The great sixties countdown week 6

Good morning, and welcome to the countdown of my 300 favorite sixties tunes.  The first 100 (300-201) are in the books and we enter the next level today.

200- Little Town Flirt, Del Shannon.  I loved anything by this guy.  He's the only one who could make the high notes sound like they came from a tough guy.

199- Bobby's Girl, Marcy Blaine.  Though usually my memories of my toddlerhood are prodigious, I do not remember running around the house singing this when I was little.  But my big sister says it's true, so I guess I did.  The admonition "You're not a kid anymore" seems to run counter to where she wants to go in life, and not only adds a neat contrast to the song, but firmly puts her on my side timewise.




198- Hello Stranger, Barbara Lewis.  This song, great in its own right, gets a big benefit from having been expertly redone by Yvonne Elliman, whom I have had a huge crush on.

197- Where The Boys Are, Connie Francis.  Seriously?  Yes, the ladies are very popular on my countdown and I love Connie's soaring vocals- even if the subject matter isn't on my mind.

196- What Becomes Of The Broken Hearted, Jimmy Ruffin.  The power of the emotion in this song, the background vocals that lend eeriness to the heartbreak, the strength of Jimmy's vocal, and the title question that we all ask at one point or another. Simply a classic.

195- Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye, the Casinos.  I actually heard this first as a Toby Beau (My Angel Baby) cover in the late 70's, then heard the original on American Graffiti.

194- Please Mr. Postman, the Marvellettes.  For a change, this one I actually remembered before the Carpenters hit #1 with their remake.  A classic either way.

193- Travellin' Man, Rick Nelson.  Mom loved his smooth sound, and passed that onto me.

192- Sky Pilot pt 1, the Animals.  Could there be a more effective (or eerie) way to protest the war than the sounds of the jet crash followed by the bagpipes at the end of the song?  The concept of seeing things through the eyes of the chaplain was an original twist.




191- The Loco-Motion, Little Eva.  Just like Postman a few songs ago, this is great whether its Little Eva, Grand Funk Railroad, or anyone else who's covered it.

190- To Sir With Love, Lulu.  This one grew on me over the years.  Never saw the movie, though.

189- Hat's Off To Larry, Del Shannon.  Did I mention I love this guy?  A very nice karma song.

188- I Am A Rock, Simon and Garfunkel.  Words we all say after a broken heart- but in the end we know the irony (and the lie) in the last lines.

187- Crosstown Traffic, Jimi Hendrix Experience.  My favorite Hendrix riff.

186- Mr. Dieingly Sad, the Critters.  So soft, so sad. So usually forgotten.





185- Western Union, the 5 Americans.  Just a fun song, despite the "Dear John" telegram. Doo do do do do doo doo dodo do....

184- Calendar Girl, Neil Sedaka.  I remember hating Sedaka because I couldn't stand Bad Blood when it came out, and really didn't care much for the slow version of Breaking Up Is Hard To Do.  Then I heard the original, and learned to my surprise that he did some pretty good stuff in the sixties.  Now I even kinda like Bad Blood (though the slow Breaking Up still doesn't do much for me). Which has little to do with this song, so I'll just mention remembering the old Purina Cat Chow commercial that did its "Chow chow chow chow chow" to the whoa whoa whoas in this song.

183- White Rabbit, Jefferson Airplane.  Yet another one of those "you can't do a sixties countdown without it" songs.  Remember wondering why mom gave you the pills that didn't do anything at all.

182- White Room, Cream.  Like I said before, Cream managed to lend an air of importance and power to songs that (on the surface) didn't really merit it.  Always kinda wondered if this white room was a place where police inspectors took spies they caught at train stations.  Looking at it that way, it could be a good TSA theme song.

181- Bristol Stomp, the Dovells.  Just a fun dance song. Kind of a bridge between doo-wop and the dance songs of the late fifties and early sixties.

Good grief, that's twenty already!  Tune in next week for another round.  And to send you home, here's some of that one guy I like.