"The Great Airplane Strike" #20 10/29/1966

Topical songs usually don't hold up all that well. This one is about a 1966 strike against most of the major US airlines, and the resulting travails Paul Revere and the Raiders encountered in trying to make it to their shows. Strike or no strike, air travel is just as difficult today, if not more so. In other words, it can really suck.

"Go Away Little Girl" (Happenings) #12 10/29/1966

This Gerry Goffin-Carole King tune was #1 twice - but neither time involved this act. It reached the top in 1963 for Vegas mainstay Steve Lawrence and again in 1971 for 13-year-old Donny Osmond. In between, and with a slightly altered arrangement, the Happenings almost took it into the Top 10. In '63 it was originally meant for Bobby Vee (RIP, Bobby), but music mogul Don Kirschner gave it instead to Mr. Lawrence.

"Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing In The Shadow?" #9 10/29/1966

With one of the longest song titles around, this was the first Rolling Stones single to be released simultaneously in the UK and US. The ending sort of drifts off into the ether with lots of feedback, still a relatively new technique in 1966. It wasn't the last use of that effect. Jimi Hendrix certainly made sure of that.

"What Becomes Of The Brokenhearted" #7 10/29/1966

The first hit for Jimmy Ruffin, born in Collinsville, Miss. near Meridian, and the older brother of Temptations lead singer David Ruffin. This was originally intended for the Spinners (a fellow Motown act at the time), but Jimmy talked the writers into giving him the song. The intro is long because a spoken part was written but later removed for this version, but it appears in others.

"Walk Away Reneé" #5 10/29/1966

An example of baroque rock by the Left Banke, with pseudo-classical chamber music instrumentation which owed everything to "Yesterday" and "Eleanor Rigby." The Four Tops did a pretty decent cover version a few months later. Keyboardist Michael Brown supposedly wrote the song about the bass player's girlfriend Reneé, whom he was infatuated with. The lead singer was Steve Martin - no, not him. The group's second LP had background vocals by Steven Tyler - yes, HIM, pre-Aerosmith. Brown went on to form the group Stories, but departed before their one hit "Brother Louie" in 1973.

"96 Tears" #1 10/29/1966

One of the best garage rock tunes of the 60's. Question Mark and the Mysterians were Latino guys whose migrant worker families had settled in the Bay City, Michigan area. Lead singer Rudy Martinez legally changed his name to ? when this record took off, thanks to a lot of airplay from CKLW in Windsor, Ontario (Detroit). The song was once called "69 Tears" - yeah, like THAT was going to get played on the radio at the time, so they changed the title.

"Forever" #25 4/25/1964 Bonus

Pete Drake was one of the top session pickers in Nashville during the 60's and 70's. He developed a device where he put a piece of plastic tubing in his mouth hooked to a steel guitar and amp, which allowed him to voice the notes he played. The "talk box" was later refined by Joe Walsh, Peter Frampton, and other rockers, i.e., "Rocky Mountain Way," "Do You Feel Like We Do," "Show Me The Way," etc. This one from late April '64 was originally done in 1960 by the Little Dippers, who were actually the Anita Kerr Singers, one of Nashville's top background vocal groups of the day.

RIP, Bobby Vee

2016 claims another one. Bobby Vee got his break in rock and roll because of the Day the Music Died, February 3, 1959. He was 15 when the call went out for Fargo-area acts to fill in for Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. Richardson (the Big Bopper) when their small plane crashed on the way to a show in nearby Moorhead, Minnesota. His band called into a local radio station and got the gig. By 1961 Bobby started having numerous hits, until the British Invasion sidetracked his career. He briefly employed a piano player who called himself Elston Gunnn (with three n's), who later changed his stage name to Bob Dylan. Alzheimer's - it's so insidious - took Bobby Vee. Here's one of his major hits, "The Night Has A Thousand Eyes." RIP, dude.

"That's The Way Boys Are" #12 4/25/1964 Bonus

From late April of '64, we present the complete opposite of Lesley Gore's previous single. "You Don't Own Me" (you hear it all over TV these days) was a feminist anthem, but this returned her to the notion of "oh, well, boys will be boys and us girls really can't change them." The British Invasion kept this from charting much higher. Produced by Quincy Jones, who later produced Michael Jackson's "Thriller."

"For No One" Album cut

If there's such a thing as an underrated Beatles song, this may be it. Paul wrote this one from "Revolver" while on vacation in the Swiss Alps with his then-girlfriend Jane Asher. It's about the end of a relationship - maybe he knew what was coming. The beautiful French horn part was by Alan Civil of the Royal Philharmonic. Paul and Ringo were the only band members on this track - neither John or George appear here.

"Devil In Her Heart" Album cut

A very obscure non-hit by a girl group called the Donays (recorded as "Devil In His Heart") that was re-done on the Beatles' second albums in both the UK and US with George on lead vocals. Brian Epstein's family ran a record store in Liverpool and would try to obtain a copy of every American pop record out there, which was how the group found this tune. The Fabs did a fair amount of cover songs on their first few LP's. That would certainly change as time went on.

"You Really Got A Hold On Me" Album cut

Another Motown song covered by the Beatles, originally done by the Miracles. Smokey Robinson later said he really liked the Fabs' version. He wrote it based on Sam Cooke's "Bring It On Home To Me." It's been recorded dozens of times since, by acts ranging from the Supremes to Mickey Gilley to Cyndi Lauper. Clip is from a BBC Radio appearance.

"There's A Place" #74 4/11/1964 Bonus

Again from the week of 4/11/64, this was the B-side of "Twist And Shout" in the US for the Beatles. John and Paul loosely based the song's premise on "Somewhere" from "West Side Story." I suppose one could do worse than to lift musical ideas from Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim. Just ignore the false start on this clip. It's all a part of the recording process.

Beatles - There's A Place

"You Can't Do That" #48 4/11/1964 Bonus

Here's a strong Beatles track (one of 14 they had on the Hot 100 the week of 4/11/64) that was going to be in "A Hard Day's Night" but was left on the cutting room floor. It was planned as an A-side until Paul came up with "Can't Buy Me Love" so this was relegated to the B-side of that single. A rarity in that John played lead guitar.

"All I See Is You" #20 10/22/1966

Another song that I wasn't familiar with from back in the day - a UK Top 10 that might be the very definition of a torch song. Dusty Springfield just absolutely belts this one out. It was her last American Top 20 effort until "Son Of A Preacher Man" a few years later. She overcame some addiction issues early on in her career. Video is apparently from her British TV show.

"See See Rider" (Animals) #10 10/22/1966

More proof the Brits had a better handle on American blues music than the Yanks did. Here's the Animals' take on a song by Ma Rainey that dates from at least 1924 and probably much earlier. The term "see see rider" or "C.C. Rider" has mixed meanings. It could refer to a prostitute, a gigolo, or even a circuit rider preacher. Chuck Willis had maybe the most well-known version in the 50's. Elvis opened his shows for many years with this tune, before he left the building for good in 1977.

"The Way You Do The Things You Do" #11 4/11/1964 Bonus

From April '64, a #1 R&B tune for the mighty Temptations and their first hit on the pop charts as well, after their first seven singles flopped. Smokey Robinson wrote the song with bandmate Bobby Rogers while the Miracles were on tour by stringing together one pickup line after another. Boredom on the road can be put to good use.

"Not A Second Time" Album cut

A John song from "With The Beatles" over there and "Meet The Beatles!" in America where he was trying to channel Smokey Robinson. Definitely dark, but yet it has a poppy feel. Not a standard eight-to-the-bar song structure, that's for sure. One of those quirky Lennon tunes that the boys were able to pull off quite nicely. George Martin played piano here, as he occasionally did in addition to being their producer. It doesn't look like George Harrison was on this track, however. No idea why not.

Beatles - Not A Second Time

"I Wanna Be Your Man" Album cut

A Beatles song that was a UK hit...for the Rolling Stones. John and Paul gave it to Mick and Keith, where it became the Stones' second single and first Top 20 record on the British charts. The Fab Four eventually recorded it themselves for their second album. It was Ringo's featured vocal spot in their stage shows for years, such as in this clip from their first American concert held in Washington in '64.

"Summer Samba" #26 10/15/1966

One of those instrumentals you'd hear when the TV station would lose its signal and Don Pardo or some staff announcer would offer apologies for technical difficulties. It's a definitive bossa nova tune from Walter Wanderley that reached the Top 5 on the easy listening chart for the Brazilian organist. Some US radio stations played this three or four times an hour. Tony Bennett talked him into moving to America, where Walter established himself on the San Francisco area club music scene for years.

"I've Got You Under My Skin" (Four Seasons) #9 10/15/1966

In rare instances, a tune will become a signature song for more than one artist. Cole Porter wrote this in 1936 for a MGM movie musical titled "Born To Dance" starring Eleanor Powell, known as one of the best dancers ever on screen. It's been recorded hundreds of times since, but the most well-known version was by Frank Sinatra in 1956 with that famous out-of-control trombone solo. This take by the Four Seasons has to be one of their most recognized songs as well. Frankie Valli is in rare form here.

"Solitary Man" Bonus

I missed this one a few weeks back - my apologies. It became Neil Diamond's first chart single, but only got to #55 in July 1966. Still, it helped him get a foot in the show biz door, as his songs began to be picked up by other artists. Neil's next single, "Cherry, Cherry" knocked down the door for good. This one did better when it was reissued a few years later, reaching #21 in September 1970.

"Cherry Cherry" #6 10/15/1966

The first Top 10 hit for Neil Diamond. He had been a pre-med major at NYU, but dropped out ten credits short of graduating to pursue songwriting at $50 a week. After six years of being broke, he became an overnight success. And he could've been a doctor! Neil landed at the famed Brill Building and hooked up with fellow writers Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich, who produced this record as Ellie prominently sang backup vocals. Notice there are no drums - it was a three-chord demo that wound up being released as a single.

"Psychotic Reaction" #5 10/15/1966

Count Five was an ultimate one-hit wonder group. They wore Dracula-style capes on stage in their early days around the San José area. (Get it? COUNT Five?) The band was unable to capitalize on their sole hit, however, as they concentrated on staying in college (and keeping their draft deferments) and broke up within a year of this Top 5 effort. It has a definite Jeff Beck Yardbirds-style guitar solo and double-time raveup in the middle, which was copied and dubbed onto the end to make the 45 a little longer.

"Reach Out I'll Be There" #1 10/15/1966

One of the bedrock songs of Motown. Holland-Dozier-Holland scored again by writing the Four Tops' second #1 hit, but at the recording session the Tops regarded this as a throwaway. H-D-H might have subconsciously borrowed from "What Becomes Of The Brokenhearted" by Jimmy Ruffin (which they didn't write) by rhyming "confusion" and "illusion" and other stuff. The way they were cranking out material, it's hard to say.

"Good Day Sunshine" Album cut

Another "Revolver" track featuring Paul's sense of vaudeville-type songwriting, which became a cause of major friction between him and John over their next few albums. John would derisively call this "granny music" but it's still quite the bouncy, catchy tune. Their producer George Martin played the ragtime-like piano solo. Paul said he was influenced to an extent by the Lovin' Spoonful's "Daydream." Great song!

"She Said She Said" Album cut

One of the more curious cuts from "Revolver," the final track recorded for that album developed from a break in the Beatles' 1965 US concert tour. They rented a house in the Benedict Canyon area above Beverly Hills prior to two Hollywood Bowl shows. The LSD was flowing freely, and Peter Fonda (pre-"Easy Rider") kept telling John and George about a childhood gun accident where he was brought back to life by the doctors three times, saying he knew what it's like to be dead. This bummed everybody out, but it gave the boys a song idea. Paul didn't even play here (George played bass), probably because of an argument in the studio; he also hadn't taken LSD yet and couldn't relate. It shifts back and forth between 3/4 and 4/4 time, and Ringo's drum part is really quite good.

Beatles - She Said She Said

"Please Mister Postman" (Beatles) Bonus

The b-side of the aforementioned Canadian "Roll Over Beethoven" single was also a remake, being a cover of the Marvelettes' first Motown hit. It was on "With The Beatles" in the UK and "The Beatles Second Album" (yes, that's what Capitol called it) in America. The audio is from a 1963 BBC Radio appearance on the "Pop Go The Beatles" programme. (Ya dig that British spelling?)

"Roll Over Beethoven" (Beatles) #68 4/4/1964 Bonus

Yet another Beatles entry from the week of April 4, 1964, and the single was only available in the States as an import! Capitol Records issued the remake of this Chuck Berry classic as a 45 in Canada. It went to #1 there, but charted in America solely on the strength of radio airplay and sales in border cities like Buffalo and Detroit. In the 70's it became the first US chart record for Electric Light Orchestra. The video is from the legendary Washington Coliseum concert on February 11, 1964 where they opened the show with this song. George had some microphone issues, unfortunately.

"Hold Me Tight" Album cut

One from "Meet The Beatles!" that both John and Paul basically considered album filler. The bass is almost nonexistent in the mix and the vocals are a little off-key, but it was still better than 99% of whatever else was out there at the time. It was initially attempted during the marathon 13-hour recording session that produced ten songs for their first album, but was scrapped and tried again for their second British LP.

Beatles - Hold Me Tight

"From Me To You" #41 4/4/1964 Bonus

The week of April 4, 1964 saw the Beatles holding 12 spots on the Billboard Hot 100, including the entire Top 5. The next week that number would increase to 14, with three of the Top 5. This was their first across-the-board British #1, yet when Vee-Jay Records re-released it here after flopping badly in 1963 (only getting to #116) they foolishly put it on the B-side of "Please Please Me." Vee-Jay would've been far better off reissuing this separately, as it only reached #41 this time around. Side note: Del Shannon did a London concert in '63 with the Fab Four and asked John and Paul if he could record this song. Wanting to gain any foothold in the States, they agreed, so Del was the first US artist to record a Lennon-McCartney tune a good six months ahead of Beatlemania in America. However, his version only got to #77.

"Hippy Hippy Shake" #24 4/4/1964 Bonus

A good ol' rock and roller straight outta Liverpool from April '64 by the Swinging Blue Jeans. It was originally done in 1959 by Chan Romero, who had contacted Ritchie Valens' manager after The Day The Music Died and asked if he'd like to sign another teen Latino rocker. It was Chan's only thing remotely approaching a hit, but it became a fixture on the early 60's English club scene. You may have heard of another group from Liverpool who did this early on, calling themselves the Beatles.

"Just Like A Woman" (Take 1) #33 10/8/1966

Bob Dylan received a fair amount of flak for this song's lyrics, as they seemed to bash women and promote stereotypes, which he denied. It's almost impossible to locate the final issued versions of his material on YouTube or other sites. The best I could do here was take 1 of today's song, which clearly displays a work in progress as they needed 18 takes to finish the track. This first mix was nowhere close to complete, as there's a lot of near-gibberish going on. It sounded like Dylan made up the words on the fly.

"Mr. Dieingly Sad" #17 10/8/1966

Here's the biggest hit by the Critters. The band's core members honed their musical chops while attending Villanova University, until several of them joined the military. Vocalist and lead guitarist Don Ciccone volunteered for the Air Force, then was part of the 70's incarnation of the Four Seasons in their "Who Loves You" and "December, 1963 (Oh, What A Night)" days. He also toured with Tommy James and the Shondells. Video is from "Where The Action Is."

"Blue Side Of Lonesome" #59 10/1/1966

The tenth country #1 for Gentleman Jim Reeves and his fifth posthumous #1. It knocked "Almost Persuaded" out of the top spot after that song's nine-week run. A lot of his obscure and unreleased material surfaced for years after Jim's death in 1964. This would be his next-to-last country chart-topper, however.

"Summer Wind" #25 10/1/1966

One of my personal Sinatra favorites, a #1 on the easy listening chart for Ol' Blue Eyes. It was translated from German and originally done in English by Wayne Newton. Bobby Vinton and Perry Como also recorded this before Frank. The B-side was a live version of "You Make Me Feel So Young" which was heard incessantly in those recent Geico ads. "Summer Wind" was the last song played on oldies station WCBS-FM in New York when they changed formats a few years ago.

"Almost Persuaded" #24 10/1/1966

Another rarity, a really twangy song that did fairly well on the rock charts. This cry-in-your-beer tune was a country #1 for nine consecutive weeks for David Houston, a descendant of Texas founding father Sam Houston and also Robert E. Lee. That feat was unmatched on those charts until Taylor Swift did it in 2012. David had a total of six country #1's plus a seventh with Tammy Wynette.

"Wipe Out" (Reissue) #16 10/1/1966

One of those rarities where the same record charted twice...in this case, three years apart. The Surfaris intended this as a throwaway B-side and essentially wrote it on the spot in the studio. The busted board, the manic laugh and especially the drum solo became imbedded in rock history. The single reached #2 in August '63, and for some inexplicable reason was re-released in '66 where it returned to the Top 20. The band, unfortunately, had broken up by then.

"Sunny Afternoon" #14 10/1/1966

As we've said before in this space, the Kinks loved to skewer the British upper crust. They didn't care much for old-money aristocracy. Ray Davies wrote this #1 UK hit lampooning the snootiness and First World problems of the hoi polloi. Ray was very superstitious about how this record turned out, saying he was afraid that had he done a single thing differently prior to the actual recording, it wouldn't have been a hit.

"Black Is Black" #4 10/1/1966

A lot of people (myself included) thought at first this was a Gene Pitney record. The lead singer of Los Bravos, Mike Kennedy, was German - his real name was Michael Kogel - and the rest of the band was from Spain. They were a one-hit wonder in America but had several other hits in Europe. Clear Channel temporarily banned this from their radio stations immediately after 9/11 solely because of the song title.

"Beauty Is Only Skin Deep" #3 10/1/1966

The second Top 5 on the pop charts for the Temptations after "My Girl" but their fifth R&B #1. The group initially preferred another song and didn't want this released as a single, but they were overruled by Motown's quality control board who had the final say. When Norman Whitfield took over as their producer earlier in '66, David Ruffin sang lead on most subsequent Temps singles, including this one. That led to some friction, which with other factors culminated in David being fired in 1968.