29 thoughts on “Ranking All Of Elvis Presley’s Top 40 Hits Best to Worst”

1. Here are some of my favorite Elvis songs:

   LONG BLACK LIMOUSINE – never released as a single, on the album “From Elvis in Memphis”
   A FOOL SUCH AS I
   TOMORROW IS A LONG TIME – also never released as a single, hidden by RCA on the “Spinout” soundtrack album (Bob Dylan said that this version was his favorite of all cover versions of his songs.)
   MY BOY
   I’VE LOST YOU
   HIS LATEST FLAME
   SUÇH A NIGHT – from the album “Elvis Is Back”
   TOMORROW NEVER COMES – from the album “Elvis Country”
   STRANGER IN MY HOME TOWN – from the double album “From Memphis to Vegas”
   AMERICAN TRILOGY

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2. You should do more musicians. The Beatles, Sinatra, Madonna, Rolling Stones just to name a few.

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   1. Hey Cheryl……I will put those suggestions on our Request list…….thanks for stopping by and commenting.

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3. Sorry
   More than a very good page
   A very good CHART
   A plus
   Pierre

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   1. Hey Pierre…thanks for the kind words

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4. Hello,
   I find that page and he is one of my fav singer as a rocker and as a crooner, as a country singer and romantic too, he was everywhere….
   Hé is the King with that voice, he is one of the biggest star all over the world
   And i know most of the songs, one of my fav are the devil in disguise, Jailhouse rock and all my shook up but i love all of them in fact.
   What is funny is i never saw a lot of his films maybe two or Three….
   A very good page
   Bonsoir
   Pierre

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   1. Hey Pierre…glad you enjoyed our experimental music page…I agree he was the biggest star in the world and for many many years. Good toilhou know his music reached you and that his movies did not, Jailhouse Rock got a good ranking. Thanks for the visit and the comment.

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5. He is # 1 in the rock era in Joel Whitburn’s book Top Pop Singles by their point system, ahead of the Beatles. Billboard used various current charts 1955 to 1958 which were consolidated inyo the top 100 in 1958. When Billboard itself compiled the top acts they only did since the Hot 100 started and Elvis dropped to like 4. The charts and rules have also been changed so many times down the years. Till 1969 double sided hits (yes records) were listed separately with different peaks. Then they combined the charts. Records were released quicker and stayed on the charts much shorter times say 1962 through 1975. When they went to Soundscan in 1991 you had to be on some form of single. Most R & B acts and a few other acts still released 45’s, casingles or CD singles, but many acts started to have what were called airplay hits, lik No Doubt’s Don’t Speak, Natalie Imbroglia’s Torn and the Cardigans Lovefool. The whole top 10 became basically soul records. So these album oriented acts didn’t release singles anymore. Then in 1999 reakkzing this they revamped the charts again where anything could make based on airplay to a much greater extent. Plus they incorporated country charts into the regular countdown. Acts also started to have all their album cuts debut on the singles chart at once (see Taylor Swift or Drake). Whitburn’s books do the top 500 acts of the rock era based on their point system > now Drake and Taylor and Rihanna are all in the top 10 of alltime. Plus numerous country acts pile up crazy stats where they make the top 500 with numerous chart records and none making the top 10. Records can stay on for as long as they’re in the top 50 but if they fall below 50 and are on 20 weeks then they’re dropped. Streaming has really slowed down the chart. Radioactive by Imagine Dragons (2012) stayed 87 weeks on the chart. The Shape I’m in by Ed Sheeran has spent 33 weeks in the top 10. Twice Drake has had more than 20 songs on the top 100 weekly in different years when different albums were released. One day by their system Elvis and the Beatles will fall (Mariah Carey is 3).

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   1. Billboard combined sides of records in 1969 depriving records of 2 rankings. It started with Come Together / Something by the Beatles which were listed separately and then combined. Creedence Clearwater Revival had about 5 double sided hits and yes Elvis had numerous ones he lost (every Elvis single basically charted both sides as did the Beatles). He also had numerous combined double sided hits. Donny Osmond and Linda Ronstadt who both never turned down someone else’s hit charted double sided remakes quite a bit. Remember remakes being hits, new versions. Unlike movies which do it all the time when was the last time you heard a remake become a hit, maybe 20 years.

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      1. Hey Dan. Thanks for the two comments on Elvis and the general state of the music business. So much quality stuff here. I bow to your personal experience in this field. My basic knowledge deals with the Joel Whitburn books and the old Casey Kesem countdown show.

         I remember listening to a yearly countdown of the best records of 1982….my favorite song was Jack and Diane by John Mellencamp……I think the countdown had that song at number for 8 or 9 for the year…..which I was happy with…..but then at number 3 or 4 they picked Hurt So Good by Mellencamp. At first I was confused…Jack and Diane was a number one hit….while Hurt So Good only reached number 2…..but since it stayed at #2 so long…..it did better in the yearly rankings…..any way…that memory is the basis for doing this page.

         Sounds like numerous artists lost some #1 songs. Good information on the streaming side of the business….I imagine that has changed lots of stuff in the music world. Good old Donny Osmond getting a mention on UMR….love it.

         You are right….not many songs that get remade have the same success as the original…I think Guns and Roses….Live and Let Die might be the only one I can currently think of….that was of course a cover of the James Bond song by Beatle Paul.

         Thanks again for sharing this information.

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