6 of the 60s: 1/30/13...

Hey gang, I'm back with another half-dozen nuggets from the 60's, and this week I'm back to 1964, the year Hello Dolly! debuts in New York City.

The Beatles - "I Want To Hold Your Hand"
from the album Meet The Beatles! (1964)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #1

This generation didn't realize that the biggest band ever in rock music actually was floundering in America until this little ditty came around with a little help from a TV show. The shot heard round the world, as it were.


The Beach Boys - "Fun, Fun, Fun"
from the album Shut Down, Vol. 2 (1964)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #5

Before the Fab Four took off, these five were what all the kiddies were listening to. Cribbing Chuck Berry's guitar licks didn't hurt either. But after this the Boys would have to adapt to their rivals' experimental genius.


The Rolling Stones - "Time Is On My Side"
from the album 12X5 (1964)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #6

But it wasn't just the Beatles that would give the California Boys competition. The Stones were the older, grimier sister to the Fab Four's middle-child quirky politeness. But of course if was with material like this old Kai Winding adult-contemporary number.

Herman's Hermits - "I'm Into Something Good"
from the album Herman's Hermits (1965)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #13

The Hermits were never my bag, Peter Noone was really the Justin Bieber of the 60s, someone with a passable voice that girls would just go apeshit for. But even I can't deny the allure of this Carole King/Gerry Goffin piece of sugary paradise.

The Supremes - "When The Lovelight Starts Shining Into My Eyes"
from the album Where Did Our Love Go (1964)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #23

Before the biggest female group of the decade had their string of five #1 singles, they put out eight other records, including this, their first minor top-40 hit. However, it always has a place in my heart for being track one on the first Supremes CD I bought, reminding me whence they came.

The Temptations - "I'll Be In Trouble"
from the album The Temptin' Temptations (1965)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #33

The second top-40 hit for the counterpart to the Supremes on Motown (originally the Primes and the Primettes), this Smokey Robinson number was meant to mimic their breakthrough "The Way You Do The Things You Do". Yeah, they do it now, they did it back then as well.

Well that's it for this little trip...tomorrow I'll bring you 7 more fro 1974 and 8 from '84, but first tonight I'll have my recap of the music scene Down Under. Cheers!