I Can’t Stop Loving You by Ray Charles Is a popular song written and composed by country singer, songwriter and musician Don Gibson.

Ray Charles Single: The song was covered by Ray Charles in 1962, featured on Charles’ Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music, and released as a single. Charles’ version reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1962, for five weeks.

This version went to number one on the U.S. R&B and Adult Contemporary charts.[2][3] Billboard ranked it as the No. 2 song for 1962. Charles reached No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart in July 1962, staying for two weeks.

Big Girls Don’t Cry by The Four Season is a song written by Bob Crewe and Bob Gaudio and originally recorded by The Four Seasons.

It hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 on November 17, 1962, and, like its predecessor “Sherry,” spent five weeks in the top position. The song also made it to number one, for three weeks, on Billboard’s Rhythm and Blues survey.

According to Gaudio, he was dozing off while watching the John Payne/Rhonda Fleming/Ronald Reagan movie Tennessee’s Partner (1955) when he heard Payne’s character slap Fleming in the face. After the slap, Fleming’s character replied, “Big girls don’t cry.” Gaudio wrote the line on a scrap of paper, fell asleep, and wrote the song the next morning

Hey Baby by Bruce Channel is a song written by Margaret Cobb and Bruce Channel, and recorded by Channel in 1961, first released on LeCam Records, a local Fort Worth, Texas label.

After it hit, it was released on Smash Records for national distribution. He co-produced the song with Major Bill Smith (owner of LeCam) and released it on Mercury Records’ Smash label. The song reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks, starting the week ending March 10, 1962.

The song features a prominent riff from well-known harmonica player Delbert McClinton, and drums played by Ray Torres. Other musicians on the record included Bob Jones and Billy Sanders on Guitar and Jim Rogers on bass. According to a CNN article from 2002, while touring the UK in 1962 with The Beatles, McClinton met John Lennon and gave him some harmonica tips. Lennon put the lessons to use right away on “Love Me Do” and later “Please Please Me”. Lennon included the song in his jukebox, and it is also featured on the related compilation album.

The song was used in the 1987 hit film Dirty Dancing in the scene where Johnny and Baby dance on top of a tree’s log

Breaking Up Is Hard to Do by Neil Sedaka is a song recorded by Neil Sedaka, and co-written by Sedaka and Howard Greenfield. Sedaka recorded this song twice, in 1962 and 1975, in two vastly different arrangements, and it is considered to be his signature song.

Loco-Motion by Little Eva is a 1962 pop song written by American songwriters Gerry Goffin and Carole King. “The Loco-Motion” was originally written for Dee Dee Sharp, but Sharp turned the song down.

The song is notable for appearing in the American Top 5 three times, each time in a different decade: in 1962 by the American pop singer Little Eva,(U.S. No. 1); in 1974 by the American band Grand Funk Railroad (U.S. No. 1); and finally in 1988 by the Australian singer Kylie Minogue (U.S. No. 3).

The song is a popular and enduring example of the dance-song genre: much of the lyrics are devoted to a description of the dance itself, usually performed as a type of line dance. However, the song came before the dance.

“The Loco-Motion” was also the second song to reach No. 1 by two different musical acts. The earlier song to do this was “Go Away Little Girl”, also written by Goffin and King. It is one of only nine songs to achieve this feat

He’s a Rebel by The Crystal is a pop/rock song credited to the girl group the Crystals (although actually recorded by the Blossoms), reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in November 1962. Written by Gene Pitney and produced by Phil Spector, it is an example of the Spector-produced girl group sound.

Green Onions by Booker T. and the MG’s is an instrumental composition recorded in 1962 by Booker T. & the M.G.’s. Described as “one of the most popular instrumental rock and soul songs ever”, the tune is twelve-bar blues with a rippling Hammond M3 organ line by Booker T. Jones that he wrote when he was just 17. The guitarist Steve Cropper used a Fender Telecaster on “Green Onions”, as he did on all of the M.G.’s instrumentals.

The track was originally issued in May 1962 on the Volt label (a subsidiary of Stax Records) as the B-side of “Behave Yourself” on Volt 102; it was quickly reissued as the A-side of Stax 127, and it also appeared on the album Green Onions.

According to Cropper, the title is not a marijuana reference; rather, the track is named after the Green Badger’s cat, Green Onions, whose way of walking inspired the riff.

Green Onions” entered the Billboard Hot 100 the week ending August 11, 1962, and peaked at No. 3 the week ending September 29, 1962. The single also made it to No. 1 on the R&B singles chart, for four non-consecutive weeks, an unusual occurrence in that it fell in and out of top spot three times.

It first appeared on the UK Singles Chart on December 15, 1979, following its use in the film Quadrophenia; it peaked at No. 7 on January 26, 1980, and stayed on the chart for 12 weeks.

Johnny Angel by Shelley Fabares is a song written and composed by Lyn Duddy and Lee Pockriss. The song was originally recorded by both Laurie Loman and Georgia Lee, however these two versions were not successful. It first became a popular hit single in 1962 when covered by Shelley Fabares who took it to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart. British singer Patti Lynn had a moderate hit with her cover of “Johnny Angel” the same year on the UK Singles Chart.

“Johnny Angel” is the debut pop single by Shelley Fabares. Her cover version of the song was released in 1962 on the Colpix label. The track was the first single taken from Fabares’ debut solo album Shelley!, which was produced and arranged by Stu Phillips.

The single premiered on an episode, “Donna’s Prima Donna” of Fabares’ sitcom, The Donna Reed Show, during the fourth season (episode 20). It also has a sequel song entitled “Johnny Loves Me”, which tells the story of how the girl won Johnny’s heart.

Johnny Angel” hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 on April 7, 1962, during a 15-week run on the chart. It was a number one hit on the Top 100 Best Sellers chart in April 1962 as published by Cashbox. It charted at number one in both Canada and in New Zealand. “Johnny Angel” also peaked at number 41 on the UK Singles chart. It sold over one-million copies and was awarded a gold disc

Do You Love Me by The Contours is a 1962 hit single recorded by The Contours for Motown’s Gordy Records label. Written and produced by Motown CEO Berry Gordy, Jr., “Do You Love Me?” was the Contours’ only Top 40 single on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States. Notably, the record achieved this feat twice, once in 1962 and again in 1988. A main point of the song is to name the Mashed Potato, The Twist and a variation of the title “I like it like that”, as “You like it like this”, and many other fad dances of the 1960s.

Surfin’ Safari by The Beach Boys is a song by American rock band The Beach Boys, written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love. Released as a single with “409” in June 1962, it peaked at number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song also appeared on the 1962 album of the same name.

The Beach Boys first recorded the song at World Pacific Studios on February 8, 1962 in what was the band’s second ever recording session. However, the recordings from that session, engineered by Hite Morgan, would ultimately remain unreleased until the late sixties. The only difference instrumentally on this early version as opposed to the officially released version was the presence of Al Jardine on guitar instead of David Marks.

The instrumental track as well as the vocals for the officially released version were recorded at Western Recorders on April 19, 1962. The session, produced by Brian, featured David Marks and Carl Wilson on guitar; Brian Wilson on bass guitar and Dennis Wilson on drums. The song features Mike Love on lead vocals with backing vocals by Brian, Carl & Dennis Wilson and Mike Love. Also recorded during that session were “409”, “Lonely Sea” and “Their Hearts Were Full Of Spring”. This session was recorded and given to Capitol Records as a demo tape. The label was impressed and immediately signed the band to their first major label. “Surfin’ Safari” and “409” would be the band’s first single to be issued under Capitol Records.

The “Surfin’ Safari” single backed with “409” was the band’s second single and the first single to be released on the band’s new label Capitol Records[1] in the United States in June 1962. Originally Capitol Records felt “409” should be the ‘A’ Side, and first promoted the car song (according to Beach Boys biographers Badman, Gaines and Carlin) instead of “Surfin’ Safari”. However, as noted in the booklet to the 1993 CD box set Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of the Beach Boys, radio station airplay in Phoenix, Arizona jump-started the B-side into a major nationwide hit (to date no copy of the first Capitol single with “409” as the A side has been discovered). The Billboard issue of July 14, 1962 cited Detroit as the major market of its national “break out”.

The single peaked at the number 14 position on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, with “409” also charting at number 76, making it the band’s first double-sided hit single. It placed at number 10 on the Cash Box sales chart, and number 5 on UPI’s national weekly survey used by newspapers. According to English pop music statistician Joseph Murrells in The Book of Golden Discs, 1978 edition, it placed number 3 on one of the four major national charts then recognised, probably Variety. Certainly its regional sales backed up these higher placings (than Billboard). As well as its Capitol-record sales in New York, it was No. 1 in Los Angeles, San Diego, Dallas, Minneapolis, Buffalo and Hartford; and top five in Chicago, San Francisco, Phoenix, Tucson, Nashville, Cincinnati, Columbus, Dayton, Springfield MASS.

Capitol A&R executive Nick (Nik) Venet, who signed the group and is listed as producer on their first two albums, is quoted in the Steven Gaines book as saying regarding the release that “The biggest order Capitol had from a single market all year [1962] was from New York City – where there was no surfing. It sold approximately nine hundred thousand records, but not enough for a gold.”

In October 1962, the “Surfin’ Safari” single was the first to be released by the band in the United Kingdom. However, given mediocre reviews at best, the single failed to make any impact on the charts. It did qualify as the Beach Boys’ first international chart-topper, however. By the end of September, it had peaked at number seven in Australia’s Music Maker chart — only reaching the Billboard top 20 the following week — then in November spent three weeks at number one in Sweden (both charts cited by contemporary issues of Billboard). In Germany, the World Pacific Studios recording of the song was used as the single release instead of the more well-known version. The single failed to chart.

In January 1970, the World Pacific Studios sessions recording of the song was issued on Trip Records as the B-side of a “Surfin'” single re-issue. The single however failed to make any impact on the charts

Can’t Help Falling in Love by Elvis Presley is a pop ballad originally recorded by American singer Elvis Presley and published by Gladys Music, Elvis Presley’s publishing company. It was written by Hugo Peretti, Luigi Creatore and George David Weiss. The melody is based on “Plaisir d’amour” (1784), a popular romance by Jean-Paul-Égide Martini (1741–1816). It was featured in Elvis Presley’s 1961 film, Blue Hawaii

Elvis Presley’s version of the song, which topped the British charts in 1962, has appeared in numerous other films, including the 2000 film Coyote Ugly, the 2002 Disney film Lilo & Stitch, the 2016 film The Conjuring 2 and the pilot episode of Sons of Anarchy. Other films that feature the song include Overboard, Honeymoon in Vegas, The Thing Called Love, Was It Something I Said?, Fools Rush In, Love Stinks, Happily Ever After and Blade Runner 2049 . The single is certified by the RIAA as a Platinum record, for US sales in excess of one million copies. In the United States, the Elvis Presley version of the song peaked at number two on the pop chart and went to number one on the Easy Listening chart for six weeks.

During Presley’s late 1960s and 1970s live performances, the song was performed as the show’s finale. Most notably, it was also sung in the live segment of his 1968 NBC television special, and as the closer for his 1973 Global telecast, Aloha from Hawaii. A version with a faster arrangement was used as the closing for Presley’s final TV special, Elvis in Concert.

Sheila by Tommy Roe a song written and recorded by Tommy Roe. The single reached number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 on September 1, 1962, remaining in the top position for two weeks and peaking at number six on the R&B charts.

Roe originally conceived the song as “Frita”, based on a girl from Roe’s high school. The song was auditioned to a record producer from Judd Records, and while response was enthusiastic, it was suggested that the name be changed. By coincidence, Roe’s Aunt Sheila was visiting, which inspired the final title of “Sheila.”

The original version of the song was recorded by Roe for Judd in 1960 (misspelled as “Shelia”) and backed by another original song, “Pretty Girl”. The songs were recorded with his then backing group the Satins and the female vocal group, the Flamingos. The record failed to make an impact on the charts. The song was later featured on the compilation album Whirling with Tommy Roe in 1961, featuring tracks from Al Tornello. It was also included on the compilation, The Young Lovers in 1962.

The ABC recording of the song is done in the style of the Lubbock sound, made popular by Buddy Holly and the Crickets in the late 1950s; the strumming pattern, tempo, and chords (both songs are in the key of A) bear particularly strong resemblance to the Crickets’ “Peggy Sue”; Roe’s vocals are similar to Holly’s. The song became the title track of Tommy Roe’s debut studio album, Sheila in 1962.
The Beatles recorded on 1962 at the Star Club in Hamburg.

The song was also covered by the Greg Kihn Band on their 1981 album RocKihnRoll.

In 1969, Roe was presented by the Recording Industry Association of America with a gold record for accumulated sales of over one million copies

 

Telstar by The Tornados is a 1962 instrumental written and produced by Joe Meek for the English band the Tornados.[2] The track reached No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in December 1962 (the second British recording to reach No. 1 on that chart in the year, after “Stranger on the Shore” in May), and was also a number one hit in the UK Singles Chart. It was the second instrumental single to hit No. 1 in 1962 on both the US and UK weekly charts.

Background

The record was named after the Telstar communications satellite, which was launched into orbit on 10 July 1962. Written and produced by Joe Meek, it featured either a clavioline or the similar Jennings Clavioline, both keyboard instruments with distinctive electronic sounds. It was recorded in Meek’s studio in a small flat above a shop in Holloway Road, North London. “Telstar” won an Ivor Novello Award and is estimated to have sold at least five million copies worldwide.

“This was one of the first sci-fi-influenced pop songs,” observed Tim Wheeler of Ash. “For its time it was so futuristic and it still sounds pretty weird today. It features Matt Bellamy’s dad George on guitar… You can hear traces of it in Muse. ‘Knights of Cydonia’ was definitely him tipping his hat to his dad.”

Plagiarism claim

A French composer, Jean Ledrut, accused Joe Meek of plagiarism, claiming that the tune of “Telstar” had been copied from “La Marche d’Austerlitz”, a piece from a score that Ledrut had written for the 1960 film Austerlitz. This led to a lawsuit that prevented Meek from receiving royalties from the record during his lifetime, and the issue was not resolved in Meek’s favour until three weeks after his suicide in 1967. Austerlitz was not released in the UK until 1965, and Meek was unaware of the film when the lawsuit was filed in March 1963

Patsy Cline was already a well-known country music singer when she recorded this hit. She picked it as a follow-up to her previous big hit “I Fall to Pieces”. “Crazy was released in late 1961 and immediately became another huge hit for Cline.

It also widened her audience base. It spent 21 weeks on the chart and eventually became one of her signature tunes. Cline’s version is No. 85 on Rolling Stone’s list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. The song was written by Hugh Nelson, who met Cline’s husband, Charlie Dick, at Orchid Lounge on Nashville’s Music Row. Cline was not a fan of the song originally, but it eventually grew on her.

This song is by British group Climax which became a major North American hit in early 1972.

It spent three weeks at number three on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and hit number one on the Cash Box Top 100. It also reached number six on Canada’s RPM 100.

Lead vocals were provided by Sonny Geraci, who also sang lead on “Time Won’t Let Me” by his previous band, The Outsiders. “Precious and Few” had originally been released on Carousel Records earlier in 1971

This song written by Neil Sedaka and Howard Greenfield. It was first recorded by Sedaka himself in 1973 and was released as a single in France.

American pop duo Captain & Tennille covered the song in 1975, with instrumental backing by L.A. session musicians from the Wrecking Crew and had a worldwide hit with their version.

The song was covered by Ray Charles in 1962, featured on Charles’ Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music, and released as a single. Charles’ version reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1962, for five weeks.

This version went to number one on the U.S. R&B and Adult Contemporary charts. Billboard ranked it as the No. 2 song for 1962. Charles reached No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart in July 1962, staying for two weeks.

The Ray Charles version is noted for his saying the words before the last five lines of the song on the final chorus: “Sing the Song, Children”.

Choral backing was provided by The Randy Van Horne Singers. It was ranked No. 164 on Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time and No. 49 on CMT’s “100 Greatest Songs in Country Music”.

The American rock group Chicago released this song on their album Chicago X. It was written and sung by bass guitar player Peter Cetera and released as a single on July 31, 1976. It is also the title of a compilation album released by Columbia Records (Columbia 38590) in 1983.

The single topped the US charts on October 23, 1976, and stayed there for two weeks, making it the first number one hit for the group as well as hitting number one on the Easy Listening charts. It also reached number one in the UK on November 13, 1976, maintaining the position for three weeks.

“If You Leave Me Now” was also Chicago’s biggest hit worldwide, topping the charts in other countries such as Australia. It won Grammy Awards for Best Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s) (strings) for arranger Jimmie Haskell and producer James William Guercio and Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo, Group or Chorus. It also received a nomination for Record of the Year. In addition, by August 1978 it had sold 1.4 million copies in the United States alone. It has been certified gold and platinum by the RIAA.

This single was recorded by the soul vocal group, The Chi-Lites and released on Brunswick Records in 1972. Included on the group’s 1972 album A Lonely Man, “Oh Girl” centers on a relationship on the verge of break-up.

The narrator, portrayed by the song’s author Eugene Record, expresses concern that the break-up may prove unbearable for him (“Oh girl/I’d be in trouble if you left me now/’Cause I don’t know where to look for love/I just don’t know how”), while knowing that staying will be no better (“I could save myself a lot of useless tears/Girl I’ve got to get away from here”; “Better be on my way, I can’t stay here”).

“Oh Girl” was the Chi-Lites’ first and only number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at that position in May 1972 for one week. The single also reached the top position of the Billboard R&B Singles chart the following month, remaining in that position for two weeks.[1]Billboard ranked it as the No. 13 song for 1972. In addition, it reached number fourteen on the UK Singles Chart in July 1972.

This song was included on The Flamingos’ debut album Flamingo Serenade. The version by the Flamingos features a prominent reverb effect, creating a dreamy ambience.

This version peaked at #11 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and #3 on the R&B charts. Rolling Stone magazine ranked the Flamingos’ version #157 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

This pop ballad was originally recorded by American singer Elvis Presley and published by Gladys Music, Elvis Presley’s publishing company.

It was written by Hugo Peretti, Luigi Creatore and George David Weiss. It was featured in Elvis Presley’s 1961 film, Blue Hawaii.

This song had two versions. A Dunhill label and then a subsequent cover version. The Dunhill label went to number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1967. This version also reached number 2 on the UK Singles Chart. The lead singer on the Mamas & the Papas version was Michelle Phillips. It was the first time that Phillips was given the lead over Cass Elliot.

The song was also included on the group’s 1967 album The Mamas & The Papas Deliver.
The song feature overdubbed instruments that don’t appear on the album versions of the songs, Dedicated to the One I Love used the same mix for both single and album. However, there are differing versions of the song available.

The original single and album releases had a running time of 2:54, and featured a double-tracked lead vocal, as well as a prominent piano track. A shorter version of the song, which the band can be seen lip-synching to on various television shows in the sixties, has a running time of only 2:12, because it omits the only occurrence of the song’s verse, as well as the subsequent chorus, and instead goes straight into the instrumental bridge. In this mix the piano is less prominent and only one of Michelle Phillips’ vocal tracks is audible.

The song became Etta James’ signature song and was the third in a string of successful songs from her Argo Records debut album (Argo LP 4003, mono; LPS 4003, stereo) At Last!.

In April 1961, it became her second number 2 R&B hit single (Argo 5380) and crossed over to pop radio, reaching number 47 on the Billboard Hot 100. Despite its modest pop chart standing, the song is well-known and is still played regularly on oldies radio stations. The James version reached the top 40 in Cashbox and Music Vendor.

The B-side, “I Just Want to Make Love to You,” written by Willie Dixon, became a hit for Foghat in 1972, peaking at #83 on the Billboard Hot 100.

This love song written by Paul McCartney to his first wife Linda. The ballad was a number one single and the most successful track from the Paul McCartney and Wings 1973 album Red Rose Speedway.