It’s 59 years and 2 months before Sadie is born and 15 years and 8 months before Thomas is… which makes it June, 1961. Let’s hear what it sounds like!
Songs of the month
“A Hundred Pounds Of Clay” – Gene Mcdaniels
“Barbara Ann” – Regents
[new] “Boll Weevil Song” – Brook Benton
“Breakin’ In A Brand New Broken Heart” – Connie Francis
“Daddy’s Home” – Shep & The Limelites
[new] “Dance On Little Girl” – Paul Anka
[new] “Every Beat Of My Heart” – The Pips
“Girl Of My Best Friend” – Ral Donner
[new] “Hats Off To Larry” – Del Shannon
[new] “Heart And Soul” – Cleftones
“Hello Mary Lou” – Ricky Nelson
“Hello Walls” – Faron Young
“I Feel So Bad” – Elvis Presley
[new] “I’m A Fool To Care” – Joe Barry
[new] “It Keeps Rainin'” – Fats Domino
“Little Devil” – Neil Sedaka
[new] “Little Egypt” – Coasters
“Lullaby Of Love” – Frank Gari
“Mama Said” – Shirelles
“Moody River” – Pat Boone
“Mother-In-Law” – Ernie K-Doe
“Peanut Butter” – Marathons
[new] “Quarter To Three” – Gary U.S. Bonds
“Raindrops” – Dee Clark
[new] “Rama Lama Ding Dong” – Edsels
“Runaway” – Del Shannon
“Running Scared” – Roy Orbison
[new] “San Antonio Rose” – Floyd Cramer
“Stand By Me” – Ben E. King
[new] “Tell Me Why” – Belmonts
[new] “Temptation” – Everly Brothers
[new] “The Writing On The Wall” – Adam Wade
[new] “Those Oldies But Goodies” – Little Caesar
[new] “Tossin’ And Turnin'” – Bobby Lewis
“Tragedy” – Fleetwoods
“Travellin’ Man” – Ricky Nelson
“Triangle” – Janie Grant
[new] “Wild In The Country” – Elvis Presley
[new] “Yellow Bird” – Arthur Lyman Group
“You Always Hurt The One You Love” – Clarence Frogman Henry
[new] = New to the chart this week.
You can listen to the full playlist on Youtube via this link.
This month in history
On the 6th of June Carl Jung, 85, Swiss psychiatrist, died ten days after completing his work on the book “Man and His Symbols”. See an interview with him from a couple of years earlier below.
Then on the 8th Bell Laboratories test pilot Harold Graham made the first public demonstration of a jet pack, flying the Bell Rocket Belt at Fort Eustis, Virginia, before a crowd of several hundred military officers and their guests. No footage of that I can find, but a great video from 1961 with some predictions of the future from the labs below.
On the 16th the dance troupe of Russia’s Kirov Ballet was at Le Bourget Airport and waiting to board a flight to London, when the star, dancer Rudolf Nureyev, was pulled aside by KGB agents and told that he was to take a 12:25 pm flight back to Moscow. Sensing that he would never be allowed to leave the Soviet Union again, Nureyev broke away from the escorts and ran over to two French airport policemen (who had been alerted by Nureyev’s friend Clara Bichkova), shouting in English, “Protect me!”. France ultimately granted the defecting Nureyev asylum. See him dancing in 1961 below.
What’d Sadie think?
A mixed lot at number one this month, first “Running Scared” by Roy Orbison
then “Travellin’ Man” by Ricky Nelson are at the top before “Moody River” by Pat Boone and then new-to-chart “Quarter To Three” by Gary U.S. Bonds rounds out the month.
Loved ’em
Song of the week is “Every Beat of My Heart” by Gladys Knight & the Pips. It was originally recorded by Johnny Otis in 1952 though in fact. In 1961, Gladys Knight & the Pips recorded the song for their debut single on the Vee-Jay label. Credited to The Pips, it was the first of eleven releases by the group to make it to #1 on the US Billboard R&B chart. It was also the group’s first top ten on the Billboard Hot 100 (the chart we use).
“Every Beat of My Heart” was first recorded for the Huntom label, who later sold the master to Vee-Jay Records. At the time of the song’s release, The Pips were on the Fury label where they re-recorded the song without piano. In an unusual occurrence, the Fury recording of the song also made the top twenty on the R&B chart and also made the Hot 100.
- “Every Beat Of My Heart” – The Pips
- “It Keeps Rainin'” – Fats Domino
- “Little Egypt” – Coasters
- “Tossin’ And Turnin'” – Bobby Lewis
Not a new song but Sadie was loving singing alone to “Barbara Ann” by the Regents this week.
Liked ’em
- “Dance On Little Girl” – Paul Anka
- “Hats Off To Larry” – Del Shannon
- “Heart And Soul” – Cleftones
- “I’m A Fool To Care” – Joe Barry
- “Quarter To Three” – Gary U.S. Bonds
- “Rama Lama Ding Dong” – Edsels
- “San Antonio Rose” – Floyd Cramer
- “Tell Me Why” – Belmonts
- “Temptation” – Everly Brothers
- “The Writing On The Wall” – Adam Wade
- “Wild In The Country” – Elvis Presley
Leave ’em
- “Boll Weevil Song” – Brook Benton
- “Those Oldies But Goodies” – Little Caesar
- “Yellow Bird” – Arthur Lyman Group
Now go listen to the full playlist on Youtube via this link.