Hi Tom, excellent choice for a video topic! I was born in October of the previous year. The day I was born, "Sherry" by The Four Seasons was number one. Mom and dad had eleven of us, my oldest sibling graduated from high school in 1965. We always had music playing around the house. We had a floor model stereo console in the living room, a green RCA radio on the top of the fridge in the kitchen, and Dad had a radio in the garage that he listened to while working on the car or what have you. Being that he worked as a western PA coal miner, his taste im music was what you'd expect, strictly country. Mom liked country, but her favorite music was big band, crooners, some rock 'n' roll - she liked some of the Beatles stuff. My older siblings were rock 'n' roll! Not that they totally disliked Mom & Dad's music; if it came on the radio they weren't going to turn the station in disgust looking for "real" music, but they bought rock 'n' roll records. Between the records left around the house by Mom's youngest sisters and the records that my older siblings bought, there were no musical gaps to fill. There were records from pretty much every year and every style laying around ready to be played, and that's where I came in...I played them to death! We had everything you mentioned and much, much more. Great music influencing future musicians who put their own spin on it and created new and unique music! What an era!! It was like a volleyball game of sorts. Elvis, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Buddy Holly and a huge team of other artists bat the music over the proverbial net; the ball's on their side, they hit it in a way that throws a spin on it, sending it back in a different way. It's amazing what was being done with music at that time. Each artist being as unique as possible while still maintaining the quality. We'll probably never see anything like it again. Great, great video Tom, it makes you think!
So True My Friend!!!I Remember .... I Was 9 In 1961 And Mr And My Buddies Were Wandering Around The Streets Of Colorado Springs... My Buddy With His Transiter Radio Melted To His Hand!!!! WE Were Feeling The Warm Sun And Just Slowly Growing Up!!! Then On The Radio A Blast Sounded .... I Stopped In My Tracks!!! DEAD Still, Shouting" What Is That" As The Intro To " Runaway," By Del Shannon Coursed a through Me!!! The Rest Is History!!!! Thanks My Friend!!!!
The 1960s were a phenomenal decade for music, if for no other reason than the three parts of it, as you mention. It makes for a favorite time to study for musicologists. I never tire of learning new details about that decade.
Enjoyable post Tom. Impressive that you have some of those singles. Being 7 in 1963 I was not yet a record buyer, but my older sister was and her taste was for Motown, consequently so was mine. The Marvelettes, Marvin Gaye, The Miracles, Mary Wells, Little Stevie Wonder, etc. they seemed to be always playing. Other than "Please Mr. Postman" and "Pride and Joy" I don't recall that Motown had hits on the level they would just a while later. I do remember being sent home from school when JFK was assassinated and that TV programming was only about that for a least a week. I wasn't aware that "I Want to Hold Your Hand" was released in the final days of 1963. By the summer of 1964 1963 seemed like ancient history.
"Walk Right In" had that monster acoustic 12-strong sound -- never fails to get my attention. "Our Day Will Come" -- super dreamy, I keep it on my little USB stick jukebox. I was just a little kid in '63, and not a big music fan, so the single I knew best at the time was a cardboard record of the Astro Boy cartoon theme -- every thing else I had to learn about later from oldies stations. I do recall my dad listening to Stan Getz and June Christy, and my mom liking Johnny Mathis, all of which I still like today. Pretty smooth stuff, which seems like a more appropriate word for what you call "bland". Later on, I considered instrumental "rock", like The Ventures, the epitome of pre-Beatle music. This topic does remind me of something that got left out of your soundtrack round-up: the 2 LP soundtrack to American Graffiti, that goldmine of highly commercial rock'n'roll before the British Invasion.
Thanks for the video. I have always wondered what ever happened to those clean cut teen idols after Feb 64. I didn't know Beatles changed the music scenes after that.
I always looked at the 60s as two totally different eras, 60-63 was the Dick Clark era, artists who’s careers he could make and who could rip off on Bandstand (signing back royalty checks to DC’s wife in order to appear) then 64 onwards where he was no longer a real factor bc as you said, writer performers came into being and without his finger in the scale music exploded.
1963 was a terrific year for instrumental surf music, with milestones like Pipeline (Chantays), Wipeout (Surfaris) and Hava Nagila (Dick Dale), but there were a million cool surf bands and I get the sense that the Beatles disrupted instrumental surf music as much as they disrupted the Bobbys. Rufus Thomas’ “Walking the Dog” was a pioneering and influential single on Stax that has been covered a million times since by a range of artists. The Crystals “And Then He Kissed Me” was huge and another major influence on Brian Wilson. I love a world where rock n’ roll can encompass girl groups, folk ensembles, soul singers, gospel, surf bands, dance bands, geniuses like Orbison and Dylan, vocal harmonists like the Four Seasons, garage bands, crooners like Vinson and Vee, child stars like Annette - a world before rock became “classic” and differentiated from so many interesting and diverse streams of popular music.
Attended "sock hops" and private record parties in the early 60s and got the full dose from friends who actively collected all the latest hits. I couldn't really afford it. But it was great mixing Ray Charles and Johny Cash with Dionne Warwick and Loretta Lynn, Elvis, Little Richard and Leadbelly and local bands like The Kingsmen and Sonics..... The arrival of the Beetles on the charts threw everyone for a loop. I first thought it was some kind of novelty music--long hair. What???? But when they landed on Ed Sullivan any doubts were exploded and it was one British band after another from then on. Nobody wanted to look back.
Fantastic topic Tom; what memories! This fine video could easily have been three times as long! Allow me to add three: (1) Lesley Gore was super hot in 1963 and early '64 with four top-five singles. After the Beatles struck, she had seven more top-forties but none to the top ten. (2) “My Boyfriend’s Back” by the Angels. One of the greatest girl group hits ever! Peggy Santiglia was lead vocal I think. (3) “Louie Louie” by the Kingsmen entered the top forty at the time of the assassination, a powerful rock-and-roll smash into February 1964. Timeless keyboard riff and one of the coolest lead guitar solo breaks ever heard on a 45-rpm record.
You’re right it could be 3 times longer, but I’m aware of the attention deficit factor out there which includes myself. 😉 That guitar solo on Louie Louie is legendary.
“The Big Bang”…..love the phrase for I Want to Hold Your Hand. Man you picked some of the cream of the crop through ‘63. I began purchasing 45s right before the bang….Anyone Who Had a Heart, California Sun, Out of Limits (hey I was 12), then RAN out to buy IWTHYH. Excellent episode!
The Beatles first American records did not really jump out if you want to get technical....Capital Records kept turning down the Beatles songs in 1963, like From Me to You, Please Please Me, She Loves You...that were big hits in the British Iisles. When George Martin gave permission for smaller labels to release them [Tollie, Swan, VeeJay] they went to Nowhereville. Then after I Want to Hold Your Hand sounded "okay"to Capital execs, , they released it and it went to #1 Feb. 1, 1964 and all hell broke loose. These earlier songs were from 1963 and now, all of a sudden they are now quailfied to "jump out like that?" Weird huh? The fickle music business for you. Guys [head cases] in suits determining your fate....just like Congress...egad!!!
I was born in Brooklyn, NY in 1950, which made me 13 in 1963, as a music lover, it couldn't have been a better time to be born. We had some great AM radio stations, WNEW, WINS, WABC, WOR and some great on air personalities, Murray The K, (my favorite) The Good Guys, Bruce "Cousin Brucie" Morrow (my least favorite). There were Rock & Roll shows at the Paramount Theater and The Brooklyn Fox with a dozen or so acts performing two songs each, day and night. We had kids in the neighborhood singing acapella Do-Wop in the hallways, radios could be heard playing music everywhere. There was a lot of good music and as you mentioned, everything changed after The Beatles started The British Invasion!
Enjoyable topic and list as per usual. My “life soundtrack” begins about 1960, and it was a pleasure to revisit some of the great variety of sounds from that era, as covered in this episode. Keep up the good work!
Capo Fetish...I'm 68, I was a music teacher, your'e one of the few that really knows his stuff, others just guess and reiterate junk they heard filtered down through the rumor mill etc.
When I heard "It's Allright" in '63, I didn't realize it was Curtis Mayfield, later one of my all-time favorites...but it seemed like a message we all needed after the JFK assassination. I was only 8, but the idea that music could be so uplifting stayed with me, even after the world changed the day the Beatles played on Ed Sullivan.
The Beach Boys in Concert was released in October 1964, yes some of the live music was recorded in December 1963. Also gotta mention the beautiful amazing Brian Wilson song Lonely Sea, on the Surfin’ USA album from March 1963 a full six months before their next album Surfer Girl with In My Room you mentioned 😊. Being English of course the Beatles were already a sensation from early 1963, though in the US the Vee Jay label did release a few singles, for example on Discogs there’s a Vee Jay single Please Please Me released in February 1963, it even got played on US radio stations!
Lonely Sea came from The Beach Boys' first Capitol session in June 1962, which also yielded both sides of their first Capitol single, Surfin' Safari/409.
I started learning to play guitar in Feb 1961, as Folk Music began to take over. By 1963, I was fully invested, when I found Surf Music. I knew the music scene was moribund (even if I wasn't sure what the word meant). I made a list of 30 songs I still listen to, at least occasionally, from Telstar, to Louie, Louie, but most of what was released that year was utterly forgettable, like The Angry Bumble Bee I didn't like much that I heard, especially the fake teen idols, but in late November, or very early December, I heard a single by a new band, called the "Silver" Beatles, on KOMA, a 50,000-watt station out of Oklahoma City, that I could pick up on the old Zenith radio I discovered in the house we moved into, that Fall. I had to keep the dial moving, as the station faded in and out, to keep hearing the music I was beginning to love. I remember the Essex' hit, Easier Said than Done, and Sugar Shack, the mindless tune that stayed at the top of the charts for months. KOMA would have call-in polls, called "A Hit or a Miss", and kids would call in from all over the country (kids whose parents didn't mind them running up the Long Distance bill, I guess). I couldn't call (my Mom would have skinned me alive!), but I listened to both sides, and thought, "Now, that's different", but the poll gave them a grade in the mid-80s, some saying, "You can dance to it", the Dave Clark nonsensical response heard all the time on American Bandstand. I thought both songs were much better than that. I knew something was in the offing, but I had no idea what it would be. After Christmas, the "something" became clearer with each day, as the Beatles began to take over the radio waves! By Feb 9, things were at a fever pitch. We were in Phoenix, by then, and all everyone was talking about was the coming appearance on Ed Sullivan. Radio would not be the same again. I began restructuring my playing, to account for "aeolian cadences", power chords, and all those flats and seventh, suspended ninths. My fingers didn't bleed, but I sure thought they would!
Walk Like a Man was the highest-rated single released before the Beatles era. It would remain the Four Seasons highest-rated single (on release), throughout the group's career. Peggy Lee made her last trip to the well, the Beach Boys set the tone for their 1964 singles, and Surf Music came roaring out of the gate. Lesley Gore released the first of her story singles about teen angst, and the Phil Spector era began its decline on high notes by the Ronettes. He produced 11 singles in 1963, only three in 1964, then four for the Righteous Brothers in 1965 (their best). Peter, Paul & Mary had a massive hit with Puff, followed it up with Blowin' in the Wind, and Don't Think Twice, It's Alright, a hat trick they wouldn't be able to repeat. Dave Dudley issued his truck-drivin' classic, Six Days on the Road, and Johnny Cash married rock 'n' roll to Country, for Ring of Fire, adding mariachi horns he claimed came to him in a dream. Herb Alpert's The Lonely Bull had been on the charts since late Oct 1962, was just falling off as the year began, inspiring Johnny. June's sister Anita had recorded the song in 1962, but it failed to chart, despite Johnny's assistance. While all this happened, the Beatles were honing their chops, taking Please Please Me to #1 in the UK, and Patsy Cline died in a plane crash on the way home from a concert. Bob Dylan released Freewheelin', and the Beatles had their 3rd #1 with She Loves You. The term "Beatlemania" emerged late in the year, soon to be plastered across America. Their 1st LP spent 30 weeks at the top of the charts in England, and their 5th single hit #1 (4-in-a-row), but the band couldn't get arrested, in America. That was about to change. Listed in order of release, the first three released in late 1962: Best of 1963 01 T E L S T A R * the Tornadoes 02 C H A I N S * the Cookies 03 Y O U R E A L L Y G O T A H O L D O N M E * the Miracles 04 W A L K R I G H T I N the Rooftop Singers 05 I ' M A W O M A N Peggy Lee 06 W A L K L I K E A M A N the Four Seasons 07 P I P E L I N E the Chantays 08 P U F F Peter, Paul & Mary 09 S U R F I N ' U S A the Beach Boys 10 D A D O O R O N R O N the Ronettes 11 S H U T D O W N the Beach Boys 12 I T ' S M Y P A R T Y Lesley Gore 13 B L U E O N B L U E Bobby Vinton 14 O N E F I N E D A Y the Chiffons 15 R I N G O F F I R E Johnny Cash 16 E A S I E R S A I D T H A N D O N E the Essex 17 S I X D A Y S O N T H E R O A D Dave Dudley 18 W I P E O U T the Surfaris 19 B L O W I N ' I N T H E W I N D Peter, Paul & Mary 20 H E A T W A V E Martha & the Vandellas 21 B L U E V E L V E T Bobby Vinton 22 L I T T L E D E U C E C O U P E the Beach Boys 23 M I C K E Y ' S M O N K E Y the Miracles 24 S A L L Y G O ' R O U N D T H E R O S E S the Jaynetts 25 B E M Y B A B Y the Ronettes 26 D O N ' T T H I N K T W I C E , I T ' S A L L R I G H T Peter, Paul & Mary 27 S U G A R S H A C K Jimmy Gilmer & the Fireballs 28 S I N C E I F E L L F O R Y O U Lenny Welch 29 D O M I N I Q U E the Singing Nun 30 L O U I E L O U I E the Kingsmen
Great video Tom. Someone else mentioned The Four Seasons, who were all over the radio pre-Beatles era. An interesting bit of trivia is that Brian Wilson considered them to be his main competition. In fact, the song "Surfer's Rule" was written as a challenge to them, and in the fade out they sing "Four Seasons you better believe it..."!
Great video and fascinating topic. There is a movie that captures this time period perfectly imo. It's called "The World of Henry Orient" and is on youtube. It stars Peter Sellers, Tom Bosley and Angela Lansbury. The plot centers around and two teenage girls and one becomes obsessed with a piano player played by Peter Sellers. The film has an innocence and an optimism that is remarkable. I hadn't really thought about one reason why until your video: it was filmed in Summer of 1963 before JFK died and The Beatles came to America.
Enjoyed you placing the songs in a historical context. This was the music of my parents' era, though I'm a fan of the era, especially some of the more left field offerings. The Jaynettes, Sally Go Round the Roses or The Kingsmen Louie Louie. You had Lonnie Mack laying down some of the first white boy blues records. Oddly, his only two hits were instrumentals, because he could sing too. So well that he was getting played on the black radio stations in Texas until they found out he was white. Arguably Phil Spector greatest single, The Ronettes' Be My Baby was from 1963. And I still prefer Sam Cooke's original of Another Saturday Night to Cat Stevens' cover. And if you really want to get into the underground, Steve Allen featured this weirdo on his show with a soul patch playing a bicycle as a musical instrument. He was also promoting the title track to a low budget film he'd written called The World's Greatest Sinner, which was credited to Baby Ray and the Ferns. They also recorded a song called "How's Your Bird" based on one of Allen's catch phrases. That weirdo was, of course, Frank Zappa.
Great video. I was 12 in 1963 and it was a wild ride of a decade in music. Walk Right In was a favorite. I never knew the origin of that song so I looked it up. Recorded in 1929 written by Gus Cannon, recorded by Cannon's Jug Stompers. Guessing that it was on the music radar screen in 1963 because Gus Cannon recorded an album for Stax in Memphis in 1963 that included this song.
Tom I agree for the most part about the sameness of that era. Truly some gems RUBY AND THE ROMANTICS a particular favorite ( no pun intended ). But consider the EVERLY BROTHERS, DION, CHUCK BERRY et al. bands and riffs the BEATLES readily admitted were " nicked" . To say nothing of all the girl groups they freely imitated, = THAT BOY for quick example. Without that era to build on / step away from where would we be ? Always enjoy your take and opinions.
All great artists you’ve mentioned. Too many to mention in a 12 minute video. 😉 The Everly’s had so many great singles. Crying In The Rain is one of the greatest songs ever written. Carole King was cranking out quality tracks for so many artists at that time.
Don't forget Louie Louie by The Kingsmen 1963-1964, Dominique The Singing Nun 1963, Please Please Me The Beatles 1963, Suki Yaki Kyu Sakamoto, Danke Schane Wayne Newton 1963, Surf City Jan & Dean 1963 (I thought The Beach Boys sang that song), & Can't Get Used To Losing You Andy Williams 1963, Blowing In The Wind Peter Paul & Mary 1963, If I Had A Hammer Trini Lopez 1963, Let's Dance Chris Montez 1963, Wild Weekend The Rockin' Rebels 1962-1963 & Telstar The Tornados 1962-1963 to name a few to add to your list & It's My Party Leslie Gore 1963. The list could go on, but I'll cut it short here.
From my perspective, we start with the true era of rock and roll: the exciting mid fifties, with Buddy Holly, Elvis, The Everly brothers, Chuck Berry, Ricky Nelson, Eddie Cochran, etc., etc. The time after that, but before the Beatles, I look upon as the songwriter era, with Goffin and King, Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, Bert Bacharach and Hal David, Leiber and Stoller, Sedaka and Greenfield, Pomus and Shuman, etc., etc. It was also an era of great singers, like Connie Francis, Patsy Cline, Brenda Lee, Dean Martin, Tony Williams(Platters), Marty Robbins, etc., etc. Music was fun in this era, with novelty records or near-novelty records. The era included the early Beach Boys, Four Seasons, and Motown, with more songwriters: Brian Wilson, Bob Gaudio and Bob Crewe, Holland-Dozier-Holland. The only people who put down this era are people who did not live through it. Quality was high, because you had professional songwriters, professional singers (and a few "Bobbies"), and professional studio musicians. Next came the Beatles and with it the British Invasion. I won't argue that it was probably the greatest era of popular music, but I would put that from 1963 to maybe 1966. But, most everybody tried to be like the Beatles: writing, playing,instruments, and singing there own songs. That may have brought the quality down a bit. It lead to the "singer/songwriter"era of the seventies. My belief is great songwriters are not great singers, and great singers are not great songwriters. The emphasis is on the word "great," not just "good." Exception to this rule? Roy Orbison.
Some great points made here. The Brill Building writers wrote excellent material for other artists and there were some stellar singles in the early 60’s from a wide range of artists. I’ve always been fascinated by that era for all the historical and social events that took place.
All those New York songwriters you mention were creating a force in the music world during the early sixties. But with the exception of Bacharach/David, all were having to change their songwriting styles to continue to write hits for various artists after the British Invasion and other simultaneous music styles suddenly exploded, and all the early artists they wrote hits for suddenly saw their careers getting washed away by it all.
Refreshing my memory -- some truly awful things happened in music that year. Paul And Paula, and The Singing Nun spent considerable amounts of time at the top of the charts. Oh, and Patsy Cline died. On the other hand, there was a pretty good run of "It's My Party" by Lesley Gore, "Sukiyaki" by Kyu Sakamoto, "Easier Said Than Done" by Essex, and "Surf City" by Jan & Dean. Good tunes, good times (but not for me).
You stated that when Dale And Grace topped the U.S. chart in 1963 with pure early sixties drab MOR, you in the States desperately needed the British Invasion. But here in the UK, it had already exploded and changed the music world here, with early British Invasion bands already flooding the UK chart, such as The Beatles, The Searchers, The Hollies, Gerry/Pacemakers, Billy J Kramer/Dakotas, and even the immortal Freddie And The Dreamers. So all the singles you mentioned except the Rooftop Singers and Roy Orbison, did not chart in the UK. But it took longer for the British Invasion to explode in the States, for details I cannot go into here. But as soon as it did explode there, it then changed the whole music world there, like it already had in the UK. So as far as the new Beatles' fans in the States were concerned, The Beatles had well and truly replaced President Kennedy. Those who still mourned his death were old farts after that. Those who were still talking back in the days of the war were old farts, as the whole world had by then changed, and had become a massive new teenage world of which the older generation just didn't belong, and anarchy had seemingly hit the world. Roy Orbison was one of the few massive stars before The Beatles who deservedly and completely weathered the onslaught of the British Invasion. But what may have helped is that he quickly befriended The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, and toured with both bands. But one of the Beach Boys singles you quickly mentioned, Surfin' USA briefly dented the UK Top 40. The Beach Boys concert album you held up was released in late 1964, and was a mix of live tracks recorded in December 1963 and August 1964. The Bob Dylan album you mentioned was record July 1962 to March 1963. The James Brown live album you mentioned was recorded in late 1962, but not released until months later. You stated that it reached number two in the U.S. album charts. But the album that held it off the top there apparently was Andy Williams' revolutionary Days Of Wine And Roses album. But at that time, The Beatles' debut UK album Please Please Me was still at the top of our British album chart. I told a slight lie. Jimmy Gilmer's Sugar Shack just about dented the UK Top 50. But only the Rooftop Singers and Roy Orbison ones in your video were major UK hits. No mention of The Four Seasons? They made great singles in 1963, just like in any other year.
Too many to mention in a 12 minute video. Just trying to scale it down to a reasonable length. The Four Seasons were all over the charts here in the early 60’s. Great singles.
Excellent program. There has always been great music but when i think of pre-British invasion it is mind-blowing the difference. Pat Boone's white bread Tutti Frutti to the Beatles giving rock and roll its balls back is seismic shifting stuff. When people tell me that the Beatles don't rock it is because they didn't live through that shift in the musical landscape. You couldn't have shown it more clearly than with this program. Like i said, Excellent.
Great video Tom JFK was definitely a watershed moment in the innocence of a nation A Christmas Gift for You was released same day and I beleive may have had to be pulled off the market Another event in 60s unified the nation and started by JFK commitment to put a man on the moon by the end of the decade How about video of songs inspired by space which captured everyone imagination And No Space Oddity !!!!
The early 1960s music scene was all about the Bobbys -- Bobby Vinton, Bobby Vee, Bobby Rydell, Bobby Darin. Thank goodness the Beatles arrived to set us free from the schlock!
'Leaving It Up To You'... bland?????????????? I admit it didn't have the stomping beat of The Beatles' 'She Loves You', but it still is one of my favorite ballads of the sixties overall. A lot of instrumentals ended up in the high regions of the charts; this is why the early '60s still means a lot to me (music-wise). Sometimes you simply don't need (or want) to hear human voices. Saying that, Elvis Presley had a couple of great singles in 1963: 'One Broken Heart For Sale' and '(You're the) Devil In Disguise'. You don't have 'Be My Baby'? Turn in your rock-and-roll card!!!!!
I could swear I have it on a compilation somewhere. I looked at my Time/Life 60’s compilations and surprisingly could not find the track. I guess it’s time for a Ronettes purchase.
@@tomrobinson5776 I would advise getting one of the Phil Spector box sets; it should not only contain most of The Ronettes mentionables but The Crystals, Bob B. Sox and The Blue Jeans (no rock and roller should be without 'Zip-A-Dee-Doodah'), The Blossoms, The Righteous Brothers... and literally countless other goodies!
Poor Bobby Vinton 😂 jk, that sound is too sugary for me anyway. Like in Goodfellas "One night, Bobby Vinton sent us champagne" scene. Violets are blueoohooe 😂😂 come on But "Anyone who has a heart" is a timeless fire
Jimmy Gilmer & the Fireballs should not be raked into the muck with whatever flotsam and jetsam someone feels that made the early 60’s “boring”. They were one of the few acts that were actually continuing the impact and influence of Buddy Holly, along with a young, committed hitmaker to be, Bobby Fuller. Both never get the respect they deserve on this front.
That last #1 song on the Billboard chart before I Want To Hold Your Hand typified American pop pre British invasion - There I've Said It Again by Bobby Vinton. Boring as hell
Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons were all over the radio both pre Beatles and well on into the later Sixties. My Aunt gifted me a six transistor radio. There were radios always playing and the youth of America were hungry for music of all stripes. Of course, the British Invasion was like a nuclear bomb but there was plenty of other artists.. It was great. Since everything was played on radio, there really was not the separation of music thanks to AM radio and later television e.g. Ed Sullivan, Where The Action Is and other variety shows. The main thing though was AM radio.
This was before i was born but 1963 was a great year for music. The Beatles were listening(and playing) some of these songs from '63 and prior.
Indeed. Their version of You’ve Really Got A Hold On Me by Smokey Robinson is a great example. 😉
Hi Tom, excellent choice for a video topic! I was born in October of the previous year. The day I was born, "Sherry" by The Four Seasons was number one. Mom and dad had eleven of us, my oldest sibling graduated from high school in 1965. We always had music playing around the house. We had a floor model stereo console in the living room, a green RCA radio on the top of the fridge in the kitchen, and Dad had a radio in the garage that he listened to while working on the car or what have you. Being that he worked as a western PA coal miner, his taste im music was what you'd expect, strictly country. Mom liked country, but her favorite music was big band, crooners, some rock 'n' roll - she liked some of the Beatles stuff. My older siblings were rock 'n' roll! Not that they totally disliked Mom & Dad's music; if it came on the radio they weren't going to turn the station in disgust looking for "real" music, but they bought rock 'n' roll records. Between the records left around the house by Mom's youngest sisters and the records that my older siblings bought, there were no musical gaps to fill. There were records from pretty much every year and every style laying around ready to be played, and that's where I came in...I played them to death! We had everything you mentioned and much, much more. Great music influencing future musicians who put their own spin on it and created new and unique music! What an era!! It was like a volleyball game of sorts. Elvis, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Buddy Holly and a huge team of other artists bat the music over the proverbial net; the ball's on their side, they hit it in a way that throws a spin on it, sending it back in a different way. It's amazing what was being done with music at that time. Each artist being as unique as possible while still maintaining the quality. We'll probably never see anything like it again. Great, great video Tom, it makes you think!
That is a great story. An amazing period with so much happening on various levels. 😉
I was born June 10, 1963, and "Sukiyaki" by Kyu Sakamoto was #1. Lesley Gore's "It's my Party" had held the top spot for the 2 weeks prior.
So True My Friend!!!I Remember .... I Was 9 In 1961 And Mr And My Buddies Were Wandering Around The Streets Of Colorado Springs... My Buddy With His Transiter Radio Melted To His Hand!!!! WE Were Feeling The Warm Sun And Just Slowly Growing Up!!! Then On The Radio A Blast Sounded .... I Stopped In My Tracks!!! DEAD Still, Shouting" What Is That" As The Intro To " Runaway," By Del Shannon Coursed a through Me!!! The Rest Is History!!!! Thanks My Friend!!!!
Thise were the days my friend, we thought they’d never end.
I believe the west coast was the only area where guitar rock bands flourished in 62-63.
Masters of War is an all time classic.
The 1960s were a phenomenal decade for music, if for no other reason than the three parts of it, as you mention. It makes for a favorite time to study for musicologists. I never tire of learning new details about that decade.
Radio was great in those times.
Enjoyable post Tom. Impressive that you have some of those singles. Being 7 in 1963 I was not yet a record buyer, but my older sister was and her taste was for Motown, consequently so was mine. The Marvelettes, Marvin Gaye, The Miracles, Mary Wells, Little Stevie Wonder, etc. they seemed to be always playing. Other than "Please Mr. Postman" and "Pride and Joy" I don't recall that Motown had hits on the level they would just a while later. I do remember being sent home from school when JFK was assassinated and that TV programming was only about that for a least a week. I wasn't aware that "I Want to Hold Your Hand" was released in the final days of 1963. By the summer of 1964 1963 seemed like ancient history.
All wonderful in their way. Great song writing.
"Walk Right In" had that monster acoustic 12-strong sound -- never fails to get my attention. "Our Day Will Come" -- super dreamy, I keep it on my little USB stick jukebox. I was just a little kid in '63, and not a big music fan, so the single I knew best at the time was a cardboard record of the Astro Boy cartoon theme -- every thing else I had to learn about later from oldies stations. I do recall my dad listening to Stan Getz and June Christy, and my mom liking Johnny Mathis, all of which I still like today. Pretty smooth stuff, which seems like a more appropriate word for what you call "bland". Later on, I considered instrumental "rock", like The Ventures, the epitome of pre-Beatle music.
This topic does remind me of something that got left out of your soundtrack round-up: the 2 LP soundtrack to American Graffiti, that goldmine of highly commercial rock'n'roll before the British Invasion.
*12-string -- screwed again by auto correct!
Thanks for the video. I have always wondered what ever happened to those clean cut teen idols after Feb 64. I didn't know Beatles changed the music scenes after that.
This was very well done, Tom.
Thank you 😉
What an interesting angle, thanks Tom. ❤
I always looked at the 60s as two totally different eras, 60-63 was the Dick Clark era, artists who’s careers he could make and who could rip off on Bandstand (signing back royalty checks to DC’s wife in order to appear) then 64 onwards where he was no longer a real factor bc as you said, writer performers came into being and without his finger in the scale music exploded.
1963 was a terrific year for instrumental surf music, with milestones like Pipeline (Chantays), Wipeout (Surfaris) and Hava Nagila (Dick Dale), but there were a million cool surf bands and I get the sense that the Beatles disrupted instrumental surf music as much as they disrupted the Bobbys. Rufus Thomas’ “Walking the Dog” was a pioneering and influential single on Stax that has been covered a million times since by a range of artists. The Crystals “And Then He Kissed Me” was huge and another major influence on Brian Wilson. I love a world where rock n’ roll can encompass girl groups, folk ensembles, soul singers, gospel, surf bands, dance bands, geniuses like Orbison and Dylan, vocal harmonists like the Four Seasons, garage bands, crooners like Vinson and Vee, child stars like Annette - a world before rock became “classic” and differentiated from so many interesting and diverse streams of popular music.
The Beatles put an end to the teen pop idols of the early 60's on February 9, 1964.
Attended "sock hops" and private record parties in the early 60s and got the full dose from friends who actively collected all the latest hits. I couldn't really afford it. But it was great mixing Ray Charles and Johny Cash with Dionne Warwick and Loretta Lynn, Elvis, Little Richard and Leadbelly and local bands like The Kingsmen and Sonics..... The arrival of the Beetles on the charts threw everyone for a loop. I first thought it was some kind of novelty music--long hair. What???? But when they landed on Ed Sullivan any doubts were exploded and it was one British band after another from then on. Nobody wanted to look back.
Fantastic topic Tom; what memories! This fine video could easily have been three times as long! Allow me to add three:
(1) Lesley Gore was super hot in 1963 and early '64 with four top-five singles. After the Beatles struck, she had seven more top-forties but none to the top ten.
(2) “My Boyfriend’s Back” by the Angels. One of the greatest girl group hits ever! Peggy Santiglia was lead vocal I think.
(3) “Louie Louie” by the Kingsmen entered the top forty at the time of the assassination, a powerful rock-and-roll smash into February 1964. Timeless keyboard riff and one of the coolest lead guitar solo breaks ever heard on a 45-rpm record.
You’re right it could be 3 times longer, but I’m aware of the attention deficit factor out there which includes myself. 😉 That guitar solo on Louie Louie is legendary.
@@tomrobinson5776 Yes, I can definitely relate on the attention deficit issue!
“The Big Bang”…..love the phrase for I Want to Hold Your Hand. Man you picked some of the cream of the crop through ‘63. I began purchasing 45s right before the bang….Anyone Who Had a Heart, California Sun, Out of Limits (hey I was 12), then RAN out to buy IWTHYH. Excellent episode!
Thank you 😉
California sun is still there having fun.
It spoiled me for a long time being eleven in 1963 and 17 in 1969. Went from Beatles second album (capital) to Abbey Road and LZ Brown Bomber.
The Beatles first American records really jumped off the radio when they came out. Nothing before that jumped out like that.
The Beatles first American records did not really jump out if you want to get technical....Capital Records kept turning down the Beatles songs in 1963, like From Me to You, Please Please Me, She Loves You...that were big hits in the British Iisles. When George Martin gave permission for smaller labels to release them [Tollie, Swan, VeeJay] they went to Nowhereville. Then after I Want to Hold Your Hand sounded "okay"to Capital execs, , they released it and it went to #1 Feb. 1, 1964 and all hell broke loose. These earlier songs were from 1963 and now, all of a sudden they are now quailfied to "jump out like that?" Weird huh? The fickle music business for you. Guys [head cases] in suits determining your fate....just like Congress...egad!!!
Nice idea here. I like to think of the Fab4 and other Brit rockers as big kid fans that re-started RnR. And of course enthusiastic, fun and smart.
June 10, 2024: 20 years since Ray Charles passed. I remember this because i requested the DJ at my friend John's wedding reception on the 12th.
Time flies…
1963 Ray’s C&W album was playing all the time.
I knew it was right around that date. former President Ronald Reagan died 5 days prior.
I was born in Brooklyn, NY in 1950, which made me 13 in 1963, as a music lover, it couldn't have been a better time to be born. We had some great AM radio stations, WNEW, WINS, WABC, WOR and some great on air personalities, Murray The K, (my favorite) The Good Guys, Bruce "Cousin Brucie" Morrow (my least favorite). There were Rock & Roll shows at the Paramount Theater and The Brooklyn Fox with a dozen or so acts performing two songs each, day and night. We had kids in the neighborhood singing acapella Do-Wop in the hallways, radios could be heard playing music everywhere. There was a lot of good music and as you mentioned, everything changed after The Beatles started The British Invasion!
That sounded like a magical time.
@@tomrobinson5776 It was a great time to be young!
Yes, who can forget Cousin Brucie. I was there, my friend. What a time.
I love all this Stuff...Early, Mid, Late...Great Stuff!!!
I agree. There will never be a decade like that again. A total renaissance period of pop music.
Very interesting. The time of my youth. My current video takes up right where you left off.
Nice, I’ll have to check that out. 😉
Enjoyable topic and list as per usual. My “life soundtrack” begins about 1960, and it was a pleasure to revisit some of the great variety of sounds from that era, as covered in this episode. Keep up the good work!
Cool idea. Great episode.
Capo Fetish...I'm 68, I was a music teacher, your'e one of the few that really knows his stuff, others just guess and reiterate junk they heard filtered down through the rumor mill etc.
Thanks. Much appreciated. 😉
When I heard "It's Allright" in '63, I didn't realize it was Curtis Mayfield, later one of my all-time favorites...but it seemed like a message we all needed after the JFK assassination. I was only 8, but the idea that music could be so uplifting stayed with me, even after the world changed the day the Beatles played on Ed Sullivan.
Never heard of Dale and Grace . Weird . Sugar shack was a bug hit then I remember that . Ok I googled the song now I remember it .😊
great video!
The Beach Boys in Concert was released in October 1964, yes some of the live music was recorded in December 1963. Also gotta mention the beautiful amazing Brian Wilson song Lonely Sea, on the Surfin’ USA album from March 1963 a full six months before their next album Surfer Girl with In My Room you mentioned 😊. Being English of course the Beatles were already a sensation from early 1963, though in the US the Vee Jay label did release a few singles, for example on Discogs there’s a Vee Jay single Please Please Me released in February 1963, it even got played on US radio stations!
Lonely Sea came from The Beach Boys' first Capitol session in June 1962, which also yielded both sides of their first Capitol single, Surfin' Safari/409.
I started learning to play guitar in Feb 1961, as Folk Music began to take over. By 1963, I was fully invested, when I found Surf Music. I knew the music scene was moribund (even if I wasn't sure what the word meant). I made a list of 30 songs I still listen to, at least occasionally, from Telstar, to Louie, Louie, but most of what was released that year was utterly forgettable, like The Angry Bumble Bee
I didn't like much that I heard, especially the fake teen idols, but in late November, or very early December, I heard a single by a new band, called the "Silver" Beatles, on KOMA, a 50,000-watt station out of Oklahoma City, that I could pick up on the old Zenith radio I discovered in the house we moved into, that Fall. I had to keep the dial moving, as the station faded in and out, to keep hearing the music I was beginning to love. I remember the Essex' hit, Easier Said than Done, and Sugar Shack, the mindless tune that stayed at the top of the charts for months.
KOMA would have call-in polls, called "A Hit or a Miss", and kids would call in from all over the country (kids whose parents didn't mind them running up the Long Distance bill, I guess). I couldn't call (my Mom would have skinned me alive!), but I listened to both sides, and thought, "Now, that's different", but the poll gave them a grade in the mid-80s, some saying, "You can dance to it", the Dave Clark nonsensical response heard all the time on American Bandstand. I thought both songs were much better than that.
I knew something was in the offing, but I had no idea what it would be. After Christmas, the "something" became clearer with each day, as the Beatles began to take over the radio waves! By Feb 9, things were at a fever pitch. We were in Phoenix, by then, and all everyone was talking about was the coming appearance on Ed Sullivan. Radio would not be the same again. I began restructuring my playing, to account for "aeolian cadences", power chords, and all those flats and seventh, suspended ninths. My fingers didn't bleed, but I sure thought they would!
Great story. 😉
So, what was your magic 30 song list at the time??
Walk Like a Man was the highest-rated single released before the Beatles era. It would remain the Four Seasons highest-rated single (on release), throughout the group's career. Peggy Lee made her last trip to the well, the Beach Boys set the tone for their 1964 singles, and Surf Music came roaring out of the gate. Lesley Gore released the first of her story singles about teen angst, and the Phil Spector era began its decline on high notes by the Ronettes. He produced 11 singles in 1963, only three in 1964, then four for the Righteous Brothers in 1965 (their best).
Peter, Paul & Mary had a massive hit with Puff, followed it up with Blowin' in the Wind, and Don't Think Twice, It's Alright, a hat trick they wouldn't be able to repeat. Dave Dudley issued his truck-drivin' classic, Six Days on the Road, and Johnny Cash married rock 'n' roll to Country, for Ring of Fire, adding mariachi horns he claimed came to him in a dream. Herb Alpert's The Lonely Bull had been on the charts since late Oct 1962, was just falling off as the year began, inspiring Johnny. June's sister Anita had recorded the song in 1962, but it failed to chart, despite Johnny's assistance.
While all this happened, the Beatles were honing their chops, taking Please Please Me to #1 in the UK, and Patsy Cline died in a plane crash on the way home from a concert. Bob Dylan released Freewheelin', and the Beatles had their 3rd #1 with She Loves You. The term "Beatlemania" emerged late in the year, soon to be plastered across America. Their 1st LP spent 30 weeks at the top of the charts in England, and their 5th single hit #1 (4-in-a-row), but the band couldn't get arrested, in America. That was about to change.
Listed in order of release, the first three released in late 1962:
Best of 1963
01 T E L S T A R *
the Tornadoes
02 C H A I N S *
the Cookies
03 Y O U R E A L L Y G O T A H O L D O N M E *
the Miracles
04 W A L K R I G H T I N
the Rooftop Singers
05 I ' M A W O M A N
Peggy Lee
06 W A L K L I K E A M A N
the Four Seasons
07 P I P E L I N E
the Chantays
08 P U F F
Peter, Paul & Mary
09 S U R F I N ' U S A
the Beach Boys
10 D A D O O R O N R O N
the Ronettes
11 S H U T D O W N
the Beach Boys
12 I T ' S M Y P A R T Y
Lesley Gore
13 B L U E O N B L U E
Bobby Vinton
14 O N E F I N E D A Y
the Chiffons
15 R I N G O F F I R E
Johnny Cash
16 E A S I E R S A I D T H A N D O N E
the Essex
17 S I X D A Y S O N T H E R O A D
Dave Dudley
18 W I P E O U T
the Surfaris
19 B L O W I N ' I N T H E W I N D
Peter, Paul & Mary
20 H E A T W A V E
Martha & the Vandellas
21 B L U E V E L V E T
Bobby Vinton
22 L I T T L E D E U C E C O U P E
the Beach Boys
23 M I C K E Y ' S M O N K E Y
the Miracles
24 S A L L Y G O ' R O U N D T H E R O S E S
the Jaynetts
25 B E M Y B A B Y
the Ronettes
26 D O N ' T T H I N K T W I C E , I T ' S A L L R I G H T
Peter, Paul & Mary
27 S U G A R S H A C K
Jimmy Gilmer & the Fireballs
28 S I N C E I F E L L F O R Y O U
Lenny Welch
29 D O M I N I Q U E
the Singing Nun
30 L O U I E L O U I E
the Kingsmen
Good one today Tom , you pulled out all the different media for this one. Nice time capsule nice job
Thank you 😉
Great video Tom. Someone else mentioned The Four Seasons, who were all over the radio pre-Beatles era. An interesting bit of trivia is that Brian Wilson considered them to be his main competition. In fact, the song "Surfer's Rule" was written as a challenge to them, and in the fade out they sing "Four Seasons you better believe it..."!
I already noticed that. It was on their Surfer Girl album. The two bands toured together.
Great video and fascinating topic. There is a movie that captures this time period perfectly imo. It's called "The World of Henry Orient" and is on youtube. It stars Peter Sellers, Tom Bosley and Angela Lansbury. The plot centers around and two teenage girls and one becomes obsessed with a piano player played by Peter Sellers. The film has an innocence and an optimism that is remarkable. I hadn't really thought about one reason why until your video: it was filmed in Summer of 1963 before JFK died and The Beatles came to America.
I have to see that film. Thanks for the suggestion. 😉
Enjoyed you placing the songs in a historical context. This was the music of my parents' era, though I'm a fan of the era, especially some of the more left field offerings. The Jaynettes, Sally Go Round the Roses or The Kingsmen Louie Louie. You had Lonnie Mack laying down some of the first white boy blues records. Oddly, his only two hits were instrumentals, because he could sing too. So well that he was getting played on the black radio stations in Texas until they found out he was white. Arguably Phil Spector greatest single, The Ronettes' Be My Baby was from 1963. And I still prefer Sam Cooke's original of Another Saturday Night to Cat Stevens' cover.
And if you really want to get into the underground, Steve Allen featured this weirdo on his show with a soul patch playing a bicycle as a musical instrument. He was also promoting the title track to a low budget film he'd written called The World's Greatest Sinner, which was credited to Baby Ray and the Ferns. They also recorded a song called "How's Your Bird" based on one of Allen's catch phrases. That weirdo was, of course, Frank Zappa.
I’ve seen that clip. Truly bizarre and amazing. A young Frank.
Great video. I was 12 in 1963 and it was a wild ride of a decade in music. Walk Right In was a favorite. I never knew the origin of that song so I looked it up. Recorded in 1929 written by Gus Cannon, recorded by Cannon's Jug Stompers. Guessing that it was on the music radar screen in 1963 because Gus Cannon recorded an album for Stax in Memphis in 1963 that included this song.
Interesting…😉
Tom I agree for the most part about the sameness of that era. Truly some gems RUBY AND THE ROMANTICS a particular favorite ( no pun intended ). But consider the EVERLY BROTHERS, DION, CHUCK BERRY et al. bands and riffs the BEATLES readily admitted were " nicked" . To say nothing of all the girl groups they freely imitated, = THAT BOY for quick example. Without that era to build on / step away from where would we be ? Always enjoy your take and opinions.
All great artists you’ve mentioned. Too many to mention in a 12 minute video. 😉 The Everly’s had so many great singles. Crying In The Rain is one of the greatest songs ever written. Carole King was cranking out quality tracks for so many artists at that time.
Imagine falling into a coma in early 1963 and waking up in early 1970: "hey guys.... did i miss anything?".
Or even in May of the next year. By that time the Beatles were taking the world by storm.
Don't forget Louie Louie by The Kingsmen 1963-1964, Dominique The Singing Nun 1963, Please Please Me The Beatles 1963, Suki Yaki Kyu Sakamoto, Danke Schane Wayne Newton 1963, Surf City Jan & Dean 1963 (I thought The Beach Boys sang that song), & Can't Get Used To Losing You Andy Williams 1963, Blowing In The Wind Peter Paul & Mary 1963, If I Had A Hammer Trini Lopez 1963, Let's Dance Chris Montez 1963, Wild Weekend The Rockin' Rebels 1962-1963 & Telstar The Tornados 1962-1963 to name a few to add to your list & It's My Party Leslie Gore 1963. The list could go on, but I'll cut it short here.
I loved all of those songs. Then I am probably at least ten years older than you. Sugar Shack was #1 for five weeks.
From my perspective, we start with the true era of rock and roll: the exciting mid fifties, with Buddy Holly, Elvis, The Everly brothers, Chuck Berry, Ricky Nelson, Eddie Cochran, etc., etc. The time after that, but before the Beatles, I look upon as the songwriter era, with Goffin and King, Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, Bert Bacharach and Hal David, Leiber and Stoller, Sedaka and Greenfield, Pomus and Shuman, etc., etc. It was also an era of great singers, like Connie Francis, Patsy Cline, Brenda Lee, Dean Martin, Tony Williams(Platters), Marty Robbins, etc., etc. Music was fun in this era, with novelty records or near-novelty records. The era included the early Beach Boys, Four Seasons, and Motown, with more songwriters: Brian Wilson, Bob Gaudio and Bob Crewe, Holland-Dozier-Holland. The only people who put down this era are people who did not live through it. Quality was high, because you had professional songwriters, professional singers (and a few "Bobbies"), and professional studio musicians. Next came the Beatles and with it the British Invasion. I won't argue that it was probably the greatest era of popular music, but I would put that from 1963 to maybe 1966. But, most everybody tried to be like the Beatles: writing, playing,instruments, and singing there own songs. That may have brought the quality down a bit. It lead to the "singer/songwriter"era of the seventies. My belief is great songwriters are not great singers, and great singers are not great songwriters. The emphasis is on the word "great," not just "good." Exception to this rule? Roy Orbison.
Some great points made here. The Brill Building writers wrote excellent material for other artists and there were some stellar singles in the early 60’s from a wide range of artists. I’ve always been fascinated by that era for all the historical and social events that took place.
All those New York songwriters you mention were creating a force in the music world during the early sixties. But with the exception of Bacharach/David, all were having to change their songwriting styles to continue to write hits for various artists after the British Invasion and other simultaneous music styles suddenly exploded, and all the early artists they wrote hits for suddenly saw their careers getting washed away by it all.
Lennon and McCartney wanted to be Goffin and King, just like they wanted to be the Everly Brothers and The Crickets.
Refreshing my memory -- some truly awful things happened in music that year. Paul And Paula, and The Singing Nun spent considerable amounts of time at the top of the charts. Oh, and Patsy Cline died. On the other hand, there was a pretty good run of "It's My Party" by Lesley Gore, "Sukiyaki" by Kyu Sakamoto, "Easier Said Than Done" by Essex, and "Surf City" by Jan & Dean. Good tunes, good times (but not for me).
Jan & Dean one of my faves.
You stated that when Dale And Grace topped the U.S. chart in 1963 with pure early sixties drab MOR, you in the States desperately needed the British Invasion. But here in the UK, it had already exploded and changed the music world here, with early British Invasion bands already flooding the UK chart, such as The Beatles, The Searchers, The Hollies, Gerry/Pacemakers, Billy J Kramer/Dakotas, and even the immortal Freddie And The Dreamers. So all the singles you mentioned except the Rooftop Singers and Roy Orbison, did not chart in the UK. But it took longer for the British Invasion to explode in the States, for details I cannot go into here. But as soon as it did explode there, it then changed the whole music world there, like it already had in the UK. So as far as the new Beatles' fans in the States were concerned, The Beatles had well and truly replaced President Kennedy. Those who still mourned his death were old farts after that. Those who were still talking back in the days of the war were old farts, as the whole world had by then changed, and had become a massive new teenage world of which the older generation just didn't belong, and anarchy had seemingly hit the world. Roy Orbison was one of the few massive stars before The Beatles who deservedly and completely weathered the onslaught of the British Invasion. But what may have helped is that he quickly befriended The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, and toured with both bands. But one of the Beach Boys singles you quickly mentioned, Surfin' USA briefly dented the UK Top 40.
The Beach Boys concert album you held up was released in late 1964, and was a mix of live tracks recorded in December 1963 and August 1964. The Bob Dylan album you mentioned was record July 1962 to March 1963. The James Brown live album you mentioned was recorded in late 1962, but not released until months later. You stated that it reached number two in the U.S. album charts. But the album that held it off the top there apparently was Andy Williams' revolutionary Days Of Wine And Roses album. But at that time, The Beatles' debut UK album Please Please Me was still at the top of our British album chart.
I told a slight lie. Jimmy Gilmer's Sugar Shack just about dented the UK Top 50. But only the Rooftop Singers and Roy Orbison ones in your video were major UK hits.
No mention of The Four Seasons? They made great singles in 1963, just like in any other year.
Too many to mention in a 12 minute video. Just trying to scale it down to a reasonable length. The Four Seasons were all over the charts here in the early 60’s. Great singles.
June Carter Cash co-wrote Ring of Fire.
I'm more interested in Brit Invasion + how American bands responded
Heat Wave may be Motowns masterpiece (Greil Marcus).
Excellent program. There has always been great music but when i think of pre-British invasion it is mind-blowing the difference. Pat Boone's white bread Tutti Frutti to the Beatles giving rock and roll its balls back is seismic shifting stuff. When people tell me that the Beatles don't rock it is because they didn't live through that shift in the musical landscape. You couldn't have shown it more clearly than with this program. Like i said, Excellent.
Thank you 😉
No doubt Pat Boone did do an exceptionally raw version of Tutti Frutti. I assume that's what White Bread Rock music is all about.
Really good stuff! But no “Dion?” my favorite before the Fab four.
What about Louie Louie?
I totally spaced out and forgot to mention it. I had the cd and notes right beside me. Damn…
Great video Tom
JFK was definitely a watershed moment in the innocence of a nation
A Christmas Gift for You was released same day and I beleive may have had to be pulled off the market
Another event in 60s unified the nation and started by JFK commitment to put a man on the moon by the end of the decade
How about video of songs inspired by space which captured everyone imagination
And No Space Oddity !!!!
Sounds like a great idea. 😉
Can you take yur time and record those vinyl records to Utbe for me
The early 1960s music scene was all about the Bobbys -- Bobby Vinton, Bobby Vee, Bobby Rydell, Bobby Darin. Thank goodness the Beatles arrived to set us free from the schlock!
Indeed 😉
'Leaving It Up To You'... bland??????????????
I admit it didn't have the stomping beat of The Beatles' 'She Loves You', but it still is one of my favorite ballads of the sixties overall.
A lot of instrumentals ended up in the high regions of the charts; this is why the early '60s still means a lot to me (music-wise).
Sometimes you simply don't need (or want) to hear human voices.
Saying that, Elvis Presley had a couple of great singles in 1963: 'One Broken Heart For Sale' and '(You're the) Devil In Disguise'.
You don't have 'Be My Baby'? Turn in your rock-and-roll card!!!!!
I could swear I have it on a compilation somewhere. I looked at my Time/Life 60’s compilations and surprisingly could not find the track. I guess it’s time for a Ronettes purchase.
@@tomrobinson5776 I would advise getting one of the Phil Spector box sets; it should not only contain most of The Ronettes mentionables but The Crystals, Bob B. Sox and The Blue Jeans (no rock and roller should be without 'Zip-A-Dee-Doodah'), The Blossoms, The Righteous Brothers... and literally countless other goodies!
@@jeffreyslotnikoff4003 It’s on my list. Back To Mono looks like a great set.
I think there was a major album released on JFK assassination date. ???
With The Beatles
Poor Bobby Vinton 😂 jk, that sound is too sugary for me anyway. Like in Goodfellas "One night, Bobby Vinton sent us champagne" scene. Violets are blueoohooe 😂😂 come on
But "Anyone who has a heart" is a timeless fire
Jimmy Gilmer & the Fireballs should not be raked into the muck with whatever flotsam and jetsam someone feels that made the early 60’s “boring”. They were one of the few acts that were actually continuing the impact and influence of Buddy Holly, along with a young, committed hitmaker to be, Bobby Fuller. Both never get the respect they deserve on this front.
Interestingly The Beatles released With The Beatles the day of JFK's death
Indeed.
That last #1 song on the Billboard chart before I Want To Hold Your Hand typified American pop pre British invasion - There I've Said It Again by Bobby Vinton. Boring as hell
Folk music with electric guitars didn't necessarily rock. Electric guitars are not sufficient to make a song rock.
Frankie Valli is ANYTHING but bland. That guy could blow. That's why his career lasted way, way longer than most from his era.
I mentioned Frankie Avalon, not Frankie Valli. Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons had great singles.
Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons were all over the radio both pre Beatles and well on into the later Sixties. My Aunt gifted me a six transistor radio. There were radios always playing and the youth of America were hungry for music of all stripes. Of course, the British Invasion was like a nuclear bomb but there was plenty of other artists.. It was great. Since everything was played on radio, there really was not the separation of music thanks to AM radio and later television e.g. Ed Sullivan, Where The Action Is and other variety shows. The main thing though was AM radio.