24th - 30th December 1964

 

38. For Mama - Matt Monro

A rather sad ballad about the death of a parent and carrying out her wishes. As always, he sings it well with strings and church bells in the background.

 

Record of the week : 37. Ringo - Lorne Greene

 

As you might expect, it's a quiet week with just two new entries. I'm choosing this tale of an outlaw called Ringo in the Wild West whose life is saved by a man who later becomes a sheriff and encounters him again. The spoken word song will be the only be the only hit for the Canadian actor, reaching number 22 and going all the way to the top of the Billboard chart.

 

Theres an odd couple! Ben Cartwright speaks a tale of Ringo. I do recall that one from the time. Bonanza was huge on telly.

 

I havent heard the Matt track. Its darkly beautiful. Love the production and a great vocal. Thats one i want to hear more of.

 

 

31st December 1964 - 6th January 1965

 

39. Elisabeth Serenade - The Gunter Kallmann Choir

A charming piece of music from the German choir with some bell ringing thrown in. I've heard it before but not since the 1970s so it's a nice memory jog.

40. Choc Ice - The Long And The Short

The second and last hit for this band is all about the desserts they like to eat. I suppose it makes a change from the usual love song lyrics.

 

Record of the week : 35. Et Meme - Francoise Hardy

 

The second top 40 hit for the French singer gets my vote this week. The production is influenced by Phil Spector with the piano part very similar to Da Doo Ron Ron. It will drop out of the top 40 next week but then return to reach a peak position of number 31.

 

I've always been puzzled by that Elton John reference from a video Choc Ice Lives Again - so I'm guessing it's to do with this act!! Never heard of them or the song. It's nothing special. Francoise Hardy I always enjoy, but don't really know her back catalogue, never really investigated properly sadly. I like this one, very 1964. Cool.

 

Shh, don't tell anyone but Gunther Kallman Choir has been on my list of BJSC oddity potentials for a decade, I absolutely bloody love that record. Loved it as a kid, loved it when I recorded it off Singapore radio in 1970 and had no idea what it was called or who sung it, it took me until the 80's to find out it was first a Mantovani cover of a Ronald Neame melody for the Coronation of Liz II and this German language vocal choral was the hit. The tune is delicious in any version, not least the 1970 reggae version Elizabethan Reggae by Boris Gardiner, he of future 80's chart-topper. I must admit I'm still curious to see if this would get any points in BJSC :lol:

7th - 13th January 1965

 

37. Three Bells - Brian Poole and The Tremeloes

A cover of a US number 1 for The Browns in 1959 which was itself adapted from an old French song. They sing this virtually acapella, it's not too bad.

40. Tribute To Jim Reeves - Larry Cunningham and The Mighty Avons

This Irish band supported Jim Reeves on his tour of their country in 1963 so they would certainly have known him. The tribute part is spoken while I think the singing part is their version one of his songs.

 

Record of the week : 39. Baby Please Don't Go - Them

 

No doubt it has to be this song with its distinctive guitar riff. I like the raw bluesy sound which supports a fine lead vocal from a young Van Morrison. The earliest version was by Big Joe Williams in 1935. This one will peak at number 10, a first hit single for the Belfast band.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Three Bells I surprisingly know the song well, without knowing I know it :o :lol: I'm not sure if it's this version I first got to know, but it seems like only years since I last heard the song! It must be decades though. That's a nice trip to the past! The Jim Reeves tribute I dont recall though, and Them is of course a classic - but it's not one I recall from the time, prob a bit too rock to get much TV/radio exposure in those days. I was def watching Thank Your Lucky Stars on a saturday, and I doubt they would have been invited on.

 

My main obsession though was Doctor Who and the giant ants and butterflies, and writing it down in my school book, and drawing pictures of a Tardis. The BBC kindly instructed to take down my artwork and review from a site I had it for sale on (for the extortionate profit of 15p, which no-one had ever bought). I couldnt be bothered to argue over a potential 15p so complied, but I'm sure it's the oldest existing fan artwork/review from a 7-year-old and I'm here if the arses ever decide to do a piece on fans of the 60s that actually made the show the phenomenon that it is.

Just been catching up and I'm pleased that 'Et Même' was a record of the week pick for you! It's the best Françoise song that I've come across (very Spector-esque indeed), I remember suggesting it for the SyncTube RIP slot when she sadly passed away last year.

14th - 20th January 1965

 

26. Come Tomorrow - Manfred Mann

It's a ballad this time from Manfred Mann, a cover of a song from 1961 by Marie Knight. It was OK but I've preferred their more uptempo songs so far.

28. You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin' - Cilla Black

The chart battle commences with this version seven places higher but Cilla will eventually lose out, peaking at number 2. Her cover is vastly inferior so the record buying public got it right.

30. Keep Searchin' (We'll Follow The Sun) - Del Shannon

This will be Del Shannon's biggest hit since 1962, reaching number 3. It's a good one, with a straightforward melody, some falsetto vocals and a short but effective organ solo.

32. I'm Lost Without You - Billy Fury

A dramatic orchestral ballad with Billy in fine voice. He's still churning out the top 20 hits.

33. I'll Never Find Another You - The Seekers

The Australian group's first single will go all the way to number 1 and it's a good folk/pop song with the male harmonies complementing Judith Durham's lead vocal.

34. Getting Mighty Crowded - Betty Everett

A first hit for the American soul singer and she sings it with gusto but the song itself doesn't really stand out.

39. Going Out Of My Head - Dodie West

I'll put this down as best new discovery of the week. She may not be the best singer but she puts plenty of personality into her vocal and I liked the bombastic production. The single by the British singer will go no higher than 39 and will be her only hit. The original version was by Little Anthony and the Imperials.

 

Record of the week: 35. You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin' - The Righteous Brothers

 

This is not just record of the week, I think it's the best one so far since the start of the singles chart. The production by Phil Spector is magnificent and the vocals by these two have so much depth and emotion to them. After overtaking Cilla Black's cover version, the single will spend two weeks at number 1. It will return to the top 10 in 1969 and 1990.

 

 

 

Oh no question The Righteous Brothers masterpiece would win in almost any week (Be My Baby would be a close thing for me). It's a cornerstone in popular music and remains as powerful as the day it was finished. Love Cilla, but yeah, no but, yeah. Come Tomorrow is a good Manfred track, seen them do it many times in concert. Del Shannon's may be the runner-up for me, an under-appreciated track, if it werent for The Seekers classic. Saw them on their final tour too. The other three I dont recall, but I love the original of Goin' Out Of My Head, that charted for me as an oldie in 1975.

 

Betty Everett sounds fine, I like it, I usually like her stuff. Dodie West does a nice job, I wonder if this was my first introduction to the song and the reason I loved it in the 70's - it was very familiar to me when I noticed it as an oldie. Billy Fury was a fave act, but this one rings no bells, but it's OK. There's none I dislike in this batch..

21st - 27th January 1965

 

31. Tired Of Waiting For You - The Kinks

This will be another no.1 single for the Kinks. The rhythmic beat going through the song is quite similar to their first two singles but this is slower in tempo. It's alright but not as good as those two.

34. Promised Land - Chuck Berry

Another song he wrote while he was in prison. It has his familiar sound with the lyrics describing a journey across America from east to west. It's his last hit until My Ding-A-Ling.

37. The Special Years - Val Doonican

A very slow pace to this one about childhood, the harmonica was the best feature.

39. Dance Dance Dance - The Beach Boys

This is very much their signature sound at the time but not one of their memorable songs and it will be another one to miss the top 20.

 

Record of the week : 27. The Leader Of The Pack - The Shangri-Las

 

And of course it has to be this one, a prime example of the 60s teenage tragedy genre. The interaction of the lead and backing vocals, the big production and the "vroom vroom" all make this song stand out. It will peak at number 11, not being helped by the BBC radio ban, and then later get as high as number 3 in 1972 and number 7 in 1976.

 

The Kinks song is good, and the first to show Ray's gift for a great melody if he feels like it, but it's no You Really Got Me! Promised Land I know through Elvis' early 1975 hit version (in the UK) which was better than the bulk of his current stuff at the time, the retro vibe back to Berry was an improvement. The Special Years was a good song, I rediscovered it in Singapore on my reel-to-reel tape recorder, it was still popping up on the radio and I loved anything Val Doonican, the comedy records or the ballads, until around 1973 when I'd moved on from his new stuff.

 

Dance Dance Dance isn't classic Beach Boys, and they hadn't really upped the ante yet production-wise, so not one of their bigger records and not that well remembered, which leaves a clear winner in Leader Of The pack. I can confirm I never heard it at the time, it was 1972 when it was a bigger hit and radio was playing it that I fell in love with it, so good it went top 10 all over again in 1976. It's a classic, and proof that death discs can be brilliant and timeless. Young death was quite the regular thing in all societies throughout history, until anti-biotics, medicine generally and health & safety made inroads into that, and culture then reflected that. I think that gets forgotten in the modern world where it's regarded as bad taste, as everyone shares their feelings online instead.

28th January - 3rd February 1965

 

33. What In The World's Come Over You - The Rockin' Berries

A second top 40 hit for this group, it's a decent effort with good use of the falsetto from the lead singer.

36. Yes I Will - The Hollies

Their fifth consecutive top 10 single, I'm liking the vocal harmonies but the song itself doesn't really stand out.

38. Everybody Knows - The Dave Clark Five

A slower style of music from them this time and this one has the sort of chorus that will stick in my head. I'm surprised it will only go up one more place, it sounds like a bigger hit to me. They will later record another single with the same title.

39. Soldier Boy - The Cheetahs

I remember 'Mecca' from this group and this cover of the Shirelles' song is just as quirky. It's all over the place but I'll forgive them again for not taking themselves too seriously.

 

Record of the week : 32. Come See About Me - The Supremes

 

I'm going for the Supremes again with their third hit single. It's not as good as the first two but the familiar Motown sound is here along with some fine vocals from the trio. It will be their third US number 1 but only get to number 27 in the UK.

 

 

 

Three strong record of the week picks since I last commented; the 60s girl-groups are on fire right now! I also like 'Tired of Waiting For You' a lot from the previous week.

I have my school book from January 1965, so here's what I was doing:

 

Jan 12th

 

"On Christmas bday I had a Tiddley winks set and a watch and a projeckor and a games and a pair of slippers"

 

I still have the projector filmstrips (of Hi and Lois, and Prince Valiant). Flashy Flicker it was called, it was projected onto the wall, a plastic gun-shape with a bulb. They were for Xmas and birthday. We didn't have tons of toys in those days....

 

January 18th

 

"On Saturday I had a mouse and we called her Katei. We spent all of my money"

 

I did love my pets. Poor Katy went the way of the poor rabbit and the sticklebacks I used to fish out of the river across the road and kept in a bucket. I loved them all to death, and learned of heartbreak when the bast*rds kept dying no matter how much bread I gave them. Happily the river still has a population of sticklebacks (I checked last year) so I didnt decimate the natural environment.

 

January 22nd

 

"Yesterday I maid a snowman and I kept knocking the snowmans Hed of and I maid a grate big snowball and when i maid the snow balls I could see the grass"

 

So it was snowing heavily in Chesham on the 21st January.

 

January 29th

 

"To-night I am going to play with Mark and Heather and I will ask if I and Mark and Heather can come in the House with me and I will ask if we can play with our toys and if we can play with them we will play with the toys the tiddley winks"

 

Crikey the excitement of kids in 1965! Doctor Who on telly and Tiddley Winks with friends! "You were lucky, we made friends with the rats and played wi' gravel in 't' road"

 

Monday Feb 1st

 

"On saturday I made" (learnt to spell it right already) "some paper flowers all by my self and after that I tidied up and and I brought down my comic and raed it and after that I watched the TV"

 

We couldn't afford real flowers :lol: I always did like arts & crafts...

 

 

So the music, then?

 

The Rocking Berries I know I liked at the time, and this one is very Beach Boys. I don't remember ever hearing it before in my life but I did buy their Dec 1971 single, The King (an Elvis/Saville/Rolf Harris piss-take) which is un-broad-cast-able these days.

 

The Hollies is an OK early track, they hadnt really got to the great stuff yet. Dave Clark 5 were faves but it's the 1967 song I loved to bits, this one was no Glad All Over or Bits & Pieces, which were faves! The Cheetahs are a new one on me and the crappy fake American accent at the start immediately annoys me. If there's one thing that used to piss me off growing up it was Brits doing terrible American accents and Americans doing terrible British, Scottish and Irish accents. We knew what they should sound like!! They were on telly all the time! We could tell the difference!! I'll stick with The Shirelles...

 

Come See About Me is the jewel in this week's crown, and it didn't get any airplay that I was aware of at the time, bizarrely. It's more subtle than the first two big hits, but I really grew to love in the 80's, having got to hear it on their Hits album in 1970 and then having Shakin' Stevens do a surprisingly decent cover in the 80's. I love it more than Baby Love and Where Did Our Love Go these days, and I love them too.

Good to see you've kept your old diaries, I threw mine away a long time ago. I was also reading comics, watching Doctor Who and playing tiddlywinks. I had a river nearby as well but threw back any fish I caught in my fishing net.

Good to see you've kept your old diaries, I threw mine away a long time ago. I was also reading comics, watching Doctor Who and playing tiddlywinks. I had a river nearby as well but threw back any fish I caught in my fishing net.

 

Thanks :) Ouch at throwing diaries out! I started a diary in 1976 and kept going until the 2000's when life started getting too grim to want to record and remember. My school books also got cleared out along with comics and toys every time we moved (annually, mostly) but mum kept this one as it was a series of my early writings and artwork. The teacher made us draw a picture about what we'd done that weekend/holiday and then write about it. I think she got fed up with me going on about Doctor Who and pop music in the end :lol:

 

Good to hear you were more environmentally conscious than me. I stopped catching fish after the first batch died overnight, as I just got upset when any living thing died. Still do!

4th - 10th February 1965

 

27. Game Of Love - Wayne Fontana and The Mindbenders

This will be the group's biggest hit, reaching number 2 and topping the Billboard chart. It's a good tune and there are some effective tempo changes but the lyrics are a bit basic.

39. Funny How Love Can Be - The Ivy League

A first hit for this English group is a pleasant song with three-part vocal harmonies.

40. Long After Tonight Is Over - Jimmy Radcliffe

Recorded in 1962 but not a hit until now, this Bacharach & David penned song has a powerful vocal and a dramatic string arrangement.

 

Record of the week: 33. Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood - The Animals

 

A classic song by The Animals with another effortless vocal from Eric Burdon and that distinctive guitar riff. First recorded by Nina Simone in 1964, this version will peak at number 3.

 

I like Game Of Love, really like Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood - it might be my fave Animals track, House included - and I bought a coloured vinyl double A of the Ivy League biggest 2 songs in the late 70's, so I especially like Funny How Love Can Be, I do like vocal harmonies. So that gets the edge I think, for me. Or maybe not! Depends on mood. :)

 

Dont know the other one: looks like it was a Northern Soul revival track in the early 70's. It's pretty good soul with that Bacharach class and it has his stamp written on the melody for the chorus.

11th - 17th February 1965

 

20. It Hurts So Much (To See You Go) - Jim Reeves

The next posthumous hit is another ballad in his usual style.

33. Stop Feeling Sorry For Yourself - Adam Faith

I liked the orchestration and piano on this one, the production is more expansive than you would usually get on one of his songs.

35. Mary Anne - The Shadows

A song with vocals this time and they sing it well while using just their acoustic guitars. A nice discovery.

36. Goodnight - Roy Orbison

Not one of his best songs but there's plenty still to like here with his vocals, the backing track and the build up towards the end.

37. Paper Tiger - Sue Thompson

A throwaway pop song with a rather irritating child-like vocal from a singer who is 39 years old. This will be her only top 40 hit.

40. A Windmill In Old Amsterdam - Ronnie Hilton

This will be the last of Ronnie's eighteen top 40 singles and 16 of them were before I started my reviews in 1961. It's a novelty song about mice which I mildly enjoyed but wouldn't want to hear again.

 

Record of the week : 39. It's Not Unusual - Tom Jones

 

You can tell we have reached the second half of the 1960s now with the emergence of Tom Jones. This is only two minutes long but doesn't need to be any longer. His big vocal really stands out here along with the contribution from the brass section. The song was intended for Sandie Shaw but she liked his demo version so much that she told him to release it himself. It will spend one week at number 1.

 

 

 

“Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood” is my favourite of the last few - I just love that riff!