A Meme

I wasn’t tagged with this… no one was. And… apropos of nothing… I’m seeing more and more bloggers just offer up a meme with the “play along if ya wanna” tag-line. That’s a Great Good Thing, IMHO. One should be able to pick and choose among these things without feeling any pressure. But… back to the subject at hand.

Becky posted this Thursday, and here are the rules:

The rules:

A) Go to Music Outfitters
B) Enter the year you graduated from high school in the search function and get the list of 100 most popular songs of that year
C) Bold the songs you like, strike through the ones you hate and underline or italicize your favorite. Do nothing to the ones you don’t remember or don’t care about (ed: that's me: I don't care about 'em. But I remember ALL of these, surprisingly).

OK… I did. I thought about cutting this down to only 50 songs, coz “The Top 100” takes up a lot of space. But I didn’t, mainly because a lot of my favorites from this pre-historic time (ahem) are in the lower ranks, popularity-wise. And the year? 1963, Gentle Reader. 1963. Gad!

You might note a trend in the list below, if you’re familiar with the music. OTOH, this stuff is SO old I don’t much expect many of you to recognize more than five or six of these songs… some of which are most definitely classics. But, to emphasize the obvious… I was a BIG rhythm and blues fan. Not so much on the white-bread stuff, like Bobby Vinton, Bobby Vee, Lesley Gore, The Four Seasons (aiiieee! White Boys singing falsetto! aiiieee!), et al. What krep. And I have more than one favorite from this list, too, italicized and underlined.

1. Surfin' U.S.A., Beach Boys (OK, Becky. So I lied)
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 (This song had some small kitsch value to me much later in life, as TSMP's name is Paula. There were times when I'd break out in a "Hey...Hey.. PAULA... I wanna marry you!" Omigawd. Really. I'm embarrassed to reveal this, but...there ya go. Something I'm sure ya didn't know. I had to explain it to her the first time I did it, too, as she was only seven years old in 1963. Something else I'm sure ya didn't know, unless your name happens to be "Paula," aka TSMP.)
6. Blue Velvet, Bobby Vinton
7. He's So Fine, Chiffons
8. Fingertips II, Little Stevie Wonder
9. Washington Square, Village Stompers
10. So Much In Love, Tymes
11. Can't Get Used To Losing You, Andy Williams
12. My Boyfriend's Back, Angels
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
17. Blowin' In The Wind, Peter, Paul and Mary
18. Wipe Out, The Surfaris
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 (GREAT guitar… trend setting, it was)
23. You're The Reason I'm Living, Bobby Darin
24. Walk Like A Man, Four Seasons
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
30. Blame It On The Bossa Nova, Eydie Gorme
31. You Can't Sit Down, Dlovells

32. Heat Wave, Martha and The Vandellas
33. Denise, Randy and The Rainbows
34. Walk Right In, Rooftop Singers
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

46. 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
53. Cry Baby, Garnet Mimms and The Enchanters
54. Two Faces Have I, Lou Christie
55. Busted, Ray Charles


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 (apropos of nothing: ANYTHING by Smokey Robinson.)
66. Sally Go 'Round The Roses, Jaynetts
67. Little Red Rooster, Sam Cooke
68. Then He Kissed Me, w Crystals
69. (You're The) Devil In Disguise, Elvis Presley
70. Those Lazy-hazy-crazy Days On Summer, Nat King Cole
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
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
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
89. Painted, Tainted Rose, Al Martino
90. Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport, Roll Harris
91. Go Away Little Girl, Steve Lawrence
92. Take These Chains From My Heart, Ray Charles
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
99. Little Town Flirt, Del Shannon
100. 500 Miles Away From Home, Bobby Bare

So… Do ya know any of those, Gentle Reader? Like Becky, I’d be interested in seeing your choices, if ya wanna play.