Today in Billboard Chart History - August 1

[Dawn]

Today, let's take a look at the songs that were popular 39 years ago. These were the top 10 songs on Billboard's Hot 100 singles chart on August 1, 1964.

10. The Girl from Ipanema – Stan Getz/Astrud Gilberto
9. Memphis – Johnny Rivers
8. I Get Around – Beach Boys
7. Dang Me – Roger Miller
6. Wishin’ and Hopin’ – Dusty Springfield
5. Where Did Our Love Go – Supremes
4. Everybody Loves Somebody – Dean Martin
3. The Little Old Lady (From Pasadena) – Jan & Dean
2. Rag Doll – Four Seasons
1. A Hard Day’s Night - Beatles

Any thoughts or memories of these songs?

[H2IZCOOL]

Hey Dawn! Interesting Chart. It's mid-year in the first year of the British Invasion, and one Beatles song is the only representitve in the Top 10. (I don't really consider Dusty Springfield part of the "invasion")

Girl From Ipanema - Although I recognize the talent here, and know that in some minds this song is a classic, I never cared for this style of music.

Memphis - I believe this was Johnny's first time on the chart. (Don't have my Whitburn with me.) It's a good song, but neither my favorite by him, nor my favorite version of Memphis.

I Get Around - Woo Hoo!! Great Beach Boys tune! My favorite by them, and in my Top 100. Back in the day, we used to laugh about the guitar riff sounding exactly like the tune for the Wrigley's Spearmint gum commercial ("Look for the Spear and get chewing enjoyment").

Dang Me - Good song! Roger was a fine country music artist who kept them coming.

Wishin' and Hopin' - Like I said, even though Dusty was British, I don't consider her part of the British Invasion. She had a style that was a cross between middle of the road and R&B. Fairly unique, especially for a white woman. Great song!

Where Did Our Love Go - With this, their first #1, the Supremes staked their claim to the Top Girl Group title., (wresting it away from The Shirelles, the Crystals and The Chiffons). It would be quite a while before they lost it.

Everybody Loves Somebody - Dino enjoyed the juice, and sounded like he may have imbibed quite a bit of it prior to recording this song. Nevertheless, it became one of the main songs for which he is remembered.

The Little Old Lady From Pasadena - Jan and Dean followed the Beach Boys from the surf into the cars with this one. The title comes from the stereotypical picture of a used car salesman trying to fast-talk someone into buying a car by saying something like "It was previously owned by a little old lady from Pasadena, who only drove it to church on Sundays."

Rag Doll - I've said before that IMO, 1964 was the Seasons' best year. Love this one.

A Hard Day's Night - After the first Beatles assault on the US had waned, the people were hungry for more. This song came in to fill the gap. IMO, it's not one of their best, and only went to number 1 because there was no other Beatles song around at the time.

[lora]

I Get Around - Good tune. Has the regular Beach Boy vibe to it. I love their sound.

Wishin' and Hopin' - I'm not sure that I've ever heard the Dusty Springfield version of this song, but I like it nonetheless.

Where Did Our Love Go - Probably my favorite Supremes tune. This song is a testament to why the Supremes are considered to be the greatest "girl group" of all time.

Everybody Loves Somebody - I always liked Dean Martin's voice. This is one of his greatest.

A Hard Day's Night - Fair song, but there were far better Beatles' tunes.

[SAT-I need more room!!]

Don't know 10 & 7.

The rest are typical oldies station fare nowadays. (Except for Deano, of course.)

My fave here is Dusty.

The rest are too overplayed for me to like very much anymore.

[beatles4ever]

Mmmm,I just love "A Hard Days Night"!And my main man,Dean Martin....my favorite crooner by far.Jan and Dean...my preference to the very commercial Beach Boys(yes,I know! ;D)

[Ken]

Hi Dawn 1964 - yeah!

10. Remember hearing this as a kid but for the longest time didn't know the artist.

9.Oh yeah! - the first tune by Johnny I ever heard - great version.

8.Among my many faves from the Beach Boys.

7.One of the many 45's I bought in the 80's - love his music.

6.Dusty had such a great voice. Remember hearing it quite a bit in the 80's. I have it on CD.

5.One of The Supremes best!

4.I've started to appreciate Dean's music in the last few years ( I use to play Volare and That's Amore at Weddings). The guy was cool - simple as that:)

3.In my top 3 faves of J and D

2.Always loved this track

1.Ah yes the best for last - That opening chord just rocks, I love the way John and Paul share the vocals on this and the combination of the piano and guitar on the solo. and Ringo as always holds it all together nicely. Like all the Beatles songs - I heard this many times when I was little.

[Railyn]

This is an oddball chart.

10) I can't believe this was a hit - I did enjoy playing in in band, though.
9) This song is ok. My mom always liked to sing it.
8) I like the Beach Boys, but this isn't one of my favorites.
7) My grandpa loved him. He's passable to me.
6) I like Dusty. She's great blue-eyed soul-type music.
5) A good one by the Supremes.
4) Eh. No thanks.
3) Again - pass.
2) It's not one of my favorites, but the harmony on it just blows me away.
1) Good early Beatles.

[55dodger]

Hi Dawn - Very interesting chart for this late in 1964. So many different styles and only one song from the cream of British rock & roll. Interesting, but a good one.

Girl from Ipanema - Probably like it more today than I did in the 60s. Not necessarily my style, but a standard none-the-less.

Memphis - A great debut song by Johnny Rivers, just not my favorite version of this song.

I Get Around - Beach Boys first #1. Great song

Dang Me - First of what was many novelty songs Roger put on the pop charts. Gave it a little country flavor.

Wishin' & Hopin' - Dusty's 1st top 10, not a bad song.

Where Did Our Love Go - The first of what became a long list of #1 songs. The best "girl" group ever.

Everybody Loves Somebody - Dean may have liked his gin, but he did get a top 5 song in the middle of 1964. Pretty good feat.

Little Old Lady from Pasadena - "She's the terror of Colorado Blvd." One of the best from Jan & Dean

Rag Doll - Great song, one of my favorites from the Four Seasons.

A Hard's Day Night - The Beatle Legacy continues.

[Dawn]

H2IZCOOL said:

Hey Dawn! Interesting Chart. It's mid-year in the first year of the British Invasion, and one Beatles song is the only representitve in the Top 10. (I don't really consider Dusty Springfield part of the "invasion")

Girl From Ipanema - Although I recognize the talent here, and know that in some minds this song is a classic, I never cared for this style of music.

Memphis - I believe this was Johnny's first time on the chart. (Don't have my Whitburn with me.) It's a good song, but neither my favorite by him, nor my favorite version of Memphis.

I Get Around - Woo Hoo!! Great Beach Boys tune! My favorite by them, and in my Top 100. Back in the day, we used to laugh about the guitar riff sounding exactly like the tune for the Wrigley's Spearmint gum commercial ("Look for the Spear and get chewing enjoyment").

Dang Me - Good song! Roger was a fine country music artist who kept them coming.

Wishin' and Hopin' - Like I said, even though Dusty was British, I don't consider her part of the British Invasion. She had a style that was a cross between middle of the road and R&B. Fairly unique, especially for a white woman. Great song!

Where Did Our Love Go - With this, their first #1, the Supremes staked their claim to the Top Girl Group title., (wresting it away from The Shirelles, the Crystals and The Chiffons). It would be quite a while before they lost it.

Everybody Loves Somebody - Dino enjoyed the juice, and sounded like he may have imbibed quite a bit of it prior to recording this song. Nevertheless, it became one of the main songs for which he is remembered.

The Little Old Lady From Pasadena - Jan and Dean followed the Beach Boys from the surf into the cars with this one. The title comes from the stereotypical picture of a used car salesman trying to fast-talk someone into buying a car by saying something like "It was previously owned by a little old lady from Pasadena, who only drove it to church on Sundays."

Rag Doll - I've said before that IMO, 1964 was the Seasons' best year. Love this one.

A Hard Day's Night - After the first Beatles assault on the US had waned, the people were hungry for more. This song came in to fill the gap. IMO, it's not one of their best, and only went to number 1 because there was no other Beatles song around at the time.

Hey H2! I agree, it is odd that there aren't more British Invasion acts represented on this chart.

That's a good description of Dusty's style. I find myself enjoying her songs more and more as I grow older. She really was a very talented singer.

LOL about Dino! I've actually only heard this a few times - the oldies stations here pretty much neglect his music.

[Dawn]

Lora-Forever said:

I Get Around - Good tune. Has the regular Beach Boy vibe to it. I love their sound.

Wishin' and Hopin' - I'm not sure that I've ever heard the Dusty Springfield version of this song, but I like it nonetheless.

Where Did Our Love Go - Probably my favorite Supremes tune. This song is a testament to why the Supremes are considered to be the greatest "girl group" of all time.

Everybody Loves Somebody - I always liked Dean Martin's voice. This is one of his greatest.

A Hard Day's Night - Fair song, but there were far better Beatles' tunes.

I love that quality in the Beach Boys' music also! They had so many great songs back in the day.

I agree, Dean Martin really did have a wonderful voice.

[Dawn]

SAT-The said:

Don't know 10 & 7.

The rest are typical oldies station fare nowadays. (Except for Deano, of course.)

My fave here is Dusty.

The rest are too overplayed for me to like very much anymore.

'Wishin' and Hopin' is a wonderful song from Dusty. It's one of my favorites on this chart, along with 'A Hard Day's Night' and 'The Girl from Ipanema'.

[Dawn]

beatles4ever said:

Mmmm,I just love "A Hard Days Night"!And my main man,Dean Martin....my favorite crooner by far.Jan and Dean...my preference to the very commercial Beach Boys(yes,I know! ;D)

'A Hard Day's Night' is excellent - I watched the movie just last night! Although I prefer the Beach Boys, I agree that Jan and Dean did record some really good songs.

[Dawn]

KenFrank said:

Hi Dawn 1964 - yeah!

10. Remember hearing this as a kid but for the longest time didn't know the artist.

9.Oh yeah! - the first tune by Johnny I ever heard - great version.

8.Among my many faves from the Beach Boys.

7.One of the many 45's I bought in the 80's - love his music.

6.Dusty had such a great voice. Remember hearing it quite a bit in the 80's. I have it on CD.

5.One of The Supremes best!

4.I've started to appreciate Dean's music in the last few years ( I use to play Volare and That's Amore at Weddings). The guy was cool - simple as that:)

3.In my top 3 faves of J and D

2.Always loved this track

1.Ah yes the best for last - That opening chord just rocks, I love the way John and Paul share the vocals on this and the combination of the piano and guitar on the solo. and Ringo as always holds it all together nicely. Like all the Beatles songs - I heard this many times when I was little.

Hi Ken!

I'm with you about Dean Martin - he is the kind of artist I didn't listen to much when I was younger, but like you, I've really grown to appreciate his music in recent years. 'Volare' is another good one.

'A Hard Day's Night' is just awesome! Ringo's drumming is superb, and that instrumental break rocks!

[Dawn]

Railyn said:

This is an oddball chart.

10) I can't believe this was a hit - I did enjoy playing in in band, though.
9) This song is ok. My mom always liked to sing it.
8) I like the Beach Boys, but this isn't one of my favorites.
7) My grandpa loved him. He's passable to me.
6) I like Dusty. She's great blue-eyed soul-type music.
5) A good one by the Supremes.
4) Eh. No thanks.
3) Again - pass.
2) It's not one of my favorites, but the harmony on it just blows me away.
1) Good early Beatles.

I've always really liked 'The Girl from Ipanema', although I agree that it's surprising that it charted this high. It's very different in style from many of the other songs of the day.

There are some wonderful harmonies on the Four Seasons' songs!

[Dawn]

55dodger said:

Hi Dawn - Very interesting chart for this late in 1964. So many different styles and only one song from the cream of British rock & roll. Interesting, but a good one.

Girl from Ipanema - Probably like it more today than I did in the 60s. Not necessarily my style, but a standard none-the-less.

Memphis - A great debut song by Johnny Rivers, just not my favorite version of this song.

I Get Around - Beach Boys first #1. Great song

Dang Me - First of what was many novelty songs Roger put on the pop charts. Gave it a little country flavor.

Wishin' & Hopin' - Dusty's 1st top 10, not a bad song.

Where Did Our Love Go - The first of what became a long list of #1 songs. The best "girl" group ever.

Everybody Loves Somebody - Dean may have liked his gin, but he did get a top 5 song in the middle of 1964. Pretty good feat.

Little Old Lady from Pasadena - "She's the terror of Colorado Blvd." One of the best from Jan & Dean

Rag Doll - Great song, one of my favorites from the Four Seasons.

A Hard's Day Night - The Beatle Legacy continues.

Hi dodger! I agree that it's an unusual mix of styles and artists, especially considering the time period.

This version of 'Memphis' is good, but I think I prefer Lonnie Mack's instrumental version.

You're right about the Supremes - definitely the most successful girl group in music history, with 12 number one hits! So many of their songs are classics, including 'Where Did Our Love Go'.