1964

Beatlemania was at its peak in 1964, but don't let that make you think that there wasn't other music at the time. Of course there were those other great 60s rock bands: the Kinks, the Zombies, and the Rolling Stones all had some of their biggest early hits. But there was also strong soul and pop at the time. I love Dave Clark Five's "Because" way more than "Glad All Over," so I included the former, and the Beach Boys were still making summery pop at the time with "I Get Around." On that soul tip, there's the Supmeres, The Four Tops, and Dionne Warwick's version of "Walk On By," which was also performed by Isaac Hayes in 1969; it's one of the few songs included twice (on purpose).

Closing out the mix are three great socially relevant songs. There's "A Change is Gonna Come," by the legendary Sam Cooke (I prefer Otis's version, but that's just me), followed by "The Times They Are A Changing," which is an obviously political song, no matter what Dylan says these days. Finally, I included a live recording of Where Have All the Flowers Gone," a classic folk song that saw a revitalization at the beginning of "the 60s" which '64 really was in a lot of ways, considering Kennedy had been killed the November before, and Vietnam was escalating. It was also the year of the Daisy ad, so nuclear war was certainly on the minds of Americans.

Anyway, I won't run my mouth (too much) this week and instead just let you enjoy the mix.

Download here.

1. A Hard Day's Night - The Beatles - 2:39
2. You Really Got Me - The Kinks - 2:16
3. House of the Rising Sun - Animals - 4:31
4. She's Not There - Zombies - 2:25
5. Where Did Our Love Go - Diana Ross and the Supremes - 2:31
6. Baby I Need Your Lovin - Four Tops - 2:46
7. Needle In A Haystack - The Velvelettes - 2:32
8. Remember (Walking In The Sand) - Shangri-Las - 2:19
9. Time Is On My Side - The Rolling Stones - 2:55
10. Because - Dave Clark Five - 2:23
11. I'm Into Something Good - Herman's Hermits - 2:29
12. I Get Around - Beach Boys - 2:13
13. Who Do You Love - The Sapphires - 2:44
14. Walk On By - Dionne Warwick - 2:57
15. Wishin' And Hopin' - Dusty Springfield - 2:55
16. Under the Boardwalk - Drifters - 2:41
17. Downtown - Petula Clark - 3:11
18. Viva Las Vegas - Elvis Presley - 2:21
19. Um Um Um Um Um Um - Major Lance - 2:21
20. Walking In The Rain (stereo) - Ronettes - 3:20
21. The Way You Do The Things You Do - The Temptations - 2:43
22. What Kind Of Fool (Do You Think I Am) - Tams - 2:01
23. Dancing In the Streets - Martha and the Vandellas - 2:38
24. My Guy - Mary Wells - 2:54
25. Stay With Me Baby - Lorraine Ellison - 3:32
26. A Change Is Gonna Come - Sam Cooke - 3:14
27. Times They Are a Changing - Bob Dylan - 3:12
28. Where Have All The Flowers Gone - Arlo Guthrie and Pete Seeger - 4:20