Music Meme, Iteration 2

I liked doing the music meme so much I decided to test out a comment I made on Doghouse Riley's inestimable blog. My theory, and I'm sticking to it , is that the music we liked at 12 or 13 would be more telling. Let's see if the sounds of 1963 are more revealing...


As before:

Those songs in blue I either still like or have grown to appreciate.

Italics mark songs I liked then but have no idea why now.

Bolded songs are the ones I considered dreck then, and still dislike.

I remain indifferent to the charms of those in plain text, just as I was in 1968.


1. Surfin' U.S.A., Beach Boys
2. Sugar Shack, Jimmy Gilmer and The Fireballs
3. The End Of The World, Skeeter Davis
4. Rhythm Of The Rain, Cascades
5. Hey Paula, Paul and Paula
6. Blue Velvet, Bobby Vinton (It is hard to properly measure the suck factor of this tune, it is so far off the scale)
7. He's So Fine, Chiffons (SUBLIME)
8. Fingertips II, Little Stevie Wonder
9. Washington Square, Village Stompers (Nothing worse than a fake folk song done by a bunch of people who had never met any genuine folk in their lives)
10. So Much In Love, Tymes
11. Can't Get Used To Losing You, Andy Williams
12. My Boyfriend's Back, Angels (It's so absolutely wrong to like this tune, but I love it. Especially like doing karaoke to it with some other ex-footballers as backup)
13. Sukiyaki, Kyu Sakamoto
14. She's A Fool, Lesley Gore
15. It's All Right, Impressions
16. Puff (The Magic Dragon), Peter, Paul and Mary (It is simply not possible to dislike a song anymore than I do this one at this moment)
17. Blowin' In The Wind, Peter, Paul and Mary
18. Wipe Out, The Surfaris (YEEEE HAH!)
19. Deep Purple, Nino Tempo and April Stevens
20. I'm Leaving It Up To You, Dale and Grace
21. I Love You Because, Al Martino
22. Wild Weekend, Rebels
23. You're The Reason I'm Living, Bobby Darin
24. Walk Like A Man, Four Seasons (One of those songs that I should despise for its sexist vile language, but I don't)
25. Mockingbird, Inez Foxx
26. I Will Follow Him, Little Peggy March
27. Pipeline, Chantays
28. Surf City, Jan and Dean
29. It's My Party, Lesley Gore (another great gender bending karaoke tune)
30. Blame It On The Bossa Nova, Eydie Gorme
31. You Can't Sit Down, Flovells
32. Heat Wave, Martha and The Vandellas (My absolute all time favorite pop song. It doesn't get any better than this.)
33. Denise, Randy and The Rainbows
33. Walk Right In, Rooftop Singers (another bunch of pseudo-folkies. Icky.)
35. If You Wanna Be Happy, Jimmy Soul
36. Surfer Girl, Beach Boys
37. If I Had A Hammer, Trini Lopez
38. Everybody, Tommy Roe
39. Easier Said Than Done, Essex
40. Ruby Baby, Dion
41. Maria Elena, Los Indios Tabajaras
42. Our Day Will Come, Ruby and The Romantics
43. I Can't Stay Mad At You, Skeeter Davis
44. Hello, Stranger, Barbara Lewis
45. Be My Baby, Ronettes (glorious, glorious wall of sound)
45. Mean Woman Blues, Roy Orbison
47. South Street, Orlons
48. Days Of Wine And Roses, Henry Mancini
49. The Monkey Time, Major Lance
50. Candy Girl, Four Seasons
51. Still, Bill Anderson
52. Blue On Blue, Bobby Vinton (ghod, pass the insulin...)
53. Cry Baby, Garnet Mimms and The Enchanters
54. Two Faces Have I, Lou Christie
55. Busted, Ray Charles (Yea for Brother Ray! An absolutely brilliant song...)
56. Da Doo Ron Ron, Crystals
57. Foolish Little Girl, Shirelles
58. Memphis, Lonnie Mack
59. In Dreams, Roy Orbison
60. More, Kal Winding
61. Fools Rush In, Rick Nelson
62. Losing You, Brenda Lee
63. Our Winter Love, Bill Pursell
64. I Wanna Be Around, Tony Bennett
65. You've Really Got A Hold On Me, Miracles (only gets better with age)
66. Sally Go 'Round The Roses, Jaynetts
67. Little Red Rooster, Sam Cooke (NOW, that's what I'm talking about! Right Here!)
68. Then He Kissed, w Crystals (another great gender bending karaoke tune)
69. (You're The) Devil In Disguise, Elvis Presley
70. Those Lazy-hazy-crazy Days On Summer, Nat King Cole (so smooth and tasty)
71. Baby Workout, Jackie Wilson
72. Pride And Joy, Marvin Gaye
73. Walking The Dog, Rufus Thomas
74. From A Jack To A King, Ned Miller
75. Up On The Roof, Drifters (glorious)
76. What Will My Mary Say, Johnny Mathis
77. Mama Didn't Lie, Jan Bradley
78. The Night Has A Thousand Eyes, Bobby Vee
79. Don't Say Nothin' Bad About My Baby, Little Eva
80. Ring Of Fire, Johnny Cash (ahh, yes....)
81. (Down At) Papa Joe's, Dixiebelles With Cornbread and Jerry
82. Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh! (A Letter From Camp), Allan Sherman
83. Judy's Turn To Cry, Lesley Gore
84. Just One Look, Doris Troy
85. Mickey's Monkey, Miracles
86. Donna, The Prima Donna, Dion
87. That Sunday, That Summer, Nat King Cole
88. Another Saturday Night, Sam Cooke (one of the 10 best songs of my youth)
89. Painted, Tainted Rose, Al Martino
90. Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport, Roll Harris (Thankfully, I had forgotton this horror til now. Oh damn!)
91. Go Away Little Girl, Steve Lawrence
92. Take These Chains From My Heart, Ray Charles (another classic)
93. Talk To Me, Sunny and The Sunglows
94. Come And Get These Memories, Martha and The Vandellas
95. Bossa Nova Baby, Elvis Presley
96. Do The Bird, Dee Dee Sharp
97. Shut Down, Beach Boys
98. One Fine Day, Chiffons (one fine song)
99. Little Town Flirt, Del Shannon
100. 500 Miles Away From Home, Bobby Bare

And my favorite:

Heatwave, of course