17. YOU'LL NEVER WALK ALONE - Gerry & The Pacemakers (1963)

 

 

Five-year-old me loved Gerry & The Pacemakers and his hat-trick of number ones in 1963 as Scouse-music took over the pop world thanks to The Beatles, but oddly enough it was I Like It and How Do You Do that took most of my love, this one was just a bit too adult and slow for me at the time, but it's certainly one I was aware of and liked. By the time of this poll I still liked it but still had more fond loving nostalgia for Ferry Cross The Mersey (at 60 on this list) or the two previous chart-toppers, but the years passing have done something amazing with this anthem - and it is a timeless anthem - and it's ability to defiantly remain positive in the face of adversity. It has become ever-more potent and spine-tingling with each rebirth: as an Anfield football anthem; in the face of tragedy (Gerry had another 80's chart-topper with it for charity and celebrity friends re-recording it to lesser effect), chart-topping cover versions (step aside Robson & Jerome) and regular chart returns even in the 21st century, most recently for Covid-19 charity and also after the sad passing of loveable Gerry. And my love for it has grown with the years, I genuinely get goosebumps when I hear it loud and singalong to it, I've seen Gerry in concert back in the day do it, I lived in Liverpool in 1965/6 when Liverpool was a world-famous place but awaiting a rebirth from it's rundown former-Empire-port days, and heavily urban poverty-stricken (we certainly were) but there was and is still a buzz about the City that never gets old, and this song is still the anthem. Not bad for a 1945 Rodgers & Hammerstein Carousel musical showtune with nothing to do with the UK or Liverpool or charities. Brilliantly rousing and still the definitive version, no others come close to being as worthy, bar the movie original.

16. WHEN A MAN LOVES A WOMAN - Percy Sledge (1966)

 

 

It took a Levi jeans ad in 1987 to convert me over to the lasting charm of this passionate 60's soul classic, and not just me it hit number 2 all over again in the UK. Percy's vocal is amazing, emotional and passionate but minus the constipated histrionic vocal styles so popular these days from lesser talents who should study and learn how to emote without straining the bowels (which reminds me, Michael Bolton had a cover hit with this one). It's pretty the much the only thing he's remembered for these days, but hey, one classic is enough, some acts have careers with years of hits that aren't remembered as well as this one song. It's not one I knew at the time it first hit, I must admit, not quite sure why, and when it came at 16 on the list I thought it was over-rated, not being that familiar with it but it's organ-gospel arrangement and class eventually shone through for me. I still think of the Levi ad though.

15. I HEARD IT THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE - Marvin Gaye (1968)

 

 

Talking of 60's soul classics made famous again in the 1980's by Levi jeans adverts, here's the one that kicked it all off, and the pop career of jeans model Nick Kamen to boot. The one in the laundromat who takes his pants off to wash while sitting in underwear reading a newspaper. Not that this top-notch perfect recording needs a hot model to sell it. Marvin Gaye was a hot ticket in the 60's, but mostly as duet partner to Tammi Terrell and Kim Weston, his solo stuff wasn't quite doing the big business. Maybe that's why Berry Gordy passed on this Whitfield & Strong perfection when presented with it in 1967, and bunged it our as an album track instead. Gladys Knight & The Pips duly had the very different funky hit version and that should have been that. Except that Gladys, soul legend herself and all that, just didn't have the moody gravitas that Marvin's version has. He felt and meant every word, the arrangement was flawless and original, so much so that even though it had topped the US charts and become the biggest-selling Motown single to date (somewhat justifying Gordy's decision) it came out as a single in late 1968 - and topped both the US and UK charts and became the new biggest-selling Motown record of all-time. Deservedly. It's pure early 1969 for me, a record I loved but was never my absolute number one fave of any given week. Until 1986 when it topped my chart at last, and to be honest it's stature has grown with the years. It cemented Marvin Gaye as a serious Motown soul contender and within 2 years he'd gone ecological and civil rights on his masterpiece album and single What's Going On. Which is not on the list, by virtue of not being a hit in the UK. I didn't know it, voters didn't know it. Any list of the greatest pre-1972 songs of all-time should have both tracks if they want to be taken seriously!

I haven't heard that Osmonds song before. It certainly seems out of place in the top 20 but I know how popular they were at the time this poll took place. A Whiter Shade Of Pale would be my own favourite from the top 20 so far.

I'm close to agreeing with Rollo that 'A Whiter Shade Of Pale' is my favourite in the top 20 so far... but 'Hey Jude'!! So it'll have to settle for second :kink: both incredible.

 

I went to see The Bootleg Beatles live for a second time last week (alongside the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra) and despite being an 'Abbey Road' and 'Let It Be' themed show, they of course squeezed 'Hey Jude' in the end too, such is its power as a crowd-pleasing closer.

 

The Osmonds certainly stick out like a sore thumb :lol: don't know that song well but I must admit that I do have a soft spot for the also mentioned 'Crazy Horses' as it's so different for them!

I haven't heard that Osmonds song before. It certainly seems out of place in the top 20 but I know how popular they were at the time this poll took place. A Whiter Shade Of Pale would be my own favourite from the top 20 so far.

 

Procol Harum are very much in the Progrock vibe, so I can see the appeal. I've been toying with some 50-year-old progrock for BJSC...maybe! :D

I'm close to agreeing with Rollo that 'A Whiter Shade Of Pale' is my favourite in the top 20 so far... but 'Hey Jude'!! So it'll have to settle for second :kink: both incredible.

 

I went to see The Bootleg Beatles live for a second time last week (alongside the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra) and despite being an 'Abbey Road' and 'Let It Be' themed show, they of course squeezed 'Hey Jude' in the end too, such is its power as a crowd-pleasing closer.

 

The Osmonds certainly stick out like a sore thumb :lol: don't know that song well but I must admit that I do have a soft spot for the also mentioned 'Crazy Horses' as it's so different for them!

 

Ive yet to see Bootleg Beatles, to my shame, so glad you're catching them on my behalf! Hey Jude for me, of course, in almost any list of songs :lol: It's hard to follow Hey Jude, so a closer makes perfect sense :) I wish The Osmonds had done more Crazy Horses-type stuff, though I also was a fan of a couple of the ballads despite it being VERY uncool for boys to ever admit that publicly in those days :lol:

sorry for the delay, life gets in the way. I'm determined to finish this now!

 

 

14. I'M STILL WAITING - Diana Ross (1971)

 

 

So back in 1974, Diana Ross was still a big star, and this was her only solo number to date, and pretty much a UK-only beloved classic - it was an album track Tony Blackburn persuaded Motown UK to release after plugging it heavily on his Radio 1 breakfast show. Tony was right, it was worthy, but it was a very minor US hit when they got round to it. Too subtle, I think. Sweet, touching, emotional but not overblown, everything is beautifully understated. When we returned from Singapore and was staying with grandma and grandad in coal-mining town Clipstone in September 1971 this was topping the charts on my first Top Of The Pops in over 2 years, and it was fab - along with me overdosing instantly on everything I heard and loved in one go, from knowing nothing in the charts (except Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep) to wanting to record everything onto reel to reel tape. Sadly that was somewhere on a ship in the Indian Ocean so I had to make do with asking for this record for Xmas 1971, along with 7 others. Diana, of course, sang this in 2022 for the Queen's final jubilee. Yay!

13. TERRY - Twinkle (1964)

 

 

Cue jaws dropping. What!? How!? This was the nations 13th-fav record in 1974!? I'm afraid it was, as said already (and more to come), death discs were huge with gloomy teenage girls, and this was the British attempt to get in on the action by a 16-year-old British teenager who took the Leader Of The Pack motif, one boyfriend, one motorcycle, one tragedy, but minus the class and histrionics of The Shangri-Las classic. Just to underline how bizarre this is, Leader Of The Pack was a UK hit in 1965 and a massive hit again in 1972 (top 3) and a massive top 5 hit again in 1976. proving it's worth and staying power with record buyers and music fans - and yet it's not in the rundown! Now, this isn't a BAD record as such, but it's not one I knew much (the BBC tended not to play "bad taste" death discs in the 60's, which made them even more cool to kids), and even in 1974 I was only vaguely aware of it, and mildly liked it. But it's no Leader Of The Pack or Johnny Remember Me - the greatest British death disc by quite some distance, John Leyton and Joe Meek's masterpiece still resonates 60-odd years later. Terry not so much.

This thread had passed me by but will definitely read through it all at some point. Fascinating to see how tastes change over time.

 

The Twinkle track is pleasant enough but really!? Love the Diana Ross one though; that’s a bit unjustly forgotten I think.

This thread had passed me by but will definitely read through it all at some point. Fascinating to see how tastes change over time.

 

The Twinkle track is pleasant enough but really!? Love the Diana Ross one though; that’s a bit unjustly forgotten I think.

 

Thanks Julian - There was a dance remix of Im Still Waiting in the 90's (which wasnt as good) but yes 60's pastiche Chain Reaction seems to be the preferred Diana chart-topper these days, which I like a lot but not as much as her early and mid 70's classics, her Supremes actual 60's classics, or her Chic period. :)

12. SAN FRANCISCO (BE SURE TO WEAR SOME FLOWERS IN YOUR HAIR) - Scott McKenzie (1967)

 

 

Hippie Summer Of Love anthem which was a mere 7 years ago in 1974, this song dominated the airwaves when I lived at RAF Valley on the Isle Of Anglesey, and the glorious summer of 1967, childhood happy days for me pretty much. Mum loved this record and so did I, and still do. Basically a Mamas & Papas record gifted to Scott McKenzie by John Phillips (the songwriter and daddy of future part of Wilson Phillips), this song caught the mood of the time of a war-sickened young generation and long-haired protest against the establishment and it's motto "peace and love man". Ridiculed on TV by the older generation and nobody listened to the environmentalist anti-war messages, of course, and nothing changed. It impacted me, though, basically I'm still a hippie, but minus the lack of showers and wild-flower picking and long hair.

 

The song? It's fabulous, earnestly sung by a great vocalist and has all the hallmark quality Mamas & Papas production, melody and emotional build. From the acoustic guitar/chimes gentle intro it slides beautifully to the main bridge talking about the new generation and movement, and there's not really a hook at all. It's just verse all the way - or all chorus if you like, but it's so understated it's more verse. Still refreshing.

11. WITHOUT YOU - Nilsson (1971)

 

 

Just missing the top 10, and just qualifying for the list by virtue of being released at the very end of 1971 just before smashing global charts in early 1972, this one grew in popularity and stature through the 70's in Greatest Record Ever polls. It was a hit all over agin in 1976, and survived a Mariah Carey mauling in 1994 and charted for Harry Nilsson again after his sad early death. I consider it a masterpiece, a tutorial in how to take a song nobody noticed (a Badfinger album track), completely re-invent it, and inject something special. In Harry's case, he went for sadness alternating with histrionic loss. When he sings he can't live without The One, he leaves you in no doubt that he means it. It's a hammer blow! Later vocal-show-offs warbling songs and adding 2000 notes that were never written originally do not improve on the original, they just sound ridiculous. I'm looking at you Ken Lee, a hilarious unintentional parody of an unintentional parody.

 

Harry was pure class. Everything he did was class. He could write his own chart-toppers (David Cassidy had only just left the top spot with The Puppy Song as voters were gathering), and he knew how to interpret songs with class. A flawless singer, a man not looking for chart success he decided to follow-up a massive ballad with a calypso whimsical song called Coconut. Just because he could. His back catalogue is varied and amazing, I highly recommend his 1969 hit Everybody's Talking from the great movie Midnight Cowboy, and All I Think About Is You from 1977. Oh, and I sneaked one of his fabulous songs into the BJSC in a cover version 10 years ago now - One. Because everybody needs some Nilsson in their life.

10. GO NOW! - The Moody Blues (1964)

 

 

Moody Blues mark 1, the Beat Groups version with the terrific Go Now, all moody and post-Beatles-breakthrough, co-incidentally fronted by Denny Laine, future member of Wings with Paul & Linda McCartney (and a 2nd go on top with Mull Of Kintyre). A cover of a Blues song from the same year by Bessie Banks (and featuring Whitney's Houston mum and aunt on vocals), The Moody Blues upped the mood with a striking piano riff and got the global hit...and then nothing else much till Denny Laine left and Justin Hayward joined, and they morphed into a Progrock band, for all intents and purposes. Best remembered these days for Nights In White Satin, the surprise is that record not featuring anywhere - although a minor 1968 hit, it was top 10 in 1972 and would again in 1979, so it was clearly the lasting classic. And so it supports my ongoing theory that this chart was mostly voted for by girls and women, and not boys and men who would have gone for Nights In White Satin for sure. I love 'em both though.

 

9. EBONY EYES - The Everly Brothers (1962)

 

 

Death disc alert! There are plenty of well-known Everly Brothers songs these days, still, but this isn't one of them. I never heard it in the 60's (being a death disc - fiancee is in an aircrash on her way to the wedding) and this was the first time I recall hearing it, and I've barely heard it in the almost 50-years since. It's depressing, and almost laughably overly-sincere. I mean, clearly doomed romances spoke to girls at the time. maybe it was the energy crisis power cuts and 3-day weeks and TV off at 10pm and they were just feeling gloomy while the rest of us whooping it up to Merry Christmas Everybody and I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday, but I can assure you things weren't THAT miserable! Give me any of the Everly hits other than the 2 that made the top 100! Not a classic.

8. SEALED WITH A KISS - Brian Hyland (1962)

 

 

Ah, this is much better for a 1962 track! Brian already has my heart for pre-school fave Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka Dot Bikini, and this was setting out it's stall to be a re-issued UK top 10 again within 12 months of the top 10 result. It still sounded good in 1975, and it still sounded OK when Jason Donovan topped the chart in 1989 with an inferior cover. The twangy guitar and haunting mouth organ underpin this otherwise teen-appealing "missing the girlfriend over the summer holidays" song. Of course it's old-fashioned these days, the notion of sending a letter and not texting 10 times a day or whats-apping, so it's no chance of ever getting covered again, but as period pieces go, it's still sweet and innocent.

7. SPACE ODDITY - David Bowie (1969)

 

 

Incredibly I missed this "novelty" song in late 1969 - it never made the airwaves in Singapore, which is a great shame as I'd been mind-blown by the Moon Landing in July before we left the UK, and I loved all and anything to do with space travel (still do), and Apollo 12 was on the way without so much fanfare (due to a faulty TV camera). I was cuttings pictures out of newspapers - but not of David Bowie. I didn't know who he was till I saw a sci-fi looking Glam wannabe on Lift Off With Ayshea in 1972 singing Starman. Then Bowie exploded, he was huge in 1972 and 1973, this got a US release in 1973 and I started to hear it on the radio and got to hear what I'd missed. Talk about ahead of his time! By voting-time Bowie was top pop star in the country give or take a Slade or Elton John or so and this was the only Bowie hit to qualify for the run-down - and as I will be repeating, it was a sign for a re-issue in 1975, and a UK chart-topper 6 years late. It's still a great record and still widely-known, haunting and oddly moving, with major Tom popping up in 2 more chart-toppers for David Bowie in my charts (1980's Ashes To Ashes and 1995's Hallo Spaceboy with the Pet Shop Boys) not to mention the fab non-UK-hit global smash Major Tom for Peter Schilling in 1984.

6. HEY THERE LONELY GIRL - Eddie Holman (1970)

 

 

This one was an oddity for the UK - a 1970 soul smash in the USA, sounding much older than that with its gentle falsetto ballad and strings arrangement, but it flopped in the UK. The reason for that is it was originally recorded in 1963 by Ruby And The Romantics with the gender-switch Hey There Lonely Boy. I'm assuming soul-boy Tony Blackburn was instrumental in making this popular on his Radio 1 Breakfast Show (it's usually either the Northern Soul scene or Tony, and you cant dance to this one!), but whatever the reason it got voted in at 6, demand was noted, and it was duly re-issued in 1974 and went top 5 in the UK. I've always found it sweet and charming. Still do.

5. BRIDGE OVER TROUBLED WATER - Simon & Garfunkel (1970)

 

 

I've used the word already, but it's justified again: Masterpiece. This is a perfect record, a brilliant song, a stunning vocal from Art Garfunkel and the title of one of the greatest albums of all-time, no question, a monster success and then that was it. The end of Simon & Garfunkel as a recording act. They both had classic solo moments but nothing to match the majesty of this track and that album. Paul wrote and created this, Art did a solo vocal, and his range is much wider than Paul's - he can hit the sweet spot that Simon never could, which is why solo Simon never had the same emotional impact and solo Garfunkel never had quite the songwriting mastery. It needed both. This starts slow, builds, peaks and ends. Covered by Aretha Franklin and a million others, not even the greatest singers can match the original. I was living in Singapore, next to Changi Prison, when this was dominating the world airwaves, and dad borrowed the album from the next-door-neighbours to record the singles on the reel-to-reel. Bliss. This should gave been at number 2 on this rundown.

4. YOU'VE LOST THAT LOVIN' FEELIN' - The Righteous Brothers (1965)

 

 

...and this should have been top of the listing. The greatest recorded performance by a male duet ever. Try and offer up any alternative and they won't match up, I guarantee it. Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield are both brilliant, and very different, singers - but together they produce magic, and Phil Spector was at his top-notch best on this creation. The song is so awesome it's much-covered - Cilla, bless her, had a massive hit cover at the same time this was topping charts, but frankly nobody should even try. This record is untouchably perfect in every way, every vocal touch, the vocal dancing of the 2 singers as it reaches a histrionic crescendo, and the slow build. Never was a broken heart given voice like this. I grew up with the song, I was 7 when I first heard it. Mum adored the record (and so did dad) it was one of her all-time favourites, and I was mad on the UK charts when it hit again in 1969 - at which point I liked it a lot but it wasn't my top favourite. By 1975 it charted again, and then during the 80's it's stature just started to grow and grow even more, eventually going top 3 in 1990 following on from Ghost's Unchained Melody, and by which point I had been totally converted to my current viewpoint: it's perfection, it's timeless, it's jaw-droppingly emotional.