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Well! This newsletter nearly didn’t make it to press… I somehow managed to deleted the “4xlife” directory on my desktop without noticing and emptied the virtual trash ‘n’ all. That folder holds all the data and code that generates the playlists and this blog post template. Luckily I had 95% of it backed up so it was only the work of an hour to recreate the rest. But, lesson learnt (for the umpteenth time in this life).

Anyway, all fixed so now we can hear from November, 1965 sounded like!

Songs of the month

“A Lover’s Concerto” – Toys
[new] “A Taste Of Honey” – Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass
“Ain’t That Peculiar” – Marvin Gaye
“But You’re Mine” – Sonny & Cher
“Do You Believe In Magic” – Lovin’ Spoonful
[new] “England Swings” – Roger Miller
“Everybody Loves A Clown” – Gary Lewis & The Playboys
“Everyone’s Gone To The Moon” – Jonathan King
“Get Off My Cloud” – Rolling Stones
“Hang On Sloopy” – Mccoys
[new] “Hang On Sloopy” – Ramsey Lewis Trio
“Hungry For Love” – San Remo Golden Strings
[new] “I Can Never Go Home Anymore” – Shangri-Las
[new] “I Found A Girl” – Jan & Dean
[new] “I Got You (I Feel Good)” – James Brown
[new] “I Hear A Symphony” – Supremes
“I Knew You When” – Billy Joe Royal
“I Want To” – Joe Tex
[new] “I Will” – Dean Martin
[new] “I’m A Man” – Yardbirds
“Just A Little Bit Better” – Herman’s Hermits
“Keep On Dancing” – Gentrys
[new] “Let Me Be” – Turtles
“Let’s Hang On” – Four Seasons
“Liar Liar” – Castaways
[new] “Make It Easy On Yourself” – Walker Brothers
“Make Me Your Baby” – Barbara Lewis
[new] “Make The World Go Away” – Eddy Arnold
[new] “May The Bird Of Paradise Fly Up Your Nose” – Jimmy Dickens
[new] “My Baby” – Temptations
[new] “My Girl Has Gone” – Miracles
[new] “Not The Lovin’ King” – “Dino Desi & Billy”
[new] “Over And Over” – Dave Clark Five
“Positively 4Th Street” – Bob Dylan
“Rescue Me” – Fontella Bass
[new] “Round Every Corner” – Petula Clark
[new] “Run Baby Run” – Newbeats
“Say Something Funny” – Patty Duke
[new] “Something About You” – Four Tops
“The ‘in’ Crowd” – Ramsey Lewis
“Treat Her Right” – Roy Head
[new] “Turn Turn Turn” – Byrds
[new] “Where Do You Go” – Cher
[new] “Where Have All The Flowers Gone” – Johnny Rivers
“Yesterday” – Beatles
“You’re The One” – Vogues
[new] “You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away” – Silkie

[new] = New to the chart this week.

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

This month in history

Choosing what to include in this history section is often a conundrum, there’s some quite significant stuff happening historically, but to be honest I tend towards the pop-culture and tech stuff that gives more a flavour of what it was like to live at the time. One thing I definitely avoid, but always note as I scroll through a month’s history, is the ongoing number of plane crashes!

On the 8th the soap opera “Days of Our Lives” was broadcast for the first time, on NBC television in the United States. Starring Macdonald Carey as “Dr. Thomas Horton, well-known and respected cardiologist and leading citizen in the small community of Salem”, the daytime serial would continue to this day through nearly 15 thousand episodes! I used to enjoy watching it when off sick from school – not a lot of other options in New Zealand back then.

On the 13th British theatre critic Kenneth Tynan broke a taboo by saying “fuck” on a live television broadcast, touching off a debate in the British press about morality, censorship and social mores. Tynan was a guest on the late night show on BBC-3 when moderator Robert Robinson asked him whether, if theatrical censorship were abolished, he would allow a play depicting sexual intercourse. Tynan replied, “Oh, I think so, certainly. I doubt if there are very many rational people in this world to whom the word ‘fuck’ is particularly diabolical or revolting or totally forbidden.” Telephone calls to BBC tied up its switchboards, four resolutions were introduced in the House of Commons condemning Tynan and the BBC, and most of the British press responded with outrage. Still a little 1950s-esque then, 1965!

Relevant to today’s economy, on thr 17th the term “stagflation” was used for the first time, by British MP Iain Macleod, as a portmanteau of the words “stagnation” and “inflation”. Macleod was speaking to the House of Commons about the British economy, noting that “We now have the worst of both worlds— not just inflation on the one side or stagnation on the other side, but both of them together. We have a sort of ‘stagflation’ problem.”

What’d Sadie think?

Two weeks at the top for “Get Off My Cloud” by the Rolling Stones then two for “I Hear A Symphony” by the Supremes.

Loved ’em

• “I Can Never Go Home Anymore” – Shangri-Las
• “I Got You (I Feel Good)” – James Brown
• “Let Me Be” – Turtles
• “I’m A Man” – Yardbirds
• “Something About You” – Four Tops
• “Turn Turn Turn” – Byrds

It’s looking, sounding and feeling very hippy ’60s as we get into the second half of the decade. Check this video of The Byrds performing their classic song in December, 1965:

I’ll admit total ignorance to the fact that most of the lyrics are are taken almost verbatim from the book of Ecclesiastes (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8) by the original song-writer Pete Seeger. He apparently composed “Turn! Turn! Turn!” in 1959 in response to a letter from his publisher,

“Pete,” it read, “can’t you write another song like ‘Goodnight, Irene’? I can’t sell or promote these protest songs.”

Now, there’s a protest!

Liked ’em

• “A Taste Of Honey” – Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass
• “England Swings” – Roger Miller
• “Hang On Sloopy” – Ramsey Lewis Trio
• “I Found A Girl” – Jan & Dean
• “I Hear A Symphony” – Supremes
• “I Will” – Dean Martin
• “Make It Easy On Yourself” – Walker Brothers
• “May The Bird Of Paradise Fly Up Your Nose” – Jimmy Dickens
• “My Baby” – Temptations
• “My Girl Has Gone” – Miracles
• “Not The Lovin’ King” – “Dino Desi & Billy”
• “Over And Over” – Dave Clark Five
• “Round Every Corner” – Petula Clark
• “Run Baby Run” – Newbeats
• “Where Do You Go” – Cher
• “You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away” – Silkie
  

Leave ’em

• “Make The World Go Away” – Eddy Arnold
• “Where Have All The Flowers Gone” – Johnny Rivers

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

Let’s get straight to the music and hear the sounds of October, 1965…

Songs of the month

[new] “A Lover’s Concerto” – The Toys
[new] “A Taste Of Honey” – Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass
“Agent Oo Soul” – Edwin Starr
[new] “Ain’t That Peculiar” – Marvin Gaye
“Baby Don’t Go” – Sonny & Cher
[new] “But You’re Mine” – Sonny & Cher
“Catch Us If You Can” – Dave Clark Five
“Do You Believe In Magic” – Lovin’ Spoonful
“Eve Of Destruction” – Barry Mcguire
[new] “Everybody Loves A Clown” – Gary Lewis & The Playboys
[new] “Everyone’s Gone To The Moon” – Jonathan King
[new] “Get Off My Cloud” – Rolling Stones
“Hang On Sloopy” – Mccoys
“Heart Full Of Soul” – Yardbirds
“Help” – Beatles
[new] “Home Of The Brave” – Jody Miller
[new] “Hungry For Love” – San Remo Golden Strings
“I Got You Babe” – Sonny & Cher
[new] “I Knew You When” – Billy Joe Royal
[new] “I Want To” – Joe Tex
“I’ll Make All Your Dreams Come True” – Ronnie Dove
“I’m Yours” – Elvis Presley
“It Ain’t Me Babe” – Turtles
[new] “Just A Little Bit Better” – Herman’s Hermits
[new] “Just You” – Sonny & Cher
[new] “Keep On Dancing” – Gentrys
“Laugh At Me” – Sonny
[new] “Let’s Hang On” – Four Seasons
“Liar Liar” – Castaways
“Like A Rolling Stone” – Bob Dylan
[new] “Make Me Your Baby” – Barbara Lewis
[new] “Mohair Sam” – Charlie Rich
[new] “Not The Lovin’ Kind” – “Dino Desi & Billy”
[new] “Positively 4Th Street” – Bob Dylan
[new] “Rescue Me” – Fontella Bass
“Ride Away” – Roy Orbison
[new] “Say Something Funny” – Patty Duke
“Some Enchanted Evening” – Jay & The Americans
“The ‘in’ Crowd” – Ramsey Lewis
[new] “The ‘in’ Crowd” – Ramsey Lewis Trio
“Treat Her Right” – Roy Head
“Unchained Melody” – Righteous Brothers
“We Gotta Get Out Of This Place” – Animals
“With These Hands” – Tom Jones
[new] “Yesterday” – Beatles
“You Were On My Mind” – We Five
[new] “You’re The One” – Vogues
“You’ve Got Your Troubles” – Fortunes

[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 16th at Longshoreman’s Hall in San Francisco, “A Tribute to Dr. Strange”, described as “the first psychedelic rock concert”,was performed, with the groups Jefferson Airplane, The Marbles, and The Great Society performing.

The on the 19th “Die Ermittlung (The Investigation)”, a play by Peter Weiss about the Frankfurt Auschwitz trials, premiered simultaneously in 14 cities in both West Germany and East Germany, as well as in London. Weiss’s drama was seen that evening in East Berlin and West Berlin, as well as the West German cities of Cologne, Essen, and Munich, and the East German cities of Cottbus, Dresden, Gera, Leuna, London, Meiningen, Neustrelitz, Potsdam, and Weimar.

And in the USA on the 25th burglars in downtown Syracuse, New York used a 20-millimetre cannon to get into a vault at Brink’s Inc., blasting a large hole through steel walls 2 feet thick. According to police, the thieves used mattresses to muffle the sound of the weapon during the early morning hours, and made off with $400,000 in loot.

What’d Sadie think?

“Hang On Sloopy” by the Mccoys hangs on for one more week at the top before The Beatles hit “Yesterday” dominates for the next four weeks.

Loved ’em

Sadie is very good at picking out lyrics these days. This week she was most intrigued by, “why is he saying everyone has gone to the moon?”. I’m not sure if my explanation about how no one had gone to the moon yet and the space programme was that interesting to her though.

• “Get Off My Cloud” – Rolling Stones
• “Yesterday” – Beatles
• “Let’s Hang On” – Four Seasons
• “Everyone’s Gone To The Moon” – Jonathan King
• “Positively 4Th Street” – Bob Dylan

The biggest song of the month is the chart topping “Yesterday” which was so different from other works by the Beatles that the band members vetoed the song’s release as a single in the United Kingdom (fearing its style would damage their reputation) so it didn’t chart in their home country. Amusing anecdote,

The entire melody came to McCartney in a dream one night in his room at the Wimpole Street home of his then-girlfriend Jane Asher and her family. Upon waking, he hurried to a piano and played the tune to avoid forgetting it. Initially concerned though that he had subconsciously plagiarised someone else’s work, as he put it: “For about a month I went round to people in the music business and asked them whether they had ever heard it before. Eventually it became like handing something in to the police. I thought if no one claimed it after a few weeks then I could have it.”

Liked ’em

• “A Taste Of Honey” – Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass
• “Ain’t That Peculiar” – Marvin Gaye
• “But You’re Mine” – Sonny & Cher
• “Everybody Loves A Clown” – Gary Lewis & The Playboys
• “Home Of The Brave” – Jody Miller
• “Hungry For Love” – San Remo Golden Strings
• “I Knew You When” – Billy Joe Royal
• “Just A Little Bit Better” – Herman’s Hermits
• “Keep On Dancing” – Gentrys
• “Make Me Your Baby” – Barbara Lewis
• “Mohair Sam” – Charlie Rich
• “A Lover’s Concerto” – The Toys
• “Not The Lovin’ Kind” – “Dino Desi & Billy”
• “Rescue Me” – Fontella Bass
• “Say Something Funny” – Patty Duke
• “The ‘in’ Crowd” – Ramsey Lewis Trio
• “You’re The One” – Vogues
  

Leave ’em

• “Just You” – Sonny & Cher

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

It’s Spring of 1965 as we tune into the charts…

Songs of the month

“Action” – Freddy Cannon
“Agent Oo Soul” – Edwin Starr
“All I Really Want To Do” – Cher
[new] “Baby Don’t Go” – Sonny & Cher
“Baby I’m Yours” – Barbara Lewis
“California Girls” – Beach Boys
“Catch Us If You Can” – Dave Clark Five
[new] “Do You Believe In Magic” – Lovin’ Spoonful
“Down In The Boondocks” – Billy Joe Royal
“Eve Of Destruction” – Barry Mcguire
“Hang On Sloopy” – Mccoys
“Heart Full Of Soul” – Yardbirds
“Help” – Beatles
“Hold Me Thrill Me Kiss Me” – Mel Carter
“Houston” – Dean Martin
“I Got You Babe” – Sonny & Cher
[new] “I’ll Make All Your Dreams Come True” – Ronnie Dove
[new] “I’m Yours” – Elvis Presley
“In The Midnight Hour” – Wilson Pickett
“It Ain’t Me Babe” – Turtles
“It’s The Same Old Song” – Four Tops
“Ju Ju Hand” – Sam The Sham & The Pharaohs
“Laugh At Me” – Sonny
[new] “Liar Liar” – Castaways
“Like A Rolling Stone” – Bob Dylan
“Looking Through The Eyes Of Love” – Gene Pitney
“Nothing But Heartaches” – Supremes
“Papa’s Got A Brand New Bag” – James Brown
[new] “Ride Away” – Roy Orbison
[new] “Sad Sad Girl” – Barbara Mason
“Save Your Heart For Me” – Gary Lewis & The Playboys
“Shake And Fingerpop” – Junior Walker & The All Stars
“Since I Lost My Baby” – Temptations
[new] “Some Enchanted Evening” – Jay & The Americans
[new] “Summer Nights” – Marianne Faithfull
“The ‘in’ Crowd” – Ramsey Lewis
“Tracks Of My Tears” – Miracles
[new] “Treat Her Right” – Roy Head
“Unchained Melody” – Righteous Brothers
[new] “We Gotta Get Out Of This Place” – Animals
[new] “We’ve Gotta Get Out Of This Place” – Animals
[new] “With These Hands” – Tom Jones
“You Were On My Mind” – We Five
[new] “You’ve Got Your Troubles” – Fortunes

[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 2nd, in parallels to the current US presidential race – former presidential candidate and U.S. Senator Barry Goldwater filed a lawsuit against Fact Magazine, seeking two million dollars for libel arising from an article questioning the candidate’s sanity. The front cover of the September–October 1964 issue of Fact magazine had the headline “1,889 psychiatrists say Goldwater is psychologically unfit to be President”, and in the article was the statement, “He consciously wants to destroy the world with atomic bombs. He is a mass murderer at heart. He is amoral and immoral. He is a dangerous lunatic.”. Goldwater would be awarded $75,000 by a federal jury in 1968.

Also this month, the NBC television network unveiled two new series, that were personal favourites of mine as a child, fantasy comedy “I Dream of Jeannie” and spy spoof “Get Smart”.

Also a great month for pop-culture on the other side of the atlantic, when on the 30th the classic British sci-fi show “Thunderbirds”, using the “Supermarionation” process created by Gerry Anderson and Sylvia Anderson, made its debut on ITV.

On September 5th the word “hippie” first appeared in print, in an article in the San Francisco Examiner by reporter Michael Fallon, who was writing a series about the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood. “Five untroubled young ‘hippies’,” Fallon began, “sprawled on floor mattresses and slouched in an armchair retrieved from a debris box, flipped cigaret ashes at a seatbelt in their Waller Street flat and pondered their next move.”

What’d Sadie think?

3 weeks at the top for The Beatles with “Help” – making it 4 in a row, before “Eve Of Destruction” by Barry Mcguire topples them.

Loved ’em

A smaller crop of new songs this week, and not the epic hall of classics from last week. Certainly The Animals, “We Gotta Get Out Of This Place” is the stand out. Apparently it was intended for the Righteous Brothers, for whom the song-writers had written the number one hit “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’” but ended up a hit for The Animals instead. It’s probably most well known as a song used to expressed feelings about Vietnam through the rest of the ’60s. But was also apparently popular at High School proms that year…

• “We Gotta Get Out Of This Place” – Animals
• “Liar Liar” – Castaways
• “Sad Sad Girl” – Barbara Mason
• “Summer Nights” – Marianne Faithfull
  

Liked ’em

• “Baby Don’t Go” – Sonny & Cher
• “Do You Believe In Magic” – Lovin’ Spoonful
• “I’ll Make All Your Dreams Come True” – Ronnie Dove
• “I’m Yours” – Elvis Presley
• “Ride Away” – Roy Orbison
• “Some Enchanted Evening” – Jay & The Americans
• “Treat Her Right” – Roy Head
• “With These Hands” – Tom Jones
• “You’ve Got Your Troubles” – Fortunes

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

We’re tuning our ears back to August, 1965 which is 55 years before Sadie is born…let’s hear a month of big hits!

Songs of the month

[new] “Action” – Freddy Cannon
[new] “Agent Oo Soul” – Edwin Starr
[new] “All I Really Want To Do” – Cher
“Baby I’m Yours” – Barbara Lewis
[new] “California Girls” – Beach Boys
[new] “Cara Mia” – Jay & The Ameircans
“Cara Mia” – Jay & The Americans
[new] “Catch Us If You Can” – Dave Clark Five
“Don’t Just Stand There” – Patty Duke
“Down In The Boondocks” – Billy Joe Royal
[new] “Eve Of Destruction” – Barry Mcguire
[new] “Hang On Sloopy” – Mccoys
[new] “Heart Full Of Soul” – Yardbirds
[new] “Help” – Beatles
“Hold Me Thrill Me Kiss Me” – Mel Carter
[new] “Houston” – Dean Martin
“I Can’t Help Myself” – Four Tops
“I Got You Babe” – Sonny & Cher
“I Like It Like That” – Dave Clark Five
“I Want Candy” – Strangeloves
[new] “I’m A Fool” – Dino Desi & Billy
“I’m Henry Viii I Am” – Herman’s Hermits
[new] “In The Midnight Hour” – Wilson Pickett
[new] “It Ain’t Me Babe” – Turtles
[new] “It’s The Same Old Song” – Four Tops
[new] “Ju Ju Hand” – Sam The Sham & The Pharaohs
[new] “Laugh At Me” – Sonny
[new] “Like A Rolling Stone” – Bob Dylan
[new] “Looking Through The Eyes Of Love” – Gene Pitney
[new] “Nothing But Heartaches” – Supremes
[new] “Papa’s Got A Brand New Bag” – James Brown
“Pretty Little Baby” – Marvin Gaye
[new] “Ride Your Pony” – Lee Dorsey
“Satisfaction” – Rolling Stones
“Save Your Heart For Me” – Gary Lewis & The Playboys
[new] “Save Your Love For Me” – Gary Lewis & The Playboys
“Seventh Son” – Johnny Rivers
[new] “Shake And Fingerpop” – Junior Walker & The All Stars
[new] “Since I Lost My Baby” – Temptations
“Sunshine Lollipops And Rainbows” – Lesley Gore
[new] “Sunshine Lollipops And Roses” – Lesley Gore
“Take Me Back” – Little Anthony & The Imperials
[new] “The ‘in’ Crowd” – Ramsey Lewis
“Theme From A Summer Place” – Lettermen
“To Know You Is To Love You” – Peter & Gordon
“Too Many Rivers” – Brenda Lee
[new] “Tracks Of My Tears” – Miracles
[new] “Unchained Melody” – Righteous Brothers
“What The World Needs Now Is Love” – Jackie Deshannon
“What’s New Pussycat” – Tom Jones
“Yes I’m Ready” – Barbara Mason
[new] “You Were On My Mind” – We Five
[new] “You’d Better Come Home” – Petula Clark

[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 15th The Beatles performed the first stadium concert in the history of rock, playing before 55,600 people at Shea Stadium in New York City. An author would note later, “It was to be the first of a large number” of concerts played at sports stadiums, “as both promoters and musicians discovered that huge sums of money could be made literally overnight.” The total ticket sales added up to $304,000 of which the Beatles received $160,000. After paying $30,000 to rent the stadium, $14,000 to the city of 130 police to be present, $11,000 for insurance, and other expenses, promoter Sid Bernstein made a profit of $7,000 (or about $69,000 in today’s money.)

And on the 23rd “Dr. Who and the Daleks”, the first theatrical film ever based on a television series, was released in the United Kingdom during the closing weeks of the school summer holiday. In order to qualify for the U-certificate for viewing by universal audiences (equivalent to the “G” rating in the United States), the filmmakers “rather than trying to establish continuity or canonicity, transformed the principal characters and their relationships”, casting Peter Cushing rather than TV’s William Hartnell as a more cheerful version of The Doctor and making the story more suitable for children.

The next day, a new word, “hypertext” (or “blue underlined words on a webpage” as they’d be called decades later), entered the English language at the annual conference of the Association for Computing Machinery in Pittsburgh, as Ted Nelson presented his paper, “A File Structure for the Complex, The Changing and the Indeterminate”, and described his vision of “a body of written or pictorial material interconnected in such a complex way that it could not conveniently be presented or represented on paper”, making it possible for a global publishing system that could “grow indefinitely, gradually including more and more of the world’s written knowledge”. Here’s a slightly weird video of the inventor in his pyjamas talking about how the CIA tried to recruit him…

What’d Sadie think?

A week at the top for novelty song, “I’m Henry Viii I Am” by Herman’s Hermits before Sonny & Cher classic “i got you babe” takes it for 3 weeks – with the Beatles, “Help” rounding out the month. Here’s another video from that first concert of the Beatles singing that tune.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VzBzhiHzHg

Loved ’em

I had to double-check this month, I was struggling to believe so many iconic songs came out in one month. But yep… Califonia Girls, Help, Like a Rolling Stone and Unchained Melody all came out in August, 1965!

• “California Girls” – Beach Boys
• “Catch Us If You Can” – Dave Clark Five
• “Hang On Sloopy” – Mccoys
• “Help” – Beatles
• “Like A Rolling Stone” – Bob Dylan
• “Papa’s Got A Brand New Bag” – James Brown
• “Tracks Of My Tears” – Miracles
• “Unchained Melody” – Righteous Brothers
  

Liked ’em

• “Action” – Freddy Cannon
• “Agent Oo Soul” – Edwin Starr
• “All I Really Want To Do” – Cher
• “Eve Of Destruction” – Barry Mcguire
• “Heart Full Of Soul” – Yardbirds
• “Houston” – Dean Martin
• “In The Midnight Hour” – Wilson Pickett
• “It Ain’t Me Babe” – Turtles
• “It’s The Same Old Song” – Four Tops
• “Laugh At Me” – Sonny
• “Looking Through The Eyes Of Love” – Gene Pitney
• “Nothing But Heartaches” – Supremes
• “Ride Your Pony” – Lee Dorsey
• “Shake And Fingerpop” – Junior Walker & The All Stars
• “Since I Lost My Baby” – Temptations
• “The ‘in’ Crowd” – Ramsey Lewis
• “You Were On My Mind” – We Five
• “You’d Better Come Home” – Petula Clark
  

Leave ’em

• “Cara Mia” – Jay & The Americans
• “I’m A Fool” – Dino Desi & Billy
• “Ju Ju Hand” – Sam The Sham & The Pharaohs
• “Sunshine Lollipops And Roses” – Lesley Gore

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

We’re halfway through 1965 in our journey through the charts of the past, let’s hear what they sound like…

Songs of the month

[new] “A Little Bit Of Heaven” – Ronnie Dove
“A Walk In The Black Forest” – Horst Jankowski
[new] “A World Of Our Own” – Seekers
[new] “Baby I’m Yours” – Barbara Lewis
“Back In My Arms Again” – Supremes
“Before And After” – Chad & Jeremy
“Cara Mia” – Jay & The Americans
“Catch The Wind” – Donovan
“Crying In The Chapel” – Elvis Presley
[new] “Don’t Just Stand There” – Patty Duke
[new] “Down In The Boondocks” – Billy Joe Royal
[new] “Easy Question” – Elvis Presley
“For Your Love” – Yardbirds
[new] “Girl Come Running” – Four Seasons
“Give Us Your Blessings” – Shangri-Las
“Help Me Rhonda” – Beach Boys
[new] “Here Comes The Night” – Them
[new] “Hold Me Thrill Me Kiss Me” – Mel Carter
“Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte” – Patti Page
“I Can’t Help Myself” – Four Tops
[new] “I Got You Babe” – Sonny & Cher
[new] “I Like It Like That” – Dave Clark Five
[new] “I Want Candy” – Strangeloves
[new] “I’m A Fool” – “Dino Desi & Billy”
[new] “I’m Henry The Viii I Am” – Herman’s Hermits
[new] “I’m Henry Viii I Am” – Herman’s Hermits
“I’ve Been Loving You Too Long” – Otis Redding
“Last Chance To Turn Around” – Gene Pitney
“Laurie” – Dickey Lee
[new] “Marie” – Bachelors
“Mr. Tambourine Man” – Byrds
“Oo Wee Baby I Love You” – Fred Hughes
[new] “Pretty Little Baby” – Marvin Gaye
“Satisfaction” – Rolling Stones
[new] “Save Your Heart For Me” – Gary Lewis & The Playboys
[new] “Set Me Free” – Kinks
“Seventh Son” – Johnny Rivers
“Shakin’ All Over” – Guess Who
[new] “Sitting In The Park” – Billy Stewart
[new] “Sunshine Lollipops And Rainbows” – Lesley Gore
[new] “Take Me Back” – Little Anthony & The Imperials
[new] “Theme From A Summer Place” – Lettermen
[new] “To Know You Is To Love You” – Peter & Gordon
[new] “Tonight’s The Night” – Solomon Burke
[new] “Too Many Rivers” – Brenda Lee
“What The World Needs Now Is Love” – Jackie Deshannon
[new] “What’s New Pussycat” – Tom Jones
“Wonderful World” – Herman’s Hermits
“Wooly Bully” – Sam The Sham & The Pharaohs
“Yes I’m Ready” – Barbara Mason
[new] “You Really Know How To Hurt A Guy” – Jan & Dean
“You Turn Me On” – Ian Whitcomb

[new] = New to the chart this week.

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

This month in history

On July 9th the flashcube was introduced by the American camera manufacturer Kodak at its factory in Rochester, New York, as an accessory that would allow flash photography on its small Instamatic cameras for indoor picture taking. The disposable flashcube allowed an amateur photographer to take four flash images in rapid succession without having to change the bulb… which makes no sense to anyone under 40? I do remember flashcubes from my childhood – ridiculous to think now that the ability to flashfill was an expensive and limited ability. Of course now its free, it pains me to see people use flash completely unnecessarily these days. This ad for them is a great slice of ’60s.

On the 25th Bob Dylan upset many of his fans at the Newport Folk Festival purists by “going electric” in a live performance, but opened the era of folk rock, with the themes of folk music accompanied by the electric guitar. However, an author who was present at the festival would write later that it was a myth that Dylan had been booed as he played.

Then to close the month, on the 31st, with a nationwide ban going into effect on August 1, the very last cigarette commercial on British television was broadcast. The final telly ad was for Rothmans cigarettes. This ’64 ad may not have been that, but its another great slice of the ’60s.

What’d Sadie think?

A week at the top for “I Can’t Help Myself” by the Four Tops before four weeks at the top for a Sadie sing-a-long favourite, “Satisfaction” by these new Rolling Stones chaps.

Loved ’em

A classic from Tom Jones, “What’s New Pussycat?” in the charts this months. An excuse to watch the eponymous film’s trailer. I’m quite sure I’ve seen everything Woody Allen has done, except for this and I’m not sure why.

• “Don’t Just Stand There” – Patty Duke
• “Down In The Boondocks” – Billy Joe Royal
• “I Got You Babe” – Sonny & Cher
• “I Want Candy” – Strangeloves
• “Pretty Little Baby” – Marvin Gaye
• “Sitting In The Park” – Billy Stewart
• “To Know You Is To Love You” – Peter & Gordon
• “Tonight’s The Night” – Solomon Burke
• “Too Many Rivers” – Brenda Lee
• “What’s New Pussycat” – Tom Jones
  
  

Liked ’em

• “A Little Bit Of Heaven” – Ronnie Dove
• “A World Of Our Own” – Seekers
• “Baby I’m Yours” – Barbara Lewis
• “Easy Question” – Elvis Presley
• “Girl Come Running” – Four Seasons
• “Here Comes The Night” – Them
• “Hold Me Thrill Me Kiss Me” – Mel Carter
• “I Like It Like That” – Dave Clark Five
• “I’m A Fool” – “Dino Desi & Billy”
• “I’m Henry Viii I Am” – Herman’s Hermits
• “Marie” – Bachelors
• “Save Your Heart For Me” – Gary Lewis & The Playboys
• “Set Me Free” – Kinks
• “Take Me Back” – Little Anthony & The Imperials
• “Theme From A Summer Place” – Lettermen

Leave ’em

• “Sunshine Lollipops And Rainbows” – Lesley Gore
• “You Really Know How To Hurt A Guy” – Jan & Dean

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

It’s starting to feel like Autumn here in 2024, just as it’s starting to feel like the ’60s are really here this month in our journey back in time…

Songs of the month

[new] “A Walk In The Black Forest” – Horst Jankowski
“Baby The Rain Must Fall” – Glenn Yarbrough
“Back In My Arms Again” – Supremes
[new] “Before And After” – Chad & Jeremy
[new] “Cara Mia” – Jay & The Americans
“Cast Your Fate To The Wind” – Sounds Orchestral
[new] “Catch The Wind” – Donovan
[new] “Concrete And Clay” – Unit Four Plus Two
“Count Me In” – Gary Lewis & The Playboys
“Crying In The Chapel” – Elvis Presley
“Do The Freddie” – Freddie & The Dreamers
“Engine Engine #9” – Roger Miller
[new] “For Your Love” – Yardbirds
[new] “Give Us Your Blessings” – Shangri-Las
“Help Me Rhonda” – Beach Boys
[new] “Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte” – Patti Page
“I Can’t Help Myself” – Four Tops
“I’ll Never Find Another You” – Seekers
[new] “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long” – Otis Redding
“It’s Not Unusual” – Tom Jones
“Just A Little” – Beau Brummels
“Just Once In My Life” – Righteous Brothers
“Last Chance To Turn Around” – Gene Pitney
[new] “Laurie” – Dickey Lee
“Lonely” – Bobby Vinton
[new] “Mr. Tambourine Man” – Byrds
“Mrs. Brown You’ve Got A Lovely Daughter” – Herman’s Hermits
“Nothing Can Stop Me” – Gene Chandler
[new] “Oo Wee Baby I Love You” – Fred Hughes
“Queen Of The House” – Jody Miller
“Reelin’ And Rockin’” – Dave Clark Five
[new] “Satisfaction” – Rolling Stones
[new] “Seventh Son” – Johnny Rivers
[new] “Shakin’ All Over” – Guess Who
“She’s About A Mover” – Sir Douglas Quintet
“Silhouettes” – Herman’s Hermits
“Ticket To Ride” – Beatles
“True Love Ways” – Peter & Gordon
[new] “Voodoo Woman” – Bobby Goldsboro
[new] “What In The World’s Come Over You” – Jackie Deshannon
[new] “What The World Needs Now Is Love” – Jackie Deshannon
[new] “Wonderful World” – Herman’s Hermits
“Wooly Bully” – Sam The Sham & The Pharaohs
[new] “Yes I’m Ready” – Barbara Mason
[new] “You Turn Me On” – Ian Whitcomb
“You Were Made For Me” – Freddie & The Dreamers
[new] “You Were Only Fooling” – Vic Damone

[new] = New to the chart this week.

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

This month in history

In “events from the past I’d have loved to attend” history, on the 11th Allen Ginsberg, William S. Burroughs, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Harry Fainlight, Gregory Corso, and Andrei Voznesensky were among the readers at the International Poetry Incarnation (billed as “Poets of the World, Poets of Our Time”).

Then the next day The Beatles were appointed Members of the British Empire (MBE) in the Queen’s Birthday Honours. The honour was among the 1,800 nominations made by Prime Minister Harold Wilson. Since it was unusual for popular musicians to be appointed as MBEs, a number of previous recipients complained and protested: MP Hector Dupuis commented, “British royalty has put me on the same level as a bunch of vulgar numbskulls”. Ouch. Big respect to this AP story from the time, entitled “M.B.Eatles”.

And on the 30th, New York became the first state in the United States to require apartment building landlords to provide a peephole for all entrance doors for apartment units. The bill, prompted by an increase in crime and signed by Governor Nelson Rockefeller, gave landlords six months to make the necessary installation so that tenants could see outside without opening the door. No video on peepholes specifically, but some great footage of life in New York in 1965…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DO-HWN3CW24

What’d Sadie think?

Just a week a piece at the top of the hit parade for “Help Me Rhonda” by the Beach Boys, “Back In My Arms Again” by the Supremes, “I Can’t Help Myself” by the Four Tops , and the chart newcomer “Mr. Tambourine Man” by the Byrds.

Loved ’em

It’s starting to sound like how I think of the ’60s with the likes of folk rock classics, “Mr. Tambourine Man” by the Byrds hitting the charts.

• “Catch The Wind” – Donovan
• “For Your Love” – Yardbirds
• “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long” – Otis Redding
• “Mr. Tambourine Man” – Byrds
• “Satisfaction” – Rolling Stones
• “Shakin’ All Over” – Guess Who
• “What In The World’s Come Over You” – Jackie Deshannon

Liked ’em

• “A Walk In The Black Forest” – Horst Jankowski
• “Before And After” – Chad & Jeremy
• “Cara Mia” – Jay & The Americans
• “Concrete And Clay” – Unit Four Plus Two
• “Give Us Your Blessings” – Shangri-Las
• “Laurie” – Dickey Lee
• “Oo Wee Baby I Love You” – Fred Hughes
• “Seventh Son” – Johnny Rivers
• “Voodoo Woman” – Bobby Goldsboro
• “Wonderful World” – Herman’s Hermits
• “Yes I’m Ready” – Barbara Mason
• “You Turn Me On” – Ian Whitcomb
• “You Were Only Fooling” – Vic Damone

Leave ’em

• “Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte” – Patti Page

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