First up: FIFTY YEARS AGO THIS WEEKEND:
7/4/64 - America may be celebrating Independence Day today … but The British still have a pretty good hold on our pop charts! No less than 17 British Hits are on the Hot 100 Pop Singles Chart this week … and two unique arrangements of previous BEATLES Hits (I WANT TO HOLD YOUR HAND by THE BOSTON POPS ORCHESTRA and ALL MY LOVING by THE HOLLYRIDGE STRINGS) also premier this week!
Here's your recap: DON'T LET THE SUN CATCH YOU CRYING by GERRY AND THE PACEMAKERS hits a new high at #4, PETER AND GORDON's first hit, A WORLD WITHOUT LOVE, falls from #1 to #6, BAD TO ME by BILLY J. KRAMER AND THE DAKOTAS holds at #9 while CAN'T YOU SEE THAT SHE'S MINE by THE DAVE CLARK FIVE climbs from #16 to #10. BILLY J's flip-side, LITTLE CHILDREN is at #14, followed by DON'T THROW YOUR LOVE AWAY by THE SEARCHERS at #18, THE BEATLES' LOVE ME DO at #19, YESTERDAY'S GONE at #21 for CHAD AND JEREMY, DIANE by THE BACHELORS at #27, THE DAVE CLARK FIVE again at #40 with DO YOU LOVE ME, WISHIN' AND HOPIN', up to #44 for DUSTY SPRINGFIELD, NOBODY I KNOW, a major leap for PETER AND GORDON, climbing from #73 to #48, NOT FADE AWAY by THE STONES at #55, I BELIEVE (new on the charts for THE BACHELORS at #71), YESTERDAY'S GONE by THE OVERLANDERS at #77, YOU'RE MY WORLD premiers at #80 for CILLA BLACK as does the second ROLLING STONES' American Chart Hit, TELL ME at #81.
Here in Chicago, The Beach Boys top the chart (for the first of two weeks) with their latest, "I Get Around" ... and then the British take over: "Little Children" by Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas is at #2, "A World Without Love" by Peter and Gordon at #3 and "Can't You See That She's Mine" by The Dave Clark Five at #4. Gerry and the Pacemakers also have a Top Ten Hit with "Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying", which came in at #9 this holiday weekend.
Filling out The Top 40, we've got The Searchers at #16 with "Don't Throw Your Love Away", Peter and Gordon at #29 with "Nobody I Know" and Dusty Springfield, new on the charts at #40 with "Wishin' And Hopin'". One of this week's featured albums is "A Hard Day's Night" by The Beatles ... they'd premier the following week with the title track as one half of a two-sided hit, featuring "I Should Have Known Better" on the B-Side.
The Saturday Surveys:
Just a couple this week ...
Here's a Top 40 Chart from Pittsburgh's KQV from 1966 ... and I think I see a trend here ...
In what can perhaps be best described as "Pollution Awareness Week", we find Johnny Rivers at #11 with "Muddy Water" followed by The Standells at #12 with "Dirty Water". (Hmm ... maybe it's all those steel mills?!?!?)
Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs hit #1 in several cities with "Li'l Red Riding Hood", despite stopping at #2 on the Billboard Chart. (It DID reach #1 on both the Cash Box and the Record World charts.)
The Jefferson Airplane top the list on this KFRC from 1967 ... other "Heavy Hits" include "Light My Fire" by The Doors, "Down On Me" by Big Brother and the Holding Company, "A Whiter Shade Of Pale" by Procol Harum, "Society's Child" by Janis Ian, "Purple Haze" by Jimi Hendrix, "Bluebird" by The Buffalo Springfield, "A Thousand Shadows" by The Seeds and "Masked Marauder" by Country Joe and the Fish.
But there are plenty of POP hits here, too ... "Windy" by The Association is at #2, "Alfie" by Dionne Warwick at #5 ... as well as hits for both Frankie Valli as a solo artist ("Can't Take My Eyes Off You", #9) and with The Four Seasons ("C'mon Marianne", #18).
Finally, take a look at this "Young Adult" chart from WYYY in Kalamazoo, Michigan, featuring The Beach Boys at #20 with one of MY favorites, "Break Away". We've even got a very early Mark Lindsay solo track, "First Hymn From Grand Terrace" at #20!
And finally a couple of tune's for America's Birthday!
(Best Bernie Mac voice: Happy Birthday America!)
