ALL TIME ROCK & ROLL COUNTDOWN
(Top 40 hits from 1955 - 1972)
Broadcast Fourth Of July Weekend 1972 (1 July 1972)
(2nd Anniversary Show)
| Title | Artist | Year | |
| 1 | The Twist |
Chubby Checker | 1960/62 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Hey Jude | The Beatles | 1968 |
| 3 | Mack the Knife | Bobby Darin | 1959 |
| 4 | I Want To Hold Your Hand | The Beatles | 1964 |
| 5 | I'm a Beliver | The Monkees | 1966 |
| 6 | All Shook Up | Elvis Presley | 1957 |
| 7 | Don't Be Cruel/Hound Dog | Elvis Presley | 1956 |
| 8 | Love Letters In the Sand | Pat Boone | 1957 |
| 9 | Jailhouse Rock | Elvis Prelsey | 1957 |
| 10 | Sixteen Tons | "Tennessee" Ernie Ford | 1955 |
| 11 | (Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear | Elvis Presley | 1957 |
| 12 | Singing the Blues | Guy Mitchell | 1956 |
| 13 | (We're Gonna) Rock Around the Clock | Bill Haley and His Comets | 1955 |
| 14 | Theme From "A Summer Place" | Percy Faith and His Orchestra | 1960 |
| 15 | Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head | B.J. Thomas | 1970 |
| 16 | Sugar Sugar | The Archies | 1969 |
| 17 | I Heard It Through the Grapevine | Marvin Gaye | 1968 |
| 18 | Joy To the World | Three Dog Night | 1971 |
| 19 | Love Me Tender | Elvis Presley | 1956 |
| 20 | I'll Be There | Jackson 5 | 1970 |
| 21 | Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In (The Flesh Failures) (Medley) | The 5th Dimension | 1969 |
| 22 | Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White | Prez Prado and His Orchestra | 1955 |
| 23 | Autumn Leaves | Roger Williams | 1955 |
| 24 | It's All In the Game | Tommy Edwards | 1958 |
| 25 | American Pie (Parts 1 and 2) | Don McLean | 1972 |
| 26 | I Think I Love You | The Partridge Family | 1970 |
| 27 | It's Now Or Never | Elvis Presley | 1960 |
| 28 | Are You Lonesome To-night? | Elvis Presley | 1960 |
| 29 | Knock Three Times | Dawn | 1971 |
| 30 | Maggie May/Reason To Believe | Rod Stewart | 1971 |
| 31 | Love Is Blue | Paul Mauriat | 1968 |
| 32 | Bridge Over Troubled Water | Simon and Garfunkel | 1970 |
| 33 | It's Too Late/I Feel the Earth Move | Carole King | 1971 |
| 34 | Memories Are Made Of This | Dean Martin | 1956 |
| 35 | Tammy | Debbie Reynolds | 1957 |
| 36 | At the Hop | Danny and the Juniors | 1958 |
| 37 | The Battle Of New Orleans | Johnny Horton | 1959 |
| 38 | To Sir With Love | Lulu | 1967 |
| 39 | I Can't Stop Loving You | Ray Charles | 1962 |
| 40 | Big Girls Don't Cry | The Four Seasons | 1962 |
Note: This was the first time AT40 ever did an "Anniversary Special" countdown, a tradition that would continue off and on until the shows end. As far as specials go, it was pretty straightforward - here are the Top 40 songs of the Rock Era. As one can imagine early rock hits dominated the chart simply because the way Billboard compiled the chart in the 50s was different than in the 60s and 70s. Songs in the 50s charted longer, with a chart run of 20+ weeks not suprising. In the mid to late 60s a #1 song could spend a scant 9 weeks in the Top 40. A good number of non "rock" hits made the chart which nicely illustrates that rock did not thoroughly take over the charts beginning in 1955, but was a slow process.