# Best of the Rest of the Top 40: 1964 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 13, 2015, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-of-the-rest-of-the-top-40-1964/709711 "2015-01-13T14:19:20Z")\ **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:** [January 13, 2015, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-of-the-rest-of-the-top-40-1964/709711/1 "2015-01-13T14:19:20Z")
Our survey now brings us once again to the year of the British Invasion. Most of the Beatles’ hits this year are disqualified for having reached #1, but there’s still several of their songs in this list of 25, along with a quite interesting mix of other stuff. What’s your favorite? Previous polls: [1956](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=744629) [1957](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=744819) [1958](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=744978) [1959](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=745151) [1960](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=745331) [1961](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=745525) [1962](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=745733) [1963](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=745956) Best #1 single 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) [1964](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=733297) [1965](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=733526) [1966](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=733750) [1967](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=733958) [1968](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=734168) [1969](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=734331) [1970](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=734535) [1971](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=734741) [1972](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=735107) [1973](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=735304) [1974](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=735502) [1975](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=735659) [1976](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=735871) [1977](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=736076) [1978](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=736316) [1979](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=736501) [1980](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=736705) [1981](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=736957) [1982](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=737099) [1983](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=737315) [1984](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=737488) [1985](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=737732) [1986](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=737957) [1987](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=738178) [1988](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=738403) [1989](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=738639) [1990](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=738829) [1991](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=739067) [1992](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=739360) [1993](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=739525) [1994](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=739880) [1995](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=740122) [1996](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=740302) [1997](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=740497) [1998](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=740709) [1999](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=740859) [2000](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=741047) [2001](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=741267) [2002](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=741450) [2003](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=741604) [2004](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=741730) [2005](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=741915) [2006](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=742069) [2007](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=742147) [2008](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=742282) [2009](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=742467) [2010](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=742676) [2011](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=742846) [2012](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=675664) [2013](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=710843) [2014](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=743899) [1950s](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=743046) [1960s](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=743240) [1970s](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=743399) [1980s](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=743597) [1990s](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=743803) [2000s](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=743981) [2010s](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=744176) [All-time](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=744358) ---
**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:** [January 13, 2015, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-of-the-rest-of-the-top-40-1964/709711/2 "2015-01-13T14:33:07Z")
Tough one. I haven’t decided yet, but I’m leaning toward Dionne Warwick. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2015, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-of-the-rest-of-the-top-40-1964/709711/3 "2015-01-13T14:37:36Z")
Beatles ‘Twist & Shout’ for me. As I was looking over the list, I was wondering what I was going to vote for because none of them really appealed to me. Then I got to the last song, and it became a no-brainer. ---
**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:** [January 13, 2015, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-of-the-rest-of-the-top-40-1964/709711/4 "2015-01-13T15:05:42Z")
AARRGGHH!! It comes down to “Please Please Me,” my favorite Beatles song, and “Dawn,” one of my favorite songs ever. 4 Seasons get the win. It might have something to do with the fact that I saw “Jersey Boys” this holiday season. ---
**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:** [January 13, 2015, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-of-the-rest-of-the-top-40-1964/709711/5 "2015-01-13T15:21:06Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > Beatles ‘Twist & Shout’ for me. As I was looking over the list, I was wondering what I was going to vote for because none of them really appealed to me. Then I got to the last song, and it became a no-brainer. This for me, too, but I had trouble because almost all of them appealed. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2015, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-of-the-rest-of-the-top-40-1964/709711/6 "2015-01-13T19:16:55Z")
I can’t decide between “Under the Boardwalk,” “Dawn,” “Walk on By,” or “Twist and Shout.” I’ll have to make my pick later. ---
**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:** [January 13, 2015, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-of-the-rest-of-the-top-40-1964/709711/7 "2015-01-13T20:18:07Z")
I didn’t like The Beatles when they first appeared, and this is sure not their best music. Their impact aside, I can’t vote for the songs. I’m really partial to Terry Stafford’s _Suspicion_, in a dead heat with The Supremes and The Drifters. I’m going with Stafford, as I’m sure he won’t get much love otherwise. ---
**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:** [January 13, 2015, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-of-the-rest-of-the-top-40-1964/709711/8 "2015-01-13T20:35:24Z")
For the second time, I went with Martha and the Vandellas, because [Dancing in the Street](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JD5muIGEZJw) is just a great song. I remember it and [Heat Wave](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXUf19EKy64) less for the original versions, though, than I do for the just-now linked covers by the Who. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2015, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-of-the-rest-of-the-top-40-1964/709711/9 "2015-01-13T20:36:48Z")
Got to be Dionne Warwick for me ---
**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:** [January 13, 2015, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-of-the-rest-of-the-top-40-1964/709711/10 "2015-01-13T22:37:25Z")
I hate to be a nitpicker but you have an ineligible song on the list. This survey is supposed to be for the songs that finished among the Top 40 Singles of 1964 but did not hit #1. [“Baby Love” by The Supremes was #1 in October and November of that year](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baby_Love) so it should not be part of “Best of the Rest of the Top 40: 1964” survey. Also, for the record, I voted for The Beatles’ “Twist and Shout”. ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2015, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-of-the-rest-of-the-top-40-1964/709711/11 "2015-01-13T22:46:58Z")
> [@Ponch8](#): > > I can’t decide between “Under the Boardwalk,” “Dawn,” “Walk on By,” or “Twist and Shout.” I’ll have to make my pick later. After thinking about it a little more, “Walk on By” is clearly the highest-rated song in the world-famous **Ponch8 Music Rating System** , with “Twist and Shout” a few points behind in second place, “Dawn” in third, and “Under the Boardwalk” in fourth. ---
**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:** [January 13, 2015, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-of-the-rest-of-the-top-40-1964/709711/12 "2015-01-13T23:04:23Z")
> [@NDP](#): > > I hate to be a nitpicker but you have an ineligible song on the list. This survey is supposed to be for the songs that finished among the Top 40 Singles of 1964 but did not hit #1. [“Baby Love” by The Supremes was #1 in October and November of that year](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baby_Love) so it should not be part of “Best of the Rest of the Top 40: 1964” survey. Why, so it was. I must have missed that one while I was going through the list. My bad. Any and all votes cast for “Baby Love” shall hereby be awarded instead to the #41 song of the year, “Memphis” by Johnny Rivers. 🙂 ---
**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:** [January 14, 2015, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-of-the-rest-of-the-top-40-1964/709711/13 "2015-01-14T01:58:37Z")
I’m torn between “Dancing in the Street” and “Twist and Shout.” Bottom line: I’m not a really huge fan of early Beatles, so I’m going with Martha and the Vandellas. ---
**Author:** ![zoog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7ea924/32.png) [@zoog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoog)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2015, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-of-the-rest-of-the-top-40-1964/709711/14 "2015-01-14T17:42:32Z")
Every once in a while these lists surprise me with something like this: I would have sworn that “Under the Boardwalk” was a hit for The Drifters at least 5-7 years before 1964. ---
**Author:** ![FuriousGeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecae2f/32.png) [@FuriousGeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FuriousGeorge)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2015, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-of-the-rest-of-the-top-40-1964/709711/15 "2015-01-14T17:47:59Z")
It’s one of the two Beatles songs. While I like \*\*Twist and Shout \*\*better, \*\*Please Please Me \*\*is the one that started it all. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2015, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-of-the-rest-of-the-top-40-1964/709711/16 "2015-01-14T19:52:52Z")
Under the Boardwalk. One of the all time great vocal performances. When it came time to nail it, he did. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2015, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-of-the-rest-of-the-top-40-1964/709711/17 "2015-01-15T20:55:37Z")
Much as I like the two Beatles songs on the list, I’m going with Martha Reeves and the Vandellas. “Dancing in the Street” is such a great song. ---
**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:** [January 16, 2015, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-of-the-rest-of-the-top-40-1964/709711/18 "2015-01-16T02:15:41Z")
No-Brainer for me: “Please Please Me” is one of my very favorite Beatles songs. I think it’s a _perfect_ two-minute single. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2015, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-of-the-rest-of-the-top-40-1964/709711/19 "2015-01-16T03:39:06Z")
In a time of [Johnny Get Angry](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pI_nk0L-cF4) Lesley Gore’s [anthem](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYljdKsdb-c) for the right of a woman to tell a guy to stuff it got my vote. French version because, uh, reasons. Or “Nous sommes Charlie” or something. Now in [Italian,](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6t64rD1lh4) as anybody listening to pop culture back then knew was inevitable. ETA: Plus I’m sick of Motown and the Beatles. ---
**Author:** ![Nema98](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d2c977/32.png) [@Nema98](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nema98)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2015, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-of-the-rest-of-the-top-40-1964/709711/20 "2015-01-16T04:07:18Z")
I love “Please Please Me” but I am hesitantly thinking of giving all a listen. I was busy but I hope I won’t be disappointed. “Twist and Shout” was never to my liking regardless of who sang it. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-of-the-rest-of-the-top-40-1964/709711.md?page=2)