Popular Songs Of 1966, Vol. 1

Ahh...the 1960s. When I think of "oldies music," this is the era and these are the songs that come to mind. Motown, the British invasion, psychedelia, soaring harmonies, and blue-eyed soul. It was a hodgepodge of wonderful encapsulated in an unforgettable decade. Unforgettable even though I wasn't yet alive to experience it firsthand. That says a lot about the music this decade left behind. Without further ado, here's Part 1 of 3 of the most Popular Songs of 1966. Enjoy!  ~  JH

1)  The Association  ~  “Cherish”

2)  The Righteous Brothers  ~  “(You’re My) Soul And Inspiration”

3)  The Four Tops  ~  “(Reach Out) I’ll Be There”

4)  Question Mark & The Mysterians  ~  “96 Tears”

5)  The Monkees  ~  “Last Train To Clarksville”

6)  The Mamas & The Papas  ~  “Monday, Monday”

7)  The Supremes  ~  “You Can’t Hurry Love”

8)  Johnny Rivers  ~  “Poor Side Of Town”

9)  The Lovin’ Spoonful  ~  “Summer In The City”

10)  Frank Sinatra  ~  “Strangers In The Night”

11)  Simon & Garfunkel  ~  “The Sound Of Silence”

12)  The Young Rascals  ~  “Good Lovin’”

13)  Tommy James & The Shondells  ~  “Hanky Panky”

14)  Percy Sledge  ~  “When A Man Loves A Woman”

15)  The Rolling Stones  ~  “Paint It Black”

16)  The Troggs  ~  “Wild Thing”

17)  Donovan  ~  “Sunshine Superman”

18)  Bobby Hebb  ~  “Sunny”

19)  The Happenings  ~  “See You In September”

20)  The Beach Boys  ~  “Good Vibrations”

Popular Songs Of 1965, Vol. 1

Fifty years ago, these songs were released and became big hits. Relive them here, or enjoy them for the first time. Groovy, baby!  ~  JH

1)  Tom Jones  ~  "It's Not Unusual"

2)  The Beach Boys  ~  "Help Me, Rhonda"

3)  The Beatles  ~  "Help!"

4)  The Kinks  ~  "All Day And All Of The Night"

5)  Herman's Hermits  ~  "Can't You Hear My Heartbeat?"

6)  The Righteous Brothers  ~  "Unchained Melody"

7)  Dave Clark Five  ~  "Catch Us If You Can"

8)  Four Tops  ~  "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)"

9)  Sam The Sham and the Pharaohs  ~  "Wooly Bully"

10)  The Rolling Stones  ~  "Satisfaction"

11)  We Five  ~  "You Were On My Mind"

12)  Petula Clark  ~  "Downtown"

13)  The Temptations  ~  "My Girl"

14)  Roger Miller  ~  "King Of The Road"

15)  Jewel Akens  ~  "The Birds And The Bees"

16)  Mel Carter  ~  "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me"

17)  Junior Walker & The All-Stars  ~  "Shotgun"

18)  Sonny & Cher  ~  "I Got You Babe"

19)  Gary Lewis & The Playboys  ~  "This Diamond Ring"

20)  The Supremes  ~  "Stop! In The Name Of Love"

21)   The Seekers  ~  "I'll Never Find Another You"

22)  Jay & The Americans  ~  "Cara Mia"

23)  The Byrds  ~  "Mr. Tambourine Man"

24)  Barry McGuire  ~  "Eve Of Destruction"

25)  The McCoys  ~  "Hang On Sloopy"

Songs With Women's Names In The Title – Pre-1980, Vol. 2

This is part 2 of a six-part series. If you missed part 1, you can read it here. This installment covers the rest of the pre-1980 songs with women's name in the titles. All the previous caveats about not yelling at me still apply. Thanks again to Carol, David, Wanda, Martha, Don, Daniel, Martina, Kevin, Penny, Melanie, and Angela for your suggestions, at least one of which made the final cut of 90 songs! Thanks also to those who suggested songs that didn't happen to make the cut. Enjoy! ~  JH

1)  Steely Dan  ~  "Rikki, Don't Lose That Number"

2)  Dion & The Del Satins  ~  "Runaround Sue"

3)  Kenny Rogers & The First Edition  ~  "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love To Town"

4)  Buddy Holly  ~  "Peggy Sue"

5)  Looking Glass  ~  "Brandy (You're A Fine Girl)"

6)  The Four Tops  ~  "Bernadette"

7)  The Association  ~  "Along Comes Mary"  (Hands down, the weirdest song intro I've ever seen for a live performance.)

8)  Simon & Garfunkel  ~  "Cecilia"

9)  The Four Seasons  ~  "Dawn (Go Away)"

10)  Van Halen  ~  "Jamie's Cryin'"

11)  KISS  ~  "Beth"

12)  Nat King Cole  ~  "Ramblin' Rose"  (How many people do you know who would follow up a KISS song with one by Nat King Cole? I mean, really!)

13)  The McCoys  ~  "Hang On Sloopy"  (Weird name, sure, but – based on the song's lyrics – definitely a girl.)

14)  Louis Armstrong  ~  "Hello, Dolly!"

15)  The Rolling Stones  ~  "Angie"

Popular Songs Of 1964

Regular readers of this blog might assume, from my usual posts, that I only like and listen to "modern" music. But that's so not true! I love oldies music – I was practically raised on it. And without great songs like these timeless tunes from 50 years ago, there wouldn't be any great modern music. This is where it all started. Sit back, reminisce, and enjoy!  ~  JH

1)  The Beatles  ~  "She Loves You"

2)  The Supremes  ~  "Where Did Our Love Go?"

3)  Simon & Garfunkel  ~  "The Sounds Of Silence"

4)  Dusty Springfield  ~  "Wishin' And Hopin'"

5)  Bob Dylan  ~  "The Times They Are A Changin'"

6)  Barbra Streisand  ~ "People"

7)  Beach Boys  ~  "Don't Worry, Baby"

8)  Sam Cooke  ~  "A Change Is Gonna Come"

9)  The Rolling Stones  ~  "Not Fade Away"

10)  Frank Sinatra  ~  "My Kind Of Town"

11)  The Four Seasons  ~  "Rag Doll"

12)  Elvis Presley  ~  "Viva Las Vegas"

13)  Gerry and The Pacemakers  ~  "Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying"

14)  Peter and Gordon  ~  "A World Without Love"

15)  Roy Orbison  ~  "Oh, Pretty Woman"

16)  Dean Martin  ~  "Everybody Loves Somebody"

17)  Manfred Mann  ~  "Doo Wah Diddy Diddy"

18)  The Animals  ~  "The House Of The Rising Sun"

19)  The Kinks  ~  "You Really Got Me"

20)  Four Tops  ~  "Baby, I Need Your Loving"

21)  Martha and The Vandellas  ~  "Dancing In The Street"

22)  The Zombies  ~  "She's Not There"

23)  Herman's Hermits  ~  "I'm Into Something Good"

24)  The Temptations  ~  "The Way You Do The Things You Do"

25)  George Jones  ~  "The Race Is On"