6 of the 60s: 5/22/13 (1966)...

It's happy hump day, and time to roll out a half-dozen more nuggets from the 60s, and this week I've got six from 1966, the year that two "pirate" radio stations are broadcast from a ship off England in international waters...

New Vaudeville Band - "Winchester Cathedral"
from the album Winchester Cathedral (1966)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #1
Songwriter: Geoff Stephens

The British novelty act had a hit with a seemingly real church that as of this week would probably be holding gay weddings...

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Crispian St. Peters - "The Pied Piper"
from the album The Pied Piper (1966)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #4
Songwriters: Steve Duboff, Artie Kornfeld

Another British light-pop singer lured kids away from their money with this twee take on the German folktale.

Tommy Roe - "Hooray For Hazel"
from the album Sweet Pea (1966)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #6
Songwriter: Tommy Roe

They just don't make songs about girls named Hazel anymore.

Herman's Hermits - "Leaning On The Lamp Post"
from the album Both Sides Of Herman's Hermits (1966)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #9
Songwriter: Noel Gay

The 60s approximation of One Direction would take Noel Gay's old-timey song and still have a top-10 hit with it in the States..

The Happenings - "Go Away Little Girl"
from the album The Happenings (1966)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #12
Songwriters: Gerry Goffin, Carole King

The easy-listening vocal group straddled the line between youthful charm and older-style music for a small while until the Summer of Love assured the kids ain't havin' any of that.

Sam the Sham & The Pharoahs - "The Hair On My Chinny Chin Chin"
from the album The Best of Sam the Sham & The Pharoahs (1966)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #22
Songwriter: Ronald Blackwell

 The "Wooly Bully" guy and his troupe dug into the nursery rhyme pool for this one, and its success led to an entire album of such songs (but not this one)...

Well that does in for today's sixties adventure...tomorrow I'll have 7 more from 1976 and 8 from 1986...