# Best #1 single of the year retrospective: 1962 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 2, 2014, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1962/697254 "2014-09-02T15:25:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2014, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1962/697254/21 "2014-09-03T03:47:49Z")
> [@TreacherousCretin](#): > > Several good ones here, but for it’s Sedaka by a mile. Yeah, that’s what I ended up going with. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2014, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1962/697254/22 "2014-09-03T04:02:23Z")
OMFG. Telstar is in the lead. Give me a break. :eek: Need a puke smiley. ---
**Author:** ![DChord568](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@DChord568](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DChord568)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2014, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1962/697254/23 "2014-09-03T04:17:42Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > I agree with most all of this, other than Sedaka’s remake. It seemed like a poignant look back for him and his voice was certainly still up to the task. It’s not that it’s horrible or anything, just that I’m not fond of anything that smacks of supper club stylings. I wish he had never done it and just left us with the memory of the great original. On the other hand, Sedaka had several genuinely wonderful and NEW songs during his comeback: “Laughter in the Rain,” “Solitaire” and especially “The Immigrant,” which I wish someone other than me still remembered today. ---
**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:** [September 3, 2014, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1962/697254/24 "2014-09-03T04:45:27Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > OMFG. Telstar is in the lead. Give me a break. :eek: > > Need a puke smiley. It and “Monster Mash” are the only two songs on that list that wouldn’t cause a the station to be changed in my car. 😃 ---
**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:** [September 3, 2014, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1962/697254/25 "2014-09-03T05:07:30Z")
> [@scabpicker](#): > > It and “Monster Mash” are the only two songs on that list that wouldn’t cause a the station to be changed in my car. 😃 I’ll admit it, I voted for Monster Mash. It’s a goofy novelty song, but it’s fun and a good song besides, and it still brings a smile to my face whenever I hear it. ---
**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:** [September 3, 2014, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1962/697254/26 "2014-09-03T05:34:18Z")
Glad to see “He’s a Rebel” finally getting some love. It was slow taking off; my vote was the only one in the early hours of the poll. It may not be Phil Spector’s greatest girl-group production–it’s no “Be My Baby” or “Then He Kissed Me” or “Walking in the Rain”–but it’s the only one that made #1, so it’s close enough, and you’ve got to give the weird little fucker his props. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2014, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1962/697254/27 "2014-09-03T06:02:21Z")
Ray Charles, followed by “Telstar” and “Stranger on the Shore.” Though I gotta admit, I like Neil Sedaka and ADORE Shelley Fabares. :o ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2014, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1962/697254/28 "2014-09-03T06:03:25Z")
Oh, yeah: “The Stripper,” too! ---
**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:** [September 3, 2014, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1962/697254/29 "2014-09-03T14:15:10Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Ray Charles, followed by “Telstar” and “Stranger on the Shore.” Though I gotta admit, I like Neil Sedaka and ADORE Shelley Fabares. :o I like Sedaka, too, but this is one of his kiddie songs. While Johnny Angel is a great pop product - it even has Darlene Love singing backup - Faberes couldn’t sing. The producers patched the song together from about 40 takes, whenever she accidentally sang the right notes. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2014, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1962/697254/30 "2014-09-03T14:23:43Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > I agree with most all of this, other than Sedaka’s remake. It seemed like a poignant look back for him and his voice was certainly still up to the task. I actually had never heard the remake until this thread made me dig it up. It’s actually not all that bad, but it is quite a different take from the original. Kind of like the unplugged “Layla” vs the electric “Layla.” I actually think it’s a nice, cocktail-piano type of arrangement. The original is miles better by my standards, but the remake isn’t bad. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2014, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1962/697254/31 "2014-09-03T16:57:42Z")
I like “The Lion Sleeps Tonight”, “Sherry” and “Duke of Earl” the best on this list, voted for “Duke”. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2014, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1962/697254/32 "2014-09-03T23:47:24Z")
> [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](#): > > Glad to see “He’s a Rebel” finally getting some love. It was slow taking off; my vote was the only one in the early hours of the poll. It may not be Phil Spector’s greatest girl-group production–it’s no “Be My Baby” or “Then He Kissed Me” or “Walking in the Rain”–but it’s the only one that made #1, so it’s close enough, and you’ve got to give the weird little fucker his props. I also picked “He’s a Rebel” for pretty much the same reasons you did. However, I have to agree with **astorian, Exapmo** , and some other posters that in terms of good songs that hit #1, 1962 had a pretty weak crop. Unfortunately, I went over to Wikipedia to look at the list of #1 songs for 1963 and they don’t get much better. Thank God the British Invasion arrived a year later. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2014, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1962/697254/33 "2014-09-03T23:50:59Z")
I love “He’s a Rebel” probably more than is normal, so this was another one that was no contest. ---
**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:** [September 4, 2014, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1962/697254/34 "2014-09-04T01:06:03Z")
> [@NDP](#): > > Unfortunately, I went over to Wikipedia to look at the list of #1 songs for 1963 and they don’t get much better. Jeez, you ain’t kidding. (And why does my spell check tag “ain’t” but lets “Jeez” go?) I already know what I’m going to pick and it’s kind of embarrassing. ---
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2014, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1962/697254/35 "2014-09-04T01:17:54Z")
> [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](#): > > Jeez, you ain’t kidding. (And why does my spell check tag “ain’t” but lets “Jeez” go?) I already know what I’m going to pick and it’s kind of embarrassing. Things sure pick up in 1964, though. a-wing-a-wep-a-wing-a-wep-a-wing-a-wep-a-wing-a-wep… ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2014, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1962/697254/36 "2014-09-04T02:46:54Z")
> [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](#): > > Jeez, you ain’t kidding. (And why does my spell check tag “ain’t” but lets “Jeez” go?) I already know what I’m going to pick and it’s kind of embarrassing. For 1963, I’ve narrowed it down to two songs. Although they’re not the greatest songs I’ve heard, I still think they’re both good. I’ll discuss the one I eventually pick when the 1963 poll is put up. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2014, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1962/697254/37 "2014-09-04T05:44:10Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Faberes couldn’t sing. Not important. I still adore her. :o ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2014, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1962/697254/38 "2014-09-04T07:12:28Z")
Brother Ray rules… but this time I just had to vote for “Telstar.” What a pretty melody! ---
**Author:** ![HyacinthBucket](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hyacinthbucket/32/3063_2.png) [@HyacinthBucket](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HyacinthBucket)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2014, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1962/697254/39 "2014-09-04T07:40:47Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Specifically to #1. It’s the only song to score #1 in two nonconsecutive years in two different runs on the chart. > [@pulykamell](#): > > Gotcha. Was there a reason for the resurgence? If you’re asking about “Unchained Melody”'s resurgence in 1990, it became a repeat hit 25 years later after being featured in the Patrick Swayze-Demi Moore film “Ghost”. If you’re asking about “The Twist”, I don’t know, sorry. Maybe more twist music becoming popular that year maybe, like The Peppermint Twist, and a huge increase in the number of dance clubs featuring it? ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2014, 10:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1962/697254/40 "2014-09-04T10:20:13Z")
Crikey, is it 1964 yet? Some of these are OK, and I suppose there must have been lots of good songs that didn’t make it to number one in the early 60s, but still… pop music was in the doldrums, for sure. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1962/697254.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1962/697254.md?page=3)