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OLD 55's Yearly Top 10 Singles Of The Rock Era


OLD 55

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...and I'd be remiss if I didn't tip a hat to those wannabee surfers who brought surf music to the minds of the world....The music of the Beach Boys defined the California Beach scene (surfing, girls, cars, girls and girls).....don't forget blonde hair and bikinis....I'm convinced that Brian Wilson is a genius....these songs seem so simple, but the production, harmonies and musicianship are perfect.

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THAT is an AWESOME list!

Cant Buy Me Love...reminds me of the movie that i always used to watch!

Baby Love - Look Whos Talkin

Pretty Woman - sang it in my Mens Choir

House of the Rising Sun - You know...you can put the words of amazing grace in there and it works!

I Get Around - Ahh...that old Sonic Commercial!

You guys are still giving me a feeling that i shoulda came before my parents! I wanna be umm...Of your age is the non offensive way to say it!

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Hey Darryl, where did Randy and The Rainbows' song Denise land in the charts in either '63 or '64?

Hi Joe. I just looked up my Book, and it peaked at #10 on 31 August 1963. How about sending me a sample of it please ? It never got Airplay in Australia, and I don't know it at all.

:)

I might take Paul up on swapping ages (Freaky Friday ?) - although I wouldn't want to get drafted to Vietnam. I think there's a future for him as a Diplomat ! But he's probably too honest to become a Politician.

;)

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Here's the TOP 10 SINGLES OF 1965.

1.(I CAN'T GET NO) SATISFACTION / THE ROLLING STONES

2. Yesterday / The Beatles

3. Turn! Turn! Turn! / The Byrds

4. I Got You Babe / Sonny and Cher

5. Help! / The Beatles

6. Mrs.Brown You've Got A Lovely Daughter / Herman's Hermits

7. You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin' / The Righteous Brothers

8. Downtown / Petula Clark

9. I Can't Help Myself / The Four Tops

10.Help Me Rhonda / The Beach Boys

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What a great lineup ! That's why I love 60s music - it's so diverse. Most of you would know that my #1 and #2 picks for the "Greatest Songs Of The Rock Era" are in the above list. ("You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin" and "Satisfaction"). My #3 "She Loves You" was in yesterday's list.

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I could have a ball with trivia on that Top 10, but here's just a few:

* "Yesterday" is still, I believe, the 'most covered by other artists' Pop song.

* "Downtown" won the 1964 Grammy for the Best Rock and Roll Recording. It's a very nice song, but you couldn't get much further removed from Rock 'N'Roll than that ! It was originally intended for The Drifters - I don't know what happened. Anyway, Petula Clark made the song a classic, and was the first female U.K. artist to top the U.S. Charts since Vera Lynn in 1952.

* Dean Torrence (Jan & Dean) sang lead vocals on the Beach Boys remake of the Regents' 1961 Hit "Barbara Ann". (Mike Love sang lead in live performances). I wonder what Murray Wilson thought about that? He was reportedly angry when son Brian composed and gave "Surf City" to Jan & Dean a couple of years before. (Brian also sang backup on it).

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The Yearly Top Songs in the U.K. and Australia are most likely unknown in the U.S. - "Tears"/ Ken Dodd, who was a U.K. Comedian /Singer; and "Que Sera Sera" / Normie Rowe, an uptempo version of the great Doris Day song. He was the current local Pop Idol at the time, which explains it. I liked a lot of his music, but I thought he slaughtered that one ! It was different though.

:)

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oh yeah...great line-up...well of course I know all of those, and I was only 4 years old. My sister is 13 years older than me, so I grew up listening to all these tunes...I especially remember My sisters taking me to the lake in the summertime and on the way there they would be singing the song Downtown...whenever I hear that song, that's the memory that comes to mind everytime....thanks for the memory 55! :)

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RonJon wrote:

The psychedelic version of House of the Rising Sun was done by Frijid Pink (maybe '67 or '68). It won't make a top 10 list, but I love that version too. Hey, it's a great song.

Ron,

Frijid Pink's version did make a top ten list.

Their version entered the US Billboard Top 40 in february of 1970, peaked at #7 and stayed in the Top 40 chart for 11 weeks (1 week longer than The Animals version, although The Animals peaked at #1 and stayed there for 3 weeks in 1964).

I agree that Frijid Pink did an excellent version of this song. I love it! :thumbsup:

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Here's the TOP 10 OF 1966.

1. I'M A BELIEVER / THE MONKEES

2. The Ballad Of The Green Berets / SSgt. Barry Adler

3. We Can Work it Out: Day Tripper / The Beatles

4. Winchester Cathedral / The New Vaudeville Band

5. Cherish / The Association

6. (You're My) Soul And Inspiration / The Righteous Brothers

7. Monday, Monday / The Mamas & The Papas

8. Summer In The City / The Lovin' Spoonful

9. Reach Out I'll Be There / The Four Tops

10.The Sounds Of Silence / Simon & Garfunkel

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The year when "Psychedelia" surfaced.

Of course, the Charts only reflect what's popular at the time. There's some great songs in that lot, but probably some more enduring ones that didn't make it in the Ten.

Other #1s for the year were:

My Love/ Petula Clark, When A Man Loves A Woman/ Percy Sledge, Paint It Black/ Rolling Stones, Paperback Writer/ Beatles, Hanky Panky/ Tommy James & The Shondells, Wild Thing/ Troggs, You Can't Hurry Love and You Keep Me Hangin' On/ Supremes (ALL #1 for 2 weeks).

Lightnin' Strikes/ Lou Christie, These Boots Are Made For Walkin/ Nancy Sinatra, Strangers In The Night/ Frank Sinatra (How come those two didn't make it into the Ten ?), Good Lovin'/ Rascals, Sunshine Superman/ Donovan, 96 Tears/ ? & The Mysterians, Last Train To Clarksville/ Monkees, Poor Side Of Town/ Johnny Rivers, and GOOD VIBRATIONS/ BEACH BOYS (would have been at the Top of MY List). All #1 for 1 week.

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"The Green, Green Grass Of Home" / Tom Jones was the year's #1 Song in the U.K..

In Australia we couldn't get enough of "These Boots Are Made For Walkin'"/ Nancy Sinatra and possibly the greatest Beatles Double A sided record, "We Can Work It Out" / "Day Tripper". They sure gave you value for your $1.00.

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HAPPY AUSTRALIA DAY ALL ! It's hard to believe that it's 40 Years since "Friday On My Mind" / The Easybeats was our #1 local Artist Hit and also became Australia's biggest "export", charting in many Countries. Advance Australia Fair !

................................................

:)

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You must have just felt older, Shawna, because you were boy crazy. =:P

> The Monkees formed in 1965. They were chosen from over 400 applicants for new TV series "The Monkees", which aired from 1966-1968.

> They had their first hit in 1966 ("Last Train To Clarksville"), followed by their biggest hit later that year with "I'm A Believer".

> They disbanded in 1969 and re-formed in 1986 without Mike Nesmith.

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...............................................

HAPPY AUSTRALIA DAY ALL ! It's hard to believe that it's 40 Years since "Friday On My Mind" / The Easybeats was our #1 local Artist Hit and also became Australia's biggest "export", charting in many Countries. Advance Australia Fair !

................................................

:)

Friday On My Mind is a fantastic song! Easybeats had some great songs, I got their anthology last year and I really like Good Times and Sorry :D :D

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