# Best #1 single of the year retrospective: 1964 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 6, 2014, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1964/697662 "2014-09-06T15:47:46Z")\ **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:** [September 6, 2014, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1964/697662/1 "2014-09-06T15:47:46Z")
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? 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)[1960](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=732526) [1961](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=732691) [1962](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=732872) [1963](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=733112) [2012](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=675664) [2013](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=710843) ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2014, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1964/697662/2 "2014-09-06T15:53:40Z")
Shit just got real. ---
**Author:** ![kayT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayt/32/3633_2.png) [@kayT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayT)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2014, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1964/697662/3 "2014-09-06T15:55:29Z")
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. ---
**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 6, 2014, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1964/697662/4 "2014-09-06T16:04:23Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > The Beatles dominated the chart this year with six #1s, a feat that has never been duplicated And on top of that, they _wrote_ another of the year’s Number Ones (“World Without Love”). ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2014, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1964/697662/5 "2014-09-06T16:09:48Z")
Went with IWTHYH because it’s still awesome. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2014, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1964/697662/6 "2014-09-06T16:15:34Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_Prize](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d2c977/32.png) [@Sir\_Prize](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_Prize)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2014, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1964/697662/7 "2014-09-06T16:15:54Z")
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. This is the strongest year so far. ---
**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:** [September 6, 2014, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1964/697662/8 "2014-09-06T16:34:26Z")
I feel that the Beatles still hadn’t hit their stride in 1963. So I’ll have to go with a song that still moves me, after all these years: My Guy. ---
**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:** [September 6, 2014, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1964/697662/9 "2014-09-06T16:35:37Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2014, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1964/697662/10 "2014-09-06T16:43:08Z")
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 **Smapt** i? 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! ---
**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:** [September 6, 2014, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1964/697662/11 "2014-09-06T16:55:29Z")
> [@KarlGauss](#): > > 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 had no idea that Lorne Greene was Hispanic. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2014, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1964/697662/12 "2014-09-06T16:55:37Z")
Tough call, but I picked “Hard Day’s Night” just ahead of “I Get Around.” ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2014, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1964/697662/13 "2014-09-06T17:04:34Z")
I dare somebody to nominate Ringo. Triple dog dare. If I had to pick one I’d probably go with Pretty Woman. But I happen to enjoy all of those songs, even Ringo. ---
**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 6, 2014, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1964/697662/14 "2014-09-06T17:04:55Z")
I’ve been using “best” and “favorite” as synonyms. Sue me. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2014, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1964/697662/15 "2014-09-06T17:09:59Z")
The Supremes, baby! Motown will (almost) always trump Beatlemania. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2014, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1964/697662/16 "2014-09-06T17:24:28Z")
> [@KarlGauss](#): > > 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. My advice: Choose one and go with it. Nobody is going to punish you or smapti if you make the “wrong” choice. 🙂 ---
**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:** [September 6, 2014, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1964/697662/17 "2014-09-06T17:40:01Z")
She Loves You Best non-Beatles single: My Guy ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2014, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1964/697662/18 "2014-09-06T17:57:22Z")
Boom. Wow - shit just got real, indeed. 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 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Octarine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/22d042/32.png) [@Octarine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Octarine)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2014, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1964/697662/19 "2014-09-06T18:08:24Z")
_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 . . . ---
**Author:** ![G0sp3l](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c68b51/32.png) [@G0sp3l](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/G0sp3l)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2014, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1964/697662/20 "2014-09-06T18:17:52Z")
The Supremes. _Come See About Me_ Terrific song. Catchy, kind of serious without being over the top. Of course, I wasn’t born yet. Starting to get into the really good years for music. ETA: A LOT of good stuff this year. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1964/697662.md?page=2)