Litle Children - BJKramer and the Dakotas

19th March for 2 weeks

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3yO6eUvJAA

2nd No 1 for the Dakotas. Another penned by the legend that is Mort Shumann.
As Top of the Pops started in 64, a lot of the links will be from there, but its all miming until 66.

Cant buy me love - The Beatles

2nd April 1964 for 3 weeks

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BzqpHgMDCkI

Link from "A Hard Days Night" Great Song.
Fleeting appearance from Bill Pertwee at the end

A World without love - Peter and Gordon

23rd April for 2 weeks

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_lJPUKTchI

Lennon/Mcartney song. Great stuff. Where do i start?
They both look about 14, and could quite easily be singing in front of the school at assembly.
Paul was famously dating Jane Asher (yes, the one who makes cakes), but how weird that he penned a No 1 for her brother.
Can only think the conversation went:
"Paul, my brother and his mate want to be Pop Stars, can you write them a song"
"No chance"
"Ill suck your knob"
"Oh, OK then"

i refuse to countenance the possibility of Jane Asher giving head

Hope you keep this going as I've started listening to every No1 since the day I was born! and you save me looking up all the links :-) Great idea for a thread.

are any of them the same as in 64 tho?

Juliet - The Four Pennies

21st May 1964 for 1 week

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCNIj0wyR0U

Dull song, but interesting video.
Freddy Garrity (of Dreamers fame), sticking his head in front of the camera, the suited BBC exec chatting up a couple of girls and looking right out of place, and the gorgeous blonde in black dancing with the guy in shades.

The rhythm guitarist is still playing, and the singer who took over from this one.

Its over - Roy Orbison

25th June for 2 weeks

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFBpX6y6f1w

Great stuff from the Big O.

And now I shall start rating them out of ten, don't know why I didn't do that from the start really:

The Shadows - "Kon-Tiki"
5 October for 1 week

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRrISegvqpU

Another decent twangy Shadows effort. Not lively enough for my liking. 5/10


The Highwaymen - "Michael"
12 October for 1 week
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4b1uGEYuSC8

"Hallelujah". This is how I remember it - as an old church song, but apparently it is originally an African American song... you learn something every day. 4/10

Helen Shapiro - "Walkin' Back to Happiness"
19 October for 3 weeks
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWWDyCkpsiw

A nice jolly little ditty from 18seconds on. I think Helen does a decent job of it. Nice voice. 6/10

Elvis Presley - "Little Sister/(Marie's the Name) His Latest Flame"
9 November for 4 weeks
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jgI7IoD5RM
One of his better efforts, this brings back happy memories for some reason. This is the Elvis I like, rather than his boring ballads... They were a waste of his talents imo. Slightly rocking but not so rocking as his earlier, non ballad, efforts 6/10

Frankie Vaughan - " Tower of Strength "
7 December for 3 weeks
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBdumT3Pieg
Poor man's Tom Jones. His name alone reminds me of Frankie Howerd which is enough to put me off. 3/10

Danny Williams - "Moon River"
28 December for 2 weeks
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBrF8-TMEr0
I prefer Louis Armstrong's effort. Though as classic songs go, "Moon River" is not one of my favourites anyway. Worth a listen if you're really bored. Or feeling sad. Danny Boy was only 19 years old when this was released believe it or not. Bet you didn't know that. 5/10
Cliff Richard and The Shadows - "The Young Ones"
11 January for 6 weeks
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBuiTyIYpA8
Cliff has gone up in my estimation and Elvis down during the course of this musical history experiment. This isn't brilliant by any stretch of the imagination, but it is alright. Cliff Richard in fact wasn't all bad imo. 5/10
Elvis Presley - "Rock-A-Hula Baby/Can't Help Falling in Love"
22 February for 4 weeks
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRU8pEuujyo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFSfdL5lPoY
Rock-A-Hula is pretty poor, the video is worse. "Can't Help Falling in love" is (despite all my earlier ramblings about not liking Elvis' love song ballad music) one of my favourite Presley songs ever. A brilliant song. One of the best songs ever. 3/10 and 8/10
The Shadows - "Wonderful Land"
22 March for 8 weeks
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4j9fJbkzheY
A free pint for whoever can tell me where this video is from. Going from the presenter Holland, Belgium or Germany, but I could be wrong. Typical Shadows. In their own way they were trailblazers, no one else was doing twangy guitar solos at the time with the same success (to my knowledge). I like this tune. I like it a lot. 7/10
B. Bumble and the Stingers - "Nut Rocker"
17 May for 1 week
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Op2U-qGUDkg
This is the reason I started this task. I know this song. You know this song. Everyone knows this song. But I didn't know the name of it, nor the artistes. I just chucked the name into youtube and this came up. What a welcome surprise. A brilliant tune. So many of the best tunes are, for whatever reason, by one off artists. If you don't recognise the song by the name (Perhaps everyone does and I am on my own) then give it a go. I think everyone likes this tune, try not to start playing piano on your keyboard. In fact I shall play it again. And again in fact. 9/10

Elvis Presley - "Good Luck Charm"
24 May for 5 weeks 1962
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhF_ofoNX3o
I really am quite fed up of Elvis now, he is churning out the number ones now., nice blonde swimsuit toting bit in the video though if you fancy a diversion. 4/10

Mike Sarne with Wendy Richard - "Come Outside"
28 June for 2 weeks
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5aMIAiseHP4
Yes this is not a typo or a namesake. Dreary old Pauline Fowler had a number one single in the sixties. Though hers wasn't the most challenging role. Another**ney novelty song and not a particularly good one at that. Lay off!! Shove it!!! You are a one!! (Give me strength) 4/10
Ray Charles - "I Can't Stop Loving You"
12 July for 2 weeks
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WU-MBTW86U8
Ray Charles is a legend. I can't help laughing at his piano style in this video (and I suspect all the time). He really rocks around like he has no idea what it is like to see someone rock around in front of a piano without a care in the world. He has a great voice, and is one of the greatest talents in the history of popular music. Good lord did you see his legs go there? This is not one of my favourite songs from his back catalogue unfortunately. 4/10
Frank Ifield - "I Remember You"
26 July for 7 weeks
The anglo-aussie yodeller's classic tune, not one of my favourites alas.So I shall score it accordingly.... 4/10
Elvis Presley - "She's Not You"
13 September for 3 weeks 1962
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjiBHT3Z0d8
Soooo many Elvis number ones recently. This is average. He must move away from the public conscience pretty soon, it is 1962 now and he is running out of time to justify a comeback tour. Bring on the Beatles, mind you they were pretty sh.itty for the first few years too. :( 5/10

The Tornados - "Telstar"
4 October for 5 weeks 1962
A scratchy version on the video. Everyone knows this song, One of those that I knew that the song "Telstar" was by "The Tornados". But could I tell you, having listened to this song that it was "Telstar"? Quite possibly not. A cracking tune and a strange tune. Without precedent, at least within this thread, as far as I can see. Instrumental and perhaps a hint of the good stuff to come. I hope so. Brilliant as far as I'm concerned. 8/10
Frank Ifield - "Lovesick Blues"
8 November for 5 weeks 1962
The yodeller is back. Think I prefer the out and out yodelling to the earlier Ifield drivel. If you fancy a slightly more contemporary Hank Williams (if 1962 can be considered contemporary) then you will like this. Well I do, and I love Hank the yank. I don't know what i'll dooo oo ooo ooo ooo...... 6/10

Elvis Presley - "Return to Sender"
13 December for 3 weeks 1962
I like this, I even know the lyrics. I'm sick to death of the sight and sound of Elvis now, but I still think this is a cracking effort. The dancing is awful - looks like steve owen...

warm place

Have had a word with madmadmoon and he has agreed to let me share the duties on a 3 on 3 off basis from here on in. So I shall do the next 3 songs, and how lucky I am because the next one is:

The Animals "House of the Rising Sun" 01964-07-09 9 July 1964 1 week

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C86oH5RwyJg

Quite simply one of the greatest songs of all time imo. No one knows who wrote this song, but many people hae performed it including Bob Dylan. I can't really argue with this version though, a cracking effort. Incidentally I met a bloke in a pub in northamptonshire once who swore blind that he wrote this song personally when out on a session with the bloke from Procul Harem. Mad as a Hatter he was.

The Beatles "A Hard Day's Night" 01964-07-23 23 July 1964 3

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQwwqajZXD8

Quintessential early Beatles mania. Not bad but certainly a song I could quickly get tired of. This kind of stuff I suppose was different to anything that had come before, but somehow I wouldn't call this influential. That didn't happen until they were bang on the gear imo.

HOTRSun video is best so far. Classic.

Have I the right - The Honeycombs

27th Aug for 2 weeks

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9C3tZwDpx4

I always thought this was from the 50s, and even more suprised they had a woman drummer. Only major hit by the Honeycombs, who started life as hairdressers.

Telstar the best for me so far .... top tune.

DAVE DAVIES phoned up The john peel show who were having a worst guitar solo competition...and voted for his contribution to this song.

Roy Orbison "Oh, Pretty Woman"
8 October 1964 2 weeks

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBrbpWwWafQ

One of the all time great songs from a Rock and Roll legend. Reminds me of "Dumb
and Dumber as much as anything. What a funny looking guy the big O was, great voice though.

Sandie Shaw "(There's) Always Something There to Remind Me" 22 October 1964 3 weeks

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsB-_le-VEg

A bit of a scratchy version this, but it adds somehing to the song imo. Only 17yo when the bareooted one took this went to number. A great Bacharach song, which no doubt Dionne Warwick and possibly a few others may have or could have done better. But this is still a fine effort if you ask me.

HOW AMERICAN RE-MAKES IN THE LAST 6 SONGS?