The great sixties countdown week 12

Here we are again, delving ever deeper into the songs that built my childhood.  Starting with:

80- Poor Side Of Town, Johnny Rivers.  "To me, you were the greatest thing this boy had ever found/ and girl, it's hard to find nice things on the poor side of town".  And the guitar chords that come next.

79- It's My Party, Leslie Gore.  Be it ever so maligned and parodied, I still love Leslie Gore.

78- Whiter Shade Of Pale, Procol Harum.  Always reminds me of a end-of-the-world party, as the life oozes out of civilization.  Did you know this is the most-played song in British broadcasting for the last 75 years?

77- Popsicles And Icicles, the Murmaids.  Written by David Gates, soon to be of Bread.  My ex tried to sing this once, got it mixed with the Raindrops On Roses song, and it came out, "These are a few of my favorite slugs."  What was I thinking???



76- A Sign Of The Times, Petula Clark.  What can I say about Ms. Clark I haven't already?

75- Homeward Bound, Simon And Garfunkel.  Nothing describes my poetic talents better than "All my words come back to me in shades of mediocraty, like emptiness in harmony."

74- The Sounds Of Silence, Simon And Garfunkel.  "And the sign says, 'the words of the prophets are written on the subway walls, and tenement halls..."  Say what you want about Rhymin' Simon, the boy could write.

73- A World Of Our Own, the Seekers.  Any excuse to listen to Judith Durham again.



72- Tuesday Afternoon, the Moody Blues.  Maybe my all time favorite of theirs from the excellent Days Of Future Past lp.

71- Silence Is Golden, the Tremoloes.  Also like the Four Seasons original, but this was the hit, and the harmony is more distinctive here.



70- He's So Fine, the Chiffons.  Another can't-have-a-sixties-countdown-without song.  Even worked for George.

69- A Hard Day's Night, the Beatles.  Paul's "when I'm home.." part is the best.

68-Love Is All Around, the Troggs.  Man, how memories come back of seeing her face before you, as you lay in your bed, thinking over all the things she said?



67- What The World Needs Now Is Love, Jackie  DeShannon.  Brings to mind a time when you thought man might end the world at any minute, and musicians were trying to sing us back from the brink.

66-Girl, You'll Be A Woman Soon, Neil Diamond.  Always loved this song.  Loved it again when Urge Overkill redid it for Pulp Fiction.  The strings make this for me.

65- My Special Angel, the Vogues.  The most powerful vocal-group song of all time, to me.

64- Positively Fourth Street, Bob Dylan.  I think this is his best vocal performance ever.  So much power to it.

63- Nowhere Man, the Beatles.  I remember being in the shipping office with the lead and the supervisor.  Supervisor, bitching about plant manager, said "He's as blind as he can be."  We replied, "Just sees what he wants to see/ Nowhere man, can you see me at all?"  Super, 26 years old, says, "What the hell are you two talking about?" Laughed our asses off at him.

62- Kind Of A Drag, the Buckinghams.  Just love the rocking, "roller skating" tempo of this tune.  And the horns.

61- The Lion Sleeps Tonight, the Tokens.  Another can't-have- without pick.

And that's a wrap for another week- and just three more to go.  To close out, let's do as Hootie says, and listen to a little Dylan.  Ain't Bobby so cool?