Closing the door on '64.
20 - "Steal Away," Jimmy Hughes
One of the first major hits to come out of the future Southern soul hotbed of Muscle Shoals, Alabama was this ballad asking his lover to sneak out of her parents' house and come away with him. All the grit and passion that would come to be associated with that town are present here. This song's success allowed Hughes to quit his day job at a rubber factory, but by 1970, he tired of the music industry and took a job making parts for nuclear power plants, only singing in church on Sundays. Some people would just rather live a "normal" life. Nothing wrong with that.
19 - "Farmer John," The Premiers
Formed by brothers Lawrence and John Perez and two of their San Gabriel, California neighbors, this "garage rock" band hit the charts with this cover of a song by 50s L.A. duo Don and Dewey. The song is an ode to the daughter of the title agriculturalist, but for some reason, the record opens with a request for the whereabouts of one "Kosher Pickle Harry." No idea what that's about. Oh, and though it was purported to have been recorded live in a club, it was actually laid down in a studio with girls from a local car club providing the crowd noise. Anyway, cool number, and it's available on the classic, recently reissued 1972 garage compilation Nuggets, which is well worth picking up, or downloading, or whatever you kids do these days.
18 - "Try It Baby," Marvin Gaye
Mighty Marvin's seventh pop Top 40 was this ballad on which he asks a formerly poor lady who now runs in wealthy, popular circles to drop her fancy accoutrements and return back to the other side of the tracks for a bit, where she'll learn that "nobody loves you but me." I don't know if I were in such a position I would do so, but being Marvin, he makes a compelling case.
17 - "(You Don't Know) How Glad I Am," Nancy Wilson
This is not the future Heart guitarist (who would have been just 10 at the time), but rather one of the great female jazz vocalists of the second half of the 20th century. Her first, and biggest, pop hit was this lush ballad about the limitnessless of her love. I love the way she sings some of the actual lyrics as if she were scatting, and to my ears her voice comes off as a smokier version of Blossom Dearie, whom I adore. Fantastic.
16 - "Good Times," Sam Cooke
One of his last hits before his death in December of this year, this is a stylish, laid back R&B song about enjoying oneself with friends at night. Perfect for chilling on a summer night.
15 - "I Wanna Love Him So Bad," The Jelly Beans
Another vocal group on Lieber and Stoller's Red Bird label, this four woman, one man New Jersey quintet's only major hit was this bit of Brill Building pop-soul about jonesing for a guy named Jim. Just good, solid pop of the era.
14 - "Keep On Pushing," The Impressions
This Chicago R&B group, who at the time were led by soul legend Curtis Mayfield, earned their second pop Top Ten with this funky ode to persistence that became an anthem of the civil rights movement. Curtis' voice is always soothing to the soul, and the song really does make you believe you can take on the world. Brilliant.
13 - "Can't You See That She's Mine," The Dave Clark Five
These Londoners, named for their drummer/manager/chief songwriter, were the second of the "British Invasion" bands to appear on Ed Sullivan's stage, and they went on to appear on that "really big shew" more than any of their peers. From 1964 to 1967, they scored 17 U.S. Top 40s, the fouth of which was this upbeat declaration of love. Even though they weren't from Liverpool, I would argue that this is the most Beatle-sounding non-Beatle song on this chart. And that's fine with me.
12 - "Nobody I Know," Peter and Gordon
London born ex-child actor Peter Asher and Scotland native Gordon Waller met while attending school, began playing music in coffee bars, and then scored a recording contract. Earlier in 1964, they had topped the pops on both sides of the Atlantic with "A World Without Love," a song written by the boyfriend of Asher's sister Jane, Paul McCartney. Their second hit was another McCartney compostion, a sprightly bit of folk-pop about how much a guy can love a girl. Not as good as their first hit, but nice. After the duo split in 1968, Asher had a successful career behind the mixing boards, producing records for artists including James Taylor, Linda Ronstadt, and 10,000 Maniacs. Waller, meanwhile, started a music publishing company after a brief solo career. The two would reunite a few times in the 2000s before Gordon's death in 2009.e
11 - "Under the Boardwalk," The Drifters
This classic vocal group, which dates back to 1953 and has featured more than 60 different vocalists over the years, peaked in popularity between 1959 and 1964, a period during which they hit the pop Top 40 16 times. Their fifth and final Top Ten was this timeless number about cuddling up "on a blanket with my baby" beneath a beachfront walkway, with the sounds of happy revellers and the smell of food vendors' wares in the background. What can you say? It's great, and as long as people are playing recorded music, someone's going to put this on somewhere.
Oh boy, it's swell to say Good Morning Top Ten.
10 - "The Girl From Ipanema," Stan Getz and Astrud Gilberto
New York saxman Getz had been a big name in jazz since the 40s when he began dabbling in the Brazilian jazz/samba hybrid known as bossa nova in the early 60s. In 1962, his recording of "Desafinado," a song by bossa nova star Antonio Carlos Jobim, hit the Top Twenty. Two years later, Getz recorded this Jobim composition with the man himself on piano, Joao Gilberto on guitar, and Gilberto's wife Astrud on vocals. The result was this gently swaying ode to a lady from a certain part of Rio who, shall we say, turns heads. It's become a bit of a cliche, and the song is reportedly the second most recorded pop number of all time (behind "Yesterday"), but Gilberto's languid vocal strikes the right effortlessly sexy tone, and the musicianship is impossible to argue with. Some songs get played a lot simply because they're that good.
9 - "Memphis," Johnny Rivers
A year after Lonnie Mack took an instrumental take on this Chuck Berry song about trying to get in touch with a girl named Marie by way of telephone into the Top Ten, Louisianan Rivers scored his first major hit with a sung version, recorded live at the then-new Los Angeles nightclub the Whisky a Go Go. Quite honestly, a lot of Rivers' stuff leaves me cold, but this one I have a lot of time for. Oh yes, and if you've never listened to this closely enough to get the twist at the end....pay attention next time.
8 - "I Get Around," The Beach Boys
The A-side of "Don't Worry Baby," this ever-popular celebration of cars, girls, and "makin' real good bread," was the group's first #1. Nothing to say except "Wah wa oo."
7 - "Dang Me," Roger Miller
Oklahoman Miller had been a successful Nashville songwriter for a decade, but he had had only minimal recording success until he recorded this jaunty number about a charmingly incorrigible man who goes out and parties while his wife stays home with their baby. It topped the country chart, reached the pop Top Ten, and launched Miller as a major star. I love this one, and a lot of his other stuff. He did a lot of silly tunes, including this one, but the man was a genuine genius, and one of my favorite country singers of all time.
6 - "Wishin' and Hopin'," Dusty Springfield
Born Mary O'Brien in London in 1939, Springfield sang in a couple groups before scoring a hit on her own in 1963 with "I Only Want to Be With You." Her first American Top Ten came with this version of a Bacharach/David composition originally recorded by Dionne Warwick. It's a song about how you can't get the one you love just by longing really hard. You need to take action. Good advice, but not always easlily acted upon. As for the song, it's just great, and Dusty shows off one of the great sets of pipes in all of pop history.
5 - "Where Did Our Love Go," The Supremes
The first of these ladies' 12 Number Ones was this lament over a lost love that leaves a "burning, yearning feeling inside me." For some reason "snappy" is the adjective that this is bringing to mind right now. And I mean that in a wonderful way.
4 - "Everybody Loves Somebody," Dean Martin
Born Dino Crocetti in Steubenville, Ohio in 1917, Martin boxed and worked in illegal casinos before catching on as a nightclub singer. He did well, but his career didn't really take off until he met a comic named Jerry Lewis and they worked up an act that made them America's hottest nightclub attraction, and eventually led them to Hollywood, where they made a string of successful films. While teaming with Lewis on screen, Martin's recording career began to flourish, and he picked up a number of hits, including "That's Amore," and the #1 "Memories are Made of This." But as rock began to pick up steam in the mid-50s, Martin's chart hits came fewer and farther between. Also around this time, Dean's partnership with Jerry ended. But he was still successful, establishing himself as a movie star in his own right, and performing frequently in Las Vegas with Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis, Jr., and the rest of what came to be known as "The Rat Pack." But then, out of seemingly nowhere, during the height of the British Invasion, Martin's recording of an obscure 1947 song about finding love at long last went all the way to #1. Which certainly must have pleased ol' Dino to no end, given that he hadn't been exactly shy about his disdain for these foreign newcomers (two moths earlier, he had called The Rolling Stones "singing frauds" on national TV after their performance on a variety show he was hosting). But I gotta say, I'm a fan of this song's smooth, old school charms, and I'm an even bigger fan of Dean. The man just radiated cool..Sinatra's great and all, but it always seemed like he was trying to impress everyone. Dean, however, just did his thing, and the fact that you were going to be impressed was a given.
3 - "The Little Old Lady From Pasadena," Jan and Dean
The surf duo's second and last Top Five was this ode to a sweet-looking grandmother who leads a double life as the speed-demon driver of "a brand new, shiny red Super Stock Dodge." A silly pleausre that can't help but bring a smile to your face.
2 - "Rag Doll," The Four Seasons
The fourth and final #1 of the decade for Frankie Valli and his Jersey Boy friends was this tune about having a secret crush on a girl whose been mocked all her life for her poverty. One of their better efforts, and it shows them to be kind of the bridge between doo-wop and the "beat groups."
And at #1 49 years ago was...
1 - "A Hard Day's Night," The Beatles
It's only right that The Fab Four are on top during our visit to '64, isn't it. Anyway, even though they'd only been famous for a short time, the group was offered the chance to do a movie in the spring of 1964. The resulting film was a massive hit and a movie that is held in high regard by critics to this day, and the title song, a driving rocker about coming home to an appreciative companion after a long workday, became the band's fifth American #1 of 1964 alone. All I can say is, from that distinctive opening chord to the closing fadeout, this is pure pop perfection, something these guys would achieve so often it boggles the mind.
Next up: a bit of a break for me, then on to 1965.
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