8/1/64 - A HARD DAY'S NIGHT moves into the #1 Spot this week on The Billboard Hot 100 Chart as The Four Seasons fall to #2 with their monster hit "Rag Doll". Other Top 20 British Hits include WISHIN' AND HOPIN' by DUSTY SPRINGFIELD (#6), NOBODY I KNOW by PETER AND GORDON (#12) and CAN'T YOU SEE THAT SHE'S MINE by THE DAVE CLARK FIVE (#13).
Admittedly, The Top Ten has a decidedly "American" feel to it. In addition to The Four Seasons at #2, you'll find Jan and Dean at #3 with "The Little Old Lady From Pasadena", their counterparts The Beach Boys at #8 with "I Get Around", a brand new Motown Hit "Where Did Our Love Go" by The Supremes, leaping from #18 to #5 and the Johnny Rivers remake of "Memphis" at #9. There were also a few surprises. Country Novelty King Roger Miller is enjoying his first Pop Chart Hit with "Dang Me" (#7) and two records that seem a bit out of place … "Everybody Loves Somebody" by Dean Martin and "The Girl From Ipanema" by Getz / Gilberto are holding down the #4 and #10 spot respectively.
Other British Hits on the list: DON'T LET THE SUN CATCH YOU CRYING by GERRY AND THE PACEMAKERS (#22), DON'T THROW YOUR LOVE AWAY by THE SEARCHERS (#25), YOU'RE MY WORLD by CILLA BLACK (#26), BAD TO ME by BILLY J. KRAMER AND THE DAKOTAS (#35), TELL ME by THE ROLLING STONES (#36), I BELIEVE by THE BACHELORS (#39) and, cracking The Top 40 for the very first time, AIN'T SHE SWEET by THE BEATLES at #40, up from #67 the week before. (This was another track The Fab Four recorded in Germany back in 1961 … and features one of my favorite John Lennon vocals ever.)
It doesn't end there … GERRY AND THE PACEMAKERS are back at #43 with HOW DO YOU DO IT, BILLY J. KRAMER AND THE DAKOTAS are up over 30 points to #54 with I'LL KEEP YOU SATISFIED, THE DAVE CLARK FIVE premier at #60 with their beautiful ballad BECAUSE (a song the record company fought Dave Clark on, saying it would NEVER be a hit here in America because that's not what the audience wanted to hear from THE DAVE CLARK FIVE), I'LL CRY INSTEAD, new at #62 by THE BEATLES, AND I LOVE HER (#65, also by THE BEATLES), I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN BETTER (#66 … ALSO by THE BEATLES), IT'S ALL OVER NOW, up nearly 20 points to #81 by THE ROLLING STONES, IF I FELL (#92) and I'M HAPPY JUST TO DANCE WITH YOU (#95), two more BEATLES tracks from the soundtrack to their new film A HARD DAY'S NIGHT, SHOUT by LULU AND THE LOVERS (#97), BACHELOR BOY (#99) by CLIFF RICHARD and YOU'RE NO GOOD (#100, and later a #1 Hit for Linda Ronstadt some ten years later) by THE SWINGING BLUE JEANS.
Don't think for a moment that The British Invasion was waning … that gives The Brits and incredible 23 of The Top 100 Hits in the country for this week in August, 1964. Even Arthur Fiedler and The Boston Pops Orchestra got wrapped up in the mania … THEIR version of "I Want To Hold Your Hand" climbs to #55 this week!
Here in Chicago THE BEATLES move into the #1 spot with their two-sided hit A HARD DAY'S NIGHT / I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN BETTER on the WLS Silver Dollar Survey. DUSTY SPRINGFIELD's WISHIN' AND HOPIN' sits at #4 with NOBODY I KNOW by PETER AND GORDON at #6 and CAN'T YOU SEE THAT SHE'S MINE by THE DAVE CLARK FIVE, DON'T LET THE SUN CATCH YOU CRYING by GERRY AND THE PACEMAKERS and DON'T THROW YOUR LOVE AWAY by THE SEARCHERS holding down the #10, #11 and #12 spots respectively.
GERRY AND THE PACEMAKERS also have the #14 Hit this week on The Silver Dollar Survey with their latest, HOW DO YOU DO IT, a song turned down by THE BEATLES. (They convinced Producer George Martin to release PLEASE PLEASE ME instead.) I BELIEVE by THE BACHELORS is this week's #15 Hit, followed behind by BILLY J. KRAMER AND THE DAKOTAS with their latest, I'LL KEEP YOU SATISFIED (#21), the two-sided hit I'M HAPPY JUST TO DANCE WITH YOU / I'LL CRY INSTEAD by THE BEATLES at #30 and SHOUT by LULU AND THE LUVERS at #37.
DIDJAKNOW? - The American version of "I'll Cry Instead" has an extra verse ... Capitol Records felt the song was too short. (Its British counterpart ... NOT released as a single ... only timed out at 1:47 ... so Capitol edited in a repeated "middle eight" to stretch it out to another 22-seconds! We've got BOTH versions of this one for you today ... one of those very RARE Beatles tracks that seems to be overlooked by radio today. (They pretty much play EVERYTHING else!!!)
