4x Life

One month in pop history, every week.

Author: Thomas Scovell

  • It’s March, 1965

    It’s 55 years and 5 months before Sadie is born and 11 years and 11 months before Thomas is. How’s that for a set of numbers? Let’s go hear what March, 1965 sounds like…

    Songs of the month

    “All Day And All Of The Night” – Kinks
    [new] “Ask The Lonely” – Four Tops
    “Can’t You Hear My Heartbeat” – Herman’s Hermits
    [new] “Come Home” – Dave Clark Five
    [new] “Do The Clam” – Elvis Presley
    [new] “Do You Wanna Dance” – Beach Boys
    [new] “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood” – Animals
    “Downtown” – Petula Clark
    “Eight Days A Week” – Beatles
    “Ferry Cross The Mersey” – Gerry & The Pacemakers
    [new] “Go Now” – Moody Blues
    “Goldfinger” – Shirley Bassey
    “Goodnight” – Roy Orbison
    “Hurts So Bad” – Little Anthony & The Imperials
    “I Go To Pieces” – Peter & Gordon
    [new] “I’m Telling You Now” – Freddie & The Dreamers
    “I’ve Got A Tiger By The Tail” – Buck Owens
    [new] “If I Loved You” – Chad & Jeremy
    “King Of The Road” – Roger Miller
    “Laugh Laugh” – Beau Brummels
    “Little Things” – Bobby Goldsboro
    [new] “Long Lonely Nights” – Bobby Vinton
    [new] “Midnight Special” – Johnny Rivers
    “My Girl” – Temptations
    [new] “Nowhere To Run” – Martha & The Vandellas
    [new] “People Get Ready” – Impressions
    “Red Roses For A Blue Lady” – Bert Kaempfert
    [new] “Red Roses For A Blue Lady” – Vic Dana
    [new] “Send Me The Pillow You Dream On” – Dean Martin
    “Shake” – Sam Cooke
    [new] “Shotgun” – Junior Walker & The All Stars
    [new] “Stop! In The Name Of Love” – Supremes
    [new] “Stranger In Town” – Del Shannon
    “Tell Her No” – Zombies
    “The Birds And The Bees” – Jewel Akens
    “The Boy From New York City” – Ad-Libs
    “The Jolly Green Giant” – Kingsmen
    “The Name Game” – Shirley Ellis
    [new] “The Race Is On” – Jack Jones
    “This Diamond Ring” – Gary Lewis & The Playboys
    [new] “Tired Of Waiting For You” – Kinks
    “Twine Time” – Alvin Cash
    [new] “Yeh Yeh” – Georgie Fame
    “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’” – Righteous Brothers

    [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 first of the month Olympic swimming champion and 1964 Australian of the Year Dawn Fraser was banned from competition for ten years by the Australian Amateur Swimming Union, in apparent disapproval of her partying lifestyle and for her behavior during the 1964 Summer Olympics…. (apparently she wore a non-regulation swimming costume, oo-eer!)

    On the 10th, in “look how far we’ve come in a short time” news, in France, the cabinet of President Charles de Gaulle approved a bill to remove many of the restrictions placed on married women, in what Information Minister Alain Peyrefitte described as “a veritable emancipation of the wife”. At the time, married women were not allowed to take a job, open a bank account, or spend their own earnings without their husband’s consent.

    In a big month for the space race, on the 18th Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Leonov left the airlock on his spacecraft Voskhod 2 for 12 minutes and 9 seconds becoming the first person to “walk in space”.

    Then on the 23rd, the relative lagards, the United States launched Gemini 3, the first crewed mission of the Gemini program, the nation’s first space mission with two astronauts, and the first maneuverable spacecraft from any nation. The crew were command pilot Astronaut Virgil I. Grissom and pilot Astronaut John W. Young. The Gemini capsule (named for the “Unsinkable Molly Brown” by Grissom, who managed to escape his Mercury-Redstone 4 capsule in 1961 before it sank) made three orbits around the Earth.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBDC5K6lXQM

    What’d Sadie think?

    A week at the top for “My Girl” – Temptations before “Eight Days A Week” takes it for two weeks, and “Stop! In The Name Of Love”, a great newcomer by the Supremes rounds out the month.

    Loved ’em

    Favourite new tune of the month has to be the Animals with “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood”, a cover of a Nina Simone original from the year prior.

    • “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood” – Animals
    • “I’m Telling You Now” – Freddie & The Dreamers
    • “Midnight Special” – Johnny Rivers
    • “People Get Ready” – Impressions
    • “Stop! In The Name Of Love” – Supremes
    • “Yeh Yeh” – Georgie Fame

    Liked ’em
    • “Ask The Lonely” – Four Tops
    • “Come Home” – Dave Clark Five
    • “Do The Clam” – Elvis Presley
    • “Do You Wanna Dance” – Beach Boys
    • “Go Now” – Moody Blues
    • “If I Loved You” – Chad & Jeremy
    • “Long Lonely Nights” – Bobby Vinton
    • “Red Roses For A Blue Lady” – Vic Dana
    • “Shotgun” – Junior Walker & The All Stars
    • “Send Me The Pillow You Dream On” – Dean Martin
    • “Stranger In Town” – Del Shannon
    • “The Race Is On” – Jack Jones
    • “Tired Of Waiting For You” – Kinks

    Now go listen to the full playlist on Youtube via this link.

  • It’s February, 1965

    I’ve just had my Birthday in 2024 and we’re now only…12 years before I was born as we listen to the hits of February, 1965!

    Songs of the month

    “All Day And All Of The Night” – Kinks
    “Bye Bye Baby” – Four Seasons
    [new] “Can’t You Hear My Heartbeat” – Herman’s Hermits
    “Come See About Me” – Supremes
    “Don’t Forget I Still Love You” – Bobbi Martin
    “Downtown” – Petula Clark
    [new] “Eight Days A Week” – Beatles
    [new] “Ferry Cross The Mersey” – Gerry & The Pacemakers
    [new] “For Lovin’ Me” – Peter Paul & Mary
    “Give Him A Great Big Kiss” – Shangri-Las
    [new] “Goldfinger” – Shirley Bassey
    [new] “Goodnight” – Roy Orbison
    “Have You Looked Into Your Heart” – Jerry Vale
    “Heart Of Stone” – Rolling Stones
    “Hold What You’ve Got” – Joe Tex
    “How Sweet It Is” – Marvin Gaye
    [new] “Hurts So Bad” – Little Anthony & The Imperials
    “I Feel Fine” – Beatles
    “I Go To Pieces” – Peter & Gordon
    “I’ll Be There” – Gerry & The Pacemakers
    [new] “I’ve Got A Tiger By The Tail” – Buck Owens
    “Keep Searchin’” – Del Shannon
    [new] “King Of The Road” – Roger Miller
    [new] “Laugh Laugh” – Beau Brummels
    [new] “Lemon Tree” – Trini Lopez
    “Let’s Lock The Door” – Jay & The Americans
    [new] “Little Things” – Bobby Goldsboro
    “Look Of Love” – Lesley Gore
    “Love Potion No. 9” – Searchers
    [new] “Love Potion No.9” – Searchers
    “My Girl” – Temptations
    [new] “No Arms Can Ever Hold You” – Bachelors
    [new] “Paper Tiger” – Sue Thompson
    [new] “Red Roses For A Blue Lady” – Bert Kaempfert
    “Shake” – Sam Cooke
    “Tell Her No” – Zombies
    “The ‘in’ Crowd” – Dobie Gray
    [new] “The Birds And The Bees” – Jewel Akens
    [new] “The Boy From New York City” – Ad-Libs
    “The Jolly Green Giant” – Kingsmen
    “The Name Game” – Shirley Ellis
    “This Diamond Ring” – Gary Lewis & The Playboys
    “Thou Shalt Not Steal” – Dick & Deedee
    [new] “Twine Time” – Alvin Cash
    [new] “What Have They Done To The Rain” – Searchers
    “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’” – Righteous Brothers

    [new] = New to the chart this week.

    You can listen to the full playlist on Youtube via this link.

    This month in history

    On February the 10th the first “one-shot” vaccine against the measles was made available to American physicians. The new measles shot, using a greatly-weakened strain of the measles virus, was 99% effective in providing a lifelong immunity to the illness.

    On the fifteenth a new red and white maple leaf design was inaugurated as the flag of Canada, replacing the Union Flag and the Canadian Red Ensign. Did not know they’d kept the union jack around that long myself!

    Then on the 21st Malcolm X was assassinated at Manhattan’s Audubon Ballroom. As he was preparing to deliver a speech to the Organization of Afro-American Unity, he opened with the greeting As-Salaam Alaikum and the audience acknowledged with Wa-Alaikum-Salaam. At that moment, a man in the crowd shouted “N*****! Get your hand outta my pocket!” to a person sitting next to him, an apparent signal for four other spectators to stage a fight. Malcolm said, “Hold it. Let’s cool it, brothers”, and was shot in the chest by a man who approached the stage with a Luger pistol.

    What’d Sadie think?

    2 weeks at the top for “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’” by the Righteous Brothers and then for “This Diamond Ring” by Gary Lewis & The Playboys.

    Loved ’em

    I’ve always loved the Ad-Libs’ “The Boy From New York City”, just such a joyful song. Seems to be a bit of a big city meme going on with this and “Downtown” in the charts. News to me, when I dug into this, was that the latter classic homage to NYC is is written and produced by English composer Tony Hatch and recorded by a British singer (Petula Clark). Interesting anecdote,

    I was staying at a hotel on Central Park and I wandered down to Broadway and to Times Square and, naively, I thought I was downtown. … I loved the whole atmosphere there and the [music] came to me very, very quickly”. He was standing on the corner of 48th Street waiting for the traffic lights to change, looking towards Times Square when “the melody first came to me, just as the neon signs went on.”

    “Can’t You Hear My Heartbeat” – Herman’s Hermits
    “Eight Days A Week” – Beatles
    “Ferry Cross The Mersey” – Gerry & The Pacemakers
    “Goldfinger” – Shirley Bassey
    “Goodnight” – Roy Orbison
    “King Of The Road” – Roger Miller
    “Love Potion No.9” – Searchers
    “The Boy From New York City” – Ad-Libs

    Liked ’em

    “For Lovin’ Me” – Peter Paul & Mary
    “Hurts So Bad” – Little Anthony & The Imperials
    “Laugh Laugh” – Beau Brummels
    “Lemon Tree” – Trini Lopez
    “Little Things” – Bobby Goldsboro
    “No Arms Can Ever Hold You” – Bachelors
    “Paper Tiger” – Sue Thompson
    “Red Roses For A Blue Lady” – Bert Kaempfert
    “The Birds And The Bees” – Jewel Akens
    “Twine Time” – Alvin Cash
    “What Have They Done To The Rain” – Searchers

    Leave ’em

    “I’ve Got A Tiger By The Tail” – Buck Owens

    Now go listen to the full playlist on Youtube via this link.

  • It’s January, 1965

    And just like that, we find ourselves mid-way through the 1960s! It seems like only yesterday we were beginning our journey in 1950. Let’s hear what the new year sounds like…

    (But wait! We skipped a newsletter for December, 1964 as I was busy finishing off the day job so you can go back to listen to it here first if you’re so inclined.)

    Songs of the month

    [new] “All Day And All Of The Night” – Kinks
    “Amen” – Impressions
    “Any Way You Want It” – Dave Clark Five
    “As Tears Go By” – Marianne Faithfull
    [new] “Bye Bye Baby” – Four Seasons
    “Come See About Me” – Supremes
    “Dance Dance Dance” – Beach Boys
    “Dear Heart” – Andy Williams
    [new] “Dear Heart” – Jack Jones
    [new] “Don’t Forget I Still Love You” – Bobbi Martin
    [new] “Downtown” – Petula Clark
    [new] “Give Him A Great Big Kiss” – Shangri-Las
    “Goin’ Out Of My Head” – Little Anthony And The Imperials
    [new] “Have You Looked Into Your Heart” – Jerry Vale
    [new] “Heart Of Stone” – Rolling Stones
    [new] “Hold What You’ve Got” – Joe Tex
    “How Sweet It Is” – Marvin Gaye
    “I Feel Fine” – Beatles
    [new] “I Go To Pieces” – Peter & Gordon
    [new] “I’ll Be There” – Gerry & The Pacemakers
    “I’m Into Something Good” – Herman’s Hermits
    “Keep Searchin’” – Del Shannon
    “Leader Of The Laundromat” – Detergents
    [new] “Let’s Lock The Door” – Jay & The Americans
    [new] “Look Of Love” – Lesley Gore
    [new] “Love Potion No. 9” – Searchers
    “Mountain Of Love” – Johnny Rivers
    “Mr. Lonely” – Bobby Vinton
    [new] “My Girl” – Temptations
    “My Love Forgive Me” – Robert Goulet
    “Oh No Not My Baby” – Maxine Brown
    “Ringo” – Lorne Greene
    “Saturday Night At The Movies” – Drifters
    “Sha La La” – Manfred Mann
    [new] “Shake” – Sam Cooke
    “She’s A Woman” – Beatles
    “She’s Not There” – Zombies
    [new] “Tell Her No” – Zombies
    [new] “The ‘in’ Crowd” – Dobie Gray
    “The Jerk” – Larks
    [new] “The Jolly Green Giant” – Kingsmen
    [new] “The Name Game” – Shirley Ellis
    “The Wedding” – Julie Rogers
    [new] “This Diamond Ring” – Gary Lewis & The Playboys
    [new] “Thou Shalt Not Steal” – Dick & Deedee
    “Time Is On My Side” – Rolling Stones
    “Too Many Fish In The Sea” – Marvelettes
    [new] “Walk Away” – Matt Monro
    “Willow Weep For Me” – Chad & Jeremy
    [new] “You’re Nobody Till Somebody Loves You” – Dean Martin
    [new] “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’” – Righteous Brothers

    [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 9th the British comedy series “Not Only… But Also” premiered on BBC Two, hosted by Dudley Moore and Peter Cook, with special guests John Lennon and Norman Rossington. Here’s a clip with Lennon:

    On the 15th the first showing of The Sound of Music, starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer in 20th Century Fox’s film adaptation of the Rodgers & Hammerstein musical, was made in a “sneak preview” at the Mann Theatre in Minneapolis. Preview cards from the audience showed 223 “excellent” votes, three “good” votes, and none for any lower category. It did alright on release…

    And on the 24th of January, 1965, Sir Winston Churchill, former UK prime minister and war time leader, passed away aged 90. A state funeral was held on the 30th and can be watched below.

    What’d Sadie think?

    Two weeks for “I Feel Fine” by the Beatles before a week for “Come See About Me” by the Supremes interrupts two weeks for the classic “Downtown” by Petula Clark.

    Loved ’em
    • “All Day And All Of The Night” – Kinks
    • “Bye Bye Baby” – Four Seasons
    • “Downtown” – Petula Clark
    • “Goin’ Out Of My Head” – Little Anthony & The Imperials
    • “Love Potion No. 9” – Searchers
    • “My Girl” – Temptations
    • “This Diamond Ring” – Gary Lewis & The Playboys
    • “Walk Away” – Matt Monro
    • “You’re Nobody Till Somebody Loves You” – Dean Martin
    • “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’” – Righteous Brothers
    Liked ’em
    • “Don’t Forget I Still Love You” – Bobbi Martin
    • “Give Him A Great Big Kiss” – Shangri-Las
    • “Have You Looked Into Your Heart” – Jerry Vale
    • “Heart Of Stone” – Rolling Stones
    • “Hold What You’ve Got” – Joe Tex
    • “I Go To Pieces” – Peter & Gordon
    • “I’ll Be There” – Gerry & The Pacemakers
    • “Let’s Lock The Door” – Jay & The Americans
    • “Look Of Love” – Lesley Gore
    • “Shake” – Sam Cooke
    • “Tell Her No” – Zombies
    • “The ‘in’ Crowd” – Dobie Gray
    • “The Name Game” – Shirley Ellis
    Leave ’em
    • “Dear Heart” – Jack Jones
    • “The Jolly Green Giant” – Kingsmen
    • “Thou Shalt Not Steal” – Dick & Deedee

    Now go listen to the full playlist on Youtube via this link.

  • It’s December, 1964

    It’s 55 years and 8 months before Sadie is born and 12 years and 2 months before Thomas is.

    Songs of the month

    “Ain’t That Loving You Baby” – Elvis Presley
    [new] “Amen” – Impressions
    [new] “Any Way You Want It” – Dave Clark Five
    [new] “As Tears Go By” – Marianne Faithfull
    “Ask Me” – Elvis Presley
    “Baby Love” – Supremes
    “Big Man In Town” – Four Seasons
    “Come A Little Bit Closer” – Jay And The Americans
    “Come See About Me” – Supremes
    “Dance Dance Dance” – Beach Boys
    [new] “Dear Heart” – Andy Williams
    “Everything’s Alright” – Newbeats
    “Goin’ Out Of My Head” – Little Anthony And The Imperials
    “Have I The Right” – Honeycombs
    [new] “How Sweet It Is” – Marvin Gaye
    [new] “I Feel Fine” – Beatles
    “I’m Gonna Be Strong” – Gene Pitney
    “I’m Into Something Good” – Herman’s Hermits
    “Is It True” – Brenda Lee
    [new] “Keep Searchin’” – Del Shannon
    “Last Kiss” – J. Frank Wilson
    [new] “Leader Of The Laundromat” – Detergents
    “Leader Of The Pack” – Shangri-Las
    [new] “Love Potion Number Nine” – Searchers
    “Mountain Of Love” – Johnny Rivers
    “Mr. Lonely” – Bobby Vinton
    [new] “My Love Forgive Me” – Robert Goulet
    [new] “Oh No Not My Baby” – Maxine Brown
    “Reach Out For Me” – Dionne Warwick
    “Right Or Wrong” – Ronnie Dove
    “Ringo” – Lorne Greene
    “Saturday Night At The Movies” – Drifters
    “Sha La La” – Manfred Mann
    [new] “She’s A Woman” – Beatles
    “She’s Not There” – Zombies
    “Sidewalk Surfin’” – Jan & Dean
    “The Jerk” – Larks
    [new] “The Wedding” – Julie Rogers
    “Time Is On My Side” – Rolling Stones
    [new] “Too Many Fish In The Sea” – Marvelettes
    “Walking In The Rain” – Ronettes
    [new] “Willow Weep For Me” – Chad & Jeremy
    “You Really Got Me” – Kinks

    [new] = New to the chart this week.

    You can listen to the full playlist on Youtube via this link.

    This month in history

    Some history

    What’d Sadie think?

    A week a piece for “Ringo” by Lorne Greene , “Mr. Lonely” by Bobby Vinton, “Come See About Me” -by the Supremes and lastly, “I Feel Fine” by the Beatles.

    “Amen” – Impressions
    “Amen” – Impressions
    “Any Way You Want It” – Dave Clark Five
    “As Tears Go By” – Marianne Faithfull
    “Dance Dance Dance” – Kinks
    “Dear Heart” – Andy Williams
    “How Sweet It Is” – Marvin Gaye
    “I Feel Fine” – Beatles
    “Keep Searchin’” – Del Shannon
    “Leader Of The Laundromat” – Detergents
    “Love Potion Number Nine” – Searchers
    “My Love Forgive Me” – Robert Goulet
    “Oh No Not My Baby” – Maxine Brown
    “Ringo” – Lorne Green
    “She’s A Woman” – Beatles
    “The Wedding” – Julie Rogers
    “Too Many Fish In The Sea” – Marvelettes
    “Willow Weep For Me” – Chad & Jeremy

    Loved ’em

    Liked ’em

    Leave ’em

    Now go listen to the full playlist on Youtube via this link.

  • It’s November, 1964

    We’re coming to the end of another year in our journey, but before the Xmas songs hit the charts lets hear from November, 1964 sounded like…

    Songs of the month

    “A Summer Song” – Chad Stuart And Jeremy Clyde
    “Ain’t That Loving You Baby” – Elvis Presley
    [new] “Ask Me” – Elvis Presley
    “Baby Don’t You Do It” – Marvin Gaye
    “Baby Love” – Supremes
    [new] “Big Man In Town” – Four Seasons
    “Chug-A-Lug” – Roger Miller
    “Come A Little Bit Closer” – Jay And The Americans
    [new] “Come See About Me” – Supremes
    [new] “Dance Dance Dance” – Beach Boys
    “Dancing In The Street” – Martha And The Vandellas
    “Do Wah Diddy Diddy” – Manfred Mann
    “Everybody Knows” – Dave Clark Five
    [new] “Everything’s Alright” – Newbeats
    [new] “Goin’ Out Of My Head” – Little Anthony And The Imperials
    “Have I The Right” – Honeycombs
    “I Don’t Want To See You Again” – Peter & Gordon
    “I Like It” – Gerry And The Pacemakers
    “I’m Crying” – Animals
    [new] “I’m Gonna Be Strong” – Gene Pitney
    [new] “I’m Into Something Good” – Herman’s Hermits
    “Is It True” – Brenda Lee
    “Last Kiss” – J. Frank Wilson
    “Leader Of The Pack” – Shangri-Las
    “Let It Be Me” – Betty Everett And Jerry Butler
    “Little Honda” – Hondells
    [new] “Mountain Of Love” – Johnny Rivers
    [new] “Mr. Lonely” – Bobby Vinton
    “Oh Pretty Woman” – Roy Orbison
    [new] “Reach Out For Me” – Dionne Warwick
    “Ride The Wild Surf” – Jan & Dean
    [new] “Right Or Wrong” – Ronnie Dove
    [new] “Ringo” – Lorne Greene
    [new] “Saturday Night At The Movies” – Drifters
    [new] “Sha La La” – Manfred Mann
    [new] “She’s Not There” – Zombies
    [new] “Sidewalk Surfin’” – Jan & Dean
    “The Door Is Still Open To My Heart” – Dean Martin
    [new] “The Jerk” – Larks
    [new] “Time Is On My Side” – Rolling Stones
    “Tobacco Road” – Nashville Teens
    [new] “Walking In The Rain” – Ronettes
    [new] “We’ll Sing In The Sunshine” – Gale Garnet
    “We’ll Sing In The Sunshine” – Gale Garnett
    “When I Grow Up” – Beach Boys
    “You Must Believe Me” – Impressions
    [new] “You Really Got Me” – Kinks

    [new] = New to the chart this week.

    You can listen to the full playlist on Youtube via this link.

    This month in history

    The annual Royal Variety Performance in the UK is a useful showcase of pop-culture of the time, and luckily recordings of many performances from the ’60s seem to exist. In 1964 the line-up included Tommy Cooper, The Bachelors, Millicent Martin, Kathy Kirby, Brenda Lee, Morecambe and Wise, Gracie Fields, Jimmy Tarbuck, Cliff Richard & The Shadows, and Cilla Black who you can see below.

    On November 10 the “Porsche 901” sports car, introduced at the Paris Auto Show the previous month, was rebranded as the Porsche 911 after 82 of the vehicles had been constructed. French automaker Peugeot had objected to the designation with the claim “that it held all the rights to all car model numbers with zero as the middle digit”, and the West German Porsche company “elected to switch rather than fight French logic.”

    And on the 29th on the first Sunday of Advent in the Roman Catholic Church, Catholics “walked into their parishes around the globe and, for the first time since the fall of the Roman Empire, participated in a mass that was given largely in their native tongue.” rather than the traditional Latin.

    What’d Sadie think?

    It’s three weeks at the top for “Baby Love” by the Supremes before “Leader Of The Pack” by the Shangri-Las takes it for a week.

    Loved ’em

    Particularly loving the psychedelic tinged first hit from the Zombies, with “She’s Not There” and the proto-punk of “The Kinks” with “You Really Got Me”.

    • “I’m Into Something Good” – Herman’s Hermits
    • “Big Man In Town” – Four Seasons
    • “Come See About Me” – Supremes
    • “Goin’ Out Of My Head” – Little Anthony And The Imperials
    • “Mountain Of Love” – Johnny Rivers
    • “Ringo” – Lorne Greene
    • “She’s Not There” – Zombies
    • “Time Is On My Side” – Rolling Stones
    • “You Really Got Me” – Kinks
    Liked ’em
    • “Ask Me” – Elvis Presley
    • “Dance Dance Dance” – Beach Boys
    • “Everything’s Alright” – Newbeats
    • “I’m Gonna Be Strong” – Gene Pitney
    • “Reach Out For Me” – Dionne Warwick
    • “Right Or Wrong” – Ronnie Dove
    • “Saturday Night At The Movies” – Drifters
    • “Sha La La” – Manfred Mann
    • “Sidewalk Surfin’” – Jan & Dean
    • “The Jerk” – Larks
    • “Walking In The Rain” – Ronettes
    • “We’ll Sing In The Sunshine” – Gale Garnet
    Leave ’em
    • “Mr. Lonely” – Bobby Vinton

    Now go listen to the full playlist on Youtube via this link.

  • It’s September, 1964

    It’s 55 years and 11 months before Sadie is born and a mere 12 years and 5 months before Thomas is… let’s hear what September, 1964 sounded like.

    Songs of the month

    “A Hard Day’s Night” – Beatles
    [new] “A Summer Song” – Chad Stuart And Jeremy Clyde
    “Ain’t She Sweet” – Beatles
    “And I Love Her” – Beatles
    [new] “Baby I Need Your Loving” – Four Tops
    “Because” – Dave Clark Five
    “Bread And Butter” – Newbeats
    “C’mon And Swim” – Bobby Freeman
    “Clinging Vine” – Bobby Vinton
    [new] “Clinging Vine” – Dean Martin
    [new] “Dancing In The Street” – Martha And The Vandellas
    [new] “Do Wah Diddy Diddy” – Manfred Mann
    “Everybody Loves Somebody” – Dean Martin
    [new] “From A Window” – Billy J. Kramer The Dakotas
    [new] “Funny” – Joe Hinton
    “G.T.O.” – Ronny And The Daytonas
    [new] “Haunted House” – Gene Simmons
    “How Do You Do It” – Gerry And The Pacemakers
    [new] “I’m On The Outside” – Little Anthony And The Imperials
    “In The Misty Moonlight” – Jerry Wallace
    “It Hurts To Be In Love” – Gene Pitney
    [new] “It’s All Over Now” – Rolling Stones
    “Just Be True” – Gene Chandler
    [new] “Last Kiss” – J. Frank Wilson
    [new] “Let It Be Me” – Betty Everett And Jerry Butler
    [new] “Matchbox” – Beatles
    “Maybe I Know” – Lesley Gore
    “Maybelline” – Johnny Rivers
    [new] “Oh Pretty Woman” – Roy Orbison
    [new] “Out Of Sight” – James Brown
    “People Say” – Dixie Cups
    [new] “Remember Walkin’ In The Sand” – Shangri-Las
    [new] “Rhythm” – Major Lance
    [new] “Save It For Me” – Four Seasons
    “Selfish One” – Jackie Ross
    “Such A Night” – Elvis Presley
    “The House Of The Rising Sun” – Animals
    “Under The Boardwalk” – Drifters
    “Walk Don’t Run ’64” – Ventures
    [new] “We’ll Sing In The Sunshine” – Gale Garnett
    [new] “When I Grow Up” – Beach Boys
    “Where Did Our Love Go” – Supremes
    “Wishin’ And Hopin’” – Dusty Springfield
    [new] “You Can Never Tell” – Chuck Berry
    [new] “You Must Believe Me” – Impressions

    [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 7th of September “The Daisy Ad”, a television commercial and one of the most controversial political advertisements in the history of American presidential campaigns, was aired for the first and last time. U.S. President Johnson had formally opened his campaign for election to a full term, and the one-minute spot appeared during a break from NBC’s showing of the 1951 film David and Bathsheba.

    An in more, lighter, classic advertising on September 14 Pop-Tarts were introduced by the Kellogg company, as pre-cooked pastries that were designed to be warmed up in a toaster, starting with a test marketing in grocery stores in Cleveland, Ohio.

    And in classic TV launches on the 19th Flipper”, a tv adventure series starring a dolphin and the family that has befriended him, began the first of three seasons on the NBC network. This was still being run in syndication when I was a boy in the ’80s.

    And on the 26th “Gilligan’s Island”, a situation comedy starring Bob Denver as one of seven people marooned on a deserted island, made its debut on CBS in the states, and would remain in rotation to this day.

    What’d Sadie think?

    Three weeks atop the chart for the classic “The House Of The Rising Sun” by the Animals before new to the chart, “Oh Pretty Woman” by Roy Orbison storms up.

    Loved ’em
    • “Baby I Need Your Loving” – Four Tops
    • “Dancing In The Street” – Martha And The Vandellas
    • “It’s All Over Now” – Rolling Stones
    • “Oh Pretty Woman” – Roy Orbison
    • “Out Of Sight” – James Brown
    • “You Can Never Tell” – Chuck Berry
    Liked ’em
    • “A Summer Song” – Chad Stuart And Jeremy Clyde
    • “Do Wah Diddy Diddy” – Manfred Mann
    • “From A Window” – Billy J. Kramer The Dakotas
    • “Funny” – Joe Hinton
    • “I’m On The Outside” – Little Anthony And The Imperials
    • “In The Misty Moonlight” – Four Seasons
    • “Last Kiss” – J. Frank Wilson
    • “Let It Be Me” – Betty Everett And Jerry Butler
    • “Matchbox” – Beatles
    • “Remember Walkin’ In The Sand” – Shangri-Las
    • “Rhythm” – Major Lance
    • “Save It For Me” – Four Seasons
    • “We’ll Sing In The Sunshine” – Gale Garnett
    • “When I Grow Up” – Beach Boys
    • “You Must Believe Me” – Impressions
    Leave ’em
    • “Haunted House” – Gene Simmons

    Now go listen to the full playlist on Youtube via this link.