Yeah, that’s what I ended up going with.
OMFG. Telstar is in the lead. Give me a break. :eek:
Need a puke smiley.
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.
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.
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.
Ray Charles, followed by “Telstar” and “Stranger on the Shore.” Though I gotta admit, I like Neil Sedaka and ADORE Shelley Fabares. :o
Oh, yeah: “The Stripper,” too!
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.
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.
I like “The Lion Sleeps Tonight”, “Sherry” and “Duke of Earl” the best on this list, voted for “Duke”.
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.
I love “He’s a Rebel” probably more than is normal, so this was another one that was no contest.
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…
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.
Not important. I still adore her. :o
Brother Ray rules… but this time I just had to vote for “Telstar.” What a pretty melody!
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?
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.