"I'm Sorry" #1 7/23/1960

Back to 1960 we go for the next few days, with the first #1 and first gold record for Brenda Lee. This was meant as the B-side of a Jerry Reed composition, "That's All You Gotta Do" which made the Top 10 on its own. She was just 15 and her label held off issuing the single, thinking she was too young to sing convincingly about the subject matter. Although it wasn't released to country radio at the time, it later became a staple of the format.

"The Little Black Egg" #85 2/4/1967

Here's a really quirky 60's record by a garage band from Daytona Beach, the Nightcrawlers, with a very imitated guitar intro. It did well regionally in late '65, then barely scraped the national charts on its re-release a year later. Their local rivals were the Escorts, later known as the Allman Joys, who became the Allman Brothers Band. For a time Nightcrawlers guitarist Sylvan Wells lived in my old home area of Luray, Virginia handcrafting guitars, but since took his respected business back to Daytona.

"Wild Thing" (Sen. Bobby) #20 2/4/1967

Today we feature another spoken word record, albeit a parody of the Troggs hit from several months earlier. It was done by comedian Bill Minkin and the Hardly-Worthit Players in the style of Sen. Bobby Kennedy, complete with a New England accent. The B-side was the same parody, voiced in the manner of Sen. Everett Dirksen.

"Georgy Girl" #2 2/4/1967

From the film of the same name starring Lynn Redgrave, here's the last Top 40 hit in the States for the Seekers. They had a couple more hits in their native Australia, however. In early 1967 they performed at a festival in Melbourne in front of 200,000 people, where I think this video is from. They broke up soon after when Judith Durham left for a solo career. Since the 90's, though, they have occasionally reunited.

"How Do You Catch A Girl" #27 1/28/1966

The last Top 40 appearance for Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs. This one actually rocks a little more than the formula novelty tunes his label kept pressuring Domingo Samudio (Sam) to record. He eventually got out of the music biz and became a gospel singer and motivational speaker, only rarely appearing on the oldies circuit. No matter. "Wooly Bully" remains one of the standards of 60's rock.

"Try A Little Tenderness" #25 1/28/1967

A signature song of Otis Redding, one he really didn't want to record at first; he said Sam Cooke had the definitive version a few years before. It was written in 1933 and covered by the likes of Bing Crosby, Mel Tormé and Frank Sinatra as well. He's backed here by Booker T. and the MG's with the arrangement by Isaac Hayes. Check out the movie "Monterey Pop" for a very intense live set by Otis that's just smokin' hot.

"Where Will The Words Come From" #21 1/28/1967

At the start of 1967, Gary Lewis was drafted into the Army. Like Elvis, he could've gotten an easy gig in the military due to his name (being Jerry's son), but like the King he served as a regular soldier. While stationed in South Korea, Gary's label, Imperial Records, released previously recorded material (as RCA did with Elvis) but he and the Playboys couldn't quite recapture their earlier success. They would have one more Top 20 hit in 1968 and that was pretty much it.