Pop Top 40: Hot 100 week ending 11/2/63
That moment just before the Liverpudlians broke on these shores and changed everything. Yeah, it was nominally the rock era, but not to the extent it was about to be. A lot of great soul on this chart.
[this week, last week, title, artist, label, weeks on chart, peak to date]
1 1 SUGAR SHACK –•– Jimmy Gilmer and the Fireballs (Dot)-7 (4 weeks at #1) (1) — Did he really say “expresso”? If there’s one thing the world definitively learned this year, it’s that it’s pronounced espresso. Something about this stupid song has always felt smarmy to me.
2 3 DEEP PURPLE –•– Nino Tempo and April Stevens (Atco)-8 (2) — This brother/sister vocal cover of a song written in 1933 won the Grammy for “Best Rock and Roll Recording,” which should tell you everything you need to know about the early days of NARAS. Also, why are a brother and sister singing this song together? Ick. (It would spend a week at #1 two weeks later.)
3 8 WASHINGTON SQUARE –•– The Village Stompers (Epic)-7 (3) — According to Wikipedia, “The group developed a folk-dixie[land jazz] style that began with the hit song "Washington Square."" So, if you’re aching to hear some folk-dixieland jazz fusion, well. I am not.
4 4 BUSTED –•– Ray Charles (ABC-Paramount)-9 (4) — Charles takes a great Harlan Howard song and adds a lot of brass, swings it up, and goddamn if it doesn’t sound great.
5 7 MEAN WOMAN BLUES –•– Roy Orbison (Monument)-9 (5) — Perhaps the fact that I’m so thrown by hearing Orbison sing uptempo rock’n’roll with a stinging little guitar solo and horn charts is a sign that I need to listen to more Orbison. And then he quiets it down and then does a growl and then brings the volume back up and — good god, so good.
6 6 DONNA THE PRIMA DONNA –•– Dion DiMucci (Columbia)-8 (6) — I’m chronically allergic to songs featuring this much Dion.
7 12 I CAN’T STAY MAD AT YOU –•– Skeeter Davis (RCA Victor)-9 (7) — Hearing Davis, who I know as a country artist, sing something that sounds more like upbeat Neil Sedaka is jarring. This has no personality to it.
8 2 BE MY BABY –•– The Ronettes (Philles)-10 (2) — “Sugar Shack” kept this from #1, which should be all the reason you need to loathe it. One of Phil Spector’s most brilliant productions, though it’s possible nothing he did was as brilliant as finding Ronnie Spector.
9 15 IT’S ALL RIGHT –•– The Impressions (ABC-Paramount)-6 (9) — I’d no idea that this Curtis Mayfield classic actually made the pop top 10! Superb.
10 18 MARIA ELENA –•– Los Indios Tabajaras (RCA Victor)-7 (10) — A pair of acoustic guitar-playing Brazilian brothers, discovered for the U.S. market by Chet Atkins, covering an Mexican hit (recorded by the likes of Jimmy Dorsey and Lawrence Welk) from the ‘30s? Sure, why not.
11 19 I’M LEAVING IT UP TO YOU –•– Dale and Grace (Montel/Michelle)-5 (11) re “Deep Purple” (#2), why in the world did Donnie and Marie Osmond cover this? Ick. re this version, Grace has an unpleasantly piercing voice.
12 13 THAT SUNDAY, THAT SUMMER –•– Nat King Cole (Capitol)-10 (12) — The legend’s final top 20 pop or R&B hit during his lifetime, at its peak, is a gorgeous
13 14 FOOLS RUSH IN –•– Rick Nelson (Decca)-8 (13) — My favorite version of this, no surprise, is Bow Wow Wow’s cover as remixed by Kevin Shields for Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette; he amps up the dreaminess to about a 12/10. But teen dream Nelson does an able job with this, in a slightly more Latin-tinged take.
14 11 TALK TO ME –•– Sunny and the Sunglows (Tear Drop)-9 (11) — Lead singer Sunny Ozuna’s voice grates on this Little Willie John cover.
15 5 BLUE VELVET –•– Bobby Vinton (Epic)-13 (1) — A great song delivered superbly by Vinton, a better artist than you likely think.
16 20 SHE’S A FOOL –•– Lesley Gore (Mercury)-6 (16) — A deceptively simple song from teen queen Gore, who was expert at selling things like this.
17 10 CRY BABY –•– Garnet Mimms and the Enchanters (United Artists)-12 (4) — Plenty of people think this is a landmark, classic soul record; I am not one of those. Glacially paced and it doesn’t do enough.
18 9 DON’T THINK TWICE, IT’S ALL RIGHT –•– Peter, Paul and Mary (Warner Brothers)-8 (9) — Peter, Paul and Mary had three albums in the top six of the album chart. Think about that for a moment; that’s a Taylor Swift level of domination. Their third LP, In the Wind, leapt 12-1 this week in its second chart week, knocking their self-titled debut down to #2 in the process — it had been on the chart for 80 weeks! — while sophomore Moving slipped 4-6 (42 weeks, #2 peak). Nobody rode the folk revival harder than PP&M, chart-wise — they even gave Bob Dylan his first two pop hits as a songwriter, with this song and previous single “Blowin’ in the Wind,” which peaked at #2. Both were originally on The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan, and then recorded by PP&M for In the Wind. They’d continue to chart intermittently through the ‘60s, notching their only pop #1 in 1969 with “Leavin’ on a Jet Plane.” As for this song, I’m intimately familiar with it and much of their ‘60s oeuvre, as the trio was one of my Mom’s favorites when I was a kid. Their version is fine, if a bit smoothed-out for my taste; I prefer the grit Dylan’s vocal adds to his own version.
19 22 CROSS FIRE! –•– The Orlons (Cameo)-6 (19) — Is this about a dance, or trying to create a dance? Either way, it doesn’t make me wanna.
20 21 THE GRASS IS GREENER –•– Brenda Lee (Decca)-6 (20) — Stately.
21 23 (Down At) PAPA JOE’S –•– The Dixiebelles (Sound Stage 7)-6 (21) — Femme soul with an injection of New Orleans second line that just irritates me.
22 30 EVERYBODY –•– Tommy Roe (ABC-Paramount)-4 (22) — A very white break version of “rock and roll.”
23 37 500 MILES AWAY FROM HOME –•– Bobby Bare (RCA Victor)-5 (23) — Bare followed his major breakthrough, “Detroit City,” with an even bigger record (#10 pop/#5 country). It’d been recorded by several folk artists before Bare’s version, produced by Chet Atkins, who always knew what he was doing. I especially love Bare’s spoken bridge.
24 29 YOU LOST THE SWEETEST BOY –•– Mary Wells (Motown)-6 (24) — Great Holland-Dozier-Holland that should be known as a classic — and with backing vocals from the Supremes and the Temptations! Just as efficient as a ‘60s Detroit engine.
25 41 BOSSA NOVA BABY –•– Elvis Presley (RCA Victor)-3 (25) — From Fun in Acapulco, and not really bossa nova at all. Elvis does what he can with the song, but the song barely gives him anything to work with. And the bridge is horrendous.
26 38 MISTY –•– Lloyd Price (Double-L)-5 (26) — Five years after “Stagger Lee,” Price was swinging up this jazz standard, unattractively, sounding as if he’s auditioning for a residency on the Vegas Strip.
27 16 HONOLULU LULU –•– Jan and Dean (Liberty)-9 (11) — From their travelogue album Surf City and Other Swingin’ Cities, I should theoretically like this as it’s so surfing-focused. But the sexism smells bad, and I loathe Jan and Dean’s sound.
28 48 WALKING THE DOG –•– Rufus Thomas (Stax)-5 (28) — The superb essence of gutbucket soul.
29 26 PART TIME LOVE –•– Little Johnny Taylor (Galaxy)-12 (19) — Not the same Taylor of “Disco Lady” fame in the ‘70s (he’s Johnnie Taylor), this guy had a voice that lovingly caressed every song he came across. This is three-and-a-half minutes of smoldering.
30 33 BLUE BAYOU –•– Roy Orbison (Monument)-8 (29) — The flip of “Mean Woman Blues” (#5), and you likely know this song, likely from Linda Ronstadt’s top 5 cover in 1977. There’s no denying Orbison’s version, even if I find Ronstadt’s slightly more satisying.
31 40 CRY TO ME –•– Betty Harris (Jubilee)-7 (31) — Slooooooow soul balladry which doesn’t stand out much otherwise.
32 17 SALLY, GO ‘ROUND THE ROSES –•– The Jaynetts (Tuff)-10 (2) — An extremely random one-hit wonder that made it all the way to #2, kind of a generic ideal of a Black girl group.
33 36 WORKOUT STEVIE, WORKOUT –•– Little Stevie Wonder (Tamla)-5 (33) — The followup to “Fingertips Part 2” at its chart peak, basically a “live” studio jam recorded by a then-13-year-old Wonder. If you like his harmonica blowing you’ll love it.
34 28 I’LL TAKE YOU HOME –•– The Drifters (Atlantic)-9 (25) — Classic-sounding harmony group singing, even if I find the song and its arrangement rather lacking.
35 39 RED SAILS IN THE SUNSET –•– Fats Domino (ABC-Paramount)-7 (35) — The “Fat Man”’s final top 40 pop hit was this cover of a then-standard recorded by the likes of Bing Crosby in 1935, Nat “King” Cole in 1951, and the Platters in 1960. Domino does his thing on it, giving it a slow chug, with the addition of choral backing vocals. Not his most exciting record, but middle Domino is still pretty damn good.
36 43 NEW MEXICAN ROSE –•– The Four Seasons (Vee-Jay)-5 (36) — Frankie Valli and co. doing yet another Bob Crewe record, this one with a vaguely cha-cha feel. I’ve never much cared for Valli’s piercing falsetto, but your mileage may vary.
37 35 TWO TICKETS TO PARADISE –•– Brook Benton (Mercury)-9 (32) — At this point in his career, Benton had notched 14 top 10 R&B records, though this brassy number didn’t match them, peaking at #15 R&B. He’s always hit me as a snappier Nat Cole, capable of many of the same things but with a punchier vocal style. His final hit, 1970’s “Rainy Night in Georgia,” remains my favorite.
38 50 WILD –•– Dee Dee Sharp (Cameo)-5 (38) — Organ-heavy pop-soul (or soul-pop) from the singer whose career opened just the previous year with “Mashed Potato Time”; at this point, her career was about to fall of a cliff.
39 62 HEY LITTLE GIRL –•– Major Lance (Okeh)-3 (39) — Another cha-cha-paced record, but this one’s much better — even referencing a myriad of teen dances of the day, including his previous hit “The Monkey Time” — because Lance is singing it, and because like its predecessor it was written by the great Curtis Mayfield and sounds like it.
40 47 DOWN THE AISLE (Wedding Song) –•– Patti LaBelle and Her Blue Belles (Newtown)-8 (40) — It’s striking to hear LaBelle on this 1963 ballad and realize her vocal style was already fully formed so early; you cannot mistake her for anyone else.
Fun fact: among the albums reviewed by Billboard in this issue is one which would go on to be a classic that still sells (or streams) today:
