This is a list of Billboard magazine's ranking of the year's top country and western singles of 1959.
Johnny Horton's "The Battle of New Orleans" ranked as the year's No. 1 country and western record. It was released in April 1959, spent 10 weeks at the No. 1 spot, and remained on Billboard's country and western chart for 21 weeks. It was also the No. 1 record of 1961 on the year-end pop chart.
"The Three Bells" by The Browns ranked No. 2 on the year-end country and western chart. It also ranked No. 7 on the year-end pop chart.
"Waterloo" by Stonewall Jackson was another cross-over hit, finishing at No. 4 on the year-end country chart and No. 32 on the year-end pop chart.
Columbia Records led all of the labels with 16 records on the year-end chart. RCA Victor followed with eight records on the chart. Decca was third with seven records.
| Rank | Peak | Title | Artist(s) | Label |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "The Battle of New Orleans" | Johnny Horton | Columbia |
| 2 | 1 | "The Three Bells" | The Browns | RCA Victor |
| 3 | 2 | "Heartaches by the Number" | Ray Price | Columbia |
| 4 | 1 | "Waterloo" | Stonewall Jackson | Columbia |
| 5 | 1 | "Don't Take Your Guns to Town" | Johnny Cash | Columbia |
| 6 | 1 | "White Lightning" | George Jones | Mercury |
| 7 | 1 | "Country Girl" | Faron Young | Capitol |
| 8 | 2 | "I Ain't Never" | Webb Pierce | Decca |
| 9 | 1 | "When It's Springtime in Alaska (It's Forty Below)" | Johnny Horton | Columbia |
| 10 | 1 | "Billy Bayou" | Jim Reeves | RCA Victor |
| 11 | 2 | "Home" | Jim Reeves | RCA Victor |
| 12 | 4 | "Big Midnight Special" | Wilma Lee & Stoney Cooper | Hickory |
| 13 | 3 | "I'm in Love Again" | George Morgan | Columbia |
| 14 | 2 | "Country Music is Here to Stay" | Simon Crum (Ferlin Husky) | Capitol |
| 15 | 4 | "Come Walk with Me" | Wilma Lee & Stoney Cooper | Hickory |
| 16 | 3 | "Who Cares" | Don Gibson | RCA Victor |
| 17 | 2 | "Life to Go" | Stonewall Jackson | Columbia |
| 18 | 4 | "I Got Stripes" | Johnny Cash | Columbia |
| 19 | 5 | "Tennessee Stud" | Eddy Arnold | Columbia |
| 20 | 5 | "Black Land Farmer" | Frankie Miller | Starday |
| 21 | 1 | "City Lights" | Ray Price | Columbia |
| 22 | 7 | "I've Run Out of Tomorrow" | Hank Thompson | Capitol |
| 23 | 4 | "Which One Is to Blame" | Wilburn Brothers | Decca |
| 24 | 2 | "Pick Me Up on Your Way Down" | Charlie Walker | Columbia |
| 25 | 7 | "That's What It's Like to Be Lonesome" | Ray Price | Columbia |
| 26 | 5 | "Partners" | Jim Reeves | RCA Victor |
| 27 | 6 | "A Thousand Miles Ago" | Webb Pierce | Decca |
| 28 | 1 | "The Same Old Me" | Ray Price | Columbia |
| 29 | 9 | "Cabin in the Hills" | Flatt & Scruggs | Columbia |
| 30 | 6 | "Somebody's Back in Town" | Wilburn Brothers | Decca |
| 31 | 9 | "Am I That Easy to Forget" | Carl Belew | Decca |
| 32 | 5 | "Set Him Free" | Skeeter Davis | RCA Victor |
| 33 | 5 | "Jimmy Brown the Newsboy" | Mac Wiseman | Dot |
| 34 | 5 | "Gotta Travel On" | Billy Grammer | Monument |
| 35 | 7 | "Who Shot Sam" | George Jones | Mercury |
| 36 | 5 | "Don't Tell Me Your Troubles" | Don Gibson | RCA Victor |
| 37 | 5 | "Mommy for a Day" | Kitty Wells | Decca |
| 38 | 5 | "Ten Thousand Drums" | Carl Smith | Columbia |
| 39 | 4 | "Under Your Spell Again" | Buck Owens | Capitol |
| 40 | 12 | "That's What It's Like to Be Lonesome" | Bill Anderson | Decca |
| 41 | 8 | "Luther Plays the Boogie" | Johnny Cash | Sun |
| 42 | 7 | "Dark Hollow" | Jimmie Skinner | Mercury |
| 43 | 6 | "Treasure of Love" | George Jones | Mercury |
| 44 | 6 | "Long Black Veil" | Lefty Frizzell | Columbia |
| 45 | 10 | "Poor Old Heartsick Me" | Margie Bowes | Hickory |
| 46 | 7 | "Family Man" | Frankie Miller | Starday |
| 47 | 9 | "Grin and Bear It" | Jimmy C. Newman | M-G-M |
| 48 | 3 | "The Last Ride" | Hank Snow | RCA Victor |
| 49 | 3 | "There's a Big Wheel" | Wilma Lee & Stoney Cooper | Hickory |
| 50 | 9 | "My Baby's Gone" | Louvin Brothers | Capitol |
See also
- List of Hot C&W Sides number ones of 1959
- List of Billboard Hot 100 number ones of 1959
- 1959 in country music
Notes
- This column recites the record's peak position on Billboard's weekly charts.
References
- ^ "Hot C&W and R&B sides of the year" (PDF). The Billboard. December 14, 1959. p. 80.
- Joel Whitburn (1996). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Country Hits. Billboard Books. p. 149. ISBN 0823076326.
- ^ "Top Sides of 1959-Hot 100 of the year" (PDF). The Billboard. December 14, 1959. p. 78.
- Joel Whitburn (1995). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Country Hits. Billboard Books. ISBN 0823076326.
| Billboard Year-End hot country singles | |
|---|---|
| 1946–1949 | |
| 1950–1959 | |
| 1960–1969 | |