Not quite such a stellar group this time but still with some highlights. I'm not a big fan of either of the chart toppers, although "This Is My Song" has grown on me since it was nominated for the Worst Number One rate though. Today's winner, "The Beat Goes On", I actually discovered when I was 15 because there was a version on Britney's debut album hahaha.

 

8 Sonny And Cher The Beat Goes On This was written by Sonny but the bassline, added by the session musicians called "The Wrecking Crew", helps to make it great

8 The Spencer Davis Group I'm A Man Their last big hit; it's a blues rock track with organ and it's a really great frantic number with fast paced vocals and an infectious riff

8 The Monkees Last Train To Clarksville I assume this suffered from being out alongside "…Believer" and not sure why it was, but it's an excellent catchy rock number

7 Marvin Gaye And Kim Weston It Takes Two A classic of course and this is the original version: a really great performance from them both; just not a personal favourite song

7 Keith 98.6 Only hit for this US singer who's really called James Keefer: 98.6 refers to the average body temperature and it's a lovely ballad

6 The Tremeloes Here Comes My Baby First hit for them without Brian; originally a Cat Stevens song made more upbeat and it's a really strong catchy number

6 Donovan Mellow Yellow Another fun one from Donovan in a more rocky and less folky style; the tune is on the border between mesmerising and irritating

6 Eddie Floyd Knock On Wood What a consistent run for this with 8 weeks between #19 and #23; good soulful song and biggest hit for this US R&B singer

5 Geno Washington And The Ram Jam Band Michael 2nd and final Top 40 for Geno and band who are still together; it's a cover of a hit for a US soul band and a pretty nice one

5 Jimmy Ruffin I've Passed This Way Before The follow up to "What Becomes…" and a similarly classy song; maybe a bit too similar and not sure about the spoken parts

4 Petula Clark This Is My Song 229th #1: a Charlie Chaplain written song for a 1930s film designed to evoke that era; it has its charm but not an exciting listen

4 Elvis Presley Indescribably Blue A slow ballad which for me is only marginally saved from the dreary pile by the captivating female vocal humming in the chorus

3 Engelbert Humperdinck Release Me 230th #1: huge chart run and in the Top 10 sellers of the decade - I don't think the emotion really comes across and it's a little dull

3 Jim Reeves I Won't Come In While He's There As is often the case Jim is better than his material; this is a fairly dreary ballad about being jealous with a mouthful of a title

2 The New Vaudeville Band Peek-A-Boo Their last novelty hit, "Winchester Cathedral", was great fun - this one is a little too silly and child-like for my liking sadly

 

 

1967 Group 3:

 

#2802 11/02/1967 Vince Hill Edelweiss 2 40-20-13-6-4-5-{2}-3-7-10-17-20-25-31-38-47-47->17

#2803 11/02/1967 The Walker Brothers Stay With Me Baby 26 44-{26}-28-26-26-37->6

#2804 11/02/1967 Herman's Hermits There's A Kind Of Hush 7 48-32-19-11-8-{7}-10-13-15-23-35->11

#2805 18/02/1967 The Hollies On A Carousel 4 34-15-7-5-{4}-7-12-16-27-38-50->11

#2806 18/02/1967 Tom Jones Detroit City 8 38-21-13-11-{8}-11-16-19-31-44->10

#2807 18/02/1967 The Troggs Give It To Me 12 42-27-22-14-{12}-15-18-24-29-43->10

#2808 25/02/1967 The Beatles Penny Lane/Strawberry Fields Forever 2 5-{2}-2-2-5-10-8-12-23-36-50->11

#2809 25/02/1967 The Seekers Georgy Girl 3 30-18-12-6-{3}-7-10-14-22-27-37->11

#2810 25/02/1967 Roy Orbison So Good 32 41-34-34-{32}-33-42->6

#2811 25/02/1967 Dusty Springfield I'll Try Anything 13 43-32-20-{13}-18-19-26-33-49->9

#2812 25/02/1967 Harry Secombe This Is My Song 2 44-31-17-11-9-{2}-3-5-7-14-20-23-28-35-46->15

#2813 25/02/1967 Val Doonican Memories Are Made Of This 11 45-37-21-16-12-{11}-12-17-25-28-36-50->12

#2814 25/02/1967 The Casinos Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye 28 46-39-32-{28}-30-31-41->7

#2815 25/02/1967 Gene Pitney Cold Light Of Day 38 48-{38}-39-39-40-39->6

#2816 25/02/1967 Prince Buster Al Capone 18 50-42-27-24-21-20-{18}-22-29-25-33-43-42->13

Edited November 10, 20231 yr by JulianT

Not sure if i've ever heard the original Beat Goes On before, mainly know it from The All Seeing I version. Sounding pretty good.

 

Oddly I was never too fussed about The Beat Goes On at the time, as Wrecking Crew bass guitar player Carol Kaye says, it was a nothing much song and I rated melodies most of all. Carol Kaye though - think Phil Spector classics, Beach Boys classics, and an unheard iconic musician, 10,000 of 'em. I'm A Man is a good one, the song will be back again for Chicago and Steve Winwood will be back soon and in later decades. Muff Winwood will be behind the scenes with acts like Sparks.

 

Last Train To Clarksville is my top record of the time and now, another classic, this time not written by Neil Diamond, it's Boyce & Hart, US hitmakers and first US single for The Monkees in 1966. It was a hit there but not here until I'm A Believer hit. Still exciting and behind the scenes the band were starting to gain control over their own recording career and the right to produce and demand to write some singles instead of just album tracks.

 

It Takes Two is a great record, always liked it, and not much of a fan of any covers of it, 98.6 is a fab tune, love it, took me years to find out the title of the song and artist, just knew I knew it. Here Comes My Baby is one of The Trems best records, and we are still in my fave Cat Stevens' pop phase which ended around 1971 at which point I went right off him. Mellow Yellow another fave kiddie Donovan track, hippie trippie, the more commercial end of the alternative music scene and influence on young Marc Bolan.

 

Knock On Wood is a good song, never that fussed by this version though. Disliked Bowie's hit version, and was eventually won over more by Amii Stewart's disco cover. Geno's tribute record from Dexy's was way better than his own stuff, Jimmy Ruffin's is pleasant, and Petula's This Is My Song is still a nostalgic fave for me. Lovely tune and she can do no wrong for me. OTOH Engelbert's is merely OK and gets marked down for the crime that remains blocking Penny Lane/Strawberry Fields from the top spot as all the 40-somethings continue to buy retro-sounding-30's records. A bit like now and the 90's :lol:

 

Which leaves sub standard cash-in Jim Reeves material and the grandma-and-kiddie-pleasing 20's-styled novelty Peek A Boo, which I loved, being a kiddie and all. Not quite as good as Winchester Cathedral, but still charming to my nostalgic ears.

 

 

I think this is a record 8th win for The Beatles if I’ve counted correctly, and another case of a stunning double A Side, but this time not a chart topper thanks to dear Englebert.

 

Also a mention to Herman’s Hermits who are really bringing out the tunes at the moment.

 

The next group is looking stacked by the way!

 

10 The Beatles Penny Lane/Strawberry Fields Forever The first side is a stonking pop song with trippy lyrics and the second a psychadelic journey; what a fab complementary pairing

9 Herman's Hermits There's A Kind Of Hush Another wonderfully catchy tune from them and there's something beautifully sweet and mesmerising about the record too

8 The Seekers Georgy Girl Very much a feel good anthem but it's those vocals that elevate it from a nice folky song to something much more special

7 The Casinos Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye Only hit here for this 9 piece American doo wop group: the lead vocals are stunning and it's a lovely emotional slow jazz number

7 Dusty Springfield I'll Try Anything A really strong melody here and a punchy rhythmic track, and she delivers it marvellously as ever, but fell short of the top ten

6 The Hollies On A Carousel Unusually for them this was written within the band: it's a good song with a bit uncommon lyrical idea about love being like a ride

6 Roy Orbison So Good Roy can do upbeat happy numbers too and this is a clever and catchy pne: another small hit for him but not for want of trying

5 The Walker Brothers Stay With Me Baby A cover of a US hit by Lorraine Ellison, done very competently and in their usual classy style with striking production and vocals

5 Gene Pitney Cold Light Of Day It's the usual Gene style which big drama, big emotion and a great multi layered vocal performance, but the song itself is mid tier

4 Prince Buster Al Capone Only 60s hit for this Jamaican: not keen on the spoken "Al Capone" but interesting ska instrumental with trumpets and rhythm

4 The Troggs Give It To Me Again not a bad song from them with quite a catchy melody but all in all it seems a bit simple to me and lacking innovation

3 Harry Secombe This Is My Song Last appearance for Harry and I have to admire the audacity of giving this the opera treatment, but it's too intense to be enjoyable

2 Tom Jones Detroit City "I wanna go home" he sings, and indeed you would if you heard this in a bar: I like the pulsating bassline but otherwise it's turgid

2 Vince Hill Edelweiss A "Sound Of Music" showtune originally - not sure why Vince covered it so many years later but it's quite a laborious listen

1 Val Doonican Memories Are Made Of This The original was a nice piece of easy listening; this really does nothing to it and somehow makes it sound even more 50s

 

 

 

 

1967 Group 4:

 

#2817 04/03/1967 The Supremes Love Is Here And Now You're Gone 17 41-24-22-19-{17}-20-24-31-37-49->10

#2818 04/03/1967 Whistling Jack Smith I Was Kaiser Bill's Batman 5 44-29-18-8-{5}-6-8-13-17-23-32-46->12

#2819 04/03/1967 Paul And Barry Ryan Keep It Out Of Sight 30 47-40-{30}-31-30-37->6

#2820 04/03/1967 The Alan Price Set Simon Smith And The Amazing Dancing Bear 4 48-38-20-6-{4}-5-7-11-18-22-30-43->12

#2821 11/03/1967 Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick And Tich Touch Me Touch Me 13 41-25-22-15-{13}-16-21-32-45->9

#2822 11/03/1967 Small Faces I Can't Make It 26 44-{26}-32-26-30-38-46->7

#2823 18/03/1967 Sandie Shaw Puppet On A String 1 27-16-6-4-3-2-{1}-1-1-3-5-11-13-20-24-37-43-45->18

#2824 18/03/1967 Cliff Richard It's All Over 9 41-24-14-11-{9}-9-15-18-22-35->10

#2825 18/03/1967 The Dave Clark Five You Got What It Takes 28 42-34-29-29-{28}-30-35-40->8

#2826 18/03/1967 Sam And Dave Soothe Me 35 48-48-44R(3)-36-40-{35}-42-48->8

#2827 25/03/1967 Nancy Sinatra And Frank Sinatra Somethin' Stupid 1 25-9-2-{1}-1-2-2-2-5-10-12-18-25-33-35-41-42-44->18

#2828 25/03/1967 Georgie Fame Because I Love You 15 37-28-23-{15}-15-21-26-34->8

#2829 25/03/1967 Jimi Hendrix Experience Purple Haze 3 39-32-22-11-6-5-{3}-7-10-16-20-30-42-50->14

#2830 25/03/1967 Jeff Beck Hi-Ho Silver Lining 14 45-50-42-36-28-24-17-{14}-14-14-19-27-37-47->14

#2831 25/03/1967 The Turtles Happy Together 12 49-36-27-19-{12}-12-14-16-19-26-31-46->12

Edited November 13, 20231 yr by JulianT

oh my word yes! Penny Lane was a top fave and Strawberry Fields got no airplay that I was ever aware of on the Isle Of Anglesey, so that was really a 1975 discovery for me when I bought the Blue album. Love 'em both but still prefer Paul to John's. Also loved Herman's Hermits just as much too, what a tune. That takes me right back to being 9 years old, and nobody has done it better than young Peter Noone, not even Karen Carpenter.

 

George Girl was another top fave of the time, but I always associate it with the Families Club in RAF Changi, which overlooked the airfield in Singapore, and where parents could drop the kids for a movie from an old-fashioned cine projector while they had a cuppa tea and cake and chat on a Saturday morning. One morning they put on Georgy Girl with the fab Lynn redgrave starring, which was a quirky charming film, but not really for kids, they all got bored and noisy and drifted off, but I stayed. I loved the song and that was enough for me. Late 1969 that was. Jim "Carry On" Dale co-wrote the hit song...

 

Then You Can Tell me Goodbye is sweet, I didn't get to know the song till Glen Campbell did a mash-up of it with Don't Pull Your Love in 1976. Didn't get to hear this until 2017...! Dusty is classy Dusty, not one I knew at the time. On A Carousel, though, was pretty catchy and memorable and one I liked and still like. Charming.

 

So Good, not bad, Cold Light Of Day, decent, Al Capone, the inspiration for The Specials' Gangsters, which is when I first heard it circa 1979, I like it, Give It To Me, OK, Detroit City passable, and none of them meant anything to young John in 1967.

 

So that leaves 3 I liked, Val was always on telly and always likeable and smooth, I liked this tune but Dean's is better. Edelwiess was a decent version of the Sound Of Music big ballad, which is spine-tingling in the context of the movie, dad enjoyed singing along to this, flawlessly hitting every note as usual while I inherited the vocal ability of my mum. I sing ALL the right notes, but not necessarily in the right order "© Eric Morecambe". Fabulous movie, still. This Is My Song, I actually liked the Harry Secombe version too, and Harry was another cheerful funny upbeat TV fave everyone loved, but it's not a patch on Petula's.

 

 

 

A very strong group and quite a tough one to rate as there are so many that are great in different ways, but at the top it’s the artist who died earlier this year and the song that amazingly only peaked at #14, albeit for 3 straight weeks. Just below that is another brilliant song that somehow missed the Top 10 too.

 

9 Jeff Beck Hi-Ho Silver Lining Formerly of the Yardbirds and primarily a guitarist with a charmingly raucous voice, this is his first hit and a beautiful uplifting song

9 The Turtles Happy Together Another classic and beautifully simple and infectious song with a very lowly peak - it was the debut hit for this US rock band

8 The Alan Price Set Simon Smith And The Amazing Dancing Bear A song about the circus shouldn't be this good but it's effortlessly fab with lovely instrumentation and vocals and a great flow

8 Jimi Hendrix Experience Purple Haze One of his most iconic songs, mainly thanks to the incredible guitar playing which really does grab you by the scruff of the neck

8 Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick And Tich Touch Me Touch Me This actually breaks up a run of 8 Top 10 hits for them, but it's another great effort with the usual very effective stompy hook

7 Whistling Jack Smith I Was Kaiser Bill's Batman If only all novelty hits could be as good as this: what a great tune that's still very recognisable and a clever little accompaniment

7 Paul And Barry Ryan Keep It Out Of Sight This might be the brothers' best hit together: it's really powerful and explosive and well performed; their last Top 40 as a duo

7 Sandie Shaw Puppet On A String 232nd #1 and the UK's 1st Eurovision winner: it's not my favourite thing to listen to ever but very cleverly written and performed

6 Cliff Richard It's All Over I often savage Cliff's slow ballads but I really like this one, and the emotion comes across quite movongly unlike in some of his

6 Nancy Sinatra And Frank Sinatra Somethin' Stupid 231st #1: the better version of this to hit the top and unusual to have a duet sung together in harmony like this: like but don't love

5 Sam And Dave Soothe Me Debut hit for this soul duo and it's a really good performance and nice song, but don't think it's anything we haven't heard before

5 Georgie Fame Because I Love You Another jazzy one from Georgie and really enjoy the band on this; it's effortlessly cool but lacks the magic of "Sitting On A Bench"

4 The Supremes Love Is Here And Now You're Gone Has that same Motown production as all their hits and quite a sweet and heartfelt record; the spoken parts are a bit saccharine

3 Small Faces I Can't Make It This broke their run of big hits: it's not bad but not memorable and the melody is slightly shouty and over exuberantly done

1 The Dave Clark Five You Got What It Takes "I find you a bit of alright even though you're ugly": I disliked the original and dislike this unnecessary regurgitation of it even more

 

 

 

1967 Group 5:

 

#2832 01/04/1967 The Four Tops Bernadette 8 33-25-13-{8}-10-12-18-24-34-40->10

#2833 01/04/1967 The Dubliners Seven Drunken Nights 7 40-33-25-14-11-13-11-8-{7}-10-12-16-25-32-37-30-34->17

#2834 01/04/1967 Pink Floyd Arnold Layne 20 41-31-26-{20}-23-28-33-47->8

#2835 01/04/1967 Cat Stevens I'm Gonna Get Me A Gun 6 45-34-21-10-{6}-8-13-20-30-42->10

#2836 01/04/1967 Manfred Mann Ha! Ha! Said The Clown 4 46-17-6-{4}-4-7-12-18-24-30-50->11

#2837 01/04/1967 Martha And The Vandellas Jimmy Mack 21 47-43-34-26-22-{21}-24-32-41->9

#2838 01/04/1967 Harpers Bizarre The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy) 34 48-40-37-{34}-34-39-49->7

#2839 08/04/1967 The Monkees A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You 3 14-4-{3}-3-4-10-11-18-21-32-50-49->12

#2840 08/04/1967 The Move I Can Hear The Grass Grow 5 39-30-16-7-{5}-9-13-20-28-44->10

#2841 08/04/1967 The Bachelors Oh How I Miss You 30 46-45-39-{30}-32-39-40-44->8

#2842 08/04/1967 The Mamas And The Papas Dedicated To The One I Love 2 47-35-18-9-6-3-{2}-3-3-7-9-12-23-25-27-29-39->17

#2843 08/04/1967 The Royal Guardsmen Return Of The Red Baron 37 48-40-{37}-45->4

#2844 15/04/1967 Tom Jones Funny Familiar Forgotten Feelings 7 39-24-13-9-8-{7}-11-17-20-23-34-39-45-36-45->15

#2845 15/04/1967 The Shadows Maroc 7 24 41-32-26-{24}-25-29-37-45->8

#2846 15/04/1967 Lulu The Boat That I Row 6 46-33-16-10-{6}-6-8-14-22-29-43->11

Edited November 15, 20231 yr by JulianT

I shouldn’t have to say this but the work you have put into this ongoing project is phenomenal Julian, and I admire so much all the detail and the commentary you made. It’s such a mammoth undertaking and I shouldn’t overlook your efforts when choosing threads to read on BuzzJack. I’ll try and follow more closely albeit I don’t have any real knowledge or opinions of music before the 80’s really, but of course I have listened to many older records that were my mums and so I do have some fond memories of music from earlier eras.

 

Sorry for my lack of participation up until now. I feel I say that a lot when I enter a thread I don’t comment on but I would like to follow this project more closely.

 

Thank you for presenting it for us to enjoy. :)

Thank you for the kind words Wardy. I don’t expect anyone to comment - it’s a privilege that John comments on every group and it’s lovely when others chip in, even if only to say something brief. I don’t usually get round to replying directly to the comments but I always really appreciate them!

Hi Ho Silver Lining will be back again in 1972 as a huge party classic, and that's when I associate it from - that said I knew the record but never really noticed it in 1967. It's still great fun to bung on at 60th or 70th birthday bashes, gets everyone on the dancefloor (except me, I dont dance to party classics) :lol: Happy Together was a gem of pop single and I loved The Turtles, most of all in 1968, but they have a fabulous Greatest Hits back catalogue much more representative of their success in the States.

 

Simon Smith is still wonderful and a kiddie fave of the time, loved it, Randy Newman's first songwriting success decades before You Got A Friend In Me and Toy Story, Alan Price often punches the right pop buttons but is never predictable. Purple Haze meant nothing to me in 1967, I came across in 1974 when my T.Rex-mad-mate Ian tried to get me into Hendrix, with little success bar one notable exception masterpiece. I do like it these days, though.

 

Touch Me one of my least fave DDBM&T singles, for some reason, Paul & Barry Ryan is pretty good, and neither of those singles I recall hearing until decades later. Unlike I Was Kaiser Bill's Batman, which I knew and loved - but had no idea what is was called or who by until the mid-70's. And the Worzels ruined it in 1976, in a slightly amusing fashion. Puppet On A String was my first Eurovision, I was allowed to stay up late to watch Sandie win. Loved Sandie, the song was fun, but it never overtook Something There To Remind Me in my affections. Ever. When I got her Greatest hits album around 1975/6 It sounded more disposable then most of her earlier stuff, but still jolly. She always disliked it, herself, but did a charity remix last year.

 

Cliff's, whoosh, over my head at the time, and played it in 2017 and still meant little to me, Somethin' Stupid though was prob my fave of the bunch at the time, bought the single in 1974 and still loved it. 50 years on, I still rate it but it's not nearly as classic as Nancy Sinatra's classic back catalogue, but it's towards the top of Frank's extensive back catalogue. Cover versions make this one sound better. Sam & dave's leaves me unimpressed, ditto Georgie's surprisingly, but I love The Supremes' song, got to hear it circa 1970 Singapore on their Greatest Hits, and again on their 70's collection which I bought.

 

The Small Faces as usual, meh, and You Got What It takes is worth one week in a personal chart at number 75 and that's about as generous as I get for it.

More fabulousness here from The Mamas And The Papas, and great to have Pink Floyd in the mix!

 

9 The Mamas And The Papas Dedicated To The One I Love A version by The Shirelles came out first but this was the UK hit: an enchanting record with a beautiful simplicity and tenderness

9 Pink Floyd Arnold Layne First hit for them in what will actually be a fairly sparse singles career - a great quirky debut from the psychedelic rock group

8 Harpers Bizarre The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy) A lovely cover of a Simon and Garfunkel song with an added a capella section and the debut hit for this US sunshine pop band

8 Manfred Mann Ha! Ha! Said The Clown Such a fun song and very different sounding from most of their pop records: love the slightly medieval sound of the flute backing

7 The Shadows Maroc 7 The theme song from the film of the same name and their last hit sans Cliff until the mid 70s: a really good dramatic instrumental

7 The Monkees A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You Quite a laid back feeling guitar driven pop number with soft vocals; not quite up with their first two but still very charming

6 Martha And The Vandellas Jimmy Mack Their 4th hit and each has peaked higher than the last but they still haven't cracked the Top 20: a nice Motown style song

6 The Move I Can Hear The Grass Grow A nice song well performed and really enjoy the frantic deep cello accompaniment, but overall not as intriguing as "Night Of Fear"

5 Lulu The Boat That I Row A solid and catchy pop song from Lulu which suits her slightly raucous vocal style, but don't think it's anything really special

5 The Four Tops Bernadette A Four Tops song all right, with that urgent and intense feel to it and rich production, but doesn't quite manage to be memorable

4 The Dubliners Seven Drunken Nights First hit for this Irish folk band which does have a novelty charm and I like the changes of pace between the verses and chorus

3 Cat Stevens I'm Gonna Get Me A Gun I don't generally enjoy songs about guns and this also doesn't seem to go anywhere, though the frantic accompaniment is fun

2 Tom Jones Funny Familiar Forgotten Feelings Another successful hit for him: the lyrical alliteration really dials up the twee factor on what is already a dated sounding song

1 The Bachelors Oh How I Miss You Very little to enjoy here: 3 minutes long but feels more like 30 as it's exceptionally drippy and whiny even by their standards

1 The Royal Guardsmen Return Of The Red Baron Snoopy is back already with another baffling hit, but this peaked 30 places lower than the other one and we won't see them again

 

 

 

1967 Group 6:

 

#2847 22/04/1967 The Skatalites Guns Of Navarone 36 42-38-38-{36}-41-50->6

#2848 22/04/1967 Jimmy Ruffin Gonna Give Her All The Love I've Got 26 45-41-30-{26}-33-40->6

#2849 22/04/1967 Topol If I Were A Rich Man 9 47-39-31-28-26-25-25-21-17-14-11-10-{9}-9-27-25-27-35-39-44->20

#2850 29/04/1967 The Tremeloes Silence Is Golden 1 29-15-4-{1}-1-1-2-4-4-9-20-23-38-38-40->15

#2851 29/04/1967 The Who Pictures Of Lily 4 31-16-5-{4}-6-9-10-21-35-50->10

#2852 29/04/1967 Bee Gees New York Mining Disaster 1941 12 43-27-17-16-{12}-15-15-24-41-49->10

#2853 29/04/1967 Arthur Conley Sweet Soul Music 7 44-29-21-17-15-13-9-{7}-9-13-13-12-30-37->14

#2854 29/04/1967 Herb Alpert And The Tijuana Brass Casino Royale 27 46-42-35-31-{27}-27-28-30-37-41-42-43-40-43->14

#2855 06/05/1967 The Beach Boys Then I Kissed Her 4 34-19-12-{4}-5-5-8-10-16-24-34->11

#2856 06/05/1967 PP Arnold The First Cut Is The Deepest 18 43-38-30-23-22-19-{18}-20-27-44->10

#2857 06/05/1967 Warm Sounds Birds And Bees 27 44-37-{27}-28-29-35->6

#2858 06/05/1967 Andy Williams Music To Watch Girls By 33 47-40-34-{33}-34-38->6

#2859 13/05/1967 Jimi Hendrix Experience The Wind Cries Mary 6 27-15-9-{6}-8-15-23-38-50-39-41->11

#2860 13/05/1967 The Kinks Waterloo Sunset 2 29-9-{2}-2-3-3-5-15-23-37-46->11

#2861 13/05/1967 The Supremes The Happening 6 41-23-13-8-{6}-6-7-10-14-16-25-36->12

Edited November 22, 20231 yr by JulianT

Oh yes, I absolutely adored Dedicated To The One I Love at the time, the intricate harmonies and the melody, the gentle call and substantial response set up is still pretty unique as a song structure and the bang of nostalgia I got from it even 3 years later was enormous. Still love it of course, and The Mamas & The Papas. Arnold Layne not a radio play fixture of the time (Radio 1 had yet to pop up and pirate radio was non-existent in North Wales) so didn't get to hear it till the 70's and I wasnt too fussed until Bowie covered it in the 90's. It's quite charming to me now.

 

Harpers Bizarre was anther catchy harmony/melody pop hit I liked, but not the one of theirs I was mad on, that ones next. Ha Ha Said The Clown was a fave too, the change of style from manfred mann was much more to my taste, even if the critics didnt agree. The Yardbirds did a cover so it can't have been that "lightweight". I liked the drums on it as well as the flute.

 

Maroc 7 I heard 6 years ago and wasnt too bothered, but A Little Bit Me A Little Bit You is up there just behind The Mamas & Papas for me, a Neil Diamond song again, and subtle fabness, not in ya face manic hooks this time, more rhythm and mood and sung by Davy who was the break-out pin-up of the TV show, debuting on UK TV sometime this year with a very bizarre shortened run of episodes with songs shoved around from other episodes and not as run in the USA. It cam as quite a shock to me when I bought the box set and everything had changed and there were loads I hadn't seen. Bear in mind the BBC was repeating these well into the 80's which kept the songs alive, and meant they seemed to have more "hits" than they actually had due to the great album tracks featured.

 

Jimmy Mack is fab, always been there, never been huge, still wonderful. The Move largely passed me by at the time, but as I became a huge Roy Wood fan in 1973 I soon caught up. It's good. Lulu's a big fave, impressario Mickie Most handling the singles decisions of the time (to her disadvantage it turned out with To Sir With Love) but Neil Diamond was gifting hits to Lulu as well as The Monkees. Catchy & fun.

 

Bernadette is my top Four Tops 60's song, sorry even over Reach Out, the frantic urgency is poundingly fab, I know it left an impression cos it was UK hit again in 1972 and I bought it when my grandma came down to stay with us. And then I was mortified when one cold day the electric fire was put on too close to the record rack and warped my single so much it wouldnt play, it just jumped randomly every 2 seconds. Argghhh! I still have it, mind you and eventually bought their Motown Greatest Hits.

 

Hated 7 Drunken Nights so much it put me off that style of drunken singalong folk until The Pogues made me think again. It was singalong fun at the time, but the memory lingered once the novelty paled. Cat Stevens wasnt a radio song I recall at the time but it's decent enough despite the title. Tom's was a bit bland Country, not one of his best, The Bachelors I'll pass on, no thanks, and the Snoopy follow-up just had none of the gimmick fun appeal of the first one.

A really strong group - so strong that The Beach Boys are bottom with a perfectly fine cover. Putting Andy above The Kinks is probably controversial but “Music To Watch Girls By” is just so iconic.

 

9 Andy Williams Music To Watch Girls By A shockingly minor hit but feels like the archetypal 60s song; such a smooth and delightful ballad, and one of Andy's very best

9 The Kinks Waterloo Sunset Their 10th Top 10 and the 2nd in their Holy Trinity of #2s; much gentler than most of theirs but a sublime piece of storytelling

8 PP Arnold The First Cut Is The Deepest Biggest hit for this US soul singer and much covered: a beautiful track backed by delicate strings and a sincere performance

8 Warm Sounds Birds And Bees Only hit for this British duo and I think it's a beautiful rather quaint record with a lovely violin section and nice close harmony

7 Bee Gees New York Mining Disaster 1941 Their 1st hit, about a fictional entrapment in a mine with the tempo slowing as death approaches: a very interesting debut

7 The Supremes The Happening This has an infectious tune and it really romps along without pausing for breath; as usual the production and vocals are great

7 Herb Alpert And The Tijuana Brass Casino Royale From a Bond parody film of the same name, this is another really strong and recognisable brisk tempo instrumental from them

6 Jimi Hendrix Experience The Wind Cries Mary A very nice rock ballad though as usual it's the guitar parts that really make it: the song itself is a bit of a stream of consciousness

6 The Who Pictures Of Lily About being a horny teenager who's obsessed with the beautiful posters of women on his wall: a bright and breezy pop song

6 The Tremeloes Silence Is Golden 233rd #1: a great tune and impressive to have such success without Brian, but in a very strong group it seems a little ordinary

5 Topol If I Were A Rich Man From "Fiddler On The Roof", a very well done musical theatre number, though not something I would go out of my way to hear

5 Arthur Conley Sweet Soul Music Only Top 40 for this US soul singer: nice brass riff and a very good song, but they got in trouble for copying a Sam Cooke tune

5 The Skatalites Guns Of Navarone A cover of the film theme and the only hit for this Jamaican band: an intriguing instrumental with a good beat but don't love it

4 Jimmy Ruffin Gonna Give Her All The Love I've Got He sings beautifully as ever and it's a soulful track but isn't very memorable, which puts it towards the bottom of this pile

4 The Beach Boys Then I Kissed Her Not a bad cover and the Beach Boys style does bring something slightly different to it, but the original is much more exciting

 

 

 

1967 Group 7:

 

#2862 13/05/1967 Elvis Presley You Gotta Stop/Love Machine 38 44-39-{38}-38-49->5

#2863 13/05/1967 The New Vaudeville Band Finchley Central 11 46-25-17-16-{11}-11-13-18-19->9

#2864 13/05/1967 Vince Hill Roses Of Picardy 13 48-36-22-18-16-{13}-18-22-22-24-42->11

#2865 20/05/1967 The Walker Brothers Walking In The Rain 26 37-31-{26}-33-41-48->6

#2866 20/05/1967 Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick And Tich Okay! 4 49-36-24-14-10-6-{4}-7-19-36-44->11

#2867 20/05/1967 The Happenings I Got Rhythm 28 50-39-33-31-{28}-32-36-49-44->9

#2868 27/05/1967 Procol Harum A Whiter Shade Of Pale 1 21-4-{1}-1-1-1-1-1-4-7-10-17-23-30-35->15

#2869 27/05/1967 Engelbert Humperdinck There Goes My Everything 2 29-7-4-{2}-2-2-2-4-6-8-12-13-21-16-19-24-24-29-30-26-27-32-36-37-33-39-47-49-41->29

#2870 27/05/1967 Dusty Springfield Give Me Time 24 43-32-{24}-27-26-29->6

#2871 27/05/1967 Manfred Mann Sweet Pea 36 45-37-{36}-45->4

#2872 27/05/1967 Val Doonican Two Streets 39 46-43-{39}-48->4

#2873 27/05/1967 Young Rascals Groovin' 8 48-36-23-14-11-{8}-9-11-22-15-16-29-42->13

#2874 27/05/1967 Petula Clark Don't Sleep In The Subway 12 49-48-34-22-15-{12}-16-20-24-30-30->11

#2875 03/06/1967 The Troggs Night Of The Long Grass 17 39-25-19-{17}-21-34->6

#2876 03/06/1967 The Hollies Carrie-Anne 3 41-17-5-{3}-3-5-7-19-16-26-33->11

Edited November 27, 20231 yr by JulianT

Group 5:

 

I love Andy's Music To Watch Girls By, so catchy, an ad jingle spotted by Four Seasons producer Bob Crewe. Andy often did my fave versions of songs in his heyday, and this got a 90's renewal of life bringing it all back to me. But I still love Waterloo Sunset more, such an evocative tune, Swinging 60's London was def in my life experience at the time. Classic, and maybe their best record.

 

First Cut Is The Deepest is the fab PP Arnold's cover of the Cat Stevens song, both in their prime - PP has always kept on guesting on ever-changing dance and soul music, and still is releasing music (see Soul Survivor on Radio 2 as I speak, telling her life story) but she had a potential 80's/early 90's comeback with this. It was selected as the soundtrack to one of those key marketing TV adverts and Cat Stevens refused to give permission for his song to be used, being anti-commercial devout Muslim and all at the time (Yusuf has had a change of heart about that in recent years). He has expressed regret since, but it was a bit unfair given Rod Stewart got a monster hit out of it and she didn't.

 

Warm Sounds failed to impress me t'other year, The Bee Gees' debut is one I missed at the time, but I quite like it these days, The Supremes' record is a big departure for them away from Holland-Dozier-Holland and the Motown sound in favour of a movie ditty that is jolly, upbeat and has always left me thinking "a bit too jolly". Never liked it that much at the time, it was OK and it's still OK at best.

 

Casino Royale is a fun brass romp, loved the film, great cast and great fun. A very familiar tune of the time. The Wind Cries Mary was another I didn't notice at the time, and one I always found a bit dull. It's decent enough, I like it more than I did in the 70's. Pictures Of Lily again not a big fave of mine, not then not now, still wouldn't rush to put it on but neither would I turn it off.

 

Silence Is Golden, top tune of the time, such a great song done well by The Trems, but really The Four Seasons should have got the hit, but as usual in the UK they kept missing out on monster future hits for other acts. This version is admittedly wider-appealing if a bit MOR these days. More nostalgic than actually great in itself. If I Were A Rich Man was always a fun song, esp the kiddie-singalong iddle di do bits. The film is dull though.

 

Sweet Soul Music, meh. Always been meh for me. Guns Of Navarone and ska/reggae is announcing it's arrival with a well-known film theme, Jimmy Ruffin is always classy, never does a bad record, but not quite up their with his classics, and finally the Beach Boys' cover was an album track taken too far I think. Always liked it, never loved it. The original is the best, indeed. Always was always will be.

 

 

Seem to be getting to an era where I can start to pick out a lot more big favourites among the lists and most of your top picks are among them Julian so taste!!

 

Strawberry Fields, Hi Ho Silver Lining, Happy Together, Purple Haze, Dedicated To The One I Love., Arnold Layne, Music To Watch Girls By, Waterloo Sunset and Silence Is Golden. All big loves. :heart:

'I'm A Believer' was #1 on the day my mum was born! That's a cracking birthday chart topper.

 

'Strawberry Fields Forever' is my favourite since I last commented, one of my top Beatles songs :wub: I love how it mixes the innocence of childhood with eerie, psychedelic sounds - a fascinating end product. 'Penny Lane' is nothing to sniff at either of course! I think my non-Beatles favourite is 'Silence Is Golden', the harmonising is gorgeous.

Plenty of nice discoveries here but of course Procol was always going to be the star.

 

9 Procol Harum A Whiter Shade Of Pale 234th #1 and their debut: that Bach-like organ part is so simple but brilliant, and everything else about the record is marvellous

8 Petula Clark Don't Sleep In The Subway This is gorgeous with great production and my 2nd favourite of hers to date after "Downtown"; amazing it missed the Top 10

8 Young Rascals Groovin' A fab bluesy number from this US band underpinned by a sweet harmonica part that really creates that happily chilling vibe

7 The Troggs Night Of The Long Grass Their lowest peaking hit so far, which is a shame as it might be my favourite after "Wild Thing": quite dark and atmospheric

7 Manfred Mann Sweet Pea This is a cover but the only hit version: a catchy whistling and flute melody and love all the other different instrumental work

7 Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick And Tich Okay! I really like the Russian folky feel to this, and they manage to combine it with their trademark stompy style and a catchy melody

6 Val Doonican Two Streets He has some lifeless ones but this is a rather delightful song, with a laid back effortless warmth both vocally and instrumentally

6 Elvis Presley You Gotta Stop/Love Machine "Love Machine" is a fairly standard rock 'n' roll number but really enjoy "You Gotta Stop", which has a compelling urgency to it

5 The New Vaudeville Band Finchley Central Not sure while this suddenly vanished from the chart while Top 20; another charming and delightfully twee one from them

5 The Walker Brothers Walking In The Rain Excellent vocals and rich luxurious production as ever on their hits so it's a lovely listen but the song itself is rather ordinary

4 The Hollies Carrie-Anne Yet another big hit for them: it's catchy and well sung with Beach Boys vibes; I just find the melody very slightly grating

4 Dusty Springfield Give Me Time A stellar and emotional performance as ever and a dramatic song but somehow it doesn't quite manage to do much for me

3 The Happenings I Got Rhythm This US band had a couple of cover hits including this one of the George Gershwin song: it's perfectly nicely done I suppose

2 Vince Hill Roses Of Picardy Another cover of a wartime standard - really not my thing in the first place and it's performed nicely but doesn't come to life

1 Engelbert Humperdinck There Goes My Everything Another monster hit for him though this was thankfully kept at #2 for 4 weeks: this is really dire lyrically and otherwise for me

 

 

1967 Group 8:

 

#2877 03/06/1967 Traffic Featuring Stevie Winwood Paper Sun 5 44-26-12-8-{5}-8-15-37-32-39->10

#2878 03/06/1967 Vikki Carr It Must Be Him (Seul Sur Son Etoile) 2 50-41-39-31-20-6-6-3-{2}-4-5-10-13-17-21-28-32-40-45-43->20

#2879 10/06/1967 Small Faces Here Come The Nice 12 37-26-16-14-{12}-14-17-18-29-35->10

#2880 10/06/1967 Gladys Knight And The Pips Take Me In Your Arms And Love Me 13 42-35-38-30-21-22-15-{13}-18-21-26-36-46-46-48->15

#2881 10/06/1967 Cream Strange Brew 17 43-32-22-19-18-{17}-18-29-35->9

#2882 10/06/1967 Cliff Richard I'll Come Running 26 45-33-29-{26}-27-26-31-42->8

#2883 10/06/1967 Aretha Franklin Respect 10 47-34-27-25-11-{10}-16-12-15-23-31-46-48-37->14

#2884 10/06/1967 Cilla Black What Good Am I 24 48-36-28-{24}-31-40-47->7

#2885 17/06/1967 The Four Tops Seven Rooms Of Gloom 12 38-21-17-15-18-{12}-19-28-34->9

#2886 17/06/1967 The Turtles She'd Rather Be With Me 4 40-19-6-{4}-5-7-5-7-6-11-15-21-32-38-47->15

#2887 17/06/1967 Otis Redding Shake 28 44-40-31-29-{28}-28-33-33-36-44->10

#2888 17/06/1967 Judith Durham The Olive Tree 33 46-39-34-{33}-48->5

#2889 17/06/1967 The Marvelettes When You're Young And In Love 13 49-44-40-28-21-{13}-24-32-49-47->10

#2890 24/06/1967 The Monkees Alternate Title 2 30-7-3-3-{2}-4-5-9-14-22-27-34->12

#2891 24/06/1967 Pink Floyd See Emily Play 6 42-28-17-8-8-{6}-9-10-13-27-28-49->12

Edited December 14, 20231 yr by Jingle Jules

Whiter Shade Of Pale is a recognised Rock Classic, but my journey to that has taken a long time. Always quite liked it, never loved it to bits, not when it was a hit again in 1972 (preferred that years' Conquistador), not when it popped back again in the 80's, nor when it obligatory-appeared in Greatest 100 lists. I rate it more now than I did 50 years ago...

 

Don't Sleep In The Subway is a total fave OTOH, great song, loved it all over again in the 1970's, and beyond. Groovin' is just gorgeous, so summertime evocative, lovely track, but The Troggs' just went over my head. Manfred Mann - it's the Tommy Roe original I know from my Greatest Hits CD, this version is passable. Okay! is pretty good, Val's went over my head, sadly.

 

The Elvis double A means little to me, then or now, Finchley Central is quirky and charming, but lesser then the previous 2. Walking In The Rain is a Ronettes' Spector cover, the original is the best, and the Mann & Weil song is fab, though the version I know best is The Partridge Family 1973 hit cover which still sounds goo. This version is pretty good anyway, it has Scott Walker, so bound to be.

 

Carrie Ann: big fave at the time, and still transports me back to 1967, but yes over-play can get annoying - that said it's their best single until He Aint Heavy changes the mood a bit. Give Me Time - Dusty does ballads like no-one else, but not one of her greats, merely good. I Got Rhythm, touch of the puzzled blinking eyes for me, "eh?!". Never liked the song much, no memories of this.

 

Roses Of Picardy, pass! Meant nothing to me. I knew the song in passing from TV variety shows, but not this version. Engelbert's not a fave, I preferred Elvis' cover in 1971 at the time, till I got round to finding that pretty meh too.

 

Surprisingly not a massive batch there!

Well I certainly do have more than a little respect for “Respect” but it’s so enduring and frequently played that it’s not one I’d choose to hear. More exciting for me are Pink Floyd and The Monkees. I love the idea that they were told they’d need to not call it “Randy Scouse Git” and needed an alternate title, and simply called it the baffling “Alternate Title”.

9 The Monkees Alternate Title Leaving aside the title issue I find this a really interesting and compelling track and I love the pulsating rhythm and scatting

8 Pink Floyd See Emily Play Their only Top 10 hit aside from the huge one: this is a wonderfully trippy psychadelic journey made by all the instruments

8 Aretha Franklin Respect Aretha's debut hit and 1st of only 2 Top 10s (both bona fide classics); the pace of this and the call and response are brilliant

7 Traffic Featuring Stevie Winwood Paper Sun First hit for them; the sitar creates the sense of a hot sun that may or may not be real; very effective and quite Beatles-esque

7 Gladys Knight And The Pips Take Me In Your Arms And Love Me First hit for Gladys: this has a lovely fresh sound to it with her crystal clear vocals and there's a real tenderness to it as well

7 The Four Tops Seven Rooms Of Gloom Great and unmistakably Four Tops with the high drama, the angst and urgency in the lead and long held notes in the backing

6 Cream Strange Brew Eric Clapton leads on this very nice psychedelic rock song with great guitar work - but doesn't quite stand out from the crowd

6 Otis Redding Shake No Polaroids but you need to "shake it like a bowl of soup"; a fun rhythmic jazzy number with nice vocal and brass interaction

5 Judith Durham The Olive Tree Judith's only solo hit; she sings it beautifully and the piano and strings on this are enchanting; lovely but not essential listening

5 Small Faces Here Come The Nice About drug dealing, this marked a move to a psychedelic sound for them and it is rather more interesting than their previous hits

4 The Turtles She'd Rather Be With Me Amazingly this peaked at #4 while the brilliant "Happy Together" only reached #12; good tune but beyond that I find it average

4 The Marvelettes When You're Young And In Love Only hit here for the group who did the marvellous "Please Mr Postman": this is perfectly pleasant but a bit landfill Motown

3 Vikki Carr It Must Be Him (Seul Sur Son Etoile) Her only big hit; seemingly not a musical theatre number despite sounding like one - not bad but rather too easy listening for me

3 Cliff Richard I'll Come Running I enjoy the verses with vocals and harpsichord and waltz-like rhythm, but the chorus is poor and the song doesn't come together

2 Cilla Black What Good Am I Enjoy the first 30 seconds with the shimmering strings and then she really wallops it: could be powerful and moving if sung better

 

 

1967 Group 9:

 

#2892 01/07/1967 Lulu Let's Pretend 11 42-30-32-35-{11}-13-14-17-29-31-47->11

#2893 01/07/1967 Anita Harris Just Loving You 6 43-32-33-39-20-14-11-7-{6}-7-7-9-14-16-12-17-21-17-19-17-22-31-33-31-27-34-34-43-44-50->30

#2894 01/07/1967 Joe Brown With A Little Help From My Friends 32 44-35-46-{32}->4

#2895 01/07/1967 Young Idea With A Little Help From My Friends 10 45-39-29-{10}-34-41->6

#2896 08/07/1967 Nancy Sinatra/Nancy Sinatra And Lee Hazlewood You Only Live Twice/Jackson 11 36-25-{11}-17-20-16-15-23-20-25-27-37-39-32-40-38-39-47-50->19

#2897 08/07/1967 Ray Charles Here We Go Again 38 {38}-49R(2)-45->3

#2898 08/07/1967 The Bachelors Marta 20 40-35-{20}-28-22-24-36-44-47->9

#2899 08/07/1967 John Walker Annabella 24 48-48R(2)-25-{24}-25-29->6

#2900 15/07/1967 The Beatles All You Need Is Love 1 2-{1}-1-1-2-2-3-6-13-15-21-27-40->13

#2901 15/07/1967 Scott McKenzie San Francisco (Be Sure To Wear Some Flowers In Your Hair) 1 13-5-3-2-{1}-1-1-1-3-3-6-9-14-20-25-34-44->17

#2902 15/07/1967 Sandie Shaw Tonight In Tokyo 21 38-{21}-22-23-28-43->6

#2903 15/07/1967 Johnny Mann Singers Up-Up And Away 6 47-26-9-11-8-{6}-10-14-20-29-35-43-48->13

#2904 15/07/1967 Desmond Dekker And The Aces 007 14 49-27-{14}-19-19-19-25-29-29-34-44->11

#2905 22/07/1967 Dave Davies Death Of A Clown 3 23-10-{3}-3-4-7-9-16-26-38->10

#2906 22/07/1967 Otis And Carla Tramp 18 50-26-21-22-{18}-21-24-30-35-33-42->11

Edited December 14, 20231 yr by Jingle Jules

I adore Randy Scouse Git (it was a catchphrase from Till Death Us Do Part, sitcom, an awful show) which Mickey Dolenz picked up as a title on tour in the UK - and this marked the moment The band took control of their own music career, to the chagrin of future Archies' producer, so incensed he went for a cartoon group that couldn't argue back! It also showed the UK media & the now-former controller of The Rock N Roll Hall Of Fame (who banned them from getting an award forever) who were reviling them as actors not musicians that errr, they could do interesting and hit-making stuff themselves.

 

See Emily Play is pure fab 1967 pop psychedelia, one I picked up on more in the 70's, and Respect is an Aretha classic, made it entirely her own. Paper Sun is also very 1967, and a goodie.

 

Take Me In Your Arms is one I liked a lot, loved the tune, and it's still charming. Saw Gladys a few years back and she was still fab, along with her Pip brother. Talking of Motown classic acts, I caught The Four Tops in 1989, original line-up still going strong, Levi still epic on lead vocals. This record passed me by at the time though, but it's pretty good.

 

Strange Brew and Cream, never got either. It's OK, they were OK, but I think the Clapton Is God hysteria over-egged them a bit, that was still going on into the mid-70's when he all but gave up showy guitar stands. Otis Redding mostly passed me by too (bar one masterpiece) and this one didn't grab me the other year. Judith Durham I had no idea about the hit, but I first remember hearing it on The Seekers' final UK tour, it came over as very touching.

 

The Small Faces move to psychedelia was a step up for me, this one was pretty decent, The Turtles I adore, and that includes She'd Rather Be With Me, pure pop joy, one I liked at the time and beyond. The Marvelettes' is also one I rate, quite cute, sadly not the big hit The Flying Pickets made it.

 

It Must Be Him is one I recall liking, but never loving, I think one of my Aunties had it in their record collection. These days I like it still. Cliff? Heard it once, didnt make an impression. What Good Am I wasnt one I'd noticed much for a Cilla hit, but I got into it in 2017 - it's pretty good, but then belting-out Cilla is fine by me :)

 

 

 

 

I thought that Otis Redding song was called 'Shake No Polaroids' for a minute there :lol:

 

Was introduced to 'The Olive Tree' from Jade sending it to one of the song contests recently, beautiful song so shame to see it with a pretty middling score here aw! 'Respect' is ofc a great one too, and I don't think I knew Aretha only had 2 UK top 10 hits!

 

(:hi: again, back to keeping up with this for the past few days, we'll see how long that lasts this time)