The great sixties countdown- the Heart-breakin' finale

The first week of the sixties, Marty Robbins' El Paso ( a song we hear WAAAY too much at work) was #1.  The week that I (and Laurie for that matter) was conceived, the very appropriate #1 was Bobby Lewis' Tossin' And Turnin' (somebody "didn't sleep at all" THAT night...).  The week I (we) were born, it was the Shirelles doing Soldier Boy....
 And here we are, at the end of the road for my sixties countdown. Not a week has gone by that I haven't heard SOME song I thought worthy a mention that didn't get one, but none of those fit into the last four weeks.  And now, my top ten...

10- Surfer Girl, the Beach Boys, peak position # 7.  THE song that made me fall in love with the Beach Boys, thus skewing my entire outlook toward harmony.



Now why would that girl scream at the word "woody"?

9-Blue On Blue, Bobby Vinton, pp# 3.  Everything the Polish Prince did takes me back to mom- but some songs are just magic.



Those that know me well know that we haven't yet heard the last from Bobby.

8- Abraham, Martin, And John, Dion, pp # 4.  Two things I just read puzzle me.  The duo that wrote this song also gave us Snoopy And The Red Baron, if you can believe that.  And it hit #1 in Canada but not here. WTF, people!?!  I owned the 45 (years after the fact) and cry to it as much now as I did then.  "Didn't you love the things that they stood for..." these men cut down because of other men's dreams of hate.  "Didn't they try to find some good for (in) you and me... and we'll be free... someday..."



I'm not alone.  This was a comment on the youtube site...

"In 1968 I was a volunteer campaign worker for Bobbie Kennedy during the California primary. I was 20 and believed that Bobbie was our only hope for getting out of Vietnam. I stood outside the Ambassador Hotel in June, just after we had WON. Bobbie was coming outside, shortly, to thank us for our help when all hell broke out. By February '69 I was drafted and on 19 June I was in Vietnam. Bobbie was the 4th man mentioned in this song, it's been 43 years and I still cry..........."

7- Time Of The Season, the Zombies, pp# 3.  Man, I needed this after the intense emotion of the last two.  A song ahead of its time... and still ahead of the times, IMHO.



6- Blue Velvet, Bobby Vinton, pp #1.  Can you tell blue is my favorite color?  A great song by a great singer.



Wow.  I still can hear Blue Velvet through the years, as well as my tears. 

5- Angel Of The Morning, Merilee Rush and the Turnabouts, pp #7.  The song that stops me in my tracks every time.  Whether it be this version (which ALSO was #1 in Canada, a land with much better taste than our own, and no wonder my sister and I listened to CKLW all the time) or Juice Newton's #4 version in 1981 (which might well be my #1 of the 80's if I ever went there), my breath stops at note #1. As a wee one, I took the term "angel" and made the song about a nun.  Thankfully I had no real concept of what was going on at the time.



Sorry about the Portuguese lyrics, but MAN, was she beautiful!  I'm in love all over again.. (clears throat)

4- Love Is Blue, Paul Mauriat, pp # 1.  A good instrumental can make your soul soar better than any lyrics.  Only one song does it better than this- and we have three spots to go.



3- Incense And Peppermints, Strawberry Alarm Clock, pp # 1.  The ultimate hippie song; the ultimate dope smoking song (whattaya think the incense and peppermints were for?) ; the ultimate name for a sixties band.  And an ending I wish went on forever.



No matter how entertaining they are, whenever I watch the GOP debates, the line runs through my mind:  "Beatniks and Politics, nothing is new/ A yardstick for lunatics, one point of view..."

2- Theme To "A Summer Place", Percy Faith, pp#1.  This one used to stop my breathing when I was yet a wee one!  So good I read the book twice, and it wasn't all that good.



And now, what you've all been waiting for... and no surprise to those who know me (and probably not much of one to anyone who's followed this whole journey...

1- Sherry, the Four Seasons, pp# 1.  I've probably sang this song (not well, I might add) since I first spit a pacifier across a room.  Always, forever, my all time favorite.



And the sixties sadly draw to a close.  The new decade is greeted by the mournful notes of it's first #1, Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head, and the hope at the end of the rain that follows.  Thus I leave you with the equally appropriate last #1 of the sixties. Thanks for hanging around with me.