World news events

  • John F. Kennedy elected President in narrow contest over Richard Nixon
  • Soviet Union shoots down an American U-2 reconnaissance airplane over Soviet airspace and captures pilot Gary Powers, forcing U.S. to admit to aerial spying
  • Belgian Congo wins independence
  • U.S., Britain, France and the Soviet Union conduct summit talks, but without results
  • U.S. relations with Cuba deteriorate as Castro regime seizes U.S. assets
  • Two airliners collided over the skies of Brooklyn, NY.

Science & Technology

  • U.S. launches:
    • Tiros I, first weather satellite
    • Echo I, first communications satellite (experimental)
    • Transit I-B, first navigational satellite
    • Corona, first spy satellite
  • Soviet Sputnik 5 launches two dogs into orbit and returns them safely to earth
  • U.S.-French team aboard the deep-sea vessel Trieste dives to a record 35,800 feet in the Pacific
  • First studies linking cigarette smoking with heart disease
  • The USS Enterprise launched, the first aircraft carrier to be powered by nuclear reactors

Sports

  • NBA: Boston Celtics
  • NCAA Football: Minnesota
  • Heisman Trophy: Joe Bellino
  • Stanley Cup: Montreal Canadiens
  • World Series: Pittsburgh

Movies

  • Ben-Hur
  • Psycho
  • Operation Petticoat
  • Suddenly, Last Summer
  • On the Beach
  • Solomon and Sheba
  • The Apartment
  • From the Terrace
  • Please Don't Eat the Daisies
  • Ocean 11

         Academy Awards

  • Best Picture: "The Apartment"
  • Best Director: Billy Wilder..."The Apartment"
  • Best Actor: Burt Lancaster..."Elmer Gantry"
  • Elizabeth Taylor..."Butterfield 8""

Most Popular Books

Fiction
1." Advise and Consent"... Allen Drury. Doubleday
2."Hawaii,"... James A. Michener. Random House
3."The Leopard"... Giuseppe di Lampedusa. Pantheon Books
4."The Chapman Report"... Irving Wallace. Simon & Schuster
5."Ourselves To Know"... John O'Hara. Random House
6."The Constant Image"... Marcia Davenport. Scribner
7."The Lovely Ambition"... Mary Ellen Chase. Norton
8."The Listener"... Taylor Caldwell. Doubleday
9."Trustee from the Toolroom"... Nevil Shute. Morrow
10."Sermons and Soda-Water"... John O'Hara. Random House
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Nonfiction
1."Folk Medicine"... D. C. Jarvis. Holt, Rinehart & Winston
2."Better Homes and Gardens First Aid for Your Family"...Meredith Publishing Co.
3.The General Foods Kitchens Cookbook"... Random House
4."May This House Be Safe from Tigers" ... Alexander King, Simon & Schuster
5."Better Homes & Gardens Dessert Book"... Meredith Publishing Co.
6."Better Homes & Gardens Decorating Ideas"... Meredith Publishing Co.
7."The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich"... William L. Shirer. Simon & Schuster
8."The Conscience of a Conservative"...Barry Goldwater. Victor Publishing Co.
9."1 Kid You Not"... Jack Paar. Little, Brown
10."Between You, Me and the Gatepost" ...Pat Boone. PrenticeHall
 

Music

1. The Twist - Chubby Checker
2. Beyond The Sea - Bobby Darin
3. Are You Lonesome Tonight? - Elvis Presley
4. Wild One - Bobby Rydell
5. Volare - Bobby Rydell
6. I'm Sorry - Brenda Lee
7. Money (That's What I Want) - Barrett Strong
8. This Magic Moment - the Drifters
9. It's Now Or Never - Elvis Presley
10. Wonderful World - Sam Cooke
11. You're Sixteen - Johnny Burnette
12. Cathy's Clown - the Everly Brothers
13. Georgia On My Mind - Ray Charles
14. Only The Lonely - Roy Orbison
15. Hot Rod Lincoln - Johnny Bond
16. Tell Laura I Love Her - Ray Peterson
17. Harbor Lights - the Platters
18. Shimmy Shimmy Ko-Ko-Bop - Little Anthony & the Imperials
19. Chain Gang - Sam Cooke
20. Save The Last Dance For Me - the Drifters
21. Stuck On You - Elvis Presley
22. Where Or When - Dion & The Belmonts
23. Teen Angel - Mark Dinning
24. Devil Or Angel - Bobby Vee
25. Stay - Maurice Williams and the Zodiaks
26. Swingin' School - Bobby Rydell
27. Finger Poppin' Time - Hank Ballard & The Midnighters
28. Sweet Nothin's - Brenda Lee
29. Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polkadot Bikini - Brian Hyland
30. Poetry In Motion - Johnny Tillotson
31. Last Date - Floyd Cramer
32. Baby (You've Got What It Takes) - Dinah Washington & Brook Benton
33. Let's Go, Let's Go, Let's Go - Hank Ballard & The Midnighters
34. Puppy Love - Paul Anka
35. When Will I Be Loved? - the Everly Brothers
36. Walk, Don't Run - the Ventures
37. Mama - Connie Francis
38. Theme From "A Summer Place" - Percy Faith
39. Running Bear - Johnny Preston
40. Alley-Oop - Hollywood Argyles

 

      Grammy Awards

  • Record of the Year: "Theme form A Summer Place"... Percy Faith
  • Song of the Year:"Theme of Exodus"...Ernest Grant
  • Album of the Year: "Button Down Mind"...Bob Newhart
  • Male Vocalist: Ray Charles..."The Genius of Ray Charles"
  • Female Vocalist: Ella Fitzgerald... Mack the Knife, Ella in Berlin"

 

 Number One Song according to Billboard Magazine:

December 28, 1959 - January 3, 1960: Why - Frankie Avalon
January 4, 1960 - January 17: El Paso - Marty Robbins
January 18 - February 7: Running Bear - Johnny Preston
February 8 - February 21: Teen Angel - Mark Dinning
February 22 - April 24: The Theme From - A Summer Place - - Percy Faith & his Orchestra
April 25 - May 22: Stuck On You - Elvis Presley
May 23 - June 26: Cathy's Clown - The Everly Brothers
June 27 - June 10: Everybody's Somebody's Fool - Connie Francis
July 11 - July 17: Alley-Oop - Hollywood Argyles
July 18 - August 7: I'm Sorry - Brenda Lee
August 8 - August 17: Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polkadot Bikini - Brian Hyland
August 15 - September 18: It's Now Or Never - Elvis Presley
September 19 - September 25: The Twist - Chubby Checker
September 26 - October 9: My Heart Has A Mind Of Its Own - Connie Francis
October 10 - October 16: Mr. Custer - Larry Verne
October 17 - October 23: Save The Last Dance For Me - The Drifters
October 24 - November 13: I Want To Be Wanted - Brenda Lee
November 14 - November 20: Georgia On My Mind - Ray Charles
November 21 - November 27: Stay - Maurice Williams & The Zodiacs
November 28, 1960 - January 8, 1961: Are You Lonesome Tonight? - Elvis Presley