The common wisdom behind the American popularity of “Dominique” is that it satisfied the nation’s desire for gentle, comforting music in the days and weeks after President John F. Kennedy’s Nov. 22 assassination. Yet the early 1960s, for the most part, had already been an era when softer music dominated. Folk music and girl groups [...]
Archive for the ‘1963’ Category
102) The Singing Nun – “Dominique”
Posted in 07, 1963, tagged soeur sourire, the singing nun on April 13, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
101) Dale & Grace – “I’m Leaving It Up to You”
Posted in 08, 1963, tagged dale & grace on March 27, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
It’s easy for the rest of America to dump on the South. But despite poor standardized test scores and the occasional racist politician, Southerners can still console themselves with having produced many of the country’s greatest cultural contributions: the collected works of William Faulkner, Flannery O’Connor and Tennessee Williams; the golden standard for American comfort [...]
100) Nino Tempo and April Stevens – “Deep Purple”
Posted in 05, 1963, tagged nino tempo and april stevens on March 15, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Over the first five or so years of the Hot 100, rock and roll and teen pop records shared space with easy listening instrumentals and versions of classic pop songs. There were certainly some adults buying rock records, and teenagers who were fans of Lawrence Welk, but as a rule the two demographics kept to [...]
99) Jimmy Gilmer and the Fireballs – “Sugar Shack”
Posted in 05, 1963, tagged jimmy gilmer and the fireballs on March 12, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Now that we’re almost to the end of 1963, what would you guess was the best-selling song of the year? Remember, there was a lot of classic stuff to hit the top of the charts in 1963: The Four Seasons’ best single, Jan & Dean’s take on The Beach Boys’ surf-ready harmonies and, of course, [...]
98) Bobby Vinton – “Blue Velvet”
Posted in 07, 1963, tagged bobby vinton on March 9, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
In my review of “Roses Are Red (My Love),” I made no secret of my distaste for that single’s amateurish lyrics, hackneyed musicianship and simpering vocals. And although “Blue Velvet,” Bobby Vinton’s second number-one hit, sounds remarkably similar on a cursory listen, it far exceeds its predecessor. At first, I feared that my enjoyment of [...]
97) The Angels – “My Boyfriend’s Back”
Posted in 07, 1963, tagged girl groups, the angels on March 8, 2010 | 2 Comments »
It’s not surprising that one of the first crop of girl groups was called The Angels. After all, the genre’s style (at least in the early years) was built on sweet, pure voices singing about innocent love. “My Boyfriend’s Back” is perhaps the ultimate distillation of what a girl group named “The Angels” should sound [...]
96) Little Stevie Wonder – “Fingertips Pt. 2″
Posted in 05, 1963, tagged motown, stevie wonder on February 25, 2010 | 1 Comment »
Stevie Wonder was a welcome chart presence throughout the ’60s and ’70s, releasing singles that tempered the balance between pop and soul without forsaking either. His best songs became instant classics, but even the minor singles display his able musicianship and joie de vivre. But if the first Stevie Wonder record you heard was “Fingertips [...]
95) The Tymes – “So Much in Love”
Posted in 05, 1963, tagged the tymes on February 23, 2010 | 4 Comments »
In a post-Four Seasons world, where Motown artists regularly topped the charts, there wasn’t really a need for doo-wop anymore. Yet the genre had one last gasp with The Tymes and “So Much in Love,” a completely straightforward, completely forgettable single. “So Much in Love” returns doo-wop to its roots by going almost completely a [...]
94) Jan & Dean – “Surf City”
Posted in 06, 1963, tagged brian wilson, jan & dean on February 22, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
As wicked as the snarl of a surf guitar sounds on an instrumental, I’ve never been able to embrace songs about surfing. My beach-going is limited to childhood summer trips to the placid waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Even if I had grown up within commuting distance of the Pacific Ocean, though, my wussiness, [...]
93) The Essex – “Easier Said Than Done”
Posted in 07, 1963, tagged the essex on February 21, 2010 | 4 Comments »
Before the Internet, home studios and alternative rock culture, the only way to become a nationally-famous musician was to devote your life completely to music. You could play nightclubs and high school dances in hopes of getting discovered, or you could work within the system as a session player or songwriter for other musicians, biding [...]
