THE TOP 50 SONGS OF SUMMER, 1964 (National Edition)
1. I GET AROUND - The Beach Boys (Capitol)
2. RAG DOLL - The 4 Seasons (Philips)
3. MEMPHIS - Johnny Rivers (Imperial)
4. A HARD DAY'S NIGHT - The Beatles (Capitol)
5. A WORLD WITHOUT LOVE - Peter & Gordon (Capitol)
6. EVERYBODY LOVES SOMEBODY - Dean Martin (Reprise)
7. CHAPEL OF LOVE - The Dixie Cups (Red Bird)
8. MY BOY LOLLIPOP - Millie Small (Smash)
9. WISHIN' AND HOPIN' - Dusty Springfield (Philips)
10. THE LITTLE OLD LADY (From Pasadena) - Jan & Dean (Liberty)
11. PEOPLE - Barbra Streisand (Columbia)
12. DON'T LET THE SUN CATCH YOU CRYING - Gerry & The Pacemakers (Laurie)13. THE GIRL FROM IPANEMA - Stan Getz & Astrud Gilberto (Verve)
14. UNDER THE BOARDWALK - The Drifters (Atlantic)
15. WHERE DID OUR LOVE GO - The Supremes (Motown)
16. DANG ME - Roger Miller (Smash)
17. CAN'T YOU SEE THAT SHE'S MINE - The Dave Clark Five (Epic)
18. LOVE ME WITH ALL YOUR HEART (Cuando Calienta El Sol) - The Ray Charles Singers (Command)
19. LOVE ME DO - The Beatles (Tollie)
20. KEEP ON PUSHING - The Impressions (ABC-Paramount)
21. LITTLE CHILDREN - Billy J. Kramer & The Dakotas (Imperial)
22. WALK ON BY - Dionne Warwick (Scepter)
23. NO PARTICULAR PLACE TO GO - Chuck Berry (Chess)
24. I WANNA LOVE HIM SO BAD - The Jelly Beans (Red Bird)
25. MY GUY - Mary Wells (Motown)
26. C'MON AND SWIM - Bobby Freeman (Autumn)
27. BAD TO ME - Billy J. Kramer & The Dakotas (Imperial)
28. HELLO, DOLLY! - Louis Armstrong & The All Stars (Kapp)
29. STEAL AWAY - Jimmy Hughes (Fame)
30. TELL ME WHY - Bobby Vinton (Epic)
31. DON'T THROW YOUR LOVE AWAY - The Searchers (Kapp)
32. PEOPLE SAY - The Dixie Cups (Red Bird)
33. GOOD TIMES - Sam Cooke (RCA Victor)
34. NOBODY I KNOW - Peter & Gordon (Capitol)
35. TRY IT BABY - Marvin Gaye (Tamla)
36. (You Don't Know) HOW GLAD I AM - Nancy Wilson (Capitol)
37. DIANE - The Bachelors (London)
38. BECAUSE - The Dave Clark Five (Epic)
39. WALK--DON'T RUN '64 - The Ventures (Dolton)
40. TEARS AND ROSES - Al Martino (Capitol)
41. HANDY MAN - Del Shannon (Amy)
42. HOW DO YOU DO IT? - Gerry & The Pacemakers (Laurie)
43. THE HOUSE OF THE RISING SUN - The Animals (MGM)
44. AIN'T SHE SWEET - The Beatles (Atco)
45. DO YOU LOVE ME - The Dave Clark Five (Epic)
46. FARMER JOHN - The Premiers (Warner Bros.)
47. JUST BE TRUE - Gene Chandler (Constellation)
48. (Just Like) ROMEO AND JULIET - The Reflections (Golden World)
49. TODAY - The New Christy Minstrels (Columbia)
50. WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH YOU BABY - Marvin Gaye & Mary Wells (Motown)
The Biggest Hits Of Summer, 1964 - The Chicagoland Charts
1. I Get Around - Beach Boys
2. Rag Doll - Four Seasons
3. Little Children - Billy J. Kramer & Dakotas
4. A World Without Love - Peter & Gordon
5. A Hard Day's Night - Beatles
6. The Little Old Lady From Pasadena - Jan & Dean
7. Can't You See That She's Mine - Dave Clark Five
8. Everybody Loves Somebody - Dean Martin
9. Memphis - Johnny Rivers
10. Don't Let The Sun Catch Your Crying - Gerry & Pacemakers
11. Wishin' And Hopin - Dusty Springfield
12. Love Me Do - Beatles
13. Chapel Of Love - Dixiecups
14. What Have I Got Of My Own - Trini Lopez
15. The Girl From Ipanema - Stan Getz & Astrud Gilberto
16. Nobody I Know - Peter & Gordon
17. I Wanna Love Him So Bad - Jelly Beans
18. My Boy Lollipop - Millie Small
19. She's The One - Chartbusters
20. Party Girl - Bernadette Carroll
21. Dang Me - Roger Miller
22. First Night of the Full Moon - Jack Jones
23. Do You Love Me - Dave Clark Five
24. Don't Throw Your Love Away - Searchers
25. Handy Man - Del Shannon
26. Under The Boardwalk - Drifters
27. Where Did Our Love Go- Supremes
28. How Do You Do It - Gerry & Pacemakers
29. Love Me With All Your Heart - Ray Charles Singers
30. Three Window Coupe - Rip Chords
31. In The Misty Moonlight - Jerry Wallace
32. Father Sebastian - Ramblers
33. Dead Man's Curve - Jan & Dean
34. Diane - Bachelors
35. People Say - Dixiecups
36. C'mon And Swim - Bobby Freeman
37. World Without Love - Bobby Rydell
38. Yesterday's Gone - Chad & Jeremy
39. Because - Dave Clark Five
40. Shangri-La - Vic Dana
41. Don't Worry Baby - Beach Boys
42. Mexican Shuffle - Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass
43. House of the Rising Sun - Animals
44. I'll Keep You Satisfied - Billy J Kramer & Dakotas
45. Tell Me Why - Bobby Vinton
46. Rockin' Robin - Rivieras
47. People - Barbra Streisand
48. The World I Used To Know - Jimmie Rodgers
49. Love Is All We Need - Vic Dana
50. Farmer John - Premiers
What an odd assortment you'll find on our Chicagoland Summer Chart. While the "Sound of the Times" was certainly reflected by the appearances on the chart by The Beach Boys, The Four Seasons, Jan and Dean and Johnny Rivers ... and The British Invasion was in high gear thanks to high-charting records by The Beatles, The Dave Clark Five, Peter and Gordon, Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas, Chad and Jeremy, Gerry and the Pacemakers, Dusty Springfield, The Animals and The Searchers ... what the heck was going on with these major chart entries by the likes of Dean Martin, Barbra Streisand, Bobby Vinton, Jack Jones, Vic Dana, Trini Lopez, The Ray Charles Singers and Jerry Wallace?!?!?
Just proof again that in the Golden Days of Top 40 Radio, EVERYTHING could be played side-by-side without ANY segregation as to musical tastes and styles. And NOBODY objected ... we just tuned in, listened, and enjoyed!
Looking over the complete Chicagoland Top 50 list, you'll see that there wasn't a whole lot of variety in the artists department, however ... The Beatles, Gerry and the Pacemakers, Peter and Gordon, Jan and Dean, The Beach Boys, Vic Dana, Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas and The Dixiecups each held down TWO spots in our Summer Top 50 Countdown ... while The Dave Clark Five claimed THREE of The Top 50 spots! (That's nearly 40% of the entire chart accounted for by these nine artists!)
And anybody thinking that Beatlemania had died down by The Summer of '64 will be surprised to know that no less than TWELVE titles by The Fab Four hit our local charts during the Summer Eligibility Months of June, July and August! (These include everything from the all-but-forgotten German version of "She Loves You" called "Sie Liebt Dich" and their rendition of the old '20's classic "Ain't She Sweet", recorded at an early German recording session back in 1961 to nearly the entire soundtrack of their first film "A Hard Day's Night, spread out over three Capitol singles that summer ... ALL off these records were moderately-sized hits during The Summer of '64 here in Chi-Town!)
The Top Two Records both nationally and locally were "I Get Around" by The Beach Boys and "Rag Doll" by The Four Seasons, showcasing the epitome of the falsetto sounds coming from both coasts by two of the biggest, premier bands of the decade. In fact, SEVEN of The Top Ten Titles were common to both lists.
The Chuck Berry chestnut "Memphis" made The Top Twenty List for the second year in a row ... in 1963, Lonnie Mack scored a HUGE instrumental hit with his version ... and in 1964, Johnny Rivers tore up the charts with his "live" vocal rendition, just as he did on a regular basis at the Whisky A-Go-Go.
Much bigger hits here in Chicago than on the national charts included "She's The One" by The Chartbusters, a blatant Beatles sound-alike record that STILL sounds every bit as good today (despite the fact that it's rarely played on the radio anymore) and Bobby Rydell's version of "A World Without Love", a song we featured recently on the website in conjunction with a True Oldies Channel inquiry. We also featured a Chicagoland favorite, "Father Sebastian" by The Ramblers a while back ... this one only managed a #86 showing on The Billboard Chart but was a Top Ten Smash here in Chi-Town.
The diversity of music played side-by-side on the radio at the time is also evident when looking over these charts. You'll find the country novelty hit "Dang Me" by Roger Miller ranked right up alongside the Bossa-Nova beat of "The Girl From Ipanema" by Stan Getz and Astrud Gilberto; Motown hits by The Supremes, Marvin Gaye and Mary Wells played alongside the latest British Invasion hits of the days ... and radio STILL found time to program the likes of Al Martino, Barbra Streisand, Bobby Vinton and HUGE #1 Hits by Louis Armstrong and Dean Martin.
All-in-all, a pretty exciting summer full of music.
