There were lots of similarities in the results of the Great 88 survey for 1961 from last year’s survey, but a lot also changed. Four of the five top songs–by Dion, Gene McDaniels, Del Shannon and The Shirelles–were repeats from last year, with Runaway returning to the Top Five for the fifth consecutive year. Looking beyond those songs, results were more spread out than last year, with 60 different songs getting attention. There was also a more significant drop from the top positions. While 10 songs were within 2% of the top position in 2017, only the top five accomplished that this year.
Here’s the top five songs in alphabetical order by artist:
“Runaround Sue” by Dion
“A Hundred Pounds of Clay” by Gene McDaniels
“Angel Baby” by Rosie and the Originals
“Runaway” by Del Shannon
“Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow” by The Shirelles
Voting on the polls for the best songs of 1956 , 1959 and 1963 are still open. Check out the full schedule here, and get updates on Twitter.
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