#1 at KRIZ/Phoenix: “Up On The Roof” by the Drifters, another in a long line of hits for the legendary rhythm-and-blues group.
Musically, the early 1960s were essentially a carry-over from the 1950s. Not until January 1964, when the Beatles arrived on the U.S. scene, would the musical era commonly known as The Sixties actually begin.
It’s mostly quaint, old-fashioned-sounding songs populating this week’s top 40: do-wop, girl groups, male crooners, novelty tunes, sentimental tripe — songs very much of their time that wouldn’t survive the coming musical revolution. Even so, there are some significant records from this period.
A popular genre of the day was instrumental music, highlighted this week by “Miserlou” (#3), an enormously influential record by Dick Dale And His Del-Tones. Known as “king of the surf guitar,” Dale took this traditional European folk song and turned it into such a cool sound that director Quentin Tarantino used it for the opening of his classic 1994 movie Pulp Fiction, and the Black Eyed Peas made it the backbone of their 2006 smash “Pump It.” Dick Dale is also on the chart with a non-instrumental, the rather lame “Peppermint Man” (#6).
Other instrumentals include:
- “Boss” (#11) by the Rumbles, a California band named after Link Wray’s 1958 hit “Rumble” (which is often credited as being the first record with guitar power chords);
- “Telstar” (#31), a former #1 by the Tornadoes, featuring a forerunner of the synthesizer;
- “Wiggle Wobble” (#9) by Les Cooper & The Soul Rockers, a B-side that became a surprise hit.
This week’s chart also has original versions of songs later recorded by other artists. These include:
- “You Really Got A Hold On Me” (#8), written by Smokey Robinson for his group the Miracles, which would be covered — ironically enough — by the Beatles on their second U.K. album;
- “Chains” (#20) by the Cookies (who were Little Eva’s backup singers), which was recorded by the Beatles for their first album and written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King;
- “Keep Your Hands Off My Baby” (#27) by Little Eva herself, another Goffin-King song performed by the Beatles in 1963 and released on their Live At The BBC album;
- “Go Away Little Girl” (#19), yet another Goffin-King tune, this one by Steve Lawrence, which Donny Osmond would make a hit in 1971.
Donny Osmond wasn’t the first teen idol on TV each week who had hit records. His predecessors in 1963 included:
- Johnny Crawford from The Rifleman with “Proud” (#7);
- Paul Peterson from The Donna Reed Show with “My Dad” (#10);
- Ricky Nelson from The Adventures of Ozzie And Harriet with “It’s Up To You” (#28) — unlike the two above, Nelson became an authentic recording star with many hits.
In 1963, Motown Records was still in its infancy. Two future superstar acts chart this week with their second singles:
- The Supremes, sounding like any other girl group, with “Let Me Go The Right Way” (#23); they would define their own style a year and a half later with the #1 hit, “Where Did Our Love Go”;
- Marvin Gaye with “Hitch Hike” (#30); his next release, “Pride And Joy,” would be his first huge hit.
Most of the songs on this chart would soon be forgotten. But a few survived on Top 40 radio as oldies after 1964. These included:
- “Walk Right In” (#16) by the Rooftop Singers, a folk music trio;
- “Big Girls Don’t Cry” (#21), the second chart-topper by the Four Seasons;
- “Rhythm Of The Rain” (#33) by the Cascades, the only big hit for the San Diego group.
And finally, one of the top songs of 1963 was the oh-so-sweet “Hey Paula” (#22) by Paul & Paula. It’s emblematic of how much music would change with the arrival of the Beatles just a year later.