I wasn't really sure where to put this, as it's sort of really a Retro topic, but it's also got stuff that has charted in the last few years. Anyway apologies if it doesn't really belong here (in which case I'll use Retro) but I may skip about a bit in years, and start doing all the decades, recent and not so recent, so it's more readable to various age groups. I hope!

 

OK, I’m old but not THAT old - I wasn’t making charts in 1959! I did my first one in 1968, became regular in 1971 and went comprehensive in 1975 (Top 50) and 1978 (Top 75). Along the way old records made the UK British Singles charts (and so became eligible for mine), or more recently (like the real download charts) album tracks and oldies can also chart (providing they make the various album or archive charts on the Official Charts Company site and haven’t charted before). The net effect is…lots of oldies have got to my Number One over the years, but I don’t like listing them in the year they peaked if they came out years before in the real world. So, I’ve listed by year of original release or chart entry in the real world, all that’s different is I list them within each year in the order they first charted and with total weeks at the top in brackets.

 

Phew! Hope that’s clear, and here’s the Year By Year list of tracks I loved more than any other tracks for at least one week, with musings, facts, trivia attached to avoid it being just a dull list. I hope!

 

1959:

 

Incredibly, after 44 years of charting, only one track pre-dating the 60’s has ever made it to my Number One. No Elvis, no Cliff, no Buddy Holly, no Nat King Cole! That was back in 1972, when it made the British charts again, and kick-started a second career for the artist, newly-relocated to the UK…

 

OH CAROL - Neil Sedaka (1 week)

 

This is a fifties pop gem written by one consistently great classically-trained pop songwriter about his crush on the greatest female pop songwriter of the era (and probably of all-time), Carol King. Brill Building jobbing song-writers, and popstars, I was 14 when I noticed this one, while 50’s rock’n’roll was getting a second-wind during the glamrock era. These days it sounds sweetly period-piece, like most of Neil Sedaka’s hits of that time, but it’s arguably the Seventies that produced his best work, and incredibly, gems like Laughter In The Rain, Bad Blood and The Immigrant didn’t quite make it to the top of my charts despite links to heroes like 10CC, Elton John and John Lennon! Ah well, at least two of them got to the Top in the States! I saw Neil Sedaka in concert around 2008, still in fine voice, and thoroughly charming. What a lovely man and there can’t be many fifties acts still touring in 2012!

 

1960:

 

And into the sixties, more of a fifties vibe still going on, so not only the odd few entries till things started kicking off in 1964 (or more tellingly, perhaps, from when I first became obsessed by pop music, Dr Who and comics age 6, so I have memories attached to the songs of the period that aren‘t there for these earlier ones).

 

APACHE - The Shadows (1 week)

 

Most-successful instrumental band of all-time, Cliff’s backing band ruled in the early 60’s. They were always on TV with their suits and synchronised guitar-movements, had a string of number ones, and were inspirational to many guitar-wannabees. Boys could like the Shads where girls tended to prefer Cliff. As The Drifters, they backed Cliff on his early “first proper British rock’n’roll” hits and carried on hitting into the 80’s. Apache was a cover, I think, but what a great romping early guitar anthem, even if it had to wait 45 years to reach my Number One after it had already done it in the UK!

AT LAST - Etta James (2 weeks)

 

Etta James has become pretty well-known over the last few years, after decades of critical success, but not much commercial success since the early 60’s give or take the odd advert-related re-issue. A soul great, this song over the last 3 or 4 years has popped in and out the charts after use on reality singing shows like the X Factor, and finally made the Top 40 after her death in early 2012. It had already been a big hit in my charts but that was enough to give it the extra push to hit the top, I downloaded it, loved it, and it now holds the record for longest gap between release and hitting number one in my charts: almost 52 years!

1961:

 

STAND BY ME - Ben E. King (1 week)

 

Singer with The Drifters during their greatest period of success, and classic tracks, Ben stepped out solo for this all-time great. Not initially a huge UK success (cover versions diminished it) the Stand By Me film got it widely-known in 1987, and it finally reached Number One in the UK charts and mine. Despite other great solo hits like Spanish Harlem, this remains his main claim to fame, and what a great vocal performance. Others have come close (and some have made my Number One with it! See 1975 when it comes) but not surpassed the original. Still think of the movie now though!

(MARIE’S THE NAME) HIS LATEST FLAME - Elvis Presley (2 weeks)

 

Logic dictates that with all the regular Elvis chart reissues over the years, and bearing that Elvis was huge fixture in everybody’s life in the 60’s and 70’s and a family favourite, that the King Of Rock’n’roll would have hit the top at least once with rock classics like That’s Alright Mama, Heartbreak Hotel or Jailhouse Rock, or one of his early pop biggies like Wooden Heart. He hasn’t yet though, this is the earliest one to do it: a romping catchy pop ditty, often looked down on by purists, but it’s a great pop song so boo hoo to you! It may be purely that his 60’s stuff was familiar to me growing up and his 50’s stuff wasn’t till I got a bit older, but we had Elvis singles and albums in the house, and we saw his movies like Fun In Acapulco and Speedway on TV and at the cinema, they were of the time, but the music spots sometimes had stuff to commend them… This track had 2 runs at the top, first in 2000, then in 2005 again, for one week each time.

SURRENDER - Elvis Presley (1 week)

 

Elvis’ Second Number One is another from his purple pop patch, an upbeat almost-Italian-flavoured belter, and like the last one Number One during the 2005 “one re-issue a week” campaign for Elvis Number Ones, after a previous Top 10 appearance in 2001. I actually had a vinyl picture cover re-issue of this I bought in 1977, so it was more of a 70’s nostalgia trip than 60’s. While these may not be Elvis’ greatest vocal moments (they came later), or influential (like his Sun Records and early RCA stuff), or interesting (as, say, Blue Moon was), hey I still say they are great pop toons…J

RUNNIN’ SCARED - Roy Orbison (1 week)

 

The Big ‘O’ for me is the greatest male vocalist of all-time, another huge family favourite as I was growing up, and his songs…well no-one could turn out quite a heart-wrenching dramatically-building ballad like Roy. Seemingly tragic in real-life, his songs seemed to hint at the dramas ahead. This was his early classic, after a few years of Elvis-styled rock’n’roll flavoured stuff, this defined his appeal and sound. In life we all like different types of music, we all have our favourites, but if these leave you unmoved, well you need to sit and listen to them until the judgement faux pas is blindingly clear!

 

 

1962  

 

OK, it’s 1962, and The Last Year Before The Beatles changed everything, worldwide. Stars that were having hits, suddenly found they were yesterdays news, and British music was to conquer the world for the next few years. So, tail-end of an era and still a few records managed to hit my Number One:

 

 

NUT ROCKER - B. Bumble & The Stingers (4 weeks)

 

Novelty records. Usually that’s a dirty word, but in the 60’s there were plenty of good, and even amusing, examples of the genre. As a kiddie I loved them all, from A Windmill in Old Amsterdam to Right Said Fred. This one was semi-serious, and one I was introduced to in spring 1972 when it seemed positively ancient but made the UK Top 20 all over again, soooo catchy. What is it? It’s a 1962 UK Number One manic instrumental rock’n’roll version of The Nutcracker Suite. When the music teacher invited us to have one end of term “play your favourite singles” lesson, I brought this one in, cos it was sort of classical, but it turned out not so cool to the other kids who brought in stuff like Chicory Tip “Son Of My Father”. Hey ho, it’s a rocking bit of fun, and has been revived, against all the odds, by Radio One in 2012, for “It’s Friday and I’m Going Home” slot. Hey, waddya know, I was 40 years ahead of my time!

 

 

THE LOCOMOTION - Little Eva (1 week)

 

Another kiddie favourite from 1962, another Top 20 re-issued hit in 1972, and the first of many classic pop songs from Goffin & King songwriters. Who? That’ll be husband & wife pop hit machine Gerry Goffin and Carol King. Carol wrote the melodies, the same Carol who Neil Sedaka wrote Oh Carol for (see 1959), and the same one who had a UK hit with It Might As Well Rain Until September, a truly fab pop song that almost made the Top 30 again in 1972 - a certain Number One if it had done so, in my chart! Carol KIng had a stunning 10 years of songs, including this one, sung by her teenage babysitter. Yes, true! Little Eva became a pop star for a while, The Locomotion became regularly covered (and hits for the likes of Grand Funk Railroad - awful - in the States, and Kylie everywhere. Love Kylie, but her twee version isn’t a patch on the fun party railroad train dancing original.

 

 

I CAN'T STOP LOVING YOU - Ray Charles (1 week)

 

A blind Soul/blues singer covers a country & western classic ballad from the then late Hank Williams (I think) and delivers a strings-laden classic. Ray Charles was a great singer, and carried on having hits throughout his life, but he crossed genre boundaries and had a UK Number One with this gorgeous lament. Sadly, some of his other greats like Georgia On My Mind and Hit The Road Jack never qualified for my charts. At least not yet, they would be chart-toppers for sure. This one was on a fairly recent charting hits album package, which meant I could chart one track off it. I chose the best one.

 

 

WONDERFUL LAND - The Shadows (3 weeks)

 

The Shads second chart-topper, chronologically, but the first to chart as best track on their charting hits package 11 or 12 years ago. A theme is already starting to emerge: I love songs with sweeping strings, and this has one of the best examples on an instrumental (second only, perhaps, to Theme From A Summer Place). The melody is just magic, Hank Marvin’s twanging guitar lead is restrained, and in 50 years I have never ever stopped being moved by this beautiful record. Loved it at 5, loved it at 25, love it at nearly 55. The Shadows had loads more hits, many of them fun, one of them even a catchy Eurovision vocal pop hit, Let Me Be The One in 1975, but they never bettered this big UK seller and Number One.

 

Edited October 29, 201212 yr by popchartfreak

John, I like your idea. Best thread on this forum.

I think, that it's more for "Retro", than for "Chart History"

How many ABBA songs would be # 1s here ? I will be know it in near future.

 

I didn't live in 60s or even in 70s, but I heard some Elvis singles after re-issues in 2005. "(Marie’s The Name) His Latest Flame" is my second favourite his song after "Wooden Heart". Why "Marie" was in your chart in 2000? My supposition : album track from any Elvis compilation, but I'm not sure.

Edited October 23, 201212 yr by AlexRange

John, I like your idea. Best thread on this forum.

I think, that it's more for "Retro", than for "Chart History"

How many ABBA songs would be # 1s here ? I will be know it in near future.

 

I didn't live in 60s or even in 70s, but I heard some Elvis singles after re-issues in 2005. "(Marie’s The Name) His Latest Flame" is my second favourite his song after "Wooden Heart". Why "Marie" was in your chart in 2000? My supposition : album track from any Elvis compilation, but I'm not sure.

 

Thanks Alex! Yes, I may move it to Retro, I think it seems more at home there (though when I do 2010's it could be both, I guess):)

 

Yes, you're right, it made my chart beacuse it was an album chart track that had never charted before as a single in 2000, and then 5 years later they went and re-issued it anyway, doh!

 

Abba songs at number one, that would be every single they released except for Ring Ring, So Long and I Do I Do I Do (which all charted a bit lower), plus lots of album tracks as the albums and compilations made the Top 75 again - it must be well over 30, maybe even 40!

 

cheers!

john

Abba songs at number one, that would be every single they released except for Ring Ring, So Long and I Do I Do I Do (which all charted a bit lower), plus lots of album tracks as the albums and compilations made the Top 75 again - it must be well over 30, maybe even 40!

 

So much :cheer:

I think, that I have near 15 # 1s for ABBA :wub:

10-12 # 1s = UK singles

+ Honey Honey (European realise)

+ Nina, Pretty Ballerina (European realise)

+ That's Me (Japanese realise)

+ When I Kiss The Teacher (very cute video was realised for this song, so I include it in my chart)

 

John, I wait your new posts.

So much :cheer:

I think, that I have near 15 # 1s for ABBA :wub:

10-12 # 1s = UK singles

+ Honey Honey (European realise)

+ Nina, Pretty Ballerina (European realise)

+ That's Me (Japanese realise)

+ When I Kiss The Teacher (very cute video was realised for this song, so I include it in my chart)

 

John, I wait your new posts.

 

thanks alex, 15 is pretty good! That's Me has also made my number one, Honey Honey was a UK cover hit for Sweet Dreams (top 10 in my chart) and should have been the follow up for Abba to Waterloo!

 

hopefully more posts next week as I am on holiday:)

 

cheers!

john

thanks alex, 15 is pretty good! That's Me has also made my number one, Honey Honey was a UK cover hit for Sweet Dreams (top 10 in my chart) and should have been the follow up for Abba to Waterloo!

hopefully more posts next week as I am on holiday:)

 

Must be +1 # 1 hit for ABBA. How on the Earth I forgot about "Happy New Year". :wacko: (It's classic)

"Honey Honey" is my favourite ABBA song, but I don't like Sweet Dreams cover. (Amanda's cover from "Mamma Mia" is hilarious, but not perfect)

 

"Ring Ring" is very underrated and my favourite album, even better, than "Arrival"

 

It's so hard, but my favourite songs from "Ring Ring" : I'm Just A Girl, Dissilusion (2 amazing ballads), Ring Ring, Nina Pretty Ballerina :wub:

Another Town, Another Train, Me And Bobby And Bobby's Brother :angel:

 

John, good holidays for you.