It felt positively spring like this weekend in Auckland of 2023, but by the looks of the rest of the week that may have just been a tease. So let’s escape back to the September of 1962 to hear what it sounded like…
Songs of the month
“A Swingin’ Safari” – Billy Vaughn Orchestra
[new] “A Wonderful Dream” – Majors
“Ahab The Arab” – Ray Stevens
[new] “Alley Cat” – Bent Fabric
[new] “Beechwood 4-5789” – Marvelettes
“Breaking Up Is Hard To Do” – Neil Sedaka
“Bring It On Home To Me” – Sam Cooke
“Call Me Mr. In-Between” – Burl Ives
[new] “Come On Little Girl” – Belmonts
“Devil Woman” – Marty Robbins
[new] “Do You Love Me” – Contours
[new] “Green Onions” – Booker T. And The Mgs
[new] “Hully Gully Baby” – Dovells
[new] “I Remember You” – Frank Ifield
[new] “If I Had A Hammer” – “Peter Paul And Mary”
[new] “It Might As Well Rain Until September” – Carole King
[new] “Let’s Dance” – Chris Montez
[new] “Lie To Me” – Brook Benton
“Little Diane” – Dion
“Make It Easy On Yourself” – Jerry Butler
[new] “Monster Mash” – Bobby Boris Pickett And The Crypt-Kickers
[new] “Only Love Can Break A Heart” – Gene Pitney
“Party Lights” – Claudine Clark
[new] “Patches” – Dickey Lee
[new] “Point Of No Return” – Gene Mcdaniels
[new] “Punish Her” – Bobby Vee
[new] “Rain Rain Go Away” – Bobby Vinton
“Ramblin’ Rose” – Nat King Cole
“Rinky Dink” – Dave Baby Cortez
“Roses Are Red” – Bobby Vinton
“Sealed With A Kiss” – Brian Hyland
[new] “Send Me The Pillow You Dream On” – Johnny Tillotson
[new] “Shame On You” – Bobby Bare
“She’s Not You” – Elvis Presley
“Sheila” – Tommy Roe
[new] “Sherry” – Four Seasons
[new] “Silver Threads And Golden Needles” – Springfields
[new] “Surfin’ Safari” – Beach Boys
[new] “Teenage Idol” – Rick Nelson
“The Locomotion” – Little Eva
“The Wah Watusi” – Orlons
“Things” – Bobby Darin
[new] “Till Death Us Do Part” – Bob Braun
“Twist And Shout” – Isley Brothers
“Vacation” – Connie Francis
[new] “Venus In Blue Jeans” – Jimmy Clanton
[new] “What Kind Of Love Is This” – Joey Dee And The Starliters
“What’s A Matter Baby” – Timi Yuro
[new] “You Beat Me To The Punch” – Mary Wells
[new] “You Belong To Me” – Duprees
“You Don’t Know Me” – Ray Charles
“You’ll Lose A Good Thing” – Barbara Lynn
“Your Nose Is Gonna Grow” – Johnny Crawford
[new] = New to the chart this week.
You can listen to the full playlist on Youtube via this link.
This month in history
On September 12th U.S. President John F. Kennedy, in a speech at the football stadium of Rice University in Houston, reaffirmed that the U.S. would put a man on the Moon by the end of the decade with a corker of a speech.
“We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too.”
Then on the 23rd “The Jetsons”— George, Jane, Judy and Elroy— were introduced in a primetime cartoon of the same name on ABC television in the USA. Despite having only 24 episodes, the science fiction show, about a family living about 100 years in the future, would be rerun for 23 years until new episodes were commissioned for a syndicated revival in 1985. A childhood favourite.
Speaking of childhood favourite, on the 26th “The Beverly Hillbillies”, a television situation comedy about a poor Ozark Mountain family who became multi-millionaires after oil was found on their land, began a nine-year run on the CBS network. That theme tune!
What’d Sadie think?
Two weeks at the top for “Sheila” by Tommy Roe then three for “Sherry” by the Four Seasons – so the top of the charts is still sounding quick (late) ’50s. But this is the first chart where it feels like the ’60s are really here in full force to my ears. No doubt helped by classics like “Surfin’ Safari” by the Beach Boys.
Shout out to the gloriously silly “Monster mash” that was a childhood favourite.
Loved ’em
- “Surfin’ Safari” – Beach Boys
- “Do You Love Me” – Contours
- “Green Onions” – Booker T. And The Mgs
- “If I Had A Hammer” – “Peter Paul And Mary”
- “It Might As Well Rain Until September” – Carole King
- “Let’s Dance” – Chris Montez
- “Monster Mash” – Bobby Boris Pickett And The Crypt-Kickers
- “Sherry” – Four Seasons
Liked ’em
- “A Wonderful Dream” – Majors
- “Alley Cat” – Bent Fabric
- “Hully Gully Baby” – Dovells
- “I Remember You” – Frank Ifield
- “Lie To Me” – Brook Benton
- “Only Love Can Break A Heart” – Gene Pitney
- “Point Of No Return” – Gene Mcdaniels
- “Punish Her” – Bobby Vee
- “Send Me The Pillow You Dream On” – Johnny Tillotson
- “Silver Threads And Golden Needles” – Springfields
- “Venus In Blue Jeans” – Jimmy Clanton
- “You Beat Me To The Punch” – Mary Wells
Leave ’em
- “Patches” – Dickey Lee
- “Rain Rain Go Away” – Bobby Vinton
- “Shame On Me” – Bobby Bare
- “Teenage Idol” – Rick Nelson
- “You Belong To Me” – Duprees
- “What Kind Of Love Is This” – Joey Dee And The Starliters
Now go listen to the full playlist on Youtube via this link.