Rhythm of the rain is a good song. On the NME chart they also made number 25 with Shy Girl in the June of this year. Mark Wynter will cover it.

Edited March 7, 20232 yr by fiesta

I absolutely love In Dreams so I expect that will be my winner when I get to this point - so dramatic! Rhythm Of The Rain is really nice though. :)

I look forward to seeing what you make of all these 60s songs when you get there.

 

In Dreams is Roy's gem of many finest moments, total classic and one of my all-time fave songs. Rhythm Of The Rain is fab, I had it on a compilation album in the early 70's and it still sounded great. Jason couldnt ruin the song, either. Foot Tapper is a goodie, Brian Matthews closed his Sounds Of The 60's show on it for many a year, and Say Wonderful Things isn;t bad either. Frank's is OK.

14th - 20th March 1963

 

26. Let's Turkey Trot - Little Eva

A catchy party song with good contributions from the backing vocalists (The Cookies). The turkey trot was a dance which was popular in the early part of the century which explains the reference to 1910 in the lyrics. This will be the last of Little Eva's three top 40 hits.

32. Brown-Eyed Handsome Man - Buddy Holly

Recorded in 1957, this is a cover of a Chuck Berry song from the year before and will go as high as number 3. It's a good rock'n'roll tune with some fine guitar work.

 

Record of the week : 39. How Do You Do It? - Gerry and The Pacemakers

 

So another well known Liverpool group make their chart debut this week. Gerry Marsden's lead vocal really stands out here and the piano and drums are much more prominent than the guitars. Written by Mitch Murray, the song was first recorded in 1962 by The Beatles and might have been their first single but they wanted to release one of their own songs instead. How Do You Do It? will spend three weeks at number 1.

 

I like Buddy's track but it has to be Gerry - I loved this record at the time, it's hard to accept I knew it when it was new and that was 60 years ago! :o :lol: So glad The Beatles didn't release it though, Gerry got a career off it, and Love Me Do was much better.

Great pick! I remember hearing The Beatles' version via Anthology and I actually prefer the Gerry and the Pacemakers take on it, there's a bit more gusto in the vocal delivery I think.

 

Like John says it all worked out well for both of them.

21st - 27th March 1963

 

31. The Folk Singer - Tommy Roe

The folk singer drops Sarah Jane after becoming famous because she's too plain. He then loses his voice and his career but after meeting her again and thinking she's no longer plain, he gets his voice back and can sing again, but only to her. He got off lightly here, I was expecting her to have married someone else but it seems the songwriter wanted a happy ending.

32. Robot - The Tornados

The Tornados' third single retains their distinctive sound and they have made a bizarre video for it set in a woodland area.

36. Mr Bass Man - Johnny Cymbal

A fun song with Blue Moon type bass vocals from the backing singer and from Johnny himself when he joins in. This will be his only hit.

38. Good Golly Miss Molly - Jerry Lee Lewis

A cover of the 1958 Little Richard song done in the same rock'n'roll style so a bit unnecessary. We will have to wait another nine years for Jerry's last hit single.

 

Record of the week : 29. The End Of The World - Skeeter Davis

 

This is a wonderful discovery. I thought the melody was familiar when I listened to it and that's because Sonia did a cover version in 1990. Skeeter Davis' vocal here is excellent and the piano and strings add to the quality. She was a country singer so there's a slight country twang to the guitar part. The only part I'm not sure about is the two spoken lines. While this will reach number 2 in the US, it will only get to number 18 here, her only UK hit single. Sonia's version will also peak at number 18.

 

I've always loved End Of The World since I heard it sometime in the early 70's with probably a hazy memory of knowing it first time round. Co-incidentally I popped onto Youtube last night and they kindly thought I would enjoy watching Mud sing End Of The World in 1974 glamrock heyday. I did. They know me so well! I rather liked the Sonia version too. The original is still the best though.

 

I saw Tommy sing this in the late 80's and I didn't really recognise it but my mum did, and oddly it wasn't on his Greatest Hits CD. That was the first CD album I ever bought, and Dizzy was the first single I ever bought with my pocket money. It's quite pleasant but it's no Dizzy.

 

Robot sounds a lot like The Folk Singer here :lol: , but the Tornadoes are always sounding like nothing else. Mr Bass Man is one I like, and Jerry Lee I seldom rate unless his balls are on fire. I'll stick with The Swinging Blue Jeans or Little Richard...

 

 

As you've mentioned it, I've had a look at Mud's performance and it was a pretty good version of the song.

 

I've now corrected the youtube link for the Tornados song, it should go to the right one now.

As you've mentioned it, I've had a look at Mud's performance and it was a pretty good version of the song.

 

I've now corrected the youtube link for the Tornados song, it should go to the right one now.

 

Thanks Rollo, playing it now...and it's not a tune I recognise! More fairground waltzer than pioneering...

28th March - 3rd April 1963

 

28. So It Will Always Be - The Everly Brothers

Good harmonies but the song was too slow and ponderous.

36. Can You Forgive Me - Karl Denver

It's been six months since we've last heard from Karl Denver, I've missed him. The unique vocal style is still there and this one has some good guitar and piano accompaniment.

37. Don't Set Me Free - Ray Charles

Another good vocal by Ray Charles and I'm really impressed by the backing singer, Margie Hendrix. The jazz band also elevate the sound of the song.

38. Say I Won't Be There - The Springfields

Another folk/pop song from The Springfields and they're keeping with the fake American accents.

 

Record of the week : 35. Can't Get Used To Losing You - Andy Williams

 

This is the best of the five, a song I know quite well (not to be confused with Can't Take My Eyes Off You which is still five years away). The plucking rhythm makes it stand out along with the song's melody. Andy's vocal is double tracked in two different keys all the way through. It will peak at number 2, his biggest hit since his 1957 number 1, Butterfly. A cover version by The Beat will get to number 3 in 1980.

 

can't get used to losing you is a proper earworm. Williams has the definitive version, but the Beat version is good too.

Ooh yes I love that record from Andy (and also the Beat cover), always been a fave from little John days onwards.

 

Oddly I don't know any of the others! Ray Charles will be the top tune I expect...

4th - 10th April 1963

 

30. Count On Me - Julie Grant

A breezy pop song written by Tony Hatch, this will be the highest charting of her three hits.

35. Losing You - Brenda Lee

Another flawless vocal from Brenda on this ballad with prominent brass instruments as well as the strings.

37. Code Of Love - Mike Sarne https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYAD_7qsfBI This will be the last of Mike Sarne's four hits and he's keeping to the same subject. The code of love is a guidebook on what to do when meeting girls. He went on to be an actor and director and is still alive, aged 82.

39. Our Day Will Come - Ruby and The Romantics

This is a great discovery with lots going on. The lead and backing vocals, the spacey organ effects, the xylophone and the bossa nova rhythm all make this sound timeless. While only reaching number 38 here, it will be an American number 1. Amy Winehouse's cover version in 2011 will get to number 29.

 

Record of the week : 23. Walk Like A Man - The Four Seasons

 

It has to be this classic but only by a small margin over the Ruby song which I hadn't heard before. Frankie Valli's falsetto vocal is woven around the deeper voices to great effect here. This will also be a US number 1 while peaking at number 12 in the UK. Divine will have a top 30 hit with a cover in 1985.

 

2 jolly ditties, a Brenda Lee goodie and 2 top notch classics: I love Walk Like A Man (and The Divine version is hilarious) and even more so since watching Jersey Boys 2 or 3 times on stage - The Four Seasons were under-rated in the UK, but not in the States happily. But my enduring love for Ruby & The Romantics stays fresh, it was a song I always loved - it was much-covered during the 60's even if it didnt chart high - and I even charted it in my personal charts around 1975 on one of its re-issues following (co-incidentally) Frankie Valli getting a disco-era cover US hit with it. Neither charted in the UK, boo! I charted them both, Frankie's version was great, and so was Amy Winehouse's.

'Our Day Will Come' is my favourite from this lot I think! Amy's version was the first I knew but I discovered the original in time, a really classy song in either iteration.

11th - 17th April 1963

 

30. Nobody's Darlin' But Mine - Frank Ifield

A forgettable country ballad, the only aspect of this I liked was the way the stereo mix was arranged with the double bass and acoustic guitar on the right, the strings and backing singers on the left and the lead vocal in the centre. Number 4 will be a relative failure for Frank as his last three singles all reached number 1.

 

Record of the week : 34. Fireball - Don Spencer

 

Only two new entries this week so it will have to be this one. It's the theme music to Gerry and Sylvia Anderson's TV series Fireball XL5. I don't remember it being repeated in the 1970s, probably because it was filmed in black and white, so I haven't seen it. I'm more familiar with Thunderbirds, Joe 90 and Stingray. This song was played at the end of each episode, it's not dramatic enough for the opening, just a standard pop song really but with an innocence in the lyrics that would make it suitable for a children's TV programme. The single will peak at number 32, the Australian's only top 40 hit. Now 82 years old, he seems to have devoted most of his career to children's TV and music.

 

Fireball XL5 was a massive fave of mine, robots, space-ship and a handsome puppet male lead with an exotic name, and a theme tune that was fabulous to singalongajohna. I liked Frank too, but this was my fave TV show till Doctor Who debuts the day after the Kennedy assassination and I turned just like that :lol:

 

For the record I still think a valid TV show will contain one or all of the above qualities: space ships, handsome heroes, robots or time-travel, and a great theme tune....they say your tastes and personality is fixed by age 5. Pretty much right! :o

18th - 24th April 1963

 

31. He's So Fine - The Chiffons

I know this one, it's the doo-langs from the backing singers that make it stand out. I was already thinking of My Sweet Lord by George Harrison before I read the page for the song which mentions that there was a long running plagiarism case brought against him which he lost.

37. Some Other Guy - The Big Three

This is the next Merseybeat group with the first of their two hits. It's OK but the chorus wasn't very strong, leaving the guitar solo as the highlight.

40. My Little Baby - Mike Berry and The Outlaws https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTMrTpedNtU A pleasant Joe Meek produced pop song with lots of "oo-pa-pa"s. It will be his last hit until his 1980 revival.

 

Record of the week : 23. From Me To You - The Beatles

 

George Harrison has the consolation of winning this particular battle with the Chiffons. Paul and John share the lead vocals here and the harmonica plays its part again. It's a fairly simple song but the memorable melody is enough to turn it into their biggest hit so far. It will spend seven weeks at number 1.

 

From Me To You is one of my favourite chart hits up to this point. The vocal delivery and the way they swoop through the middle eight seems to encapsulate the excitement of the era, even if it was still only a small indication of what they would go on to accomplish.