Category: Monthly

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.

It’s 55 years and 3 months before Sadie is born and 11 years and 9 months before Thomas is…let’s hear what May, 1965 sounds like!

Songs of the month

[new] “Baby The Rain Must Fall” – Glenn Yarbrough
[new] “Back In My Arms Again” – Supremes
“Bumble Bee” – Searchers
“Can’t You Hear My Heartbeat” – Herman’s Hermits
“Cast Your Fate To The Wind” – Sounds Orchestral
“Count Me In” – Gary Lewis & The Playboys
[new] “Crying In The Chapel” – Elvis Presley
[new] “Do The Freddie” – Freddie & The Dreamers
[new] “Dream On Little Dreamer” – Perry Como
[new] “Engine Engine #9” – Roger Miller
“Game Of Love” – Wayne Fontana & The Mindbenders
“Go Now” – Moody Blues
“Got To Get You Off My Mind” – Solomon Burke
[new] “Help Me Rhonda” – Beach Boys
[new] “I Can’t Help Myself” – Four Tops
[new] “I Do Love You” – Billy Stewart
“I Know A Place” – Petula Clark
“I’ll Be Doggone” – Marvin Gaye
“I’ll Never Find Another You” – Seekers
“I’m Telling You Now” – Freddie & The Dreamers
[new] “Iko Iko” – Dixie Cups
[new] “It’s Gonna Be Alright” – Gerry & The Pacemakers
“It’s Growing” – Temptations
[new] “It’s Not Unusual” – Tom Jones
[new] “Just A Little” – Beau Brummels
“Just Once In My Life” – Righteous Brothers
“Land Of 1000 Dances” – Cannibal & The Headhunters
[new] “Last Chance To Turn Around” – Gene Pitney
[new] “Lonely” – Bobby Vinton
“Mrs. Brown You’ve Got A Lovely Daughter” – Herman’s Hermits
[new] “Nothing Can Stop Me” – Gene Chandler
“Nowhere To Run” – Martha & The Vandellas
“One Kiss For Old Time’s Sake” – Ronnie Dove
“Ooo Baby Baby” – Miracles
[new] “Queen Of The House” – Jody Miller
[new] “Reelin’ And Rockin’” – Dave Clark Five
[new] “She’s About A Mover” – Sir Douglas Quintet
“Shotgun” – Junior Walker & The All Stars
“Silhouettes” – Herman’s Hermits
“Stop In The Name Of Love” – Supremes
“The Clapping Song” – Shirley Ellis
“The Last Time” – Rolling Stones
“The Race Is On” – Jack Jones
[new] “Ticket To Ride” – Beatles
“Tired Of Waiting For You” – Kinks
[new] “True Love Ways” – Peter & Gordon
[new] “We’re Gonna Make It” – Little Milton
[new] “Woman’s Got Soul” – Impressions
[new] “Wooly Bully” – Sam The Sham & The Pharaohs
[new] “You Were Made For Me” – Freddie & The Dreamers

[new] = New to the chart this week.

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

This month in history

On May 10th Warren Buffett, still a fairly obscure investor from Omaha, Nebraska and a recent millionaire, completed three years of purchasing stock in the Berkshire Hathaway Company, a financially ailing textile manufacturer, achieved a controlling interest, and fired the former president, Seabury Stanton. He would make this the lynchpin of an empire that would make him one of the richest people in the world.

On May 22nd the new sport of skateboarding received its first wide recognition as the first “Annual National Skateboard Championships” were conducted, in Anaheim, California.

And on the 24th the United Kingdom officially adopted the metric system of weights and measures, to be phased in over a ten-year period. Douglas Jay, the President of the Board of Trade, made the announcement to the press, and said that it would aid British companies trading with the rest of Europe. It seemed to actually take the full decade as this video from the English high street in 1973 shows…

What’d Sadie think?

Three weeks at the top for a personal fave, “Mrs. Brown You’ve Got A Lovely Daughter” by Herman’s Hermits before two classics get a week each – “Ticket To Ride” by the Beatles then “Help Me Rhonda” by the Beach Boys. Only a song like that could push a Beatles classic off the charts after only a week.

Loved ’em

Every couple of weeks there’s a song that makes me go, “wait, is this meant to be on the playlist?”. Generally because i’m sure it wasn’t released this early. Sometimes the answer is “no!” because the script that makes the playlists does sometimes get it wrong. But in this case yes, “It’s Not Unusual” by Tom Jones is from 1965. I guess I just picture him as classic seventies swinger.

“Queen Of The House” by Jody Miller is silly, but makes it here because its silly fun – it’s an answer song to the more timeless, “King of the Road”. I say the latter is more timeless but “Queen of the House” did alright in its own right, leading Miller to become the second female artist to win a country music Grammy award.

• “Help Me Rhonda” – Beach Boys
• “I Can’t Help Myself” – Four Tops
• “Iko Iko” – Dixie Cups
• “It’s Not Unusual” – Tom Jones
• “Last Chance To Turn Around” – Gene Pitney
• “Lonely” – Bobby Vinton
• “Queen Of The House” – Jody Miller
• “Ticket To Ride” – Beatles

Liked ’em

• “Baby The Rain Must Fall” – Glenn Yarbrough
• “Back In My Arms Again” – Supremes
• “Crying In The Chapel” – Elvis Presley
• “Do The Freddie” – Freddie & The Dreamers
• “Dream On Little Dreamer” – Perry Como
• “I Do Love You” – Billy Stewart
• “It’s Gonna Be Alright” – Gerry & The Pacemakers
• “Just A Little” – Beau Brummels
• “Nothing Can Stop Me” – Gene Chandler
• “Reelin’ And Rockin’” – Dave Clark Five
• “She’s About A Mover” – Sir Douglas Quintet
• “We’re Gonna Make It” – Little Milton
• “Woman’s Got Soul” – Impressions
• “You Were Made For Me” – Freddie & The Dreamers

Leave ’em

• “Engine Engine #9” – Roger Miller
• “True Love Ways” – Peter & Gordon
• “Wooly Bully” – Sam The Sham & The Pharaohs

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

As we hit March, 2024 and it starts to feel a little Autumnal here in Auckland, we turn our ears back to the sounds of April, 1965…

Songs of the month

[new] “Baby The Rain Will Fall” – Glenn Yarbrough
[new] “Bumble Bee” – Searchers
“Can’t You Hear My Heartbeat” – Herman’s Hermits
[new] “Cast Your Fate To The Wind” – Sounds Orchestral
[new] “Come And Stay With Me” – Marianne Faithfull
[new] “Count Me In” – Gary Lewis & The Playboys
“Do The Clam” – Elvis Presley
“Do You Wanna Dance” – Beach Boys
“Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood” – Animals
“Eight Days A Week” – Beatles
“Ferry Cross The Mersey” – Gerry & The Pacemakers
[new] “Game Of Love” – Wayne Fontana & The Mindbenders
“Go Now” – Moody Blues
“Goldfinger” – Shirley Bassey
[new] “Got To Get You Off My Mind” – Solomon Burke
[new] “I Know A Place” – Petula Clark
[new] “I’ll Be Doggone” – Marvin Gaye
[new] “I’ll Never Find Another You” – Seekers
“I’m Telling You Now” – Freddie & The Dreamers
“If I Loved You” – Chad & Jeremy
[new] “It’s Growing” – Temptations
[new] “Just Once In My Life” – Righteous Brothers
“King Of The Road” – Roger Miller
[new] “Land Of 1000 Dances” – Cannibal & The Headhunters
“Little Things” – Bobby Goldsboro
“Long Lonely Nights” – Bobby Vinton
[new] “Mrs. Brown You’ve Got A Lovely Daughter” – Herman’s Hermits
“My Girl” – Temptations
“Nowhere To Run” – Martha & The Vandellas
[new] “Nowhere To Run” – Supremes
[new] “One Kiss For Old Time’s Sake” – Ronnie Dove
[new] “Ooo Baby Baby” – Miracles
“People Get Ready” – Impressions
“Red Roses For A Blue Lady” – Bert Kaempfert
“Red Roses For A Blue Lady” – Vic Dana
[new] “Red Roses For A Blue Lady” – Wayne Newton
“Send Me The Pillow You Dream On” – Dean Martin
“Shotgun” – Junior Walker & The All Stars
[new] “Silhouettes” – Herman’s Hermits
“Stop In The Name Of Love” – Supremes
“The Birds And The Bees” – Jewel Akens
[new] “The Clapping Song” – Shirley Ellis
[new] “The Last Time” – Rolling Stones
“The Race Is On” – Jack Jones
“This Diamond Ring” – Gary Lewis & The Playboys
“Tired Of Waiting For You” – Kinks
[new] “When I’m Gone” – Brenda Holloway
“Yeh Yeh” – Georgie Fame

[new] = New to the chart this week.

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

This month in history

On April 5th at the 37th Academy Awards, “My Fair Lady” won eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director.

On the 16th in Huntsville, Alabama, scientists made the first test of the most powerful rocket engine system ever developed, the powerful first stage of the three-stage Saturn rocket, composed of five engines that could combine for 7.5 million pounds of thrust.

“The thunderous sound of the first static test of this stage,” an author would later note, “brought home to many observers that the Kennedy goal” (of sending a man to the Moon before the end of the decade) “was within technological grasp.”

Then on the 19th what would become known as “Moore’s Law”, that computing power would double every two years, was first suggested by Gordon Moore in an article in Electronics magazine, titled “Cramming More Components onto Integrated Circuits”. “The complexity for minimum component costs has increased at a rate of roughly a factor of two per year,” he wrote. Within three years, Moore would become co-founder of the transistor and microprocessor manufacturer Intel and his “law” would hold for decades.

What’d Sadie think?

A week at the top for “Stop In The Name Of Love” by the Supremes before a couple for Freddie & The Dreamers with “I’m Telling You Now”, with the month rounded out by the “Game Of Love” by Wayne Fontana & The Mindbenders.

Loved ’em

• “Come And Stay With Me” – Marianne Faithfull
• “Game Of Love” – Wayne Fontana & The Mindbenders
• “I’ll Be Doggone” – Marvin Gaye
• “I’ll Never Find Another You” – Seekers
• “Mrs. Brown You’ve Got A Lovely Daughter” – Herman’s Hermits
• “Nowhere To Run” – Supremes
• “The Clapping Song” – Shirley Ellis

Liked ’em

• “Baby The Rain Will Fall” – Glenn Yarbrough
• “Bumble Bee” – Searchers
• “Cast Your Fate To The Wind” – Sounds Orchestral
• “Count Me In” – Gary Lewis & The Playboys
• “Got To Get You Off My Mind” – Solomon Burke
• “I Know A Place” – Petula Clark
• “It’s Growing” – Temptations
• “Just Once In My Life” – Righteous Brothers
• “Land Of 1000 Dances” – Cannibal & The Headhunters
• “One Kiss For Old Time’s Sake” – Ronnie Dove
• “Ooo Baby Baby” – Miracles
• “Red Roses For A Blue Lady” – Wayne Newton
• “Silhouettes” – Herman’s Hermits
• “The Last Time” – Rolling Stones
• “When I’m Gone” – Brenda Holloway

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