The

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

is one of many music charts compiled by the

Official Charts Company The Official Charts (legal name: The Official UK Charts Company Limited) is a British inter-professional organization that compiles various "official" record charts in the United Kingdom, Ireland and France. In the United Kingdom, its charts inc ...

that calculates the best-selling singles of the week in the United Kingdom. Before 2004, the chart was only based on the sales of physical singles. This list shows singles that peaked in the top 10 of the

during

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wors ...

, as well as singles which peaked in

1961 Events January * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba ( Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015). ** Aero Flight 311 ...

and

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cov ...

but were in the top 10 in 1962. The entry date is when the single appeared in the top 10 for the first time (week ending, as published by the Official Charts Company, which is six days after the chart is announced). Ninety-two singles were in the top ten in 1962. Seven singles from 1962 remained in the top 10 for several weeks at the beginning of the year, while " (Dance With The) Guitar Man" by Duane Eddy & the Rebelettes, "

Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" is a Christmas song written by Johnny Marks and recorded by Brenda Lee in 1958; it has since been recorded by numerous other music artists. By the song's 50th anniversary in 2008, Lee's original version had s ...

" by Brenda Lee and " The Next Time"/" Bachelor Boy" by

Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is an Indian-born British musican, singer, producer, entrepreneur and philanthropist who holds both British and Barbadian citizenship. He has total sales of over 21.5 million s ...

and

The Shadows The Shadows (originally known as the Drifters) were an English instrumental rock group, who dominated the British popular music charts in the late 1950s and early 1960s, in the pre- Beatles era. They served as the backing band for Cliff Richard ...

were all released in 1962 but did not reach their peak until 1963. "

Moon River "Moon River" is a song composed by Henry Mancini with lyrics by Johnny Mercer. It was originally performed by Audrey Hepburn in the 1961 movie ''Breakfast at Tiffany's (film), Breakfast at Tiffany's'', winning an Academy Award for Best Original ...

" by Danny Williams with Geoff Love and His Orchestra, "

Midnight in Moscow __NOTOC__ "Moscow Nights" ( rus, Подмосковные вечера, r=Podmoskovnyje večera, ), later covered as "Midnight in Moscow", is a Soviet Russian song. Composition and initial success Composer Vasily Solovyov-Sedoi and poet Mikhai ...

" by Kenny Ball & His Jazzmen and "

Stranger on the Shore "Stranger on the Shore" is a piece for clarinet written by Acker Bilk for his young daughter and originally named "Jenny" after her. The tune was written on a single scrap of paper by Bilk and handed over to Leon Young (1916-1991) who crafted th ...

" by Mr Acker Bilk were the singles from 1961 to reach their peak in 1962. Twenty-three artists scored multiple entries in the top 10 in 1962.

Chubby Checker Chubby Checker (born Ernest Evans; October 3, 1941) is an American rock and roll singer and dancer. He is widely known for popularizing many dance styles, including The Twist dance style, with his 1960 hit cover of Hank Ballard & The Midnighte ...

, The Four Seasons, Frank Ifield, Joe Brown and

Tommy Roe Thomas David "Tommy" Roe (born May 9, 1942) is a retired American rock and pop singer-songwriter. Best-remembered for his hits "Sheila" (1962) and " Dizzy" (1969), Roe was "widely perceived as one of the archetypal bubblegum artists of the late ...

were among the many artists who achieved their first UK charting top 10 single in 1962. The 1961

Christmas number-one In the United Kingdom, Christmas number ones are singles that top the UK Singles Chart in the week in which Christmas Day falls. The singles have often been novelty songs, charity songs or songs with a Christmas theme. Historically, the volume ...

, "

" by Danny Williams, remained at number one for the first two weeks of 1962. The first new number-one single of the year was " The Young Ones" by

and

. Overall, twelve different singles peaked at number-one in 1962, with

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

(4) having the most singles hit that position.

Background

Multiple entries

Ninety-two singles charted in the top 10 in 1962, with eighty-five singles reaching their peak this year. "When My Little Girl is Smiling" was recorded by Craig Douglas and Jimmy Justice and both versions reached the top 10. Twenty-three artists scored multiple entries in the top 10 in 1962.

secured the record for most top 10 hits in 1962 with six hit singles, four of which were with

. Frank Ifield was one of a number of artists with two top-ten entries, including the number-one single "

I Remember You I Remember You may refer to: Music Albums * '' I Remember You...'', a 1980 album by Karin Krog, Warne Marsh and Red Mitchell * ''I Remember You'' (Brian McKnight album), 1995 * ''I Remember You'' (Jo Stafford album), 2002 * ''I Remember You ...

". Adam Faith, Bobby Darin, Duane Eddy,

Karl Denver Karl Denver (16 December 1931 – 21 December 1998) was a Scottish singer, who, with his trio had a series of UK hit singles in the early 1960s. Most famous of these was a 1961 version of " Wimoweh", which showed off Denver's falsetto yodel ...

and Neil Sedaka were among the other artists who had multiple top 10 entries in 1962.

Chart debuts

Twenty-five artists achieved their first top 10 single in 1962, either as a lead or featured artist. Bernard Cribbins, Frank Ifield and Jimmy Justice all had one other entry in their breakthrough year. The following table (collapsed on desktop site) does not include acts who had previously charted as part of a group and secured their first top 10 solo single. ;Notes British vocal group The Tornados were Billy Fury's backing group from the start of this year until August 1963 but they did not receive specific credit for these recordings. Their first official chart credit was "

Telstar Telstar is the name of various communications satellites. The first two Telstar satellites were experimental and nearly identical. Telstar 1 launched on top of a Thor-Delta rocket on July 10, 1962. It successfully relayed through space the fir ...

" under their own name.

Songs from films

Original songs from various films entered the top 10 throughout the year. These included " The Young Ones" (from '' The Young Ones''), "

Rock-A-Hula Baby "Rock-A-Hula Baby ("Twist" Special)" is a 1961 song recorded by Elvis Presley and performed in the 1961 film '' Blue Hawaii''. The song was also released as a single. Background The song was recorded on March 23, 1961 at Radio Recorders in Hollywo ...

" and " Can't Help Falling in Love" (''

Blue Hawaii ''Blue Hawaii'' is a 1961 American musical romantic comedy-drama film directed by Norman Taurog and starring Elvis Presley. The screenplay by Hal Kanter was nominated by the Writers Guild of America in 1962 in the category of Best Written Americ ...

''), " The Ballad of Paladin" ('' The Wild Westerners''), " The Next Time" and " Bachelor Boy" ('' Summer Holiday''). Additionally, the original version of " Love Letters" was nominated for the

Academy Award for Best Original Song The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is presented to the ''songwriters'' who have composed th ...

after being used in the film of the same name (losing out to " It Might As Well Be Spring" from '' State Fair''). "

The Green Leaves of Summer "The Green Leaves of Summer" is a song by Paul Francis Webster, with music by Dimitri Tiomkin, written for the 1960 film '' The Alamo''. It was performed in the film's score by the vocal group The Brothers Four. In 1961, the song was nominated fo ...

" was also Academy Award-nominated, appearing in the 1960 film ''

The Alamo The Battle of the Alamo (February 23 – March 6, 1836) was a pivotal event in the Texas Revolution. Following a 13-day siege, Mexican troops under President General Antonio López de Santa Anna reclaimed the Alamo Mission near San Anto ...

'', where it was performed by The Brothers Four.

Best-selling singles

Until 1970 there was no universally recognised year-end best-sellers list. However, in 2011 the Official Charts Company released a list of the best-selling single of each year in chart history from 1952 to date. According to the list, "

" by Frank Ifield is officially recorded as the biggest-selling single of 1962.

Top-ten singles

;Key

Entries by artist

The following table shows artists who achieved two or more top 10 entries in 1962, including singles that reached their peak in 1961 or 1963. The figures include both main artists and featured artists. The total number of weeks an artist spent in the top ten in 1962 is also shown.

Notes

* "Stranger on the Shore" re-entered the top 10 at number 8 on 21 March 1962 (week ending) for 5 weeks, at number 10 on 9 May 1962 (week ending) and at number 9 on 4 July 1962 (week ending) for 2 weeks. * "Run to Him" re-entered the top 10 at number 6 on 21 February 1962 (week ending) for 2 weeks. * The Shadows are only featured (along with Cliff Richard) on "Do You Want to Dance". The song was released as a double-A side single in the United Kingdom with "I'm Looking out the Window". * "Green Leaves of Summer" re-entered the top 10 at number 7 on 11 July 1962 (week ending). * "English Country Garden" re-entered the top 10 at number 8 on 18 July (week ending) for 4 weeks. * "Telstar" re-entered the top 10 at number 10 on 23 January 1963 (week ending). * "Let's Dance" re-entered the top 10 at number 10 on 2 January 1963 (week ending) for 2 weeks. * "Sherry" re-entered the top 10 at number 10 on 12 December 1962 (week ending). * Figure includes single that peaked in 1963. * Figure includes single that peaked in 1961. * Figure includes single that first charted in 1961 but peaked in 1962.

References

General * Specific

External links

1962 singles chart archive
at the

(click on relevant week) {{UK Music Charts

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

Top 10 singles