For the monthly number-one songs of the decade, see List of number-one songs from the 1950s (Mexico).
This is a list of the 10 most popular songs in Mexico for each year between 1950 and 1960, as published in the book "El Sound Track de la vida cotidiana", by Fernando Mejía Barquera.[1]
In addition to the continued prominence of bolero music (typically performed by tríos) which had been popular since the previous decade, Mexican music in the 50s was dominated by domestic ranchera music and Cuban dance genres, such as mambo and danzón.
Ranchera music, generally associated with rural Mexico but popular in urban areas as well, got a considerable boost from the massive popularity of Pedro Infante (an actor and ranchera singer who was present on the Mexican music charts from the beginning of the decade until his death in 1957) and the emergence of songwriter José Alfredo Jiménez (who, after writing many hit songs for other ranchera singers, eventually began to record his own songs).
The successful 1950 recording "Qué rico mambo", by Dámaso Pérez Prado and his orchestra, is considered as having initiated the boom of mambo music in Mexico.[2] [3] This genre became so popular with Mexican audiences that many Cuban performers (such as the aforementioned Pérez Prado and Beny Moré) moved to Mexico and appeared in Mexican movies, and it also paved the way for other Cuban musicians (such as the Sonora Matancera) who played genres other than mambo to find success in Mexico. The mambo craze of the 50s in Mexico, specially in urban areas where it became linked to the pachuco subculture,[4] has been compared to the rock and roll craze that would sweep the United States in the same decade.[5]
The year 1960 marked the beginning of a new era, with the appearance of the first nationwide rock and roll hits: "La hiedra venenosa" (a cover of The Coasters' "Poison Ivy") by Los Rebeldes del Rock, and "La plaga" (a cover of Little Richard's "Good Golly, Miss Molly") by Los Teen Tops, paving the way for rock and roll music (usually through Spanish-language covers of American and British songs) to become the dominant genre in the Mexican charts of the 60s.
The following year-end charts were elaborated by Mejía Barquera, based on weekly charts that were published on the magazine Selecciones musicales as compiled on Roberto Ayala's 1962 book "Musicosas: manual del comentarista de radio y televisión"; those charts were, according to Ayala, based on record sales, jukebox plays, radio and television airplay, and sheet music sales.[6] Mejía Barquera then took one chart from the second week of every month of a calendar year, so as to have twelve charts per year, and assigned "points" to the songs on those charts based on their ranking (from 10 points for a first place to 1 point for a tenth place), adding up the points to make his year-end charts.[7]
The charts published by Selecciones Musicales and compiled in the Musicosas book only include the song titles and the names of the composers; the performers credited in this article are included for reference and where many performers are listed for the same song, the performers appear in alphabetical order, which may not reflect whose version was the most popular.
| No. | Title | Songwriter(s) | Artist(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Pobre corazón" | Pedro Infante | |
| 2 | "Viajera" | Luis Arcaraz y su Orquesta | |
| 3 | "Tú, solo tú" | Pedro Infante / Beny Moré / Trío Calaveras | |
| 4 | "Quinto patio" | Luis Arcaraz | Luis Arcaraz y su Orquesta |
| 5 | "Qué rico mambo" | Dámaso Pérez Prado | Pérez Prado y su Orquesta |
| 6 | "Soy feliz" | Juan Bruno Tarraza | María Victoria con Orquesta de Luis Arcaraz |
| 7 | "La múcura" | Beny Moré con la Orquesta de Pérez Prado | |
| 8 | "Yo" | Andrés Huesca y sus Costeños | |
| 9 | "El gavilán pollero" | Pedro Infante | |
| 10 | "Amorcito corazón" | Manuel Esperón & Pedro de Urdimalas | Pedro Infante / Trío Los Panchos |
| No. | Title | Songwriter(s) | Artist(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Usted" | Gabriel Ruiz & José Antonio Zorrilla | Los Tres Diamantes |
| 2 | "Llévame" | Elvira Ríos / Emilio Tuero | |
| 3 | "Pecado" | Enrique Mario Francini, Armando Pontier & Carlos Bahr | Orquesta Francini-Pontier / Trío Los Panchos |
| 4 | "Ella" | José Alfredo Jiménez | Miguel Aceves Mejía / Pedro Infante |
| 5 | "Condición" | Gabriel Ruiz | Los Tres Diamantes |
| 6 | "La que se fue" | José Alfredo Jiménez | Pedro Infante |
| 7 | "Tu castigo" | Ventura Romero | Lola Beltrán / Pedro Infante |
| 8 | "Bolero" | Paul Durand & Henri Contet | Paul Durand |
| 9 | "El fronterizo" | Miguel Ángel Castilla & José Ángel Castilla | Pedro Infante |
| 10 | "Carta a Eufemia" | Pedro Infante | |
| No. | Title | Songwriter(s) | Artist(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Pénjamo" | Rubén Méndez | Pedro Infante |
| 2 | "Nube gris" | Pedro Infante | |
| 3 | "Amor, qué malo eres" | Luis Marquetti | |
| 4 | "Las coronelas" | Bonifacio Collazo | Various artists |
| 5 | "Peso sobre peso" | Chava Flores | Chava Flores / Pedro Infante |
| 6 | "El plebeyo" | Pedro Infante / Fernando Fernández | |
| 7 | "Carta a Eufemia" | Pedro Infante | |
| 8 | "Mi cafetal" | Crescencio Salcedo | Hermanas Lima |
| 9 | "La interesada" | Chava Flores | Various artists |
| 10 | "¿Dónde está mi saxofón?" | Various artists | |
| No. | Title | Songwriter(s) | Artist(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Piel canela" | Bobby Capó | Bobby Capó con la Sonora Matancera / Lucho Gatica / Pedro Vargas |
| 2 | "Tu recuerdo y yo" | Miguel Aceves Mejía / Pedro Infante | |
| 3 | "El jinete" | José Alfredo Jiménez | Jorge Negrete |
| 4 | "Ruega por nosotros" | Alberto Cervantes & Rubén Fuentes | Miguel Aceves Mejía / Lucho Gatica / Pedro Infante |
| 5 | "Candilejas" | Charles Chaplin | Los Tecolines |
| 6 | "Cerezo Rosa (Cherry Pink And Apple Blossom White)" | Los Tecolines / Pérez Prado y su orquesta / Trío los Panchos | |
| 7 | "Tienes que pagar" | Alberto Cervantes & Rubén Fuentes | Pedro Infante |
| 8 | "Ni por favor" | Alberto Cervantes & Rubén Fuentes | Pedro Infante |
| 9 | "Bonito y sabroso" | Beny Moré con Orquesta Rafael de Paz | |
| 10 | "Vaya con Dios" | Pedro Infante / Nat King Cole | |
| No. | Title | Songwriter(s) | Artist(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Cien años" | Pedro Infante | |
| 2 | "Contigo en la distancia" | César Portillo de la Luz | Lucho Gatica / Pedro Infante / Andy Russell |
| 3 | "Ruega por nosotros" | Alberto Cervantes & Rubén Fuentes | Miguel Aceves Mejía / Lucho Gatica / Pedro Infante |
| 4 | "Camino de Guanajuato" | José Alfredo Jiménez | Pedro Infante |
| 5 | "Espinita" | Nico Jiménez | Ana María González / Virginia López / Trío Los Panchos |
| 6 | "La engañadora" | Enrique Jorrín y orquesta | |
| 7 | "¿Quién será?" | Pablo Beltrán Ruiz | Pedro Infante / Sonora Matancera con Nelson Pinedo |
| 8 | "Gorrioncillo pecho amarillo" | Tomás Méndez | Lola Beltrán / Pedro Infante |
| 9 | "Bailando el Charleston" | Fred Raymond & Emilio Donato Uranga | Various artists |
| 10 | "Doce cascabeles" | Los Churumbeles | |
| No. | Title | Songwriter(s) | Artist(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Mi último fracaso" | Trío Los Panchos | |
| 2 | "Llegaste tarde" | Los Tres Ases [es] | |
| 3 | "La del rebozo blanco" | Rafael Cárdenas & Rubén Fuentes | Various artists |
| 4 | "Mil besos" | Emma Elena Valdelamar | María Victoria |
| 5 | "Un mundo raro" | José Alfredo Jiménez | Pedro Infante / Trío Calaveras |
| 6 | "A los cuatro vientos" | Miguel Aceves Mejía | |
| 7 | "Dime de quién es tu corazón" | José de Jesús Morales | Los Cuatro Soles / Marilú |
| 8 | "Rogaciano" | Valeriano Trejo | Miguel Aceves Mejía |
| 9 | "Grito prisionero" | Pedro Infante | |
| 10 | "Segundas partes" | Hermanos Martínez Gil [es] | |
| No. | Title | Songwriter(s) | Artist(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "No me platiques más" | Lucho Gatica / Pedro Infante / Los Tres Ases [es] | |
| 2 | "Que seas feliz" | Lola Beltrán / Libertad Lamarque / Los Tres Ases | |
| 3 | "Grítenme, piedras del campo" | Cuco Sánchez | Miguel Aceves Mejía / Amalia Mendoza / Rosita Quintana |
| 4 | "Historia de un amor" | Carlos Almarán | |
| 5 | "Échenme la tierra encima" | Rodolfo de la Garza | Pedro Infante |
| 6 | "Alma de acero" | Lola Beltrán / Pedro Infante / Trío Calaveras | |
| 7 | "Amor mío" | Álvaro Carrillo | Lucho Gatica / Los Tres Diamantes |
| 8 | "Angustia" | Orlando Brito | Sonora Matancera con Bienvenido Granda |
| 9 | "Vanidad" | Genaro Salinas / Los Tres Ases | |
| 10 | "Estoy perdido" | Los Tres Ases | |
| No. | Title | Songwriter(s) | Artist(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "El reloj" | Los Tres Caballeros | |
| 2 | "Ay, cosita linda" | Pacho Galán y su Orquesta / Sonora Matancera con Carlos Argentino | |
| 3 | "Tú me acostumbraste" | Frank Domínguez | Olga Guillot |
| 4 | "Te me olvidas" | Vicente Garrido | Olga Guillot / Los Tres Caballeros / José Antonio Méndez |
| 5 | "En la orilla del mar" | José Berroa | Sonora Matancera con Bienvenido Granda |
| 6 | "Espérame en el cielo" | Lucho Gatica / Pedro Vargas / Trío Los Panchos | |
| 7 | "La cama de piedra" | Cuco Sánchez | Cuco Sánchez |
| 8 | "La barca" | Roberto Cantoral | Los Tres Caballeros |
| 9 | "Marcelino, pan y vino" | Virgilio Savona, Tata Giacobetti & Barzizza | Various artists |
| 10 | "La pastora" | Tony Camargo | |
| No. | Title | Songwriter(s) | Artist(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Sabrás que te quiero" | Los Tres Ases / Raúl Shaw Moreno / Javier Solís | |
| 2 | "Regálame esta noche" | Los Tres Caballeros | |
| 3 | "Rumbo perdido" | Mario Álvarez | Los Tres Ases [es] / Javier Solís |
| 4 | "Échame a mí la culpa" | José Ángel Espinoza | Amalia Mendoza / Javier Solís |
| 5 | "Fascinación" | Fermo Dante Marchetti | Tito Guízar / Trío Hermanos Michel / Sara Montiel / Los Cuatro Hermanos Silva |
| 6 | "Corazón de melón" | Los Hermanos Rigual | |
| 7 | "Todo y nada" | Vicente Garrido | Los Tres Ases / Lucho Gatica |
| 8 | "Cuando tú me quieras" | Mario Barrios & Raúl Shaw Moreno | Los Tres Ases / Raúl Shaw Moreno / Javier Solís |
| 9 | "Lágrimas de amor" | Raúl Shaw Moreno | Olimpo Cárdenas / Raúl Shaw Moreno |
| 10 | "Nel blu dipinto di blu" | Domenico Modugno | |
| No. | Title | Songwriter(s) | Artist(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "La margarita" | Mariano Mercerón y su Orquesta | |
| 2 | "Bala perdida" | Lola Beltrán | |
| 3 | "Me extraña" | Luis Martínez Serrano | Los Tres Caballeros |
| 4 | "Nuestro juramento" | Benito de Jesús | Julio Jaramillo |
| 5 | "Jacaranda" | Enrique Fabregat & Mario Molina Montes | Los Tres Ases [es] / Trío Los Santos |
| 6 | "Lágrimas del alma" | Miguel Aceves Mejía / Lucho Gatica / Flor Silvestre / Javier Solís | |
| 7 | "Qué bonito amor" | José Alfredo Jiménez | Miguel Aceves Mejía / Elvira Ríos / Flor Silvestre / Javier Solís |
| 8 | "Decídete" | Ramón Inclán | Los Dandys |
| 9 | "Un telegrama" | Alfredo & Gregorio García Segura | Monna Bell |
| 10 | "Gema" | Los Dandys | |
| No. | Title | Songwriter(s) | Artist(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Sabor a mí" | ||
| 2 | "Limosnero de amor" | Alberto Beltrán / Javier Solís | |
| 3 | "Bésame y olvídame" | Beatriz Jiménez | Javier Solís |
| 4 | "La boa" | Félix Reina & Carlos Lico | Sonora Santanera |
| 5 | "Adiós" | Alfredo Carrasco | Los Tecolines |
| 6 | "No pidas más perdón" | Los Llopis / Sonora Matancera con Carlos Argentino | |
| 7 | "Ayúdame, Dios mío" | Mario de Jesús | María Elena Sandoval |
| 8 | "Canción de Orfeo" | Luis Bonfá | Los Tres Diamantes |
| 9 | "La plaga" | John Marascalco & Robert Blackwell | Los Teen Tops |
| 10 | "La hiedra venenosa" | Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller | Los Rebeldes del Rock |
| 11 | "El aguijón" | Charro Avitia / Lola Casanova / Emilio Domínguez / Hermanas Huerta | |