Nothing wrong with Bobby Vinton. He wasn't a rock & roller, but he never claimed to be. Nor did Connie Francis, Brenda Lee, John Denver, The Carpenters, Barry Manilow & many others who many enjoyed. Not ALL music has to be rock & roll.
So did The Herman's Hermits, The Animals, Dave Clark Five, Creedance Clearwater Revival, The Searchers, etc.
Dougd, please take this in the spirit in which I'm giving it. Seven posts in a row? Really? I understand the need to quote, but there is a multi-quote function here. Just press the "+ Quote" link in the lower right of all posts the you want to quote, then put them in your reply and answer each one in turn within just one post. It's easier to read that way. Also, I didn't mean that your "songs beneath number ones" posts were useless, just that they were dominating the past few pages when the thrust of this thread is the very special cases of number on songs. It's an exclusive club that is both rewarding and maddening at the same time. It's been about three pages now of largely posts about non-number ones since our thread starter has posted the next record.
I sheepishly admit to going off topic during the discussion but talking about one song often leads to another. I actually appreciate being made aware of songs I'm not familiar with so as long as we don't get too side-tracked this doesn't bother me. Of course, some songs garner very little discussion or seem to be unfamiliar to a lot of posters. Where are the oldies out there who remember and cherish this stuff? I would have thought participation would have gone up once the Beatles came into the picture. On the other hand, I get that some want to move the thread along as we've only gone through 7 years in 132 pages!
Our thread starter could begin to add a link to the next #1 and all the following #1 as it would be for the current #1 song "Hang On Sloopy": Billboard Hot 100 Chart 10/02/1965 So anyone who is interested could see what happened behind the current #1. With "<" or ">" next to the date of the Hot 100 you can switch to another date nearby.
It's like a Beatles biography that only includes Beatles music. It keeps the topic out of context. Adding some other songs (say, the Summer of Love era or the Kennedy assassination mood) of the times helps show where music was and how The Beatles' songs factored in the deal.
3 years wasn't really that much time. If a teenager was 18 in 1962, he/she may well remember Buddy Holly, if they began listening to the radio @ 14. If a teenager was 15 in 1962.... maybe not.
Perhaps, somehow, people thought the thread would move on to rock bands or something. The thing with that is #1 songs have always been more pop than rock. The British Invasion lost a lot of its momentum by mid-1966. It's like the U.K. gave American artists a swift kick in the ass to get them moving. 1966 saw a barrage of U.S. garage bands who had one or two-hits. On the other hand, the OP has also been discussing and posting videos of non-#1 singles. And, about the multi-quote feature: sometimes I forget to use it.
Agree. The Beach Boys, who were experiencing success in 1963 and early 1964, actually became MORE successful after The Beatles. The Beatles were doing what Brian Wilson (and earlier, Buddy Holly) had been doing: writing and recording their own material. Many falsely claim The Beatles started that, when Brian Wilson, on his own, without the help of his brothers, studio musicians or others, wrote, produced and recorded Surfer Girl (1963) by himself.
Agreed! Not only did they (don't forget Dave Clark, Gene Chandler, and others) encourage artists to write their own stuff, But The Beatles helped to fundamentally change the way records were recorded, working at any hour of the day or night, mixing and producing themselves. And, it encouraged the major labels to move to rock music. I think that many people thought this thread would turn into a Beatles-fest, where they would dominate the discussion. Hint. Hint.
I prefer the "mid career" era, 1963-1967, which include Walk Like a Man, Dawn, Rag Doll, etc. Great songs. You need to see Jersey Boys. These guys literally were a drag-themselves-up-from-their-bootstraps act. Success did not come easy for them. The Four Seasons began in 1955. It took them 7 YEARS before they had their first hit (Sherry in 1962).
Hey Paula was big then and big on oldies radio, like the Skeeter Davis song. It's a great song with a positive (yet subtle) "waiting" message directed at teens.
What a rocker!! This would've stacked up well against The Fab Four (from the "other" Fab Four). The song starts with those homicidal drums. It has real attitude. A "men going their own way" type of song. If you don't know what MGTOW is, google it. Let's just say it ain't about cow-towing to women, being weak, not standing up to them, etc.
It doesn't really hold up well. Sounds very dated. My wife hates it whenever it comes on and insists I change the XM channel.
One of the most recorded songs in history... 1600 cover version have been recorded. Let THAT sink in for a minute. I think it's one of their best, and one as a non- Beatle fan, I never turn off when it comes on. This just happens to be my favorite cover version of it ( made into a medley with another Beatles hit)
Christ Almighty, what a chart! A few duds scattered here and there at the top of the charts in 1965, but even most of the lighter pop hits are legendary, memorable classics of the era ("Downtown", etc.), and then you have cuts like "Yesterday".
"Yesterday" is another admirable record like "Eve of Destruction" that I never find myself wanting to play. The former because of overplay and the latter probably because I view it as a protest song. Never liked those kind, though I used to listen closely to the lyrics of Eve when it came out. But certainly there's much to admire about both songs.
Are we allowed to talk about the current song being discussed? It's OK, anyway, because there's not much to say about Yesterday that isn't cliched at this point. It is probably the singular masterpiece of the pop era. 1600 other artists have tried and failed to match or surpass the magic captured on that tape, including Paul McCartney himself. No one has come close. Never fully understood the song until I heard the original mono mix. It's the only one that captures the desolation and despair.
I only know the Ramsey Lewis Trio from the In Crowd, although if, as I suspect, their version of Hang On Sloopy is the one I liked... Well, then I knew that one, too!
