I always forget the tune to Diamonds but its one I know well from days of being 5 and it popping up on telly. So many 60s instrumentals I know but dont know I know!

 

Brenda Lee track is a goodie, t'others dont ring a bell but i alwsys like Ricky Nelson.

24th - 30th January 1963

 

14. Little Town Flirt - Del Shannon

An OK pop/rock song with the female backing singers making a big contribution. I already knew the song as an ELO cover version is one of the bonus tracks on the CD re-issue of Discovery.

16. Some Kinda Fun - Chris Montez

This is a good follow-up to Let's Dance which it bears many similarities to. There's good use of the stereo sound with the electric organ on the right and the drums and guitars on the left.

18. Big Girls Don't Cry - The Four Seasons https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CemblK8T5n4 I know this one well, Frankie Valli's falsetto combines effectively with the deeper voices of the other singers. It will top the Billboard chart but only reach number 13 in the UK.

22. Sukiyaki - Kenny Ball And His Jazzmen

A Japanese song by Kyu Sakamoto done in the trad jazz style. The original will chart in the summer, I predict it will be much better than this version.

29. Wayward Wind - Frank Ifield

A country song set in the Wild West with some yodelling. The original version goes back to 1956. This will be a third number 1 for Frank, making him the first UK act to have three consecutive number 1 singles.

32. A Taste Of Honey - Mr Acker Bilk with the Leon Young String Chorale

Another calming clarinet instrumental with a fine string arrangement. This will be Acker's last hit until 1976.

34. Charmaine - The Bachelors

A new group from Ireland who we'll be hearing much more from but they can't be described as being cutting edge. This cover of a song from the 1920s is certainly aimed at the older record buyers.

38. My Little Girl - The Crickets

Clocking in at under two minutes, this a good pop song with the piano combining well with the drum rhythm.

40. Loo-Be-Loo - The Chucks

This was a fun song which I enjoyed. The lead singer has quite a raspy vocal style. I can find very little information about the group. They were from Liverpool and this is their only hit single.

 

Record of the week : 33. Please Please Me - The Beatles

 

I don't think there have been as many as ten new entries in one week since I started this thread but The Beatles still come out on top. As with their first single, the harmonica is prominent along with guitars, drums and some great harmonies. The single will top the NME and Melody Maker charts but not the Record Retailer chart which is the one that is now considered to be the official chart. Frank Ifield and Cliff Richard will both prevent them from getting their first number 1 single.

 

Well, as the greatest pop music act of all-time it would be hard to argue against Please Please Me being pick of the week, especially as they wrote originally as a Roy Orbison-esque dramatic ballad. And my fave band of all-time.

 

And yet....Big Girls Don't Cry is SO catchy and joyous and criminally under-appreciated in the UK (Presumably cos the Four Seasons just didnt get any TV appearances while the rest of 'em - bar Del Shannon and Chris Montez) were popping up everywhere on the 2 channels. I certainly know Charmaine and Wayward Wind inside out and fondly think of both (dad had Wayward Wind as a single in 1966). Little Down Flirt is a goodie. Sukiyaki is far and away the best record though, but not Kenny Ball's version! I entered the song into the BJSC contest way back when in the only version that counts.

 

 

Today I learned Kyu Sakamoto's wasn't the only version of 'Ue O Muite Arukō' (to use its actual title rather than the random unrelated Japanese word that was chosen to market the song in the West) that charted.

Please Please Me :wub:

That one never grows old for me whereas some of the early Beatles singles I can kind of live without hearing again.

This thread is definitely going to be very useful for me if and when I reach 1961 in mine!

Belated appreciation for 'Diamonds' :wub: I was instantly hooked as soon as I heard it for the first time during my first ever marathon of all the #1s, glad it came out on top for you.

 

Of course happy to see The Beatles popping up again too! My height of appreciation for them is the more psychedelic eras but this is a good'un from the earlier singles.

31st January - 6th February 1963

 

29. Loop-De-Loop - Frankie Vaughan

This is another version of the song by The Chucks we had last week with a slightly different title. I much preferred their version, this one is more like a chaotic pub singalong. The original is actually by an American called Johnny Thunder with the chorus based on a 19th Century children's song.

32. The Alley Cat Song - David Thorne

A swing style song with the female backing singers providing the meows. It will be the American singer's only hit.

40. What Now - Adam Faith with Johnny Keating and his orchestra

This would work better as an instrumental as I find Adam's vocal to be irritating on this one. The instruments used include a tuba and a theremim.

 

Record of the week : 39. Walk Right In - The Rooftop Singers

 

I'm going with this interesting piece of folk/pop, a cover of a 1929 country song. There's plenty of acoustic guitar strumming with one female singer harmonising with the two males. It will reach number 1 in the US this week so I've looked at Telsorrow's review and he gave it 6 out of 10 which I'm inclined to agree with. In the UK, it will peak at number 10, the group's only hit single. They split up in 1967.

 

7th - 13th February 1963

 

26. Hava Nagila - The Spotnicks

A third hit for the Swedish group and this will be the only one to make the top 20. The tune originated in Israel and this version keeps that Middle Eastern sound, it's quite good.

32. Blame It On The Bossa Nova - Eydie Gorme

A Latin flavoured pop song which I enjoyed and was close to getting the ROTW title today. Eydie didn't like it and deliberately put in a below par performance in the hope that it wouldn't get released but it was and gave her a top 10 hit in the US. Over here, it will spend four consecutive weeks at number 32. There's still plenty of personality in her vocal and the electric keyboard solo was an interesting diversion.

37. Tell Him - Billie Davis

We last heard Billie Davis with Mike Sarne and this is her first solo hit. It's the second week in a row we have a cover of a song first recorded by Johnny Thunder. It's a good pop song but her vocal is quite ragged in places.

 

Record of the week : 30. The Night Has A Thousand Eyes - Bobby Vee

 

I know this one already and it gets the award, a good pop song with a memorable chorus and string arrangement. I thought that this clip might be from a film but it's a promo video made for the video jukeboxes set up in bars and restaurants that I've mentioned before. It will peak at number 3, the last of Bobby Vee's seven top 10 singles, he has one more minor hit to come.

 

Walk Right In is a catchy old song that stuck with me as a kiddie, still like it and an easy win for that week. Never knew it was that old the song though!

 

Next week is much fabber, Bobby Vee totally love The Night Has A Thousand Eyes - one I knew and liked as a kid, but one I grew to love even more when I rediscovered it in the 70's and especially the 80's. Crackin' tune.

 

Tell Him is a good record, it was a hit in 1974 for Glam Rock band Hello, so for me that's the original version, but Billie Davis' is quite cute too. Eydie Gorme will be doing an all-time fave for me, one I still love to bits. Not this one though, not familiar with it but the song I know. S'OK.

 

Ditto The Spotnicks version of Hava Nagila - dont know it, but they are good, the song is good and the vocal versions were everywhere in the 60's. A romp! I always thought Hava Nagila was from Fiddler On The Roof, but it isn't it's from 1918 and was made famous by Harry Belafonte (THAT'S why I know it so well!) and Glen Campbell also recorded it, bet he did the finger-plucking manic guitar version of Dick Dale's surfer instrumental version...

14th - 20th February 1963

 

26. That's What Love Will Do - Joe Brown and The Bruvvers

A pleasant pop song with acoustic guitars and an unexpected Spanish guitar solo. This will go as high as number 3.

33. Queen For Tonight - Helen Shapiro

Another good vocal from Helen but the song was just average and the backing vocals were annoying.

34. Like I've Never Been Gone - Billy Fury

An Elvis style mid-tempo ballad. It's a cover of a Chase Webster song and will give Billy his first top 3 hit since 1961.

37. I Saw Linda Yesterday - Doug Sheldon

I was trying to think what song this reminded me of and then saw Runaround Sue on his list of previous singles, that's the one. He's trying to recreate it here. This will be his last top 40 hit. He became an actor and novelist and is still alive, aged 86.

40. Hey Paula - Paul and Paula https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogYVuITwJOE For Valentine's Day, we have this soppy love song. Their real names are Ray and Jill. It's another American number 1 single that I haven't heard before.

 

Record of the week : 36. Boss Guitar - Duane Eddy and The Rebelettes

 

Nothing really stood out this week so I have to go for Duane Eddy who is always good value. As well as the distinctive guitar, we also have some fine drumming and backing vocals and a joyous saxophone solo. One of the youtube comments says it's Darlene Love singing in the last twenty seconds of the record. This will peak at number 27.

 

The only ones I know from the time are Paul & Paula and Joe Brown, both of which I like, though Joe's has probably weathered better. Joe was and still is great, and touring and always worth a ticket - his hits he tends to breeze through as he doesnt need them to make a great concert, but they dont hurt either!

 

I dont recognise that Duane Eddy track at all (just played it) but I expect I heard and liked my heroes Helen Shapiro and Billy Fury at the time. Doug Sheldon means nothing to me, never heard of him! :o

21st - 27th February 1963

 

38. Hi-Lili Hi-Lo - Richard Chamberlain

A plodding ballad. The original dates back to 1952 and this version sounds as if it's from that era as well.

39. From A Jack To A King - Ned Miller

A country ballad with the guitar as the only instrument and some backing vocals. The single wasn't a hit when first released in 1957 but it does much better this time, spending three weeks at number 2. It will be his only top 40 hit.

 

Record of the week : 27. Summer Holiday - Cliff Richard and The Shadows

 

With little opposition, Cliff gains another ROTW award. The song has a fairly simple arrangement but it's one that everyone knows and can relate to if they've been on holiday. It will spend two weeks at number 1 before being replaced by The Shadows for one week and then go back to the top spot for one more week.

 

Ned Miller's OK, but Summer Holiday is a childhood anthem with memories of seeing it at the cinema and dreams of bunking off in a double-decker round the world when we got older. Some actually DID do exactly that, but not me sadly. It's not the massive favourite these days except to those that were kids then, but I still love the simple tune. Plus, the film had Una Stubbs in it.

28th February - 6th March 1963

 

34. Cupboard Love - John Leyton

This is not a song about making love in a cupboard which would not have been acceptable in 1963, nor is it about a love for cupboards. The person in the song seems to think the girl only wants him for his money and is telling her that his cupboard is bare except for his love for her so she's his cupboard love.

38. Trouble Is My Middle Name - The Brook Brothers

An OK ballad with strings and backing singers. This will be the last of their five top 40 hits.

39. The Pied Piper (The Beeje) - Steve Race And His Group

This is a cheery instrumental that would put a smile on anyone's face. It would be suitable for a 60s TV sitcom maybe. It will be his only hit single but he did have a long career as a presenter on TV and radio.

 

Record of the week : 40. Saturday Nite At The Duck-Pond - The Cougars

 

A piece from Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake (which explains the song's title) is given the rock treatment in this instrumental. There's some great guitar playing and energetic drumming. The single was banned by the BBC for being "a travesty of a major classical work". Some airplay on Radio Luxembourg helped it reach number 33. It was the only hit for the Bristol group who disbanded in 1964.

 

 

 

No sense of humour, the toffy-nosed BBC, in those days doing their best to keep the oiks at bay. The Cougars is the only I know and it's great fun :) If classical music is fine for selling products, it's fine to be used as musical inspiration.... :D

Thanks for explaining what that John Leyton song is about :lol: it came to my attention as it spent 4 weeks at its #22 peak (still the joint record). Although as Johnny Remember Me is the only song I actually know by him, I'd have believed it to be about anything...

I hadn't noticed that, it's only three weeks since we had the Eydie Gorme song which spent four weeks at number 32, also a joint record.

7th - 13th March 1963

 

18. One Broken Heart For Sale - Elvis Presley

This will be a relative failure for Elvis. Excluding EPs, his last five singles have been number 1s and it's more than five years since a single by him missed the top 5 but this one will only reach number 12. I can see why, there's nothing special about this song and it's only 90 seconds long.

25. Foot Tapper - The Shadows

This is certainly a foot tapper with the drums in particular standing out. It will be the last of the Shadows' twelve number 1 singles.

35. My Kind Of Girl - Frank Sinatra with Count Basie

I was expecting a vocal duet but I see Count Basie is a musician and bandleader. I like the way there is a pause after each line for the band to react to the last word with an appropriate sound. This is three times the length of the Elvis song but I didn't get bored of it, there was an entertaining instrumental break in the middle, it's one of the best Frank Sinatra songs I've heard.

37. Say Wonderful Things - Ronnie Carroll

This is the UK's Eurovision entry and it will finish in 4th place. It's the second year in a row that Ronnie has represented the UK. He is still the only person to do that. It has a good chorus so I can see how it did quite well. This will be the last of his six top 40 hits.

38. In Dreams - Roy Orbison

I know the song title well so I was expecting this to be more familiar to me than it turned out to be. I'm sure I must have heard it before but I don't remember it. Anyway, it's another faultless vocal from Roy with a large range of notes that few singers can reach, very close to a fourth ROTW award for him.

39. Town Crier - Craig Douglas

A good lively pop song with chiming bells at the start and throughout. This is the second singer today we won't see again. It's the last of his ten top 40 hits. He is still alive, aged 81.

 

Record of the week : 30. Rhythm Of The Rain - The Cascades

 

Some big names this week but I'm going for a one hit wonder by an American group. It starts and ends with rain sound effects. In between, there is a good lead vocal and backing harmonies and a solo played on the celesta which is a type of keyboard instrument. What makes this stand out for me is the spacey production which uses the stereo sound so well, I think this is the remastered version so it's probably better than the record would have sounded in 1963. It peaked at number 5 and was the only hit for the Cascades who kept going until 1975. A cover version by Jason Donovan was a top 10 single in 1990.

 

 

 

Oh great choice, I'm a fan of 'Rhythm Of the Rain' too :wub: I didn't know that the instrument played in it is called the celesta but I've always appreciated that part of it.

 

The melody of 'Foot Tapper' is now stuck in my head just from reading its title :lol:

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. :)