. Harry MacDonough & Grace Spencer “Tell Me Pretty Maiden” (1901)
102. Steve Porter “A Bird in a Gilded Cage” (1900)
103. Henry Burr “Love Me and the World Is Mine” (1906)
104. Bing Crosby & the Andrews Sisters “Don’t Fence Me In” (1944)
105. Vaughn Monroe “There! I’ve Said It Again” (1945)
106. Charles Harrison “Peg O’ My Heart” (1913)
107. Roger Williams “Autumn Leaves” (1955)
108. Leo Reisman & Harold Arlen “Stormy Weather (Keeps Rainin' All the Time)” (1933)
109. Lucy Isabelle Marsh “The Glow-Worm” (1908)
110. Bing Crosby with John Scottt Trotter’s Orchestra “Swinging on a Star” (1944)
111. Kitty Kallen “Little Things Mean a Lot” (1954)
112. Sam Cooke “You Send Me” (1957)
113. Vera Lynn with Ronald Shaw’s Orchestra “Auf Wiederseh’n Sweetheart” (1952)
114. American Quartet “It’s a Long, Long Way to Tipperary” (1914)
115. The Platters “My Prayer (Avant de Mourir)” (1956)
116. John Philip Sousa with Harry MacDonough & S.H. Dudley “In the Good Old Summertime” (1903)
117. Buddy Clark “Peg O’ My Heart” (1947)
118. Al Dexter & His Troopers “Pistol Packin’ Mama” (1943)
119. Perry Como “Wanted” (1954)
120. Les Brown with Doris Day “Sentimental Journey” (1945)
121. Glenn Miller with Tex Beneke & the Four Modernaires “Chattanooga Choo Choo” (1941)
122. Billy Murray with the Haydn Quartet “By the Light of the Silvery Moon” (1910)
123. Billy Murray “Meet Me in St. Louis, Louis” (1904)
124. Ada Jones & Billy Murray “Shine on, Harvest Moon” (1909)
125. Frank Sinatra “Oh, What It Seemed to Be” (1946)
126. Patti Page “The Doggie in the Window” (1953)
127. Billy Murray “Harrigan” (1907)
128. Russ Morgan & Skylarks “Cruising Down the River on a Sunday Afternoon” (1949)
129. Kay Starr & the Hugo Winterhalter Orchestra “Rock and Roll Waltz” (1955)
130. Pee Wee Hunt “Twelfth Street Rag” (1948)
131. Bert Williams “Nobody” (1906)
132. Arthur Collins “Hello Ma Baby” (1899)
133. Glenn Miller “Tuxedo Junction” (1940)
134. Peggy Lee “Manana Is Soon Enough for Me” (1948)
135. Dan Quinn “A Hot Time in the Old Town” (1896)
136. The Andrews Sisters “Shoo-Shoo Baby” (1943)
137. Frankie Laine with Jud Conlon’s Rhythmaires “That Lucky Old Sun” (1949)
138. Paul Anka “Diana” (1957)
139. Dan Quinn “Daisy Bell (A Bicycle Built for Two)” (1893)
140. Wayne King “Goodnight Sweetheart” (1931)
141. Eddy Howard “Sin (It’s No Sin)” (1951)
142. Peerless Quartet “Let Me Call You Sweetheart” (1911)
143. The Crew-Cuts “Sh-Boom” (1954)
144. Ethel Waters “Stormy Weather (Keeps Rainin' All the Time)” (1933)
145. The Three Suns “Peg O’ My Heart” (1947)
146. Len Spencer “Hello Ma Baby” (1899)
147. Les Baxter “The Poor People of Paris” (1956)
148. Heidelberg Quintet “By the Beautiful Sea” (1914)
149. Paul Whiteman “Three O’Clock in the Morning” (1922)
150. Frankie Masters “Scatter-Brain” (1939)
151. Bing Crosby “Only Forever” (1940)
152. Jere Mahoney “When You Were Sweet Sixteen” (1900)
153. Jere Mahoney “A Bird in a Gilded Cage” (1900)
154. Frankie Carle & Marjorie Hughes “Rumors Are Flying” (1946)
155. The Platters “The Great Pretender” (1955)
156. Billy Jones “Yes! We Have No Bananas” (1923)
157. Debbie Reynolds “Tammy” (1957)
158. The Ames Brothers “You, You, You” (1953)
159. Henry Burr “I Wonder Who’s Kissing Her Now” (1909)
160. Ed Gallagher & Al Shean “Mr. Gallagher and Mr. Shean” (1922)
161. Perry Como “If (They Made Me King)” (1951)
162. Pat Boone “April Love” (1957)
163. Tony Bennett “Rags to Riches” (1953)
164. Nat “King” Cole “Nature Boy” (1948)
165. Freddy Martin & Jack Fina “Piano Concerto in B Flat” (1941)
166. The Chordettes “Mr. Sandman” (1954)
167. Dick Haymes & the Song Spinners “You’ll Never Know” (1943)
168. Nicholas Orlando’s Orchestra “Till We Meet Again” (1919)
169. Jimmy Dorsey with Bob Eberly & Kitty Kallen “Besame Mucho (Kiss Me Much)” (1944)
170. Sonny James “Young Love” (1956)
171. Len Spencer “The Old Folks at Home (Swanee River)” (1892)
172. John York Atlee “Listen to the Mocking Bird (aka “The Mocking Bird”)” (1891)
173. Charles Hart & Lewis James “Till We Meet Again” (1919)
174. Enrico Caruso “Over There” (1918)
175. The Victor Military Band “Poor Butterfly” (1917)
176. Red Foley “Chattanoogie Shoe Shine Boy” (1950)
177. Patti Page “I Went to Your Wedding” (1952)
178. The Mills Brothers “The Glow-Worm” (1952)
179. Ben Selvin “I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles” (1919)
180. Peerless Quartet “I Didn’t Raise My Boy to Be a Soldier” (1915)
181. Steve Porter “On the Banks of the Wabash” (1898)
182. J.W. Myers “The Sidewalks of New York” (1895)
184. Tex Williams “Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! That Cigarette” (1947)
185. Mina Hickman “Come Down Ma Evening Star” (1903)
186. Tommy Dorsey with Edythe Wrightt “The Music Goes ‘Round and ‘Round” (1935)
187. Bing Crosby with the Ken Darby Singers “Sunday, Monday or Always” (1943)
188. Les Paul & Mary Ford “How High the Moon” (1951)
189. Rosemary Clooney “Hey There” (1954)
190. Len Spencer “A Hot Time in the Old Town” (1897)
191. American Quartet “Moonlight Bay” (1912)
192. Arthur Collins “Bill Bailey, Won’t You Please Come Home” (1902)
193. Al Jolson “Rock-a-Bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody” (1918)
194. Billy Murray “Yankee Doodle Boy” (1905)
195. Guy Lombardo & Carmen Lombardo “Red Sails in the Sunset” (1935)
196. Glenn Miller & Marion Hutton “The Woodpecker Song” (1940)
197. Jimmie Rodgers “Honeycomb” (1957)
198. Billy Murray with the Haydn Quartet “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” (1908)
199. Al Jolson “You Made Me Love You (I Didn't Want to Do It)” (1913)
200. Byron Harlan & Frank Stanley “Blue Bell” (1904)
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First posted 8/4/2018; last updated 12/1/2022.
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