The Best R&B Songs of the 50s

What are the best R&B songs from the 50s?

In 1949, the term rhythm and blues replaced the Billboard category Harlem Hit Parade. That same year, "The Huckle-Buck", recorded by band leader and saxophonist Paul Williams, became the first #1 R&B tune and remained on top of the charts for nearly the entire year.

In 1951, the Clovers had the #5 hit of the year with "Don't You Know I Love You" on Atlantic Records. Also in July 1951, Cleveland, Ohio DJ Alan Freed started a late-night radio show called "The Moondog Rock Roll House Party" on WJW-AM (850). The show was sponsored by Fred Mintz, who owned an R&B record store. Because of this, Freed began referring to the rhythm and blues music he played as rock and roll and helped popularize the term.

The first hit to cross over from the R&B chart to hit the top 10 was "Sh-Boom" by the Chords in 1954. Later that year, and into 1955, "Hearts of Stone" by The Charms also managed to cross and made it into the top 20. Fats Domino made the top 30 of the pop charts in 1952 and 1953, then the top 10 with "Ain't That a Shame". Ray Charles came to national prominence in 1955 with "I Got a Woman". It was an upfront use of gospel music conventions in an R&B context.

Alan Freed, who had moved to the much larger market of New York City, helped the record become popular with white teenagers. Freed had been given part of the writers' credit by Chess in return for his promotional activities; a common practice at the time. Also at Chess Records in 1955, Bo Diddley's debut record "Bo Diddley" / "I'm A Man" climbed to #2 on the R&B charts and popularized the Bo Diddley beat.

Two Elvis Presley records made the R&b top five in 1957: "Jailhouse Rock" at #1, and "All Shook Up" at #5, an unprecedented acceptance of a non-African American artist into a music category known for being created by blacks.

Another significant feature of RB music in the 1950s is Doo-wop. Doo-wop is a style of vocal-based rhythm and blues music, which was started in the black community and became popular in the 1950s to the early 1960s in the United States.

Located below you will find a list of some of the best R&B songs of the 1950s. For your convenience, we have included links to the sheet music on Sheetmusicplus.com as well as the CD on Amazon.com whenever available. If you are looking to purchase the mp3 or would like to listen to a sample, then click on either the Amazon, Rhapsody, or iTunes links.

Rhapsody provides both music subscriptions as well as individual mp3s for sale in WMA format and iTunes only provides MPEG-4 audio files for sale. However, Amazon does offer mp3s that are compatible with both Windows Media Player and iTunes. For more information about where to purchase music online, we provide it on our Music Downloads page or our Music Subscriptions page.



These singles are considered among the best R&B songs to hit the charts in the 1950s.

  1. "5-10-15 Hours" performed by Ruth Brown
     Find it on:  Ruth Brown - The Essentials: Ruth Brown   Amazon CD   Amazon mp3s   Rhapsody   Sheetmusicplus
  2. "Bo Diddley" performed by Bo Diddley
     Find it on:  Bo Diddley - Bo Diddley: The Chess Box (Box Set) - Bo Diddley   Amazon CD   Amazon mp3s   Rhapsody   Sheetmusicplus
  3. "Charlie Brown" performed by the Coasters
     Find it on:  The Coasters - Back to Back - The Drifters and the Coasters - Charlie Brown   Amazon CD   Amazon mp3s   Rhapsody   Sheetmusicplus
  4. "For Your Precious Love" performed by Jerry Butler and the Impressions
     Find it on:  Jerry Butler & The Impressions - Best of Jerry Butler and The Impressions - For Your Precious Love   Amazon CD   Amazon mp3s   Rhapsody   Sheetmusicplus
  5. "Goodnight Sweetheart, Goodnight" (Goodnite Sweetheart Goodnite) performed by The Spaniels or The Platters
     Find it on:  The Spaniels - Original Doo Wop - Goodnight Sweetheart, Goodnight   Amazon CD   Amazon mp3s   Rhapsody   Sheetmusicplus
  6. "Hearts of Stone" performed by the Charms
     Find it on:  The Charms - The Songs That Inspired the King - Hearts of Stone   Amazon CD   Amazon mp3s   Rhapsody   Sheetmusicplus
  7. "I Got a Woman" performed by Ray Charles
     Find it on:  Ray Charles - The Best of Ray Charles - The Atlantic Years - I Got a Woman   Amazon CD   Amazon mp3s   Rhapsody   Sheetmusicplus
  8. "I Only Have Eyes For You" performed by the Flamingos
     Find it on:  The Flamingos - Doo Wop Classics, Vol. 1 - I Only Have Eyes for You   Amazon CD   Amazon mp3s   Rhapsody   Sheetmusicplus
  9. "It's All in the Game" performed by Tommy Edwards
     Find it on:  Tommy Edwards - The Best of Tommy Edwards - It's All in the Game   Amazon CD   Amazon mp3s   Rhapsody   Sheetmusicplus
  10. "Jailhouse Rock" performed by Elvis Presley
     Find it on:  Elvis Presley - Elvis 30 #1 Hits - Jailhouse Rock   Amazon CD   Amazon mp3s   Rhapsody   Sheetmusicplus
  11. "Let the Good Times Roll" performed by Shirley & Lee
     Find it on:  Shirley & Lee - Aladdin '52-'59:Let the Good Times Roll - Let the Good Times Roll   Amazon CD   Amazon mp3s   Rhapsody   Sheetmusicplus
  12. "Long Tall Sally" performed by Little Richard
     Find it on:  Little Richard - Little Richard: All-Time Greatest Hits - Long Tall Sally   Amazon CD   Amazon mp3s   Rhapsody   Sheetmusicplus
  13. "Mama He Treats Your Daughter Mean" performed by Ruth Brown
     Find it on:  Ruth Brown - The Essentials: Ruth Brown   Amazon CD   Amazon mp3s   Rhapsody   Sheetmusicplus
  14. "Mona Lisa" performed by Nat King Cole
     Find it on:  Nat "King" Cole - The World of Nat King Cole - Mona Lisa   Amazon CD   Amazon mp3s   Rhapsody   Sheetmusicplus
  15. "Oh What A Dream" performed by Ruth Brown
     Find it on:  Ruth Brown - The Essentials: Ruth Brown   Amazon CD   Amazon mp3s   Rhapsody   Sheetmusicplus
  16. "Sea Of Love" performed by Phil Phillips
     Find it on:  Phil Phillips - Love Songs We Used to Share - Sea of Love   Amazon CD   Amazon mp3s   Rhapsody   Sheetmusicplus
  17. "The Stroll" performed by Bill Haley & His Comets or The Diamonds
     Find it on:  The Diamonds - 20th Century Rocks: 50's Rock 'n Roll - At the Hop - The Stroll   Amazon CD   Amazon mp3s   Rhapsody   Sheetmusicplus
  18. "Teardrops From My Eyes" performed by Ruth Brown
     Find it on:  Ruth Brown - The Essentials: Ruth Brown   Amazon CD   Amazon mp3s   Rhapsody   Sheetmusicplus
  19. "There Goes My Baby" performed by Drifters
     Find it on:  The Drifters - The Essentials: The Drifters - There Goes My Baby   Amazon CD   Amazon mp3s   Rhapsody   Sheetmusicplus
  20. "Too Young" performed by Nat King Cole
     Find it on:  Nat "King" Cole - Love Songs - Too Young   Amazon CD   Amazon mp3s   Rhapsody   Sheetmusicplus
  21. "Twilight Time" performed by The Platters
     Find it on:  The Platters - 20th Century Masters - The Millennium Series: The Best of The Platters (Remastered) - Twilight Time   Amazon CD   Amazon mp3s   Rhapsody   Sheetmusicplus
  22. "Willie And The Hand Jive" performed by Johnny Otis
     Find it on:  Johnny Otis - 50's Rock 'n Roll - Whole Lot of Shakin' - Willie and the Hand Jive   Amazon CD   Amazon mp3s   Rhapsody   Sheetmusicplus
  23. "Yakety Yak" performed by The Coasters
     Find it on:  The Coasters - The Very Best of the Coasters - Yakety Yak   Amazon CD   Amazon mp3s   Rhapsody   Sheetmusicplus


The Best Songs Music Line

Find some of the best songs of the 1950s by selecting one of the links below:





Click on any of the links below to find the:


The Best Songs Music Line