Billboard Hot 100 | Top 5 – Week of January 13, 1962
The second Billboard Hot 100 chart of 1962 brought a remarkable piece of chart history back to the top. Chubby Checker’s “The Twist,” already a #1 hit in 1960, returned to the summit in January 1962 as America’s dance craze refused to slow down. Very few records get a second life this powerful, and even fewer return to #1 after already defining an earlier moment in pop culture.
This week’s chart was full of movement. The Tokens slipped to #2 with “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” after a strong run at the top, while Joey Dee & the Starliters kept the dance floor crowded with “Peppermint Twist.” Elvis Presley continued climbing with “Can’t Help Falling In Love,” and Barbara George made a major move into the Top 5 with the soulful “I Know (You Don’t Love Me No More).”
The chart also showed how quickly American pop was broadening in the early 1960s. Dance records were no longer side attractions. They were driving the culture. At the same time, teen idols, vocal groups, rhythm and blues performers, country crossover artists, and traditional pop singers were all competing on the same national stage.
January 13, 1962 feels like a week where the past and future met on the dance floor. “The Twist” connected back to 1960, but its renewed success pointed forward to a decade where youth culture, television exposure, and participatory dance records would become even more important. The new year was already moving fast.
Top 5 Songs
1. The Twist – Chubby Checker
“The Twist” climbed from #2 to #1 this week, giving Chubby Checker one of the most extraordinary chart stories of the early rock and roll era. The song had already topped the Hot 100 in 1960, but its return to #1 in 1962 proved that this was not just a hit record. It was a cultural movement.
The record’s appeal was simple but powerful. The beat was easy to follow, the dance was easy to learn, and the whole experience felt modern and freeing. Unlike older partner dances, “The Twist” allowed people to dance more independently, which gave it a fresh youth-culture energy that fit the early 1960s perfectly.
Chubby Checker became the face of that movement. His performance made the dance feel fun, approachable, and exciting. By returning to #1, “The Twist” showed that a record could become bigger than radio play alone. It could change parties, television appearances, nightclubs, and family living rooms across the country.
2. The Lion Sleeps Tonight – The Tokens
After holding the #1 spot, “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” slipped to #2 this week but remained one of the most memorable records on the chart. The Tokens had delivered a song unlike anything else in the Top 10, and its charm was still very much alive as 1962 began.
The record stood out because of its atmosphere. Its floating falsetto, layered harmonies, and chant-like hook gave it a dreamy sound that felt playful and almost magical. Even as it moved down one position, it still carried the feeling of a record that had already secured its place in pop history.
Its legacy would only grow over time. “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” became one of those songs that seemed to belong to every generation that discovered it. Oldies radio, movies, television, and family singalongs kept it alive long after its original chart run ended.
3. Peppermint Twist – Joey Dee & the Starliters
Joey Dee & the Starliters continued climbing as “Peppermint Twist” moved from #4 to #3. With “The Twist” sitting at #1, this chart made it clear that dance records were dominating the national conversation. America was not just listening to music. It was moving to it.
“Peppermint Twist” captured the excitement of the Peppermint Lounge, the New York nightclub that became closely tied to the twist craze. The record had a pounding, party-like energy that made listeners feel as if they were stepping into the club itself.
The song’s rise showed how quickly the music business could respond to a cultural trend. The Twist was no longer just one song by Chubby Checker. It had become a whole movement, and Joey Dee & the Starliters were right in the middle of it.
4. Can’t Help Falling In Love – Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley climbed from #5 to #4 with “Can’t Help Falling In Love,” continuing the steady rise of one of his most beloved ballads. At a time when dance records were filling the upper reaches of the chart, Elvis offered something softer, warmer, and more timeless.
The song’s beauty came from its restraint. Presley did not need to push the vocal. He let the melody carry the emotion, giving the record a graceful quality that helped it stand apart from more energetic hits. The arrangement was gentle, romantic, and built to last.
“Can’t Help Falling In Love” would become much more than a chart hit. It became one of the signature love songs of Presley’s career, a record that later generations would continue to associate with romance, memory, and the softer side of the King.
5. I Know (You Don’t Love Me No More) – Barbara George
Barbara George made one of the biggest moves of the week as “I Know (You Don’t Love Me No More)” jumped from #15 to #5. That kind of leap into the Top 5 gave the chart a jolt of soul and rhythm and blues energy.
The record had a direct, heartfelt quality that made it stand out. George’s vocal was emotional but controlled, and the song’s New Orleans flavor gave it a different feel from the teen-pop and dance records around it. It brought grit, groove, and heartbreak into the upper reaches of the Hot 100.
Its success was another reminder that early 1960s pop was becoming more diverse. Rhythm and blues records were increasingly finding mainstream audiences, helping shape the sound of the decade ahead. Barbara George’s hit may not be remembered as widely as some of the bigger names on the chart, but this week it was one of the hottest records in America.
More Weeks at #1 for “The Twist”
This song spent multiple weeks at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. Explore each chart week below:
🎂 What Was the #1 Song on Your Birthday?
If you were born during the week ending January 13, 1962, this was your birthday song:
🎵 The Twist by Chubby Checker
▶ Watch and experience this song →
🎂 Try your own birthday:
- The Twist – Chubby Checker
- The Lion Sleeps Tonight – The Tokens
- Peppermint Twist – Joey Dee & the Starliters
- Can’t Help Falling In Love – Elvis Presley With The Jordanaires
- I Know (You Don’t Love Me No More) – Barbara George
- Happy Birthday, Sweet Sixteen – Neil Sedaka
- Walk On By – Leroy Van Dyke
- Run To Him – Bobby Vee
- Unchain My Heart – Ray Charles and his Orchestra
- When The Boy In Your Arms (Is The Boy In Your Heart) – Connie Francis
Chart Movers This Week
A Week When America Kept Twisting
The January 13, 1962 Hot 100 was dominated by movement, rhythm, and renewed excitement. Chubby Checker’s return to #1 with “The Twist” was the headline, but it was not the only dance story. Joey Dee & the Starliters were climbing fast with “Peppermint Twist,” proving that the craze had become bigger than a single record.
At the same time, the chart still had room for romance and soul. Elvis Presley brought elegance with “Can’t Help Falling In Love,” while Barbara George added emotional rhythm and blues with “I Know (You Don’t Love Me No More).” That mixture gave the week a lively balance between dancing, longing, and classic pop melody.
This was the sound of early 1962 taking shape. The charts were still connected to the late 1950s, but the energy was changing. Dance floors, radio playlists, and teenage record buyers were pushing the Hot 100 toward a more active, more varied, and more exciting future.