Favorite Songs of 1964

My intense interest in popular music was born in early 1964 when the Beatles made their historic first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show. After that, my family all became avid Beatles fans, buying up their albums (and some singles) as they came out. Miami’s two competing popular music radio stations, 560-WQAM and 790-WFUN, both battled to see who could play the next release first. By listening for Beatles songs, I became more aware of other quality artists. The Beatles’ popularity brought in other acts from Britain such as the Rolling Stones and the Animals. At this time, the Rolling Stones had a definite blues flavor to their music and were at their very best (to me) with tunes like the Bo Diddley-inspired Not Fade Away, Time is on My Side, and It’s All Over Now. For their part, the Animals had two great follow-ups to their blockbuster hit House of the Rising Sun: Baby Let Me Take You Home and I’m Crying. As the year wore on, I found myself comparing this keyboard/blues/rock band favorably to the Beatles. But they ultimately had a problem with creating their own original songs over the years and there was too much conflict between the band members. Other British acts hitting the big time were Billy Jay Kramer and the Dakotas (Little Children), the Dave Clark Five (Glad All Over and Bits and Pieces), Gerry and the Pacemakers (Don’t Let the Sun Catch You Crying), Peter and Gordon (Nobody I Know), and Chad and Jeremy (originally introduced as Stuart and Clyde). Chad and Jeremy had two songs I especially cherished, both evoking strong feelings of nostalgia for my (seven-year-old) life back then: Summer Song and Yesterday’s Gone. Herman’s Hermits began their string of American hits, most of which I could take or leave. But I did like their ‘64 tune I’m Into Something Good. The late Dusty Springfield made her debut in America with her deep, soulful voice and hits like I Only Want to Be With You and Wishin’ and Hopin’.

Established acts still put out some outstanding records in 1964. Elvis Presley’s Viva Las Vegas was one of his best, while Gene Pitney’s It Hurts to Be in Love was pounding in its intensity. Betty Everett and Jerry Butler covered Let It Be Me with great emotion. Terry Stafford sounded like Elvis (I think that was the idea) with Suspicion. By confusing its words, I misinterpreted White on White, a sad tune by Danny Williams about a man losing his true love to another in marriage, as a song about Astronomy (“lace on satin” sounds a little like “rings on Saturn” to a seven-year old’s ears). Roy Orbison’s comeback hit Oh Pretty Woman also turned out to be his biggest ever, dominating the late summer of ‘64.

American groups arose with their own special sound to compete with the British imports. The Supremes’ first hit, Where Did Our Love Go, was also my favorite of theirs. Martha and the Vandellas had everyone Dancing in the Street. Dionne Warwick made her debut into stardom in 1964 (with her elegance and beautiful voice), one of her songs being the inviting Reach Out For Me. On the surf-side, Jan and Dean and the Beach Boys each had a stand-out hit (to me, at least) with the ominous Dead Man’s Curve and the cocky and confident I Get Around, respectively.

So what were my top favorites as I lived through 1964? Number #5 was the Beatles' screamer Slow Down, off of their Something New album. It was only a minor hit, so I couldn’t hear it enough (and my parents unfortunately chose to buy the A Hard Days Night soundtrack album instead of Something New). From the Beatles' soundtrack album to their movie A Hard Days Night (a great comedy that we naturally all went together to see that summer) was George Harrison’s innocent-enough sounding Happy Just to Dance With You, my #4 favorite song of the year. The aforementioned upbeat love song Baby Let Me Take You Home by the Animals takes #3 for ‘64. The Honeycombs, a group that, reflecting back on it now, sounded a little like Buddy Holly, had their one hit (but a great one) with my #2 song from 1964: Have I the Right?. And my top favorite from this tremendous year in popular music? None other than the Beatles’ exceptional cover of the old Isley Brothers hit Twist and Shout, with John Lennon at his screaming best! Here are some other songs from 1964 that I liked as well:

BY THE BEATLES:
I Saw Her Standing There
It Won’t Be Long
Devil in Her Heart
Thank You Girl
Money
You Can’t Do That
I’ll Cry Instead
And I Love Her
Do You Want to Know a Secret
PS I Love You
Rock and Roll Music
I’ll Follow the Sun
She’s a Woman
Boys

BY OTHERS:
Dominique (The Singing Nun) (carry-over from late ‘63)
Come See About Me (Supremes)
Baby Love (Supremes)
In the Misty Moonlight (Jerry Wallace)
California Sun (Rivieras)
Louie Louie (The Kingsmen)
Bread and Butter (The Newbeats)
We’ll Sing in the Sunshine (Gale Garnett)
My Boy Lollipop (Millie Small)
Shoop Shoop Song (Betty Everett)
Chapel of Love (Dixie Cups)
Just Like Romeo and Juliet (The Reflections)
Leader of the Pack (The Shangri-Las)

And now we come to the point where my recap of my favorites each year in music must end. For I based this ongoing review on my favorites as I lived through each year, and I didn’t start following “the scene” in popular music until early 1964. Not that there weren't some wonderful songs from earlier (such as Tommy Edwards's It's All In the Game, Jim Lowe's The Green Door, and Gogi Grant's The Wayward Wind); I just didn't get to know these until 1964 or later.