1962
Girl groups and ballads were dominant in the early 60s, since it was basically still the stereotypical 50s in America. There were some great songs within that mold though, and black groups were starting to have crossover hits of their own (The Exciters' "Tell Him" is a fantastic example), which would pave the way for Motown to really break through (they have a few classics here already with songs like "Two Lovers" and "You Really Got a Hold On Me"). You've heard most of these songs on your oldies stations, but listening to them as if they were new displays their progressive production and their influential melodies. Like it or not, a lot of your favorite rock and roll came from this music, and while it was cool at the time (and it still is now) to mention blues greats and early R&B favorites, this was the unavoidable music, and it's easy to see how The Beatles first big single, "Love Me Do" can sit right next to them in a mix and seem like little more than a British take on the style of the time.
Enjoy the mix, I'm almost done here, can't believe it's been more than 40 weeks... By the way, if anyone has any suggestions as to what I should do with the site once I'm finished, let me know in the comments section. Thanks!
Download the mix here.
1. Do You Love Me (Now That I Can Dance) - Contours - 2:54
2. Tell Him - The Exciters - 2:39
3. Johnny Angel - Shelley Fabares - 2:21
4. He's a Rebel - The Crystals - 2:26
5. The Loco-motion - Little Eva - 2:25
6. Let Me In - Sensations - 3:06
7. Big Girls Don't Cry - Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons - 2:23
8. Wah-Watusi - Orlons - 2:30
9. Don't Make Me Over - Dionne Warwick - 3:23
10. Stop The Wedding - Etta James - 2:51
11. You Really Got a Hold On Me - Smokey Robinson & the Miracles - 2:58
12. Up on the Roof - Drifters - 2:40
13. Two Lovers - Mary Wells - 2:48
14. Cry To Me - Solomon Burke - 2:36
15. Twisting The Night Away - Sam Cooke - 2:43
16. Telstar - The Tornados - 3:20
17. Green Onions - Booker T and the MG's - 2:55
18. Boom Boom Boom - John Lee Hooker - 2:33
19. Backdoor Man - Howlin' Wolf - 2:49
20. Desafinado - Stan Getz & Charlie Byrd - 5:47
21. I Left My Heart In San Francisco - Tony Bennett - 2:51
22. If I Had a Hammer - Peter, Paul, and Mary - 2:11
23. I Can't Stop Loving You - Ray Charles - 4:14
24. She's Got You - Patsy Cline - 3:00
25. Love Letters - Ketty Lester - 2:36
26. Roses Are Red (My Love) - Bobby Vinton - 2:39
27. Love Me Do - The Beatles - 2:24
posted by bza @ 7/24/2006
3 Comments:
Now that you're almost done, how about starting again with different songs for each year?! I've really enjoyed this slow walk through the past and would love to see more.
Thank you so much!!
Thanks so much for doing this; it has been really great!! I've enjoyed it so much. (I only wish I had discovered the site sooner than I did).
Tony Bennett!!!! And lovely to see Sam Cooke on these last few lists (even if you prefer Otis...bah).
You know, since you've made these mixes out of music you already know, and only included pop music, maybe you could next make it a learning experience for yourself and do the same thing with other genres (including less "significant" stuff that may not have made charts but instead represents what's been around for any genre - now's the time to embrace country or jazz, maybe?). Or make mixes of all of your favorites so that readers have introductions to bands whose names but not music are familiar. I dunno. I just like these muted polka dots.
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