Friday, July 11, 2014

50 Years Ago This Weekend (7-11 and 7-12)

American Pop Favorites THE BEACH BOYS and THE FOUR SEASONS reclaimed their spot at the top of the charts for a four week stretch … two weeks each for I GET AROUND and RAG DOLL, still two of the biggest hits of the '60's.  British Invasion artists had to settle for positions #4 and #5 this week for DON'T LET THE SUN CATCH YOU CRYING by GERRY AND THE PACEMAKERS and CAN'T YOU SEE THAT SHE'S MINE by THE DAVE CLARK FIVE.  Also holding on to a Top Ten spot was A WORLD WITHOUT LOVE by PETER AND GORDON, down to #8 this week … and just outside the Top Ten you'll find BAD TO ME by BILLY J. KRAMER AND THE DAKOTAS sitting at #11.

GERRY AND THE PACEMAKERS have TWO brand new debuts on the chart this week: HOW DO YOU DO IT (a song THE BEATLES turned down) premiers at #85 while I'M THE ONE comes in ten places lower at #95.  Other British Hits include DON'T THROW YOUR LOVE AWAY by THE SEARCHERS (#16), LITTLE CHILDREN by BILLY J. KRAMER AND THE DAKOTAS (#19), NOBDOY I KNOW by PETER AND GORDON (#23, up another 25 places!), LOVE ME DO by THE BEATLES (#24), YESTERDAY'S GONE (#25) for CHAD STUART and JEREMY CLYDE … and finally the ONLY version on the chart now that the competing OVERLANDERS' version has fallen off the list ... DUSTY SPRINGFIELD's WISHIN' AND HOPIN' up to #27, DIANE by THE BACHELORS at #43, NOT FADE AWAY by THE ROLLING STONES at #52, YOU'RE MY WORLD by CILLA BLACK up 15 places to #65, I BELIEVE by THE BACHELORS at #66 and another ROLLING STONES hit, TELL ME at #70.  (New on the charts this week is SHE'S THE ONE by THE CHARTBUSTERS, a Washington, D.C. group that sounded an awful lot like THE BEATLES when this record first came out.)

Here in Chicago on the WLS Silver Dollar Survey, CAN'T YOU SEE THAT SHE'S MINE by THE DAVE CLARK FIVE moves up to #2 this week, followed by BILLY J. KRAMER AND THE DAKOTAS' LITTLE CHILDREN at #4, A WORLD WITHOUT LOVE by PETER AND GORDON at #7 and DON'T LET THE SUN CATCH YOU CRYING by GERRY AND THE PACEMAKERS at #8.

The Top 20 adds DON'T THROW YOUR LOVE AWAY by THE SEARCHERS and NOBODY I KNOW by PETER AND GORDON to the list, at positions #17 and #20.

Rounding out The Top 40 are WISHIN' AND HOPIN' by DUSTY SPRINGFIELD at #25, I BELIEVE by THE BACHELORS at #29 and, brand new on the charts, the latest two-sided hit by THE BEATLES, A HARD DAY'S NIGHT / I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN BETTER, premiering at #30 … a week before it would debut on The Billboard Chart.

One of the Featured Albums this week on WLS:  "Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying" by Gerry and the Pacemakers.