# Best #1 single of the year retrospective: 1960 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 30, 2014, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1960/696930 "2014-08-30T01:00:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2014, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1960/696930/1 "2014-08-30T01:00:29Z")
Our retrospective series now takes us to 1960, the beginning (apologies to Alex Trebek) of one of the most interesting decades in the history of pop music. IMO, it starts off kind of slow - of the 19 songs that made #1 this year, I know less than half of them, and it was difficult for me to pick one that I liked better than the rest. (On a side note, does anyone know if there’s an upper limit on how many options you can have in a poll? We’re going to be coming up eventually on some years with 30+ songs in the running, and I’m wondering if I might have to do two threads for some of those.) Anyway, which of these songs was/is your favorite? Previous polls: [1955-56](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=731649) [1957](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=731871) [1958](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=732021) [1959](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=732199) [2012](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=675664) [2013](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=710843) ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2014, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1960/696930/2 "2014-08-30T01:43:59Z")
I really wanted to say “Teen Angel” – one of the great comic rock songs – but you can’t ignore “Georgia on My Mind.” ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2014, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1960/696930/3 "2014-08-30T01:59:36Z")
Tough call for me between _The Twist_ and _Stay_. I went with _Stay_ but it could have gone either way. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2014, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1960/696930/4 "2014-08-30T02:30:49Z")
Not caring much for any of the candidates, I won’t vote. However… my favorite record from that year is on the list, sort of: _Go-Go-Po-Go_, which was the B Side of the _Theme From A Summer Place_ single. _GGPG_ used to have me shaking my booty whilst cutting the rug. I still have that record, and I’m embarrassed to admit that it still makes me want to dance like a ten-year old. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2014, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1960/696930/5 "2014-08-30T02:40:51Z")
> [@TreacherousCretin](#): > > However… my favorite record from that year is on the list, sort of: _Go-Go-Po-Go_, which was the B Side of the _Theme From A Summer Place_ single. I much prefer this [Go Go Pogo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=civxnI7nujA) from a few years earlier. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2014, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1960/696930/6 "2014-08-30T02:48:48Z")
As soon as I saw “Georgia on My Mind,” I didn’t need to read any further. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2014, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1960/696930/7 "2014-08-30T02:52:53Z")
I was going to go with El Paso, but instead went with Georgia on My Mind because, you know, Ray Freakin’ Charles. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2014, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1960/696930/8 "2014-08-30T02:59:45Z")
I have been waiting for this poll to say that “El Paso” is one of the greatest songs ever. And I was glad that [Jasper](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ymQ8E89-Ao) remembers the lyrics of “Theme From ‘A Summer Place’” exactly like I’ve always sung them, down to the “It’s the theme” filler. It just scans better. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2014, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1960/696930/9 "2014-08-30T03:19:27Z")
Chubby Checker and the Fat Boys… We’re doing the twist! ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2014, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1960/696930/10 "2014-08-30T03:58:50Z")
I have a soft spot for ‘El Paso’ and voted for it knowing full well I’d be its only fan. I was pleasantly surprised. mmm ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2014, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1960/696930/11 "2014-08-30T13:56:29Z")
Wow, I didn’t expect this to be ahard year for me to pick from, the novelty songs hold their own with the “serious” pop. I went with Alley Oop (he got a chauffeur that’s a gen-u-ine din-O-Sau-r). ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2014, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1960/696930/12 "2014-08-30T16:06:20Z")
Went with Ray Charles’ “Georgia on My Mind\*.” Chubby Checker’s “The Twist” and some guy’s “Teen Angel” (interesting we remember the song but not the singer for that one) were a close second and third, for me. Notice how Elvis is getting very little love since the mid '50s. Most years up to the Beatles – including this one (1960) – he’s getting hits in there, but he’s no longer shaking the youth popular music world as he had been. \*I once read a musicology thesis on how Paul McCartney probably unintentionally borrowed from “Georgia on My Mind” when he wrote “Yesterday.” (Nothing evil about it – everyone great is inspired by other greats, and the thesis writer praised the creative directions in which Paul took the initial ideas). ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2014, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1960/696930/13 "2014-08-30T16:25:54Z")
Man, I remember that year well and was knocked out by most of the music back then. _El Paso_ led me to buy Mary Robbins’ _Gunfighter Ballads_ album. _Alley Oop_ had us all laughing, Little Miss Dynamite had us in awe of so much power from such a tiny woman, Elvis was at the peak of his game, and The Everly’s harmony even had boys swooning. _Stay_ gets a big nod from me because it’s classic doo-wop, with some falsetto thrown in for good measure. But in retrospect, I have to go with _Georgia On My Mind_. Lyrically, it stands tall above all the others, and Ray’s vocals are sublime. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2014, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1960/696930/14 "2014-08-30T16:33:27Z")
Wow. What a poor list. I really like the dreamy strings of Summer Place" and “Cathy’s Clown” is a classic song that defines the Everly Brothers. I like too many other Ray Charles songs better to go with “Georgia on My Mind.” Nothing stands out, so I’m passing. Interesting, though, that so many of the titles have a western theme. “Running Bear,” “El Paso,” “Mr. Custer.” Especially when the best song of that year never charted at all, in fact I believe never got released in the U.S. [The Shadows, “Apache.”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzgbcyfJgfQ) ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2014, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1960/696930/15 "2014-08-30T17:00:49Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Especially when the best song of that year never charted at all, in fact I believe never got released in the U.S. [The Shadows, “Apache.”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzgbcyfJgfQ) The faithful but slightly more relaxed (a fatal difference) cover by Jorgen Ingmann made it to #2 here. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2014, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1960/696930/16 "2014-08-30T18:47:44Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > Notice how Elvis is getting very little love since the mid '50s. Most years up to the Beatles – including this one (1960) – he’s getting hits in there, but he’s no longer shaking the youth popular music world as he had been. Wiki sez _It’s Now Or Never_ was second only to _Hound Dog_ on the all-time list of Presley’s best-selling singles – such that the Beatles only beat either single once. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2014, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1960/696930/17 "2014-08-30T19:46:37Z")
> [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](#): > > I much prefer this [Go Go Pogo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=civxnI7nujA) from a few years earlier. Huh. I was never into Pogo (sadly), and never knew about this. I wonder if that’s the reason for all the hyphenation in the name of the Percy Faith song, rendering the titles not quite identical. ---
**Author:** ![Peanuthead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peanuthead/32/360_2.png) [@Peanuthead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peanuthead)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2014, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1960/696930/18 "2014-08-30T20:11:27Z")
Lot of good stuff there with Ray Charles, Elvis, et. al, but I just had to give some props to\*\* Brenda Lee.\*\* _I’m Sorry_ is a great song. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2014, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1960/696930/19 "2014-08-30T21:25:17Z")
> [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](#): > > The faithful but slightly more relaxed (a fatal difference) cover by Jorgen Ingmann made it to #2 here. But not until 1961. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2014, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1960/696930/20 "2014-08-30T21:37:15Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Wow. What a poor list. First thing I was struck by. Agree with Apache, too. Love Georgia and a few others, but overall meh. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1960/696930.md?page=2)