Alright, alright. Many of you have been waiting very patiently for this year’s poll to go up. Some of you, less patiently. Well, here it is.
Beatlemania reached the US in December 1963, and within a few short weeks, rock & roll had taken over the Billboard charts. The Beatles dominated the chart this year with six #1s, a feat that has never been duplicated, although they had a lot of great competition this year, from other British bands, American rockers, the pop scene, and, of all things, a spoken word Western ballad narrated by none other than Commander Adama himself. This was a hard year for me to even pick a favorite in, but I personally went with a non-Beatles song.
Anyway, out of the 23 songs to reach #1 in this year, which is your favorite?
I like the early Beatles but “House of the Rising Sun” seems to me to be a whole lot better song than “She Loves You” or even “I Feel Fine”. Never mind that I’m going to be bouncing around the house singing “Baby, baby, baby, where did our love go” all damned day long.
A plethora of riches this year. Almost went with Roy Orbison, but had to choose a Beatles song. “… Rising Sun” has always been tedious and boring for me; I never considered it for a moment.
This is tough. If Remember (walking in the sand) by the Shangri-Las had made it to #1 I would just go ahead and vote for that but Leader of the Pack doesn’t quite make it.
As far as pure cultural impact, I have to go with Hold Your Hand, since it introduced The Beatles to America and started the British Invasion, not to mention obliterating greasy hairdos as boys everywhere desperately tried to be relevant overnight. It probably wasn’t the best tune, but it was pure rock and roll, with great harmony. The follow on tune of She Loves You pretty much sealed the deal.
However, I hated them at the time, and would pick the Supremes song, Where Did Our Love Go? as the best song. The ‘wall of sound’ was hard to beat.
Favourite or best? The poll is labeled one way and your OP another. (I missed this in the 1962 thread which was the first one I really cared about).
It makes a huge difference. For me, ‘She Loves You’ has to be my favourite - it was the first Beatle song I heard and its “yeah, yeah, yeah” became a huge cultural meme.
On the other hand, it’s simple musically and not ‘the best’ in any sense.
So which is it Smapti? Best or favourite (or even favorite if you’re joining us from America)?
P.S. I will mock anyone who votes for Lorne Greene’s Gringo. Even as a nine-year-old I thought it was stoopid!
I went with I Want to Hold Your Hand, but really, what an embarrassment of riches. I love the fact that Orbison’s Oh Pretty Woman is buried down in there. It’s like having Dr. J come off the bench for your team or something
Seven Lennon-McCartney songs, when you factor in “A World Without Love.” Three of them in a row, replacing each other. Damn.
I could have gone with any of the Beatles ones, but decided to chose “I Feel Fine” - it’s one of the first studio uses of feedback (quite possibly the first in a hit song) and it also has a catchy riff. Quite the year, 1964 . . .
Well, here it is.