Once again, I want to extend my VERY special thanks to Randy Price and Jack Levin for helping us compile these official charts. Using ONLY the chart data for June, July and August, we have once again determined the very Biggest Songs Of Summer for each of these spotlight years. National Data was analyized from all of the leading trade publications ... and the local Chicagoland Charts were determined by combining the stats from AM Powerhouse WLS and either WCFL (for 1966 and 1970) or our own local record shop survey chart called simply "Top Tunes Of Greater Chicago".
You'll find all the results below for 1963 ... and every week day this week, we'll salute another Summer Season.
ENJOY:
THE TOP 50 SONGS OF SUMMER, 1963
(National Charts Edition)
1. EASIER SAID THAN DONE - The Essex (Roulette)
2. SUKIYAKI - Kyu Sakamoto (Capitol)
3. SO MUCH IN LOVE - The Tymes (Parkway)
4. SURF CITY - Jan & Dean (Liberty)
5. FINGERTIPS (pt. 2) - Little Stevie Wonder (Tamla)
6. IT'S MY PARTY - Lesley Gore (Mercury)
7. BLUE ON BLUE - Bobby Vinton (Epic)
8. WIPE OUT - The Surfaris (Dot)
9. HELLO STRANGER - Barbara Lewis (Atlantic)
10. (You're The) DEVIL IN DISGUISE - Elvis Presley (RCA Victor)
11. BLOWIN' IN THE WIND - Peter, Paul & Mary (Warner Bros.)
12. MEMPHIS - Lonnie Mack (Fraternity)
13. TIE ME KANGAROO DOWN, SPORT - Rolf Harris (Epic)
14. YOU CAN'T SIT DOWN - The Dovells (Parkway)
15. DA DOO RON RON (When He Walked Me Home) - The Crystals (Philles)
16. JUDY'S TURN TO CRY - Lesley Gore (Mercury)
17. THOSE LAZY-HAZY-CRAZY DAYS OF SUMMER - Nat King Cole (Capitol)
18. CANDY GIRL - The 4 Seasons (Vee-Jay)
19. I LOVE YOU BECAUSE - Al Martino (Capitol)
20. ONE FINE DAY - The Chiffons (Laurie)
21. JUST ONE LOOK - Doris Troy (Atlantic)
22. PRIDE AND JOY - Marvin Gaye (Tamla)
23. STILL - Bill Anderson (Decca)
24. RING OF FIRE - Johnny Cash (Columbia)
25. MORE - Kai Winding & His Orchestra (Verve)
26. DETROIT CITY - Bobby Bare (RCA Victor)
27. IF YOU WANNA BE HAPPY - Jimmy Soul (S.P.Q.R.)
28. TWO FACES HAVE I - Lou Christie (Roulette)
29. SURFIN' U.S.A. - The Beach Boys (Capitol)
30. 18 YELLOW ROSES - Bobby Darin (Capitol)
31. NOT ME - The Orlons (Cameo)
32. HOPELESS - Andy Williams (Columbia)
33. HELLO MUDDUH, HELLO FADDUH! (A Letter From Camp) - Allan Sherman
(Warner Bros.)
34. MOCKINGBIRD - Inez Foxx (Symbol)
35. DENISE - Randy & The Rainbows (Rust)
36. ON TOP OF SPAGHETTI - Tom Glazer & The Do-Re-Mi Children's Chorus (Kapp)
37. GREEN, GREEN - The New Christy Minstrels (Columbia)
38. MY BOYFRIEND'S BACK - The Angels (Smash)
39. ABILENE - George Hamilton IV (RCA Victor)
40. MY SUMMER LOVE - Ruby & The Romantics (Kapp)
41. BIRDLAND - Chubby Checker (Parkway)
42. DANKE SHOEN - Wayne Newton (Capitol)
43. IF I HAD A HAMMER - Trini Lopez (Reprise)
44. STRING ALONG - Rick Nelson (Decca)
45. ANOTHER SATURDAY NIGHT - Sam Cooke (RCA Victor)
46. IF MY PILLOW COULD TALK - Connie Francis (MGM)
47. LOSING YOU - Brenda Lee (Decca)
48. HARRY THE HAIRY APE - Ray Stevens (Mercury)
49. FALLING - Roy Orbison (Monument)
50. I WILL FOLLOW HIM - Little Peggy March (RCA Victor)
THE TOP 50 SONGS OF SUMMER, 1963
(Chicagoland Edition)
1. Easier Said Than Done - Essex
2. Surf City - Jan & Dean
3. Sukiyaki - Kyu Sakamoto
4. Shut Down - Beach Boys
(incredibly, here in Chicago, this was the higher charting side of this
single, NOT "Surfin' U.S.A."!!!)
5. Blue On Blue - Bobby Vinton
6. So Much In Love - Tymes
7. Wipe Out - Surfaris
8. Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport - Rolf Harris
9. Candy Girl - Four Seasons
10. One Fine Day - Chiffons
11. Gypsy Woman - Rick Nelson
(Nationally, a low-charting B-Side .. but here in Chicago, a Top Ten Hit! You'll
find the OTHER side of this hit, "String Along", on The National Top 50
Summer Chart.)
12. Blowin' In The Wind - Peter, Paul and Mary
13. Memphis - Lonnie Mack
14. It's My Party - Lesley Gore
15. Denise - Randy and the Rainbows
16. My Boyfriend's Back - Angels
17. Still - Bill Anderson
18. Fingertips, Part 2 - Stevie Wonder
19. Devil In Disguise - Elvis Presley
20. Hello Stranger - Barbara Lewis
21. Falling - Roy Orbison
22. Till Then - Classics
23. Detroit City - Bobby Bare
24. You Can't Sit Down - Dovells
25. Hello Mudduh, Hello Fadduh - Allan Sherman
26. Judy's Turn To Cry - Lesley Gore
27. Hootenannny - Glencloves
28. Sting Ray - Routers
(Nationally, this one peaked at #50!)
29. Ring Of Fire - Johnny Cash
30. Green Green - New Christy Minstrels
31. Two Faces Have I - Lou Christie
32. I'm Afraid To Go Home - Brian Hyland
(Nationally, this one stopped at #59!)
33. Da Do Ron Ron - Crystals
34. From Me To You - Del Shannon
(Look how well this record did here in Chicago, where it peaked at #10)
35. True Love Never Runs Smooth - Gene Pitney
36. I'm Movin' On - Matt Lucas
37. Be True To Yourself - Bobby Vee
38. When A Boy Falls In Love - Mel Carter
39. Good Night My Love - Fleetwoods
40. More - Kai Winding
41. Six Days On The Road - Dave Dudley
42. Not Me - Orlons
43. What A Guy - Raindrops
44. Tamoure - Bill Justice
45. Foolish Little Girl - Shirelles
46. Danke Schoen - Wayne Newton
47. Come Go With Me - Dion
48. Abilene - George Hamilton IV
49. Your Graduation Means Goodbye - Cardigans
50. 18 Yellow Roses - Bobby Darin
On our 1963 Biggest Songs Of Summer Charts, we find that "Easier Said Than Done" tops BOTH the National and the Local List ... clearly the undisputed Biggest Song Of Summer, 1963. Other clear-cut, Top Ten Favorites include "Sukiyaki" by Kyu Sakamoto, "Surf City" by Jan and Dean, "So Much In Love" by The Tymes and "Blue On Blue" by Bobby Vinton.
In fact, 15 different titles share a spot on EACH of The 20 Lists, a pretty good representation of just how big these songs really were during the Summer of '63.
While The Beatles wouldn't make their big splash here in The States for several months, Del Shannon took a Lennon and McCartney tune into The Top Ten here in Chicago when he recorded their British #1 Hit "From Me To You". (Nationally, this one stopped at #67 on The Cash Box Chart.)
It's also interesting to see "Shut Down" by The Beach Boys chart as the A-Side here in Chicago while the recognized hit side of the record, "Surfin' USA" didn't even make our Local Summer List. Chicagoans also seemed to prefer the flip side of Rick Nelson's hit "String Along", making "Gypsy Woman" the charted record of choice. (Both of the "traditional" A-Sides made The National List Summer Showing.)
And a few records that didn't even crack Billboard's Top 40 ended up placing on The Chicago Chart as well ... it's probably safe to say that most of the country wasn't even familiar with the likes of "Hootenanny" by The Glencloves, "Sting Ray" by the Routers, "I'm Afraid To Go Home" by Brian Hyland, "Tamoure" by Bill Justice and "Your Graduation Means Goodbye" by The Cardigans.
Tomorrow we recap The 50 Biggest Hits Of Summer, 1964 ... stay tuned!
