Jesus, what a motley collection of choices. I picked “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” just for its originality and different-ness; you could sell me on “Telstar,” too, and I’m fine with that. Ray Charles would be a good choice too but it’s not his best song. Hell, it’s not one of his ten best.
“Unchained Melody” I was around for, so I remember that. It was “The Twist” I was curious about.
1962 and 1963 show how b-a-d-d the rock scene was at that time.
Just recently I found out something interesting (probably only to me). Carole King and her husband (the recently deceased) Gerry Goffin wrote The Locomotion while they were living in West Orange NJ. Little Eva was their babysitter. Their house was just off of the road Pleasant Valley Way which I have been on hundreds of times. While living there they later wrote Pleasant Valley Sunday for The Monkees as a social commentary about suburbia. Their house is still there and the doorbell rings The Locomotion when pressed.
So I voted for Telstar.
You want originality and different-ness? Check this out. You can bet no lion will get any sleep with this guy around.
I voted for Bruce Channel because “Hey Baby” is a great song.
I voted for Telstar, but only because it was #1 the week I was born. 
I let the lion sleep the previous year, so I’m picking it this one.
Telstar by a country mile.