What songs were in the top 5 when you turned 12?

May 1964

1 MY GUY –•– Mary Wells
2 HELLO, DOLLY –•– Louis Armstrong
3 LOVE ME DO –•– The Beatles
4 BITS AND PIECES –•– The Dave Clark Five
5 DO YOU WANT TO KNOW A SECRET –•– The Beatles

Only two Beatles songs in the Top 5 that week, but they’d make up for it later.

1 Captain and Tennille Love Will Keep Us Together
2 Glen Campbell Rhinestone Cowboy
3 Elton John Philadelphia Freedom
4 Freddy Fender Before the Next Teardrop Falls
5 Frankie Valli My Eyes Adored You

November 9th, 1975

What a sad, sad representation!

August 1967

ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE-The Beatles
LIGHT MY FIRE-The Doors
PLEASANT VALLEY SUNDAY-Monkees
I WAS MADE TO LOVE HER-Stevie Wonder
BABY I LOVE YOU-Aretha Franklin

End of 1983, ranked out of 5 stars. No links, since I’m at work.

1) “Say Say Say” – Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson
… Didn’t care for it then, but appreciate Jackson’s singing more now. ** then, **1/2 now
2) “Say it Isn’t So” – Hall & Oates
… Not my favorite of theirs – needed higher tempo, more synths. ** then and now
3) “Union of the Snake” – Duran Duran
… My sister liked them, so I couldn’t like them then; now, it’s okay. ** then, *** now
4) “Owner of a Lonely Heart” – Yes
… The synth stings and drums were so cool then! Now, meh. **** then, **1/2 now
5) “All Night Long (All Night)” – Lionel Richie
… “Middle of the road? Man, it stanks! / Let’s run over Lionel Richie with a tank” – slightly anachronistic, but appropriate. ** then and now

“US Top 40 Singles For The Week December 14, 1991”:

1 BLACK OR WHITE –– Michael Jackson
2 IT’S SO HARD TO SAY GOODBYE TO YESTERDAY –– Boyz II Men
3 SET ADRIFT ON MEMORY BLISS –– P.M. Dawn
4 WHEN A MAN LOVES A WOMAN –– Michael Bolton
5 ALL 4 LOVE –– Color Me Badd

I’m another person who just wasn’t into music at age 12. Now I see why!

Not much different a week later:

Week ending April 22, 1972

  1. THE FIRST TIME EVER I SAW YOUR FACE –•– Roberta Flack (Atlantic)-8 (2 weeks at #1)
  2. ROCKIN’ ROBIN –•– Michael Jackson (Motown)-7
  3. I GOTCHA / A MOTHER’S PRAYER –•– Joe Tex (Dial)-14
  4. A HORSE WITH NO NAME –•– America (Warner Brothers)-10
  5. IN THE RAIN –•– The Dramatics (Volt)-9

Sucks to me turning twelve, I guess, unless the 3rd or 5th songs are any good. They don’t ring a bell with me at all.

Well, I Gotcha by Joe Tex does sound vaguely familiar. Probably nothing I’d like at twelve, but 50 year old me can appreciate it.

You know what the weird part is about these lists? They are only five songs but most of the time I either don’t remember or have never heard of one or two of them. What does that say about “Classic Rock” station playlists?

Billboard USA week ending 7 January 1967:

  1. I’M A BELIEVER-MONKEES
  2. SNOOPY VS THE RED BARON-Royal Guardsmen
  3. TELL IT LIKE IT IS-Aaron Neville
  4. WINCHESTER CATHEDRAL-New Vaudeville Band
  5. SUGAR TOWN-Nancy Sinatra

September 1988:

  1. Sweet Child O’Mine - Guns N Roses
  2. Simply Irresistible - Robert Palmer
  3. Perfect World - Huey Lewis and the News
  4. Don’t Worry, Be Happy - Bobby McFerrin
  5. I’ll Always Love You - Taylor Dayne

Nothing terrible, but nothing that I really love either. Luckily, there have been some major advances in the music field since that time. :slight_smile:

Week ending September 28, 1963

1 BLUE VELVET –•– Bobby Vinton
2 SALLY, GO ‘ROUND THE ROSES –•– The Jaynetts
3 BE MY BABY –•– The Ronettes
4 HEAT WAVE –•– Martha and the Vandellas
5 MY BOYFRIEND’S BACK –•– The Angels

I remember them all.

For the week of March 24th, 1979:

  1. Tragedy, by the Bee Gees. HATED IT
  2. I Will Survive, Gloria Gaynor. It was OK, grew on me as it became an oldie.
  3. What a Fool Believes, Doobie Brothers. Liked it a lot, still like it now.
  4. Heaven Knows, Donna Summer. Boring, then and now.
  5. Shake Your Groove Thing, Peaches & Herb. Boring, then and now.

The week of August 4, 1979

1 BAD GIRLS-DONNA SUMMER
2 Good Times-Chic
3 Ring My Bell-Anita Ward
4 The Main Event/Fight-Barbra Streisand
5 Gold-John Stewart
Gaaah…that’s a poor selection of songs…

Oh my goodness, OP, I was an avid Top 40 with Casey Kasem listener from 1975-1985 and this list takes me back. I would have been 12 in 1980:

Another One Bites the Dust #1. I totally remember when that came out – it was edgy and dangerous!

Here we go – I remember all of these like it was yesterday.

1 1 ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST –•– Queen (Elektra)-9 (2 weeks at #1) (1)
2 7 WOMAN IN LOVE –•– Barbra Streisand (Columbia)-6 (2)
3 3 UPSIDE DOWN –•– Diana Ross (Motown)-14 (1)
4 2 ALL OUT OF LOVE –•– Air Supply (Arista)-18 (2)
5 5 DRIVIN’ MY LIFE AWAY –•– Eddie Rabbitt (Elektra)-17 (5)****

Week ending 4 September 1978
1 BOOGIE OOGIE OOGIE –•– A Taste Of Honey (Capitol) -12 (1 week at #1) (1)
2 THREE TIMES A LADY –•– The Commodores (Motown) -13 (1)
3 HOT BLOODED –•– Foreigner (Atlantic) -11 (3)
4 HOPELESSLY DEVOTED TO YOU –•– Olivia Newton-John (RSO) -10 (4)
5 KISS YOU ALL OVER –•– Exile (Warner Brothers / Curb) -10 (5)
6 GREASE –•– Frankie Valli (RSO) -16 (1)
7 AN EVERLASTING LOVE –•– Andy Gibb (RSO) -9 (7)
8 SUMMER NIGHTS –•– John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John and Cast (RSO) -6 (8)
9 SHAME –•– Evelyn “Champagne” King (RCA) -13 (9)
10 GOT TO GET YOU INTO MY LIFE –•– Earth, Wind and Fire (Columbia) -8 (10)

Weird - I remember hardly any of these.

June 24, 1961

  1. Moody River - Pat Boone
  2. Travelin’ Man - Ricky Nelson
  3. Quarter To Three - Gary U.S. Bonds
  4. Stand By Me - Ben E. King
  5. Raindrops - Dee Clark

4 and 5 were my favorites.

  1. I’m A Believer - The Monkees
  2. Snoopy vs The Red Baron - The Royal Guardsmen
  3. Tell It Like It Is - Aaron Neville
  4. Good Thing - Paul Revere & The Raiders
  5. Sugar Town - Nancy Sinatra

Week of April 24th 1991:

  1. Chesney Hawks - The One and Only
  2. Cher - The Shoop Shoop Song (It’s in his kiss)
  3. James - Sit Down
  4. Waterboys - The Whole of the Moon
  5. Madonna - Rescue Me

I’m just glad it wasn’t Cher (though that song did get to #1).
And the bonus question of #1 when I was born…Bright Eyes (the theme from Watership Down). Set the tone nicely.

I see Procrustus was born a month before me.

October 1973:

  1. “Midnight Train to Georgia” - Gladys Knight & The Pips
  2. “Angie” - The Rolling Stones
  3. “Half Breed” - Cher
  4. “Ramblin’ Man” - The Allman Brothers Band
  5. “Keep On Truckin’” - Eddie Kendricks

Week ending November 15, 1980:

1 2 LADY –•– Kenny Rogers (Liberty)-7 (1 week at #1) (1)
2 1 WOMAN IN LOVE –•– Barbra Streisand (Columbia)-11 (1)
3 5 THE WANDERER –•– Donna Summer (Geffen)-9 (3)
4 4 ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST –•– Queen (Elektra)-14 (1)
5 6 I’M COMING OUT –•– Diana Ross (Motown)-7 (5)

Dreck, dreck, unmemorable, meh (probably my least favorite Queen hit), dreck.