Today in Billboard Chart History - August 28

[Dawn]

Let's take a look at the top 10 songs on Billboard's Hot 100 singles chart on August 28, 1965.

10. Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag - James Brown
9. Down in the Boondocks – Billy Joe Royal
8. Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me – Mel Carter
7. Save Your Heart for Me – Gary Lewis & the Playboys
6. Like a Rolling Stone – Bob Dylan
5. It’s the Same Old Song – Four Tops
4. Unchained Melody – Righteous Brothers
3. California Girls – Beach Boys
2. Help! – Beatles
1. I Got You Babe – Sonny & Cher

Any thoughts or memories of these songs?

[SAT-I need more room!!]

Lots of typical oldies station staples.

10. One of his signature tunes, but I'm not a big James fan.

9. Good song, if a bit overplayed.

8. Nice song, but I don't need to hear it.

7. Good tune that doesn't get the play of his other hits.

6. Again, overplayed.

5. Overplayed, and I think I got more sick of it when the Tops themselves did it in a mac and cheese commercial.

3. One of their signature tunes, but again, sick of it. The B side, Let Him Run Wild, is probably my fave Beach Boys track.

2. Tired of it, but it's the Beatles!

1. Legendary piece that could only be in the 60s.

[lora]

10. I like this song, although I don't particularly care for James Brown.

9. Don't know it.

8. Didn't Gloria Estefan cover this song?

7. Sounds familiar...

6. Can't place it.

5. Love the Four Tops, but I can't recall this tune.

4. One of the greatest songs of all-time.

3. One of my faves by the Beach Boys.

2. Never really cared for it.

1. Absolutely adore this song!

[Ken]

Excellent list !!


10. Great tune from James - first heard it in the early 80's.

9.Heard this back in the mid 70's for the first time. Once again thank you Ktel!

8.This the only tune of Mel's Im familiar with.

7. I have Gary's best of on vinyl as well as a few 45's including this one - this has always been a big favorite of mine.

6.Classic Bob! - nice keyboard playing by Al Kooper.

5.Yes I remember hearing it alot at one point - still enjoy it though

4.A huge hit at the time because of the movie Ghost actually it wasn't until it's re release that I heard it alot.

3.I agree with Adam about Let Him Run Wild a fantastic track that I think tends to be forgotten about . Gotta love California Girls - Woo hoo!

2.Even though a great uptempo song - and a huge fave of mine - yeah! . The lyrics were quite something John was going through a bit of a rough time.

1.Love it!

[55dodger]

Hi Dawn - This is a pretty good chart

10. Papa's Got a Brand New Bag - Pobably my favorite James Brown song.

9. Down in the Boondocks - Theme that was overused in the sixties. This song is ok.

8. Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me - I guess it a standard now, never really liked it though.

7. Save Your Heart for Me - Not a real big fan of Gary & the Playboys.

6. Like a Rolling Stone - A favorite from Bob.

5. It's the Same Old Song - Four Tops are another favorite R&B group of mine. This is a great song.

4. Unchained Melody - One of the greatest love songs ever.

3. California Girls - Being a California guy, I like this song.

2. Help! - Good Beatles song.

1. I Got You Babe - A favorite from Sonny & Cher.

[Railyn]

Hmmm - looks like about half and half.

10) It's ok.
9) Eh.
8) No.
7) Not familiar.
6) Love this one.
5) Love this one.
4) Tired of it. Too many weddings.
3) Good song.
2) Love it.
1) Eh.

[kathyb]

Papa's Got a Brand New Bag--It's ok. Not a big James Brown fan.

Down in the Boondocks--Pretty good. Remember hearing it a lot when I was a kid.

Hold Me, Thril Me, Kiss Me--In that order? ;D ;D ;D

Save Your Heart For Me--Gary and the Playboys were quite annoying. I don't need to hear anything by them.

Like a Rolling Stone--Back when Bob was good.

It's the Same Old Song--Not too bad.

Unchained Melody--Is that song forever associated with "Ghost" now?

California Girls--Not a big Beach Boys fan. I've heard this song enough.

Help--Good song. Good group, too.

I Got You Babe--Really nice tune. RIP Sonny.

[H2IZCOOL]

Hey Dawn. Wonderful chart here.

10. Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag - We talked earlier about how some of James' songs broke into the top 10 but we couldn't tell why, when others didn't. -- Well with this one, IMO, it's obvious. This is a super song!

9. Down in the Boondocks – Fine song. I think written by Joe South.

8. Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me - I heard this more on Oldies stations than back in the day. Decent song. WAY overplayed now.

7. Save Your Heart for Me - Don't care for Gary's voice (it has too much of his fathers timbre in it, I think). This is one of Gary's better songs, though.

6. Like a Rolling Stone - One of Bob's better "angry" songs.

5. It’s the Same Old Song – Love the Tops! This is a good song, but it did sound a lot like it's predecessor (Can't Help Myself [Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch]), making it "The Same Old Song, indeed.

4. Unchained Melody - Brilliant cover of the smash from the 1955 movie "Unchained".

3. California Girls - Loved it the first 1000 times I heard it; liked it the next 10,000 times I heard it. That was about 100,000 times ago.

2. Help! - I like it, but it's far from my fave among early Beatles songs.

1. I Got You Babe - I think I mentioned seeing them do this on "Shindig" wearing their trademarked outrageous clothes. Fabulous song! All time top 250. Unfortunately, IMO, it was the high point of their careers, either together or individually.

[Dawn]

SAT-The said:

Lots of typical oldies station staples.

10. One of his signature tunes, but I'm not a big James fan.

9. Good song, if a bit overplayed.

8. Nice song, but I don't need to hear it.

7. Good tune that doesn't get the play of his other hits.

6. Again, overplayed.

5. Overplayed, and I think I got more sick of it when the Tops themselves did it in a mac and cheese commercial.

3. One of their signature tunes, but again, sick of it. The B side, Let Him Run Wild, is probably my fave Beach Boys track.

2. Tired of it, but it's the Beatles!

1. Legendary piece that could only be in the 60s.

You’re absolutely right about these being oldies station staples! I hear most of these songs pretty regularly on the oldies stations here. ‘Save Your Heart for Me’ is an exception – like you, I don’t hear it as much as his other hits.

‘I Got You Babe’ is definitely a period piece. It took a little while for me to really warm up to it, but I really enjoy listening to it now.

[Dawn]

Lora-Bette's said:

10. I like this song, although I don't particularly care for James Brown.

9. Don't know it.

8. Didn't Gloria Estefan cover this song?

7. Sounds familiar...

6. Can't place it.

5. Love the Four Tops, but I can't recall this tune.

4. One of the greatest songs of all-time.

3. One of my faves by the Beach Boys.

2. Never really cared for it.

1. Absolutely adore this song!

I think Gloria did cover ‘Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me’, back in the mid-90’s or thereabouts. If I recall correctly, that was the title cut of an album in which she did mostly cover versions of 60’s and 70’s hits.

I’ve always liked ‘California Girls’ – it’s one of my favorite Beach Boys songs also. I remember buying the reissue 45 of it when I was about 9.

[Dawn]

KenFrank said:

Excellent list !!


10. Great tune from James - first heard it in the early 80's.

9.Heard this back in the mid 70's for the first time. Once again thank you Ktel!

8.This the only tune of Mel's Im familiar with.

7. I have Gary's best of on vinyl as well as a few 45's including this one - this has always been a big favorite of mine.

6.Classic Bob! - nice keyboard playing by Al Kooper.

5.Yes I remember hearing it alot at one point - still enjoy it though

4.A huge hit at the time because of the movie Ghost actually it wasn't until it's re release that I heard it alot.

3.I agree with Adam about Let Him Run Wild a fantastic track that I think tends to be forgotten about . Gotta love California Girls - Woo hoo!

2.Even though a great uptempo song - and a huge fave of mine - yeah! . The lyrics were quite something John was going through a bit of a rough time.

1.Love it!

I’m thinking I first heard ‘Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag’ in the 80’s also – probably 1987 or 1988. I don’t recall hearing many of his songs growing up – ‘Living in America’ was my first real introduction to his music.

I really need to get a compilation of Gary’s hits sometime. He and the Playboys recorded a lot of good songs.

I remember reading somewhere where John referred to that time as his “Fat Elvis” period. That was when Beatlemania was in full swing, and I imagine he did have a lot of pressures to cope with at the time.

[Dawn]

55dodger said:

Hi Dawn - This is a pretty good chart

10. Papa's Got a Brand New Bag - Pobably my favorite James Brown song.

9. Down in the Boondocks - Theme that was overused in the sixties. This song is ok.

8. Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me - I guess it a standard now, never really liked it though.

7. Save Your Heart for Me - Not a real big fan of Gary & the Playboys.

6. Like a Rolling Stone - A favorite from Bob.

5. It's the Same Old Song - Four Tops are another favorite R&B group of mine. This is a great song.

4. Unchained Melody - One of the greatest love songs ever.

3. California Girls - Being a California guy, I like this song.

2. Help! - Good Beatles song.

1. I Got You Babe - A favorite from Sonny & Cher.

Hi dodger!

You have a point about the ‘Down in the Boondocks’ theme – there were quite a few songs back then that dealt with that subject, come to think of it!

I think I actually heard KC & the Sunshine Band’s version of ‘It’s the Same Old Song’ before the Tops’ version. A great one from them.

[Dawn]

Railyn said:

Hmmm - looks like about half and half.

10) It's ok.
9) Eh.
8) No.
7) Not familiar.
6) Love this one.
5) Love this one.
4) Tired of it. Too many weddings.
3) Good song.
2) Love it.
1) Eh.

I imagine ‘Unchained Melody’ was played at a lot of weddings!

[Dawn]

kathyb said:

Papa's Got a Brand New Bag--It's ok. Not a big James Brown fan.

Down in the Boondocks--Pretty good. Remember hearing it a lot when I was a kid.

Hold Me, Thril Me, Kiss Me--In that order? ;D ;D ;D

Save Your Heart For Me--Gary and the Playboys were quite annoying. I don't need to hear anything by them.

Like a Rolling Stone--Back when Bob was good.

It's the Same Old Song--Not too bad.

Unchained Melody--Is that song forever associated with "Ghost" now?

California Girls--Not a big Beach Boys fan. I've heard this song enough.

Help--Good song. Good group, too.

I Got You Babe--Really nice tune. RIP Sonny.

LOL about ‘Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me’! ;D

It’s hard to believe sometimes that Sonny is gone. He took a lot of ribbing from people, but he was quite a talented guy. I love to watch old clips from the Sonny & Cher show – they really did have a great chemistry there. I think it comes through in the song, and is one of the main reasons the song works so well.

[Dawn]

H2IZCOOL said:

Hey Dawn. Wonderful chart here.

10. Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag - We talked earlier about how some of James' songs broke into the top 10 but we couldn't tell why, when others didn't. -- Well with this one, IMO, it's obvious. This is a super song!

9. Down in the Boondocks – Fine song. I think written by Joe South.

8. Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me - I heard this more on Oldies stations than back in the day. Decent song. WAY overplayed now.

7. Save Your Heart for Me - Don't care for Gary's voice (it has too much of his fathers timbre in it, I think). This is one of Gary's better songs, though.

6. Like a Rolling Stone - One of Bob's better "angry" songs.

5. It’s the Same Old Song – Love the Tops! This is a good song, but it did sound a lot like it's predecessor (Can't Help Myself [Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch]), making it "The Same Old Song, indeed.

4. Unchained Melody - Brilliant cover of the smash from the 1955 movie "Unchained".

3. California Girls - Loved it the first 1000 times I heard it; liked it the next 10,000 times I heard it. That was about 100,000 times ago.

2. Help! - I like it, but it's far from my fave among early Beatles songs.

1. I Got You Babe - I think I mentioned seeing them do this on "Shindig" wearing their trademarked outrageous clothes. Fabulous song! All time top 250. Unfortunately, IMO, it was the high point of their careers, either together or individually.

‘Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me’ is a good song, but I agree with you that it’s been overplayed.

I’d never really thought about it, but you’re right about ‘It’s the Same Old Song’ sounding a lot like ‘I Can’t Help Myself’.

LOL about ‘California Girls’!