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 |