The ’60s Solo Artists Who Outsold Everyone Else
The 1960s belonged to more than famous bands. Solo stars also racked up sales and fan mail by the truckload. They became cultural icons with wardrobes and dance moves that the public instantly copied. We’ve compiled the artists who sold in massive numbers and left chart records that still stand decades later.
Elvis Presley
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Elvis kept the sales rolling through the ’60s with chart-toppers like Are You Lonesome Tonight? and Suspicious Minds. He scored six Billboard Hot 100 number ones during the decade, mixed movie soundtracks with live performances, and added to a career tally of over 150 gold, platinum, or multi-platinum releases.
Aretha Franklin
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By the mid-’60s, Aretha was the reigning “Queen of Soul” with a record-breaking 20 Billboard R&B number ones in her career. Hits like Respect and Chain of Fools sold in huge numbers. Her powerful voice and crossover appeal made her one of the decade’s most commercially successful female artists.
Sam Cooke
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You Send Me set the tone earlier, but the ’60s brought landmark tracks like Cupid and A Change Is Gonna Come. Across his career, Cooke scored 29 Top 40 hits, and his smooth delivery kept him on radio rotation long after his untimely passing in 1964.
Ray Charles
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Ray could take a country tune, turn it into a soul hit, and sell a truckload of records doing it. Georgia on My Mind and Hit the Road Jack were both number ones, and his albums landed high on the Billboard 200.
Otis Redding
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Between 1964 and 1967, he recorded tracks like Respect and Try a Little Tenderness, each selling briskly. Then came (Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay, released after his passing, which shot to number one and became one of the decade’s best-selling singles.
Marvin Gaye
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Before becoming Motown’s socially conscious star of the ’70s, Marvin Gaye spent the ’60s climbing the charts with I Heard It Through the Grapevine and Ain’t That Peculiar. His silky delivery helped him notch 13 Top 40 hits during the decade, and his duets with Tammi Terrell became radio mainstays.
Roy Orbison
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Roy Orbison’s operatic style and dark sunglasses set him apart from the crowd. He scored nine Top 10 singles during the ’60s, including the number-one Oh, Pretty Woman, which sold over seven million copies worldwide. His vulnerable ballads and rock anthems made him a consistent best-seller through a decade of shifting tastes.
Bob Dylan
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Bob Dylan’s influence often overshadows his sales, but the numbers speak for themselves. With multiple Top 10 albums like Highway 61 Revisited and Blonde on Blonde, he sold millions while reshaping popular music. Like a Rolling Stone became one of the most acclaimed singles and boosted his commercial reach.
Stevie Wonder
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Stevie Wonder was just 13 when Fingertips Pt. 2 went to number one. This made him the youngest solo artist ever to top the Billboard Hot 100. By the decade’s close, he’d stacked up seven Top 40 hits, setting the stage for a career that would span decades of blockbuster sales.
Chuck Berry
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Songs like No Particular Place to Go and You Never Can Tell kept Chuck Berry on the charts. His earlier hits continued selling strongly thanks to constant airplay and the influence they had on a new generation of British Invasion acts.
Dusty Springfield
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Dusty Springfield brought British soul to American ears with a string of transatlantic hits. You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me topped UK charts and became a U.S. Top 5 hit, while Son of a Preacher Man became one of her biggest sellers.
Etta James
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While At Last is her calling card, the ’60s brought her 14 R&B Top 10 hits, many of which crossed into the pop charts. Her blend of blues, grit, and soulful power kept her albums moving steadily off store shelves all decade long.
Ike & Tina Turner
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On paper, it was Ike & Tina, but Tina’s star power drove the sales. River Deep – Mountain High made waves in Europe, and their non-stop touring kept the records moving in the U.S. Few acts could match their energy, or their ability to turn a live crowd into paying customers.
Van Morrison
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Before his solo breakthrough in the ’70s, Van Morrison fronted Them, selling big with Gloria and Here Comes the Night. His 1967 solo debut brought Brown Eyed Girl, a single that went Top 10 and became a long-term seller.
Gene Pitney
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Gene Pitney loved a big, dramatic pop number, and so did his fans. He racked up 16 Top 40 hits in the ’60s, including Town Without Pity and Only Love Can Break a Heart. His appeal stretched beyond the U.S., with strong sales in the UK boosting his totals year-round.