Again close between a few contenders - I actually dismissed this Dylan cover on 1st listen but after a few plays I think it's marvellous. Johnny and June Carter bring something to it that isn't in the original, which didn't chart as a single in its own right.

 

8 Johnny Cash It Ain't Me Babe First hit for Johnny: a Dylan song but he does it as a duet with his future wife and it's a really special version with plenty of feeling

8 The Hollies I'm Alive 198th #1: a great song here with an emotional build and a rhythmic hook which they almost rejected and gave to another band

8 Donovan Colours His 2nd #4 hit in quick succession and like "Catch The Wind" has interesting lyrics and a lovely folky vibe with busy guitar parts

7 The Who Anyway Anyhow Anywhere A 2nd Top 10 for them - enjoy the call and response bewteen the lead and falsetto backing, and the long build up in the middle

7 The Kinks Set Me Free This took them back into the Top 10 and it's a really good tune with sultry delivery, robust guitar backing and an infectious rhythm

7 The Shadows Stingray Their efforts have seemed half hearted lately but this is much better - love the deep and gritty melody with the gentler backing

6 Roger Miller Engine Engine #9 This did very poorly as the follow up to a chart topper but it's very sweet, and his bumbling country voice gives it a real sincerity

6 The Beach Boys Help Me Rhonda Another minor hit but they seem to be gradually refining their sound - this has less falsetto and more emphasis on the backing lines

5 Gene Pitney Looking Through The Eyes Of Love Another big hit and the usual high drama with agony building through the song - I do like it but it's too similar to his others for me

5 Cliff Richard On My Word Ends a streak of 22 Top 10s for him, but it's actually quite a nice sprightly one - enjoy the frenetic piano part in the background

4 The Moody Blues From The Bottom Of My Heart This is quite a moody one and I really enjoy it until the last section where he goes absolutely mad and starts shrieking, which ruins it

4 The Dave Clark Five Come Home Like the simplicity of the arrangement, starting with just a bassline and drum with the vocals, but it doesn't really get going for me

3 Elvis Presley Crying In The Chapel 197th #1: after 8 hits in a row peaking no higher than #10 this was a return to commercial form, but it's quite a dull cover really

2 Tony Bennett (I Left My Heart) In San Francisco Apparently this was his signature song - I quite like the jazz piano solo but it's very stop start with no real discernable melody

2 Connie Francis My Child Last of her 23 Top 40s - a bit like "Mama" this is a big ballad with lavish orchestration, but it sounds quite dated by this point

 

 

1965 Group 9:

 

#2366 12/06/1965 The Supremes Back In My Arms Again 40 {40}-46-40-43-50->5

#2367 19/06/1965 The Yardbirds Heart Full Of Soul 2 32-20-11-4-{2}-2-2-6-11-20-29-36-46->13

#2368 19/06/1965 Kenny Lynch I'll Stay By You 29 36-{29}-31-36-36-47-49->7

#2369 19/06/1965 Sir Douglas Quintet She's About A Mover 15 37-27-25-19-{15}-16-21-28-40-46->10

#2370 19/06/1965 The Byrds Mr Tambourine Man 1 38-33-19-8-3-{1}-1-2-4-8-14-22-31-40->14

#2371 19/06/1965 Bob Dylan Maggie's Farm 22 40-35-{22}-24-27-33-45-44->8

#2372 19/06/1965 Adam Faith Someone's Taken Maria Away 34 42-50-42-{34}-48->5

#2373 19/06/1965 Lulu Leave A Little Love 8 43-25-13-9-{8}-8-15-21-29-34-45->11

#2374 19/06/1965 Peter Cook And Dudley Moore Goodbye-ee 18 44-37-36-28-19-19-{18}-23-35-41->10

#2375 19/06/1965 Wayne Fontana And The Mindbenders It's Just A Little Bit Too Late 20 47-38-28-{20}-28-35-50->7

#2376 26/06/1965 The Ivy League Tossing And Turning 3 45-21-10-7-{3}-4-5-6-13-20-26-34-49->13

#2377 26/06/1965 Peter And Gordon To Know You Is To Love You 5 47-15-{5}-6-5-9-16-21-32-46->10

#2378 26/06/1965 Sam The Sham And The Pharaohs Woolly Bully 11 49-29-23-14-13-12-{11}-15-18-28-29-37-46-49-50->15

#2379 03/07/1965 Dusty Springfield In The Middle Of Nowhere 8 23-13-10-9-{8}-9-16-23-31-45->10

Edited September 26, 20231 yr by JulianT

Johnny's version of It Ain't Me Babe is pretty good, but my fave version is The Turtles US hit version. The Hollies reach peak quality with I'm Alive, a fabulous record with loads more gems to come. Colours is also very good, Donovan always very quirky folky sweet. The Who track is OK, never disliked it, never much loved it either.

 

Set Me Free rings a vague memory, but not top-notch Kinks, and I'm shocked to say I dont know Stingray (the TV series theme tune and the Aqua Marina outro I know and love inside out though), nor the Roger Miller title.

 

Help Me Rhonda is classic, just behind I'm Alive in my affections. Looking Through The Eyes Of Love is my 3rd fave of the batch, I was more familiar with The Partridge Family/David Cassidy hit version for a while though, but Gene all the way for me. The rest I don't know, bar 2: Tony Bennett's signature tune always seems to have been around and on telly a fair bit back in the day, but I always found it dull too. Still do. However, Elvis' Crying In The Chapel was undoubtedly my fave record of the time, mum loved it and I recall us stopping at a roadside caff with a jukebox - I don't know when, I don't know where, I don't know why (probably moving from Chesham to Liverpool) - and us putting this on. Continued to love it for another decade or so, but the years since have not been so kind, more fond of it for nostalgic reasons than actually wanting to hear it much. Gimme Viva Las Vegas anyday, way more fun from the mid 60's.

My favourite isn't the best known this time - "Heart Full Of Soul" has a replay value for me that "Mr Tambourine Man" doesn't.

 

9 The Yardbirds Heart Full Of Soul 3 weeks as a runner up for this fabulous slightly dark record with an Eastern flavour; their slightly rough vocals work with it

8 The Byrds Mr Tambourine Man 199th #1: I don't think this beats the Dylan original but a great rendition as the debut hit for this American folk rock style group

8 Dusty Springfield In The Middle Of Nowhere A bit of a change of direction from big heartbreak ballads to this upbeat Motown style number - Dusty does an excellent job with it

7 Sir Douglas Quintet She's About A Mover Only hit here for this American rock band and it's a really interesting blues rock style track with an organ riff and great vocals

7 Lulu Leave A Little Love Very different from "Shout" and a much subtler soulul ballad style song, again with a slight Motown feel, and again very strong vocals

6 The Ivy League Tossing And Turning Their last and biggest Top 40 hit; falsetto heavy again but a nice song and the rhythm really gives the feeling of tossing and turning

6 Bob Dylan Maggie's Farm He did this in one take and it doesn't sound polished but that's part of the charm - it's a really fun song about being downtrodden

5 Sam The Sham And The Pharaohs Woolly Bully Only hit here for this Texas band who dressed in turbans- an interesting and catchy song with a dance feel and a great sax solo

5 The Supremes Back In My Arms Again Quite amusing lyrics about having received bad love advice from friends Mary and Flo, and a nice song in their usual slick style

4 Kenny Lynch I'll Stay By You Love his soft and clear vocals and the song is very pleasant with gentle vocal and brass backing, but it's not exciting in any way

4 Wayne Fontana And The Mindbenders It's Just A Little Bit Too Late After their 2 huge hits this returned them to minor success: think the title fits as it's decent rock 'n' roll but a little late for the style

3 Adam Faith Someone's Taken Maria Away Last of 23 Top 40s for Adam - he does feel very past his best but this one has quite a nice Latin guitar feel, albeit it's quite repetitive

2 Peter And Gordon To Know You Is To Love You Another lifeless cover from them - the original just manages to stay the right side of being stodgy and saccharine, but this fails

1 Peter Cook And Dudley Moore Goodbye-ee Not familiar with this comedy duo and I'm not sure of the context of this record, but it's quite a challenging and unpleasant listen

 

 

1965 Group 10:

 

#2380 03/07/1965 Jackie Trent When The Summertime Is Over 39 {39}-46->2

#2381 03/07/1965 Charles Dickens That's The Way Love Goes 37 46-38-45-39-{37}-45-43-47->8

#2382 03/07/1965 The Four Tops I Can't Help Myself 23 47-44-{23}-24-25-27-36-36-48->9

#2383 10/07/1965 Joan Baez There But For Fortune 8 32-16-11-10-{8}-8-12-17-24-28-43-47->12

#2384 10/07/1965 P.J. Proby Let The Water Run Down 19 33-24-22-{19}-25-27-33-38->8

#2385 10/07/1965 The Fortunes You've Got Your Troubles 2 37-18-10-3-3-3-{2}-8-14-19-28-38-41-48->14

#2386 10/07/1965 The Searchers He's Got No Love 12 48-31-18-16-{12}-17-19-26-33-41->10

#2387 10/07/1965 Tom Jones With These Hands 13 49-33-21-17-{13}-13-15-21-25-38-48->11

#2388 17/07/1965 The Pretty Things Cry To Me 28 34-{28}-31-34-32-37-41->7

#2389 17/07/1965 Peter Cook The Ballad Of Spotty Muldoon 34 35-{34}-35-35-48->5

#2390 17/07/1965 The Dave Clark Five Catch Us If You Can 5 38-23-11-7-{5}-7-9-17-24-32-40->11

#2391 17/07/1965 The Animals We Gotta Get Out Of This Place 2 41-17-6-4-{2}-3-6-12-20-25-36-49->12

#2392 17/07/1965 Jim Reeves This World Is Not My Home 22 42-37-{22}-24-22-27-34-39-47->9

#2393 24/07/1965 Billy Fury In Thoughts Of You 9 38-29-20-{9}-10-11-16-25-36-41-48->11

Edited September 26, 20231 yr by JulianT

It's the debut for the Four Tops today and for some reason is was only a minor hit here; but it's brill.

 

9 The Four Tops I Can't Help Myself First hit for them and very much a Motown classic and American #1 - a beautiful song that really captures the joy of falling in love

8 The Animals We Gotta Get Out Of This Place This completes their trio of great Top 3 hits: apparently went on to become an anthem for people needing to get out of a situation

8 Joan Baez There But For Fortune She's forgiven for "We Shall Overcome"; this is about humanity and how easily we can stumble on misfortune, and it's really lovely

7 The Dave Clark Five Catch Us If You Can Their biggest hit for a while and possibly their best: infectious with the click along beat, and I really like the harmonica interlude

7 Billy Fury In Thoughts Of You His last Top 10 hit and it's Billy at his angst ridden best with a lavish production - twanging in the verses and piano in the chorus

6 The Fortunes You've Got Your Troubles Debut hit for this English group that took them to #2: very nice but there's just something a little safe and predictable about it

6 Charles Dickens That's The Way Love Goes A 1 hit wonder oddity - Charles Dickens was a pseudonym for a phtographer called David Anthony, but it's surprisingly catchy

5 The Pretty Things Cry To Me Quite a nice song: I really like the bassline and in the end it builds up nicely until there's a whole chorus crying which is effective

5 The Searchers He's Got No Love Some twinkly "A Hard Day's Night" style guitar on this - otherwise it's a nice but unremarkable mid tempo piece of guitar pop

4 Jim Reeves This World Is Not My Home Another gentle country style heartbreak ballad that is a decent listen thanks to his velvet vocals but certainly not one of his best

4 Jackie Trent When The Summertime Is Over Peaked at almost the opposite end of the Top 40 from her last one and no wonder as it's not bad but quite stiff and lacking charm

3 P.J. Proby Let The Water Run Down A Ben E King cover and the original is much better: the driving beat here is good but the main and backing vocals quite harsh

2 Tom Jones With These Hands Some of his early songs are classics even if not entirely for me: others are pretty poor like this tuneless and grandiose ballad

1 Peter Cook The Ballad Of Spotty Muldoon Wow Peter trolling us twice in 2 months: a song about having acne which wouldn't pass muster today; musically quite unpleasant

 

 

1965 Group 11:

 

#2394 24/07/1965 Dave Berry This Strange Effect 37 40-39-38-{37}-39-42->6

#2395 24/07/1965 Brian Poole And The Tremeloes I Want Candy 25 41-41-33-28-{25}-30-35-40->8

#2396 24/07/1965 Roy Orbison (Say) You're My Girl 23 42-30-26-{23}-26-33-34-42->8

#2397 24/07/1965 Marianne Faithfull Summer Nights 10 44-24-15-{10}-11-13-20-26-35-46->10

#2398 24/07/1965 Marcello Minerbi Zorba's Dance 6 48-32-22-12-9-7-{6}-8-10-8-16-18-20-21-26-43->16

#2399 31/07/1965 The Beatles Help! 1 5-{1}-1-1-2-2-5-8-13-18-23-23-29-40->14

#2400 31/07/1965 Horst Jankowski A Walk In The Black Forest 3 28-19-14-5-{3}-5-4-6-7-9-13-12-16-21-29-39-47-46->18

#2401 31/07/1965 Brenda Lee Too Many Rivers 22 36-29-25-{22}-23-27-30-34-35-43-41-50->12

#2402 31/07/1965 Jonathan King Everyone's Gone To The Moon 4 40-18-7-6-{4}-7-15-19-27-37-49->11

#2403 31/07/1965 Georgie Fame And The Blue Flames Like We Used To Be 33 47-47-{33}-35-35-41-50->7

#2404 07/08/1965 The Kinks See My Friends 10 39-24-16-12-{10}-18-30-39-47->9

#2405 07/08/1965 The Shadows Don't Make My Baby Blue 10 40-20-17-{10}-15-17-21-31-38-42->10

#2406 07/08/1965 The Honeycombs That's The Way 12 41-34-24-24-18-13-13-{12}-13-16-18-23-27-41->14

#2407 14/08/1965 The Byrds All I Really Want To Do 4 26-14-5-{4}-7-12-21-30-40-48->10

 

 

'Heart Full Of Soul' and 'Mr. Tambourine Man' are both such big favourites :wub: :wub: when creating historical personal charts it felt like Sophie's choice having to pick a #1 between those two :lol: (gave them both a turn in the end :magic:) ~ I remember the former being new to quite a few people at the relevant #2s session and was happy it went down pretty well. The sitar-style hook is such a treat to the ears. 'Woolly Bully' from that same batch is an interesting one :lol: there's a 60s music channel on freeview (it can be a bit depressing as they show funeral plan ads a lot ) and I recall both the song and their look standing out for sure.

 

'I Can't Help Myself' is one of my favourite motown classics, it really does personify joy.

 

'Trains And Boats And Planes' is a fab winner from its respective batch also <3 back in 2014 when I was listening through a lot of 1960s hits for the first time I instantly pressed the 'love' button on last.fm as I knew it was a keeper and I didn't want to forget about it while listening to so much music from that period. Still sounds great!

5th win for The Beatles now - some other interesting stuff here but they're still the best and a good one for the 200th milestone. The next group is looking rather stacked though. :o

 

9 The Beatles Help! 200th #1: the sudden attack on this is part of what makes it so great: a simple short song but manages to be very hard hitting

8 The Kinks See My Friends This reminds me of some of the Eastern flavoured Beatles songs such as "Within You Without You" - this is also excellently done

8 The Shadows Don't Make My Baby Blue Another non instrumental from them that is actually a Frankie Laine cover (but the original didn't chart here): really great song

7 Georgie Fame And The Blue Flames Like We Used To Be Only a minor hit but not sure why as it's a very energetic and exciting number with a catchy riff and a very good guitar solo

7 Horst Jankowski A Walk In The Black Forest Origanally "Eine Schwarzwaldfahrt"; unusual for a jazzy instrumental to make the Top 3 but it is lovely from this German pianist

7 Marcello Minerbi Zorba's Dance A Greek dance instrumental known for the gradually accelerating main theme that's still heard a lot today; not the original though

6 Brian Poole And The Tremeloes I Want Candy Last of 8 hits for them - another cover where the original didn't chart and it is a great song with a very infectious beat

6 Jonathan King Everyone's Gone To The Moon His debut single - he was still at University, and a charming innocence about it; refreshingly different from everything else around

6 Dave Berry This Strange Effect Written by Ray Davies of the Kinks, this does manage to be quite mesmerising with its slow simple tune, fitting the lyrics

5 Marianne Faithfull Summer Nights Marianne's song always have an intriguing atmosphere that draws you in and the harpsichord helps do that here: subtle but sweet

5 Roy Orbison (Say) You're My Girl Not a vintage one from Roy but still nice: tempo is actually quite fast for him and it romps along nicely but misses his usual drama

4 Brenda Lee Too Many Rivers Last of Brenda's hits until she comes back at Christmas in more than 50 years: nice instrumental parts here but the song plods a bit

4 The Honeycombs That's The Way Last hit for them: their drummer Honey Lantree joins the lead vocals here - it's a fun song but find it just a little repetitive

3 The Byrds All I Really Want To Do Another Dylan cover; I gave them a high score for "Mr Tambourine Man" which thy did make their own but find this one quite dull

 

 

1965 Group 12:

 

#2408 14/08/1965 Sonny And Cher I Got You Babe 1 30-4-{1}-1-2-2-4-7-14-15-20-35->12

#2409 14/08/1965 The Righteous Brothers Unchained Melody 14 38-29-25-21-{14}-15-19-21-24-30-38-49->12

#2410 14/08/1965 Tom Jones What's New Pussycat? 11 47-21-16-{11}-12-14-20-24-34-39->10

#2411 21/08/1965 The Walker Brothers Make It Easy On Yourself 1 31-18-8-3-3-{1}-2-3-6-7-15-21-37-50->14

#2412 21/08/1965 Cher All I Really Want To Do 9 40-22-13-{9}-11-17-20-26-32-41->10

#2413 21/08/1965 Bob Dylan Like A Rolling Stone 4 42-19-9-6-{4}-6-8-10-16-22-28-47->12

#2414 21/08/1965 Cliff Richard And The Shadows The Time In Between 22 44-27-23-{22}-23-29-40-46->8

#2415 21/08/1965 Sonny Laugh At Me 9 45-32-19-10-{9}-10-14-20-24-30-48->11

#2416 21/08/1965 Frank Ifield Paradise 26 50-39-31-27-{26}-28-32-37-47->9

#2417 28/08/1965 The Rolling Stones (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction 1 15-3-{1}-1-2-3-8-10-15-20-28-47->12

#2418 28/08/1965 Nini Rosso Il Silenzio 8 40-28-23-17-14-10-9-{8}-11-14-24-27-40-43->14

#2419 28/08/1965 The Everly Brothers I'll Never Get Over You 35 47-38-{35}-42-44->5

#2420 28/08/1965 The Rockin' Berries You're My Girl 40 49-{40}-44-41-43-45-50->7

#2421 04/09/1965 Herman's Hermits Just A Little Bit Better 15 30-21-16-{15}-15-17-19-27-33->9

Edited September 26, 20231 yr by JulianT

'Can't Help Myself' and 'Help!' are top picks there.

 

What a name Horst Jankowski is though :lol:

 

 

Sorry, mini-Dorset holiday again, been away from me laptop!

 

Group 10:

 

Heart Full Of Soul and Mr Tambourine Man are both classics, but I didnt know The Yardbirds song at the time. The Byrds invented folkrock with their cover, and I'll take it over Dylan's any day, oops! Dusty, Sir Douglas & Lulu are all great singles, but probably the edge goes to Tossin' & Turnin' from me as I got the double A side coloured vinyl reissue version in the 70's.

 

Maggie's Farm was revived during Thatcherism but I've never liked it (and I have it on a various artists compilation album), Wooly Bully is fun, and The Supremes single is the best record here outside the top 2, stylish Motown. Peter & Gordon, hmmm yes lifeless is a fair description, and Goodbyee was a kiddie fave but Pete n dad were definitely not kiddie fare, Dudley Moore went on to be a Hollywood loveable short guy actor, Peter Cooke rescued Private Eye and was the comic brains behind the duo's TV shows (they remain acclaimed) and remained funny in interviews and supportive of 70's music punk/indie music scene. This track, though it has a nostalgic pastiche-1920's charm for me, also gets irritating quite quickly!

 

TBC!

This is the strongest group I've reviewed for a long time - the top half are all excellent and I'm using my 10 for the year as well as 2 9s.

 

10 The Rolling Stones (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction 202nd #1: amazing that they follow 3 good but slightly forgettable chart toppers with one of the best regarded songs of all time

9 Bob Dylan Like A Rolling Stone One of his very best records which elevated him from folky protest singer to proper rock star, but still with a great rawness to it

9 The Righteous Brothers Unchained Melody A #14 hit for now that will get its moment in 25 years, and the best ever version of this song with the most fabulous vocals

8 Cher All I Really Want To Do Her solo debut and I think it's absolutely gorgeous; love the way a low line follows a high line and her voice handles it effortlessly

8 The Walker Brothers Make It Easy On Yourself 203rd #1: it's the orchestral part with the mesmerising violin melody that really makes this track, which has an epic and warm feel

7 Sonny And Cher I Got You Babe 201st #1: has perhaps lost its shine with covers over time but it's still a lovely duet that straddles folk and pop very cleverly

7 Nini Rosso Il Silenzio A very unusual piece - a trumpet instrumental with a spoken Italian lyric that became a global sensation: it is quite beautiful

6 Sonny Laugh At Me Sonny also having a solo hit at the same time as their first joint one: this is very Dylan-esque wth a big folky production; I like it

6 The Everly Brothers I'll Never Get Over You Flopped rather after "The Price Of Love" returned them to chart success, but it's a very nice waltzy number with close harmony

5 Cliff Richard And The Shadows The Time In Between A nice jolly little number enhanced by Shadows twanging: a small hit considering some of the dirges that gave him huge success

5 The Rockin' Berries You're My Girl Last Top 40 for them: a very sweet one although it becomes very falsetto heavy towards the end; nonetheless well controlled

4 Herman's Hermits Just A Little Bit Better Lots of "uh-oh-ho" in this: a pleasant tune but nothing to make it stand out and even the instrumental sections seem quite safe

3 Tom Jones What's New Pussycat? OK so it's a classic of sorts but not one I get very much pleasure from; all quite silly and repetitive though like the instruments

3 Frank Ifield Paradise Sometimes Frank's great and other times I think he can't possibly be being serious - the yodeling is rather over the top here

 

 

 

 

1965 Group 13:

 

#2422 04/09/1965 The Hollies Look Through Any Window 4 32-11-5-5-{4}-7-7-14-19-30-44->11

#2423 04/09/1965 Ken Dodd Tears 1 37-16-7-3-{1}-1-1-1-1-2-2-4-5-6-8-7-5-5-7-11-15-19-25-38->24

#2424 04/09/1965 Small Faces Whatcha Gonna Do About It 14 42-33-29-22-19-15-{14}-19-18-26-32-42->12

#2425 04/09/1965 The Four Tops It's The Same Old Song 34 43-45-45-37-{34}-35-42-50->8

#2426 04/09/1965 The Beach Boys California Girls 26 44-32-31-{26}-28-28-33-37->8

#2427 04/09/1965 Joan Baez It's All Over Now Baby Blue 22 48-36-{22}-24-29-27-35-46->8

#2428 04/09/1965 Lulu Try To Understand 25 49-43-33-{25}-25-29-36-45->8

#2429 04/09/1965 The McCoys Hang On Sloopy 5 50-29-20-16-11-6-{5}-5-8-11-16-24-29-43->14

#2430 11/09/1965 Barry McGuire Eve Of Destruction 3 39-18-9-6-4-4-4-{3}-9-13-17-27-35->13

#2431 11/09/1965 Roy Orbison Ride Away 34 49-39-{34}-35-38-43->6

#2432 18/09/1965 Sonny And Cher Baby Don't Go 11 24-23-17-{11}-11-13-16-25-34->9

#2433 18/09/1965 Andy Williams Almost There 2 27-18-12-5-{2}-2-2-7-9-13-16-24-34-33-40-40-50->17

#2434 18/09/1965 Manfred Mann If You Gotta Go Go Now 2 37-11-5-{2}-3-3-7-12-17-29-40-46->12

#2435 18/09/1965 Billy Fury Run To My Lovin' Arms 25 38-30-27-{25}-27-32-41->7

Edited September 26, 20231 yr by JulianT

Can't argue with that choice being on top from Rolling Stones really (ICGN) S is a great oldie!

 

There are plenty I know there. I think I would have gone for 'Make It Easy On Yourself'.

No, this is Group 10 (oops I meant 9 last time)... :lol:

 

The Fortunes You've Got Your Troubles for me, a 10/10 achingly nostalgic fave of mine, Takes me back, loved it, and the melody is to die for, along with the incessant harmonies. I loved The Fortunes, they still had fab tunes to come in the 70's.

 

Then a bit of a dip in quality to The Four Tops and The Animals, both great records, but my heart is with the Donnie Elbert version of I Can't Help Myself in 1972. The Dave Clark 5 Catch Us If You Can was a film they did, and the song was another I rated at the time, and still like. In Thoughts Of You is Billy Fury quality, With These Hands a bit plodding, and Spotty Muldoon was a tune we chanted in the playground, but which is pretty awful beyond the nursery rhyme catchiness.

 

The rest I don't know, though I'm sure Ive heard the Joan Baez track before.

 

 

Another good group, though glossing over the 3rd biggest selling record of the whole decade. It's the unique and ageless sounding Barry McGuire song that gets the win, with a special mention to The Hollies as this is my favourite of theirs so far and lyrically very charming.

 

9 Barry McGuire Eve Of Destruction A protest song that still feels depressingly relevant and he delivers it with such genuine anger; musically it's also brilliant

9 The Hollies Look Through Any Window One of their very loveliest songs; really enjoy the charming lyrics about daily life and the guitar riff and melody are excellent

8 The Four Tops It's The Same Old Song "The same old song" has a double meaning as it actually uses the same chords as their last hit, but it's nonetheless a beautful record

8 The Beach Boys California Girls One of their best so far though with lovely orchestration and layered vocals, though quite a minor hit again here for them

7 Lulu Try To Understand Another one here that underperformed; there's a rich sound to this both in the vocals and the accompaniment that I really like

7 Small Faces Whatcha Gonna Do About It First hit for this London rock group and it's a strong energetic and cheeky number delivered with a delightfully raspy vocal

6 Manfred Mann If You Gotta Go Go Now This reaching #2 means they've peaked at every place in the Top 5: really good track but missing something to make me love it

6 Sonny And Cher Baby Don't Go A nice folky vibe with plenty of harmonica, and it works well Cher doing the bulk of the vocals and Sonny the multi-tracked hook

6 Billy Fury Run To My Lovin' Arms He still sings with great warmth and emotion and the production is big and powerful, but it doesn't stand out from his other hits

5 Joan Baez It's All Over Now Baby Blue A Dylan song thought to possibly have been about Joan - she sings it more beautifully than him anyway, with great control

5 Roy Orbison Ride Away His chart success is lessening somewhat; a very nice song but he's not quite capturing the dramatic power of some of his early hits

4 The McCoys Hang On Sloopy Only Top 40 for this US group and it's catchy and a classic of sorts, but I find the hook quite irritating after repeated listens

3 Andy Williams Almost There Almost there indeed - the lovely orchestral opening feels like it's going to turn into a great song but alas it doesn't happen

2 Ken Dodd Tears 204th #1: extraordinary that his 8th hit, which is similarly dreary to most of his others, became the 3rd biggest seller of the decade

 

 

 

 

1965 Group 14:

 

#2436 18/09/1965 Dusty Springfield Some Of Your Lovin' 8 44-32-22-19-13-{8}-11-16-18-31-36-47->12

#2437 18/09/1965 The Sorrows Take A Heart 21 47-33-26-{21}-25-24-32-44->8

#2438 25/09/1965 Sandie Shaw Message Understood 6 42-23-12-9-{6}-12-19-24-36-47->10

#2439 25/09/1965 The Silkie You've Got To Hide Your Love Away 28 45-33-30-{28}-28-34->6

#2440 25/09/1965 Wilson Pickett In The Midnight Hour 12 48-31-22-17-{12}-13-18-25-35-32-45->11

#2441 25/09/1965 James Brown And The Famous Flames Papa's Got A Brand New Bag 25 50-36-33-26-{25}-25-36->7

#2442 02/10/1965 P.J. Proby That Means A Lot 30 39-36-37-31-{30}-34->6

#2443 02/10/1965 Wayne Fontana And The Mindbenders She Needs Love 32 42-{32}-34-33-36-45->6

#2444 02/10/1965 Hedgehoppers Anonymous It's Good News Week 5 44-31-21-10-6-{5}-6-12-17-28-43-46->12

#2445 09/10/1965 Billy Joe Royal Down In The Boondocks 38 39-{38}-39-46->4

#2446 09/10/1965 Chris Andrews Yesterday Man 3 44-31-18-5-4-{3}-3-6-10-19-17-20-20-24-32->15

#2447 09/10/1965 The Fortunes Here It Comes Again 4 45-29-17-9-6-{4}-8-9-18-25-26-34-34-48->14

#2448 09/10/1965 The Four Pennies Until It's Time For You To Go 19 47-41-36-24-20-20-{19}-22-27-35-43->11

#2449 16/10/1965 The Yardbirds Evil Hearted You/Still I'm Sad 3 22-9-4-{3}-5-9-14-22-33-35->10

Edited September 26, 20231 yr by JulianT

Group 11:

 

My top tune of the batch was Jonathan King's Everyone's Gone To The Moon, loved it to bits, that tune and imagery of the moon - but naughty JK was actually taking the piss out of Moon in June cliched lyrics of songs from times past and making a point that even an undergrad could get a hit out of corny lyrics. I still love it anyway and far and away the best record he made. He went on to write It's Good News Week shortly after and dropped the singing for a while, advisably. JK would have loved autotune in the 70's, his TOTP appearances usually caused a decline in sales the following week.

 

Help! is a punch, and a cry for Help and a film soundtrack, and all-round classic from John Lennon. I was watching The Rutles 2 on Youtube last night and their parody Ouch! came on. So clever, so amusing, and George was a fan. Help! very much in my cultural nostalgia of the time, especially Ringo getting smothered in paint for sacrifice in the film, and amazing songs in the film too. I loved the row of houses with front doors, that turned into one big house indoors :D Less so of the time, but still a fave, was A Walk In The Black Forest, one of those tunes I loved but didn't know what it was till the mid 70's when I bought a re-issued copy of it, pure nostalgia.

 

Zorba's Dance was and is a goodie, Anthony Quinn in the movie Zorba The Greek certainly featured in our house. I don't know the Trems version of I Want Candy - Bow Wow Wow was my introduction to it - I think I know Summer Nights, but not heard it in a long time, and I def know The Byrds' All I Really Want To Do Dylan cover, but never rated any version of the song that much, just a tad dull, though the least dull version was Cher's.

 

T'others don't ring any bells! :o

 

 

'Help!' is another great single from the album of the same name! We had an AF Idol competition on here in the past (where songs by artists/groups with their own dedicated Artist Forums on BuzzJack were pitted against each other in themed rounds) - and I sent The Beatles to a spin-off version where we highlighted the discographies of artists without an AF too. In general it was a bit of an uphill battle but 'Help!' did go down really well so that one seems to have stood the test of time with pop fans a lot.

 

That batch from Thursday is sublime! I think 'Make It Easy On Yourself' would be my favourite of the lot but '(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction' is certainly a Stones highlight and 'Unchained Melody' is class, Bobby Hatfield's vocals on that song are unbeatable on any other version. Seeing The Rolling Stones in these reviews from a little under 60 years ago really puts into perspective how impressive it is that they've returned to the top 40 this week with 'Angry', what a career. It remains to be seen if the AI Beatles song in the works will also do the same :P

Group 12:

 

Ooh classic after classic right now! I Got You Babe was my fave of the time, and still love it, Sonny & Cher dropped like young star-filled hippie beatniks into the British pop scene and became beloved pretty quickly - the song, despite Groundhog Day's multiple features, and godawful covers from the likes of Beavis & Butthead, remains famous and no version comes close to the original. And yet it's not the best of this batch! That's The Walker Brothers' Bacharach cover, Scott Walker and orchestration is just unbeatable, and one I liked at the time is now one I revere.

 

Satisfaction is a total classic, The Stones hit peak-dom, the song is so good it worked in other genres, notably Jonathan King's Bubble Rock singer-songwriter piss-take cover. Jagger/Richard as songwriters have arrived. Ditto Dylan, Like a Rolling Stone is his best moment, I wasn't that aware of it at the time but it's stature grew with time for me, and Bob unusually maintains the definitive version, limp covers by The Stones notwithstanding.

 

Unchained Melody was a song I knew, but not this version, it wasnt that big a hit or well known even in the 70's, it took Ghost to convert me. It's classic and Bobby's vocal is amazing. Definitive. Cher's Dylan cover is OK, better than Sonny's Laugh At Me, but neither were noticed by me much at the time. Which leaves just What's New Pussycat, huge song on UK TV of the time, a great comedy film with Woody Allen and Peter Sellers, I think, one I enjoyed on telly a lot a few years in the future. Plus, Tom Jones, Burt Bacharach, hook-filled.

 

The rest ring no bells....

 

 

group 13:

 

Eve Of Destruction is one I didn't know till I heard it on the Rock'n'Roll Years, a fab TV/radio series that took news items from each year with a soundtrack and clips of key records of that year. It came over amazingly powerfully over depressing footage, a genuinely angry performance from Barry. They should revamp that format for the last 70 years and a new audience.

 

The Hollies's track is a nice one, It's The Same Old Song is another JK future-cover, but The Four Tops remain fabulous, albeit not A list Tops. California Girls seems to have always been familiar to me, and a great record and production. I like the Lulu record, Small Faces (bar 2 hits later on) never really did it for me, and I've never really changed my mind. OK, but rated by the Mod set more than me.

 

Manfred Mann's is also OK, but better stuff to come, whereas the Sonny & Cher record is a fave - love the tune, and my track of the batch at the time, one I rediscovered well over a decade later. Hang On Sloopy was fun and catchy, and seemed familiar when it got oldies play in the 70's. Tears was obviously a big hit, Ken was big on telly, yet never particularly a fave of mine, in fact by the 70's when it first turned up in the Top 100 all-time sellers list in 1972, it was more "eh, what?!" when it came out so high and it started to annoy me.

 

That leaves Andy Williams, cool crooner, beloved on his fun TV shows, and Almost There. I love it. Great song, great record, one of his best, and one I knew, and rediscovered too in the 70's when Andy became a fave with his Cookie Bear and amusing skits on his show. Not to mention pre-fame Osmond Brothers and other actual famous guests. Prefer Almost There to Eve Of Destruction actually :o Lyrically a sort of pre-Watershed Tension I like to think :lol:

I've clearly been quite taken with The Yardbirds as they get their 3rd win; both tracks of this double A side are really strong and gritty. The Sorrows track is well worth a listen too.

 

8 The Yardbirds Evil Hearted You/Still I'm Sad A great double A; both the kind of dark song that they do really well - especially love the hypnotic chanted riff in "Still I'm Sad"

8 The Sorrows Take A Heart Only hit for this British rock group and it's quite striking with a rumbling drum beat and a really biting anguished vocal

7 Hedgehoppers Anonymous It's Good News Week Also the only hit for this British band; a protest song about the media's obsession with bad news and it's good fun and catchy

7 Dusty Springfield Some Of Your Lovin' Another one of hers with a slight Motown feel, particular with the backing singer interplay - great tune; classy and luxorious

7 James Brown And The Famous Flames Papa's Got A Brand New Bag First hit for him apparently considered central to the emergence of funk, certainly stylish and different to all that has gone before

6 Wayne Fontana And The Mindbenders She Needs Love Their last single together before Wayne went solo and it underperformed, nothing outstanding but a very sweet tune nicely sung

6 Wilson Pickett In The Midnight Hour Debut and biggest hit for this US soul singer: a clear gospel influence and he really gives the vocal welly almost like he's possessed

5 Chris Andrews Yesterday Man Debut hit for this Essex singer and was really big for him: pretty good and well sung though the hook becomes a bit repetetive

5 The Fortunes Here It Comes Again Nice track overall but another one where I find the main repeated hook, here on "here it comes again", slightly grating after a while

4 The Four Pennies Until It's Time For You To Go Like all of theirs quite slow paced; like the pulsating guitar accompaniment but the song feels slighty on the whiny side to me

4 Billy Joe Royal Down In The Boondocks The boondocks is a remote slightly backward area, and he moans about being discriminated against for being from there; it's OK

3 The Silkie You've Got To Hide Your Love Away I suppose turning this into a duet adds a bit of interest but I love the Beatles original so was never likely to be keen on this

3 P.J. Proby That Means A Lot Not too bad compared and has more life in it than some of his, but find the "that means a lot" lyric and the melody underwhelming

3 Sandie Shaw Message Understood The rest of the track isn't bad but I actually find the many times repeated "message understood" hook on this really grating

 

 

 

1965 Group 15:

 

#2450 16/10/1965 The Searchers When I Get Home 35 44-{35}-38->3

#2451 16/10/1965 The Merseybeats I Love You, Yes I Do 22 45-34-23-23-{22}-33-41-44->8

#2452 23/10/1965 Matt Monro Yesterday 8 26-10-{8}-8-11-13-16-20-25-32-32-34->12

#2453 23/10/1965 The Everly Brothers Love Is Strange 11 42-22-14-{11}-14-15-23-37-38->9

#2454 23/10/1965 Peter And Gordon Baby I'm Yours 19 44-31-22-{19}-21-25-31-38-41->9

#2455 23/10/1965 Sonny And Cher But You're Mine 17 47-29-{17}-21-20-24-36-45->8

#2456 30/10/1965 The Rolling Stones Get Off Of My Cloud 1 17-{1}-1-1-3-4-9-16-23-23-29-35->12

#2457 30/10/1965 The Animals It's My Life 7 37-10-{7}-7-7-12-14-21-28-28-46->11

#2458 30/10/1965 Bob Dylan Positively 4th Street 8 39-15-12-10-10-{8}-11-15-17-17-28-37->12

#2459 30/10/1965 The Seekers The Carnival Is Over 1 42-13-10-2-{1}-1-1-2-4-4-3-4-7-14-15-29-43->17

#2460 30/10/1965 Lance Percival Shame And Scandal In The Family 37 44-{37}-42->3

#2461 30/10/1965 Georgie Fame And The Blue Flames Something 23 45-27-26-{23}-28-40-41->7

#2462 30/10/1965 The Bachelors In The Chapel In The Moonlight 27 50-32-28-{27}-30-41-49-50-41-41->10

#2463 06/11/1965 Len Barry 37653 3 31-15-6-4-{3}-6-4-8-8-11-13-17-30-36->14

Edited September 18, 20231 yr by JulianT

yay I'm up to date!

 

Still I'm Sad is one I've grown to love in more recent times, I also prefer their darker tracks and this one has that sombre ahhh-ahhhing going on. I bought an EP CD of their hits in the 80's and never played it much at the time, but this was my fave.

 

Hedgehoppers was one I liked at the time, Jonathan King with his usual upbeat cynicism. Still fun. Dusty's Some Of Your Lovin' is 10/10 classic for me, Dusty at her most emotive and warm and sad on a brilliant Goffin/King song, one of my all-time fave records, always makes me cry if I try to sing along. In a class of its own this batch.

 

James Brown's was a key cornerstone of 60's funk, I like it, but I prefer Papa's Got A Brand New Pigbag, oops! :lol: In The Midnight Hour and Wilson Pickett have both always left me feeling "meh". I was aware of them in the 60's. I was never fussed by them.

 

Yesterday Man, on t'other hand, was Sandie Shaw's main writer/producer Chris Andrews only this month he gave Sandie the lesser song - Message Understood is decent - and kept the golden nugget for himself. This was my fave song of this batch when I was 7. So catchy! Second only to Dusty even now, for me. Just behind was Here It Comes Again, another Fortunes gem I liked and still rate, but not on the scale of You've Got Your Troubles.

 

Down In The Boondocks I discovered in the 90's on Florida an oldies 60's radio station, and I really got into it, had an upbeat Gene Pitney vibe - so I bought a compilation CD of various artists it featured on in one of the then-many record stores around malls and streets in South Orlando/International Drive area. Almost all gone now, of course, I will be checking out what's left Autumn 2024 with my niece's family.

 

The Four Pennies track I dont know but the song is a Buffy Sainte-Marie breakthrough smash (BJSC septagenarian top 20 finalist) later a hit for Elvis. Buffy or Glen Campbell version for me. I never heard this Silkie record, I knew The Beatles original, I loved it to bits, I still love it to bits, it was in the film Help!

 

"The rest I don't know" :)

I don’t know what it is about “The Carnival Is Over” but it makes me slightly teary every time. If you want something more gritty The Animals’ track is a good one.

 

9 The Seekers The Carnival Is Over 206th #1: such a simple song adapted from a folk tune, but I find it incredibly moving with the beautiful vocals and tender lyrics

8 The Animals It's My Life Their 6th straight Top 10 hit and it's another great one - a really defiant track about independence helped by a robust riff

8 The Rolling Stones Get Off Of My Cloud 205th #1: not quite as incredible as their last or next chart topper but still great - love the bounciness and the punchy chorus

7 Georgie Fame And The Blue Flames Something A very nice laid back number here in that American R&B jazz soul style; another that floundered commercially but they'll be back

7 Len Barry 1, 2, 3 1st of only 2 hits for this US singer and was a big success; it's very catchy with simple lyrics, a good beat and nice production

6 Sonny And Cher But You're Mine A really sweet duet here and the lyrics and storytelling from both of them are really good, but the song's missing a hook for me

6 The Merseybeats I Love You, Yes I Do Originally an American R&B song from the 40s - they've done well to speed it up a bit and turn it into a nice rock hit well performed

5 Peter And Gordon Baby I'm Yours Another cover - they have managed not to suck the life out of this one and it has interesting interplay between the two voices

5 The Everly Brothers Love Is Strange A cover of a 1950s song - I do think it lends itself well to the Everlys close harmony style so they've done a decent job with it

4 Bob Dylan Positively 4th Street I'm sure this is well regarded so probably committing sacrilege but I find it quite whiney lyrically, and musically not that interesting

4 The Searchers When I Get Home Nothing particularly wrong with this but so nondescript and similar to their other songs that it's hard to find much to say about it

3 The Bachelors In The Chapel In The Moonlight There's plenty of gusto in this by Bachelors standards but somehow their style still manages to make it sound quite lethargic

3 Matt Monro Yesterday Covering one of the greatest ballads ever at a slower tempo was never a winner, but well performed with nice orchestration

2 Lance Percival Shame And Scandal In The Family Only hit for this comedian: a bizarre faux reggae song and musically quite unpleasant though the lyrics are very amusing at least

 

 

1965 Group 16:

 

#2464 06/11/1965 The Who My Generation 2 33-14-5-{2}-2-3-5-7-7-12-16-22-41->13

#2465 06/11/1965 Petula Clark You're The One 23 35-33-25-{23}-25-28-29-38-38->9

#2466 06/11/1965 P.F. Sloan The Sins Of A Family 38 {38}-45-45->3

#2467 06/11/1965 The Toys A Lover's Concerto 5 39-23-15-11-{5}-5-9-9-9-17-19-32-42->13

#2468 06/11/1965 Marianne Faithfull Yesterday 36 40-{36}-43-42->4

#2469 06/11/1965 Roy Head Treat Her Right 30 42-{30}-30-33-37->5

#2470 06/11/1965 Gene Pitney Princess In Rags 9 46-31-18-12-{9}-10-12-16-16-18-25-41->12

#2471 06/11/1965 Cliff Richard Wind Me Up (Let Me Go) 2 48-29-16-8-7-4-3-{2}-2-2-3-5-16-20-28-30->16

#2472 06/11/1965 Roy Orbison Crawlin' Back 19 49-35-32-26-{19}-22-32-44-44->9

#2473 13/11/1965 Paul And Barry Ryan Don't Bring Me Your Heartaches 13 38-26-20-{13}-15-18-24-24-38->9

#2474 13/11/1965 Elvis Presley Tell Me Why 15 40-22-18-{15}-17-20-29-29-47-42->10

#2475 13/11/1965 Jim Reeves Is It Really Over? 17 41-28-21-{17}-24-19-21-21-30->9

#2476 13/11/1965 Donovan Turquoise 30 43-34-31-{30}-39-47->6

#2477 13/11/1965 The Byrds Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is A Season) 26 49-39-34-{26}-27-34-48-48->8

Edited September 26, 20231 yr by JulianT