6 of the 60s: 1/23/13...

Hey gang, it's time for another half-dozen nuggets from the 60s, and this week I'm back to 1963, the year Alcatraz closes its doors.

Jimmy Gilmer & The Fireballs - "Sugar Shack"
from the album Sugar Shack (1963)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #1

The New Mexican group started out as an instrumental outfit, but on the addition of Texan Gilmer scored the biggest song of the year with this predecessor of the bubblegum genre...

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The Chantays - "Pipeline"
from the album Pipeline (1963)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #4

The classic surf-rock song even got aired on Lawrence Welk's show, proving how undeniable the genre was to bringing rock music to the mainstream.

Dion - "Donna The Prima Donna"
from the album Donna The Prima Donna (1963)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #6

The Bronx-born teen idol had a better voice the most of the rest, and this was one of his last hits before addiction sidelined him for a bit.

Sunny & The Sunglows - "Talk To Me"
from the album Talk To Me (1963)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #11

One of the first successful Chicano rock groups, the San Antonio band's cover of the Little Willie John song crossed over to the adult-contemporary and R&B charts as well.

Theola Kilgore - "The Love Of My Man"
from the single (1963)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #21

The Louisiana gospel-styled singer reinterpreted the religious song "The Love Of God" into this secular but just as thrilling love ode.


Dave Dudley - "Six Days On The Road"
from the album Songs About The Working Man (1964)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #32

The first big truck-drivin' song of the modern country era had the balls enough to originally include a line about "taking white pills and my eyes are open wide".

That closes out this flashback, I'll be back later with this week's Aussie Sweep, then tomorrow I'll bring ya 7 more from 1973 and 8 from 1983. See ya then!