It’s 56 years and 8 months before Sadie is born and 13 years and 2 months before Thomas is…let’s hear how 1963 closed out with December’s playlist.
Songs of the month
[new] “As Usual” – Brenda Lee
[new] “Baby Don’t You Weep” – Garnet Mimms And The Enchanters
“Be True To Your School” – Beach Boys
“Bossa Nova Baby” – Elvis Presley
“Can I Get A Witness” – Marvin Gaye
“Deep Purple” – Nino Tempo And April Stevens
“Dominique” – Singing Nun
[new] “Drag City” – Jan And Dean
“Drip Drop” – Dion Di Muci
“Everybody” – Tommy Roe
[new] “Forget Him” – Bobby Rydell
[new] “Have You Heard” – Duprees
“Hey Little Girl” – Major Lance
“I Wonder What She’s Doing Tonight” – Barry And The Tamarlanes
“I’m Leaving It Up To You” – Dale And Grace
[new] “In My Room” – Beach Boys
“It’s All Right” – Impressions
[new] “Kansas City” – Trini Lopez
“Little Red Rooster” – Sam Cooke
“Living A Lie” – Al Martino
“Loddy Lo” – Chubby Checker
“Louie Louie” – Kingsmen
“Maria Elena” – Los Indios Tabajaras
[new] “Midnight Mary” – Joey Powers
[new] “Nitty Gritty” – Shirley Ellis
“Papa Joe’s” – Dixiebelles
[new] “Popsicles And Icicles” – Murmaids
[new] “Pretty Paper” – Roy Orbison
[new] “Quicksand” – Martha And The Vandellas
“She’s A Fool” – Lesley Gore
“Since I Fell For You” – Lenny Welch
“Sugar Shack” – Jimmy Gilmer And The Fireballs
[new] “Surfin’ Bird” – Trashmen
[new] “Talk Back Trembling Lips” – Johnny Tillotson
[new] “The Boy Next Door” – Secrets
[new] “The Nitty Gritty” – Shirley Ellis
[new] “There I’ve Said It Again” – Bobby Vinton
[new] “Turn Around” – Dick And Deedee
“Twenty Four Hours From Tulsa” – Gene Pitney
“Walking The Dog” – Rufus Thomas
“Washington Square” – Village Stompers
[new] “Wives And Lovers” – Jack Jones
“Wonderful Summer” – Robin Ward
“You Don’t Have To Be A Baby To Cry” – Caravelles
[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 5th the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) completed its investigation of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy less than two weeks after the crime, as Director J. Edgar Hoover approved the final report of the bureau inquiry. The FBI’s conclusion was that Lee Harvey Oswald and Jack Ruby had each acted alone, and independently of each other. Of course conspiracy theories persist to this day. No footage of that but a classic piece of TV footage as Walter Cronkite announces his assassination the previous month.
On the 20th for the first time since the erection of the Berlin Wall in 1961, residents of West Berlin were allowed to cross into East Berlin. By agreement between West Germany and East Germany, West German applicants were granted one-day passes in order to visit with family members in the Communist-controlled east side during the Christmas holidays. Because we’ve just mentioned JFK, here he is in June of that year giving his famous speech at the Berlin Wall.
On the 21st “The Daleks”, a serial that began with the fifth episode of the “Doctor Who” science fiction television series, saw the introduction of the Dalek, the most famous of all the nemeses in the program’s history. In the episode “The Dead Planet”, the Doctor and his three companions arrived in the TARDIS on the planet Skaro, although viewers would not see what a Dalek looked like until the December 28 show.
What’d Sadie think?
Four weeks at the top for The Singing Nun with “Dominique” this month.
Loved ’em
- “Baby Don’t You Weep” – Garnet Mimms And The Enchanters
- “Nitty Gritty” – Shirley Ellis
- “Surfin’ Bird” – Trashmen
- “Wives And Lovers” – Jack Jones
Of course very notoriously, in NZ, in the ’80s “Surfin’ Bird” was repurposed to promote Bluebird crisps. The height of advertising.
Liked ’em
- “As Usual” – Brenda Lee
- “Drag City” – Jan And Dean
- “Forget Him” – Bobby Rydell
- “Have You Heard” – Duprees
- “In My Room” – Beach Boys
- “Kansas City” – Trini Lopez
- “Midnight Mary” – Joey Powers
- “Popsicles And Icicles” – Murmaids
- “Pretty Paper” – Roy Orbison
- “Quicksand” – Martha And The Vandellas
- “Talk Back Trembling Lips” – Johnny Tillotson
- “The Boy Next Door” – Secrets
- “Turn Around” – Dick And Deedee
Leave ’em
- “There I’ve Said It Again” – Bobby Vinton
Now go listen to the full playlist on Youtube via this link.