Saturday, November 2, 2013

The Best of the Rest ... # 20 - # 1!

The Best Of The Rest ... Here are The Top 20 Hits of the '60's, based on chart information gathered in Dann Isbell's book "Ranking The '60's" ... available here through Amazon.com:  
Click here: Ranking the '60s: A Comprehensive Listing of the Top Songs and Acts from Pop's Golden Decade: Dann Isbell: 9781492


#20 - Happy Together - The Turtles  (1967)  
Feel-Good Pop at its finest ... this song has kept The Turtles touring for nearly 50 years!   

#19 - Daydream Believer - The Monkees  (1967)  
One of their very biggest ... and a song that will make me miss Davy Jones every time I hear it for the rest of my life.




#18 - Crimson And Clover - Tommy James and the Shondells  (1969)  
One of your psychedelic favorites ... and my all-time favorite by the band.




#17 - Hello Dolly - Louis Armstrong (1964)  
If nothing else, this proves that virtually "Anything Goes" during the '60's ... a huge chart-topper at the height of The British Invasion for Ol' Satchmo!    

#16 - Get Back - The Beatles  (1969)  
Topped the charts for five weeks in '69.


#15 - Groovin' - The Young Rascals  (1967)  
The perennial summer favorite.   

#14 - The Letter - The Box Tops  (1967)  
Their very first chart hit topped the charts for four weeks in 1967.   

#13 - Ode To Billie Joe - Bobbie Gentry  (1967)  
Another tune that had the whole country talking ... just what was it that Billie Joe McAllister threw off The Tallahatchie Bridge???




#12 - In The Year 2525 - Zager and Evans  (1969)  
I can't wait until 2525 to see how many of these predictions they got right!  (I'll let you know in a few years!)




#11 - Honey - Bobby Goldsboro  (1968)  
One of the biggest hits of the decade ... yet probably one of the most-hated songs of all time!   

#10 - The Dock Of The Bay - Otis Redding (1968)  
Otis died in a plane crash before he ever got to see this record top the charts.  What a shame.   

#9 - Everyday People - Sly and the Family Stone  (1969)  
Sly Stone brought a whole new "funk" to the World of Soul when he launched The Family Stone in 1968.   

#8 - People Got To Be Free - The Rascals  (1968)  
Another hit for the no longer "Young" Rascals ... a political statement that topped the charts in '68.   

#7 - Honky Tonk Women - The Rolling Stones  (1969)  
Yet another one of their timeless classics ... sounds just as good today as it did back in '69.




#6 - To Sir, With Love - Lulu  (1967)  
From the motion picture of the same name, in which she had a starring role.   

#5 - Love Is Blue - Paul Mauriat  (1968)  
The biggest instrumental on the list   

#4 - Sugar, Sugar - The Archies  (1969)   
Our FH Buddy Ron Dante hit a grand slam with this one ... a song discovered (and loved) by every generation since!




#3 - I'm A Believer - The Monkees  (1966)  
They had to promise songwriter Neil Diamond The Monkees' follow-up single, too, in order for him to give up this one to the Pre-Fab Four.  Without question, one of the biggest hits of the '60's.   

#2 - Aquarius / Let The Sunshine In - The Fifth Dimension  (1969)  
The '60's WAS the Dawning of the Age Of Aquarius ... this one's from the hit musical "Hair", which spawned several chart hits that year.  ("Good Morning Starshine", "Easy To Be Hard" and the title track along with THIS smash!    

#1 - Hey Jude - The Beatles  (1968)  
And before Ron Smith can ask "Does EVERY countdown have to end with The Beatles at #1?", the answer quite simply is ... YES!!!  #1 for nine consecutive week on The Billboard Chart, what else COULD it be???  (C'mon ... this IS the '60's we're talking about here!!!)  And still a fan favorite all these years later (although I have really gotten tired of the redundant way McCartney performs this one in concert ... c'mon ... we've seen it a zillion times already!!!)   

And there you have it ... The Top 100 Hits of the '60's ... as in "The Best Of The Rest"  

Scroll back to find these other countdowns:  
The Top 100 Biggest Hits, 1960 - 1963

The Top 100 Biggest Hits of the British Invasion, 1964 - 1965

The Top 100 Biggest Motown Hits of the '60's

And, anything that didn't make one of THOSE lists, can be found here on THIS one!!!   

Again, you can get the complete COMPOSITE list in Dann Isbell's excellent book, "Ranking The '60's", available here: Click here: Ranking the '60s: A Comprehensive Listing of the Top Songs and Acts from Pop's Golden Decade: Dann Isbell: 9781492   

We hope you have enjoyed our 60 Day Salute to the '60's ... thanks for stickin' with us!  
kk