1963

A long time ago, artists had very little control over their music, people rarely put out full albums, and so songs were never more than three and a half minutes (let’s ignore Jazz, it just wanted to be respectable). Hell, most songs were two minutes long. No extended dance mix, no five minute guitar solos; get in, get out, get paid. So instead of ending up with a mix like 1991 with 16 songs, or even the average 19 or 20, 1963 has a whopping 29 songs on it.

Fortunately, there is more than enough to fill up 80 minutes. "Please Please Me" was the first Great Beatles Song, Phil Spector started to show his talents, and "Louie Louie" was investigated by the FBI on suspicion of indecency. Then there's the surfing trend, big while the Beach Boys were still a trend (where is the Surfaris' Pet Sounds?).

There are so many movements here it is hard to keep track of them. Girl groups, folk hits, Motown, Pop Vocals, and The Singing Nun all in one year. Crazy stuff.

Download here.

1. Louie Louie - Kingsmen - 2:46
2. Please Please Me - The Beatles - 2:04
3. Be My Baby - The Ronettes - 2:39
4. Then He Kissed Me - The Crystals - 2:35
5. He's So Fine - The Chiffons - 1:54
6. Denise - Randy & the Rainbows - 1:59
7. Heat Wave - Martha and the Vandellas - 2:47
8. Wipe Out - Surfaris - 2:37
9. Surfing USA - Beach Boys - 2:28
10. Pipeline - Chantays - 2:20
11. Ring of Fire - Johnny Cash - 2:33
12. Six Days On The Road - Dave Dudley - 2:23
13. Act Naturally - Buck Owens - 2:21
14. On Broadway - The Drifters - 3:06
15. I Will Follow Him - Little Peggy March - 2:29
16. It's My Party - Lesley Gore - 2:22
17. My Boyfriends Back - The Angels - 2:39
18. South Street - The Orlons - 2:14
19. Pushover - Etta James - 2:57
20. Another Saturday Night - Sam Cooke - 2:25
21. Fingertips Part 2 - Little Stevie Wonder - 3:12
22. The Girl from Ipanema - Stan Getz & Astrud Gilberto - 5:24
23. Blowin' In The Wind - Bob Dylan - 2:48
24. We Shall Overcome - Joan Baez - 3:37
25. Puff the Magic Dragon - Peter, Paul & Mary - 3:26
26. Dominique - The Singing Nun - 2:56
27. The End Of The World - Skeeter Davis - 2:37
28. Blue Velvet - Bobby Vinton - 2:51
29. Danke Shoen - Wayne Newton - 2:36