On December 29, 1956, Elvis Presley had 10 of his singles simultaneously charting on the Billboard Top 100 (Hot 100) chart. By the end of ’56, Presley had placed more singles on the 100 than any other artist since the inception of the charts.
Included in Presley’s 10 singles on the Hot 100 were his No. 1 hits “Love Me Tender,” “Hound Dog,” and “Don’t Be Cruel.”
The 10 Presley songs that charted the Hot 100 include: “Love Me Tender” at No. 2; “Love Me” at No. 7; “Don’t Be Cruel” at No. 26; “When My Blue Moon Turns To Gold Again” at No. 38; “Old Shep” at No. 47; “Hound Dog” and “Poor Boy” tied at No. 54; “Any Way You Want Me” at No. 70; Paralyzed” at No. 78; and “Blue Moon” rounded them out at No. 93.
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The Year of Elvis
The year was a pivotal one for Presley, who also released his eponymous debut and follow-up, Elvis. In 1956, Presley took over rock and roll and the pop charts. By the end of the year, Presley’s “Heartbreak Hotel” was also planted in the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 and earned him his first gold record.
Every single that Presley released between 1956 through 1958 went to No. 1 on the charts in the U.S. Throughout his career, Presley had 149 songs chart the Hot 100, including 114 of them in the top 40, another 40 in the top 10, and 18 in the No. 1 spot.
[RELATED: Elvis Presley Still Has the Best-Selling Christmas Album of All Time]
During the week of December 16, 1957, Presley also topped the Billboard 200 chart with his first holiday album. Elvis’ Christmas Album. The album remained at the top of the 200 for four weeks and has remained the top-selling holiday album of all time.
Elvis’ Christmas Album sold more than 20 million copies worldwide and was also Presley’s first Diamond-selling record. It became the first Christmas album to spend four consecutive weeks at the top of the Billboard 200 and continues to sell nearly 70 decades later.
Photo: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
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