Last updated 2/22/2026
The Top 31 Songs of 1963, as charted by Billboard Magazine, will be presented each month during the season. These are records that peaked at either #1 or #2 on the weekly charts.
658 records appeared on the Hot 100 chart in 1963. 268 more were Bubbling Under the Hot 100.
Songs that reached the Top 10 on another chart are marked with AC (Easy Listening/Adult Contemporary),
C (Country), and R&B (Rhythm and Blues/Soul).
Song 1
Peaked at #1 on 10/12/63 for five weeks. R&B #1.
First of their three Top 20 hits, the last one credited as just The Fireballs, even though Gilmer was still in the group.
They served as studio musicians for Norman Petty, who had produced Buddy Holly. Petty played the Hammond Solovox keyboard on the record.
#1 – “Sugar Shack” by Jimmy Gilmer and the Fireballs
Song 2
Peaked at #1 on 3/30/63 for four weeks. R&B #1.
First of their three Top 10 hits.
#2 – “He’s So Fine” by The Chiffons
Song 3
Peaked at #1 on 12/7/63 for four weeks. AC #1 (4 weeks).
Real name Jeanne-Paule Marie Deckers. Her only Hot 100 hit.
Grammy Award for Best Gospel or Other Religious Recording (Musical).
#3 – “Dominique” by The Singing Nun
Song 4
Peaked at #1 on 2/9/63 for three weeks. R&B #1.
First of their two Top 10 hits.
Their real names were Ray Hildebrand and Jill Jackson. Ray had written the song, and their producer decided that they should change their names to match the song lyrics.
#4 – “Hey Paula” by Paul and Paula
Song 5
Peaked at #1 on 8/31/63 for three weeks. R&B #2.
Second of their two Top 20 hits. They later served as studio backup singers for Lou Christie and others.
#5 – “My Boyfriend’s Back” by The Angels
Song 6
Peaked at #1 on 9/21/63 for three weeks. AC #1 (8 weeks).
Second of his four #1 hits, fourth of his 15 Top 20 hits.
Peaked at #16 for Tony Bennett in 1951.
Though Burt Bacharach did not write this, he conducted the orchestra on the record.
#6 – “Blue Velvet” by Bobby Vinton
Song 7
Peaked at #1 on 6/15/63 for three weeks. AC #1 (5 weeks), R&B #18.
His only Top 40 hit. It was the only single by an Asian artist to top the Hot 100 until 2020.
The title, which doesn’t appear in the song, was made up because it sounded Japanese and was catchy.
Peaked at #3 with new lyrics for A Taste Of Honey in 1981.
#7 – “Sukiyaki” by Kyu Sakamoto
Song 8
Peaked at #1 on 4/27/63 for three weeks. R&B #1.
Margaret Annemarie Battavio was 14 when this song was recorded. By the time it reached #1, she was 15, and she is still the youngest female artist to have a Billboard #1 hit.
First of her three Top 40 hits.
She never charted in the US after 1963, but continued to have hits in Germany through 1980, and has recorded
as recently as 2013.
#8 – “I Will Follow Him” by Little Peggy March
Song 9
Peaked at #1 on 8/10/63 for three weeks.
Recorded at the Regal Theater in Chicago a month after Stevland Morris turned 12. Marvin Gaye is the drummer.
This was the B-side of the original single release, with Part 1 as the A-side.
First of his eight solo #1 pop hits and 44 solo Top 40 pop hits, none since 1988. 19 R&B #1 hits.
#9 – “Fingertips – Pt. 2” by Little Stevie Wonder
Song 10
Peaked at #1 on 3/2/63 for three weeks.
Third of their five #1 hits, fourth of their 30 Top 40 hits.
#10 – “Walk Like A Man” by The 4 Seasons
Song 11
Peaked at #1 on 1/12/63 for two weeks. AC #1 (6 weeks).
His only #1 pop hit. Last of his six Top 20 pop hits.
Peaked at #12 for The Happenings in 1966 and at #1 for Donny Osmond in 1971. Donny and Marie sure loved those 1963 songs.
#11 – “Go Away Little Girl” by Steve Lawrence
Song 12
Peaked at #1 on 11/23/62 for two weeks. AC #1 (2 weeks).
First of their two Top 10 (actually, Top 60) hits.
Peaked at #4 for Donny and Marie Osmond in 1974.
#12 – “I’m Leaving It Up To You” by Dale and Grace
Song 13
Peaked at #1 on 7/20/63 for two weeks.
Their only #1 hit. Second of their five Top 10 hits.
#13 – “Surf City” by Jan and Dean
Song 14
Peaked at #1 on 6/1/63 for two weeks.
First of her eight Top 20 hits.
Discovered and produced by Quincy Jones.
#14 – “It’s My Party” by Lesley Gore
Song 15
Peaked at #1 on 1/26/63 for two weeks.
First of their two Top 20 hits.
#15 – “Walk Right In” by The Rooftop Singers
Song 16
Peaked at #1 on 7/6/63 for two weeks.
First of their two Top 20 hits.
The group was formed by Marines serving at Camp LeJeune, NC.
#16 – “Easier Said Than Done” by The Essex
Song 17
Peaked at #1 on 5/18/63 for two weeks.
His only Top 20 hit.
#17 – “If You Wanna Be Happy” by Jimmy Soul
Song 18
Peaked at #1 on 8/3/63 for one week.
First of their four Top 20 hits.
#18 – “So Much In Love” by The Tymes
Song 19
Peaked at #1 on 11/16/63 for one week.
Brother and sister act (Antonino and Carol LoTempio).
Nino was an in-demand LA session saxophonist and occasional actor.
Grammy Award for Best Rock and Roll Recording (????). Among the other nominees were #8, #14, and #20.
Peaked at #20 for Billy Ward in 1957 and #14 for Donny and Marie Osmond in 1976.
#19 – “Deep Purple” by Nino Tempo and April Stevens
Song 20
Peaked at #1 on 3/23/63 for one week.
Their first hit and only Top 10 record.
Peaked at #11 for Frankie Valli in 1975.
#20 – “Our Day Will Come” by Ruby and the Romantics
Song 21
Peaked at #2 on 12/14/63 for six weeks.
First of their three Top 20 hits.
This bears no resemblance to songwriter Richard Berry’s original 1957 recording.
#21 – “Louie Louie” by The Kingsmen
Song 22
Peaked at #2 on 4/13/63 for four weeks. AC #1, R&B #7.
Seventh of his eight Top 10 hits, his only one in the Sixties, and the last one not until 1971.
On the Adult Contemporary charts, which began in July 1961, he had 19 Top 10 hits.
#22 – “Can’t Get Used To Losing You” by Andy Williams
Song 23
Peaked at #2 on 2/23/63 for three weeks. R&B #5.
Sixth of his nine Top 10 solo hits.
#23 – “Ruby Baby” by Dion
Song 24
Peaked at #2 on 10/12/63 for three weeks. R&B #4.
Their only Top 20 hit. Five Top 40 records.
Lead singer Veronica Bennett, aka Ronnie Spector. Married to Phil 1968-74.
Peaked at #17 for Andy Kim in 1970.
#24 – “Be My Baby” by The Ronettes
Song 25
Peaked at #2 on 8/24/63 for three weeks.
His only Top 30 record. His first three comedy albums reached #1.
Grammy Award for Best Comedy Performance.
#25 – “Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah! (A Letter From Camp)” by Allan Sherman
Song 26
Peaked at #2 on 9/28/63 for two weeks. R&B #4.
Their only Hot 100 hit. They were a studio group – at least ten different singers are on the record.
#26 – “Sally, Go ‘Round The Roses” by The Jaynetts
Song 27
Peaked at #2 on 8/17/63 for one week. AC #1 (5 weeks).
Third of their six Top 10 hits, and the second biggest.
Grammy Awards for Best Folk Recording and Best Performance by a Vocal Group.
#27 – “Blowin’ In The Wind” by Peter, Paul and Mary
Song 28
Peaked at #2 on 11/23/63 for one week.
Their only Top 40 hit. I once met the co-writer of this song, film and Broadway composer David Shire.
#28 – “Washington Square” by The Village Stompers
Song 29
Peaked at #2 on 8/10/63 for one week. R&B #10.
Their only Top 40 hit. Peaked again at #16 on 7/30/66.
#29 – “Wipe Out” by The Surfaris
Song 30
Peaked at #2 on 3/23/63 for one week. AC #1 (4 weeks), C #2, R&B #4.
First of her two Top 10 pop hits.
The most successful Billboard “crossover” hit, peaking in the Top 4 in all four singles charts. It is still the only record to make the Top 10 on all four charts.
#30 – “The End Of The World” by Skeeter Davis
Song 31
Peaked at #2 on 5/11/63 for one week. AC #1 (2 weeks), R&B #10.
Second of their six Top 10 hits.
#31 – “Puff The Magic Dragon” by Peter, Paul and Mary
Bubbling Under the Hot 100 at Song #770 (peaked at #116): “From Me To You” by The Beatles.
Things would be different in 1964.
All tracks are stereo 320 kbps mp3 files, converted from higher-resolution digital files.
Some are true stereo recordings, and some were converted from mono recordings using the Digitally Extracted Stereo (DES) process.
The source reference for this list is “Joel Whitburn’s Pop Annual 1950-2023.”
The structure of the annual charts is simple: records are rated on the highest position reached on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and the number of weeks spent at that position. Ties are broken by the number of weeks spent in the Top 10, Top 40, and Top 100.
If a record charted in more than one year, all of its chart history is treated as if it occurred in the year that the record first hit its peak position, so it will not appear at all in the other year’s listing.