We kick off the month of August with a brand new #1 Record as "Li'l Red Riding Hood" by Sam The Sham and the Pharaohs takes over the top spot on The Super Chart. (Please Note: Much like "Wooly Bully" last year, this record did NOT top Billboard's Hot 100 Pop Singles Chart. However, it DID reach the summit in both Cash Box and Record World, which earned it enough points to top the chart here, too, in our official Super Charts recap of relative music popularity based on the findings of all THREE major trade publications.)
This holds "They're Coming To Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa!" at #2, which still rises four positions in only its third week on the chart. The Top Ten Record with the most steam this week, however, appears to be "Summer In The City" by The Lovin' Spoonful, which climbs from #8 to #5.
Petula Clark continues to make great strides with her latest (it now sits at #18) while Stevie Wonder's version of "Blowin' In The Wind" has put together quite a run as well ... it moves from #55 to #38 to #24 this week, in only its third week on the chart.
We see some impressive moves further down the chart as "My Heart's Symphony" by Gary Lewis and the Playboys moves from #73 to #42, "Land Of 1000 Dances" by Wilson Pickett is up 35 spots, moving from #81 to #46 and "Bus Stop" by The Hollies moves up another twenty from #74 to #54.
But the BIGGEST mover of the week belongs to newcomer Donovan ...
His "Sunshine Superman" jumps an incredible FORTY points from #98 to #58. (This so-called "New Dylan" hasn't made much of an impression yet here in the States ... his first four US releases barely got noticed, even though three of them DID make The National Top 40.) But THIS one appears to be a real winner!
The top debut this week belongs to The Beach Boys ... their latest, "Wouldn't It Be Nice," premiers at #67, just ahead of the new record by Tommy James and the Shondells, who are still holding on to a Top Ten spot with their former #1 Record, "Hanky Panky."
60 YEARS AGO TODAY:
8/1/66 – After years of lawsuits and blatant mismanagement and use of funds, a Chicago judge orders Vee Jay Records to liquidate their assets, the result of which allows The Four Seasons to now own all of their master recordings recorded for the label.
Vee Jay cashed in big time when The Beatles first hit in early 1964. While earlier releases (like “Please Please Me,” which was released and charted on WLS in February of 1963) failed to make an impact, all of that changed once Beatlemania exploded. Vee Jay quickly re-released everything in their vaults (in some cases, multiple times) and made millions selling copies of The Beatles’ early recordings from their British “Please Please Me” album, the bulk of which was released here in The States as “Introducing The Beatles” a month sooner than Capitol Records put out “Meet The Beatles.” As such, tracks like “Please Please Me,” “From Me To You,” “Do You Want To Know A Secret,” “Thank You Girl” and, on their subsidiary, Tollie Records, “Love Me Do,” “P.S. I Love You,” “Twist and Shout” and “There’s A Place” all made the charts ... and sold boatloads of copies.
And they weren’t the only label cashing in. With Capitol Records passing on the first
four Beatles British singles, US labels like Swan (“She Loves You,” “I’ll Get
You,” “Sie Liebt Dich), Atco (“Ain’t She Sweet) and MGM (“My Bonnie,” featuring
Tony Sheridan on lead vocals) all made the US charts during the time when fans
were buying up anything and everything available by this hot new group from
England!
