The year 1960 opened up the door for an entire decade of century-defining music. The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Beach Boys… There were so many major rock music acts that exploded in popularity in the 1960s. And it all started with the very first year of the decade, which bridged the gap between traditional rock and roll and new iterations of rock music. If you were a kid in the year 1960, you probably remember the following nostalgic songs all too well. Let’s take a look!

“Cathy’s Clown” by The Everly Brothers

A few Everly Brothers songs could make it to this list, but we just couldn’t leave out the 1960 hit “Cathy’s Clown”. This little pop song was released in April of 1960 and follows the story who has been done dirty and humiliated by his lover. 

This song is actually a stellar example of how good Don and Phil Everly were at close harmony vocal stylings. It’s really a lovely song, complete with an unusual and unique structure that lacks verses. “Cathy’s Clown” is still considered the most successful single of the Brothers’ career.

“Stuck On You” by Elvis Presley

How many Elvis Presley hits could have made it to this list? I went with “Stuck On You”, released in March of 1960. This song was Presley’s first hit song after his two-year run in the US Army. And apparently, fans had been anxiously waiting for it. The song reached No. 1 in the US that year, and it’s still one of Presley’s most beloved tunes.

“The Twist” by Chubby Checker

Even if you weren’t born in the 50s or 60s, you probably know this tune quite well. It’s an American classic, after all. Though, this entry on our list of nostalgic songs from 1960 was actually written back in 1958 by Hank Ballard And The Midnighters. 

Chubby Checker’s version ended up being an even greater hit than the original, hitting No. 1 on the Hot 100 chart by September of 1960. The song exploded in popularity after Checker himself performed the song on The Dick Clark Saturday Night Show. This is a really good example of the early era of music blowing up due to the popularization of a dance craze. Back in 1960, everybody was doing the Twist.

Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images