"Calcutta" #1 2/18/1961

Wunnerful, wunnerful! Yes, boys and girls, Lawrence Welk had a #1 record on the rock charts in February of 1961. His "champagne music" featured the bubble machine, that familiar harpsichord and Myron Floren on the accordion. Welk's parents homesteaded in the 1890's near Strasburg, ND, and his family spent that first winter on the prairie living under a wagon. Welk was a bandleader for 20+ years in the Midwest even before moving to L.A., where he hosted a Saturday night show for 30+ years on local and network TV and in syndication. He was the oldest person to have a #1 pop record until Louis Armstrong and "Hello, Dolly!" The dance routine in this clip was done by show regulars Barbara Boylan and ex-Mouseketeer Bobby Burgess. Tank you, boys!

"Will You Love Me Tomorrow" #1 2/4/1961

We return to #1's from the 60's prior to the British Invasion. It's been said half the hits of the 60's were written by Carole King, and the other half were trying to sound like they were written by Carole King. From February '61, her breakthrough songwriting effort with her then-husband Gerry Goffin as done by the Shirelles. It became the first #1 on the pop charts by a black girl group. I absolutely love Carole's slower version from "Tapestry" as well.

"Walk Through This World With Me" #1 Country 4/1/1967

Yeah, this is supposed to be a blog about rock music from 50 years ago, but I used to work in country radio in another lifetime. Hey, it's my blog! This topped the country charts the first week of April 1967. To me, Hank Williams Sr. and George Jones were #1 and #1-A as the greatest country singers that ever lived. Here's George's fourth #1 record, and a personal favorite of mine. They used to call George "Possum" due to his somewhat beady eyes. Video is from the Wilburn Brothers TV show. You'll get a glimpse of Loretta Lynn at the end, as she was a show regular.

"Wade In The Water" (Tijuana Brass) #37 4/1/1967

An old Negro spiritual from the days of the Underground Railroad was recorded many times over the years, including instrumental versions done several times in the 60's. The Ramsey Lewis Trio scored with this, as did Billy Preston. Here's a take by Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass from their '67 TV special.

"(I've Been) Lonely Too Long" #16 4/1/1967

The Young Rascals' previous single, "Come On Up" stiffed at #43; this got them back into the Top 20. Many people thought they were black, and were surprised to find out they were four white kids from the Bronx and Jersey, three of them Italian-American. They certainly defined the genre of blue-eyed soul. Back in the day, I remember seeing these guys perform this on Ed Sullivan's show. The echo in the theater made the song sound almost unintelligible.

"The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)" #13 4/1/1967

Written by Paul Simon and done first by Simon and Garfunkel, this was the one major hit for Harpers Bizarre. The arrangement was by Leon Russell, as they inserted an a cappella vocal section and a baroque woodwind part. Group member Ted Templeman became a record producer, working with the Doobie Brothers and Van Halen on all their early albums, as well as co-producing Van Morrison's "Tupelo Honey" LP.

"Strawberry Fields Forever" #8 4/1/1967

The record that upped the ante more than any other on what could be done in rock music, even more so than "Good Vibrations." Reportedly Brian Wilson heard an advance copy during the "Smile" LP sessions and scrapped that entire project, believing the Beach Boys couldn't top this. Mark Lindsay of Paul Revere and the Raiders said, "Now WTF are we supposed to do?" It was John's LSD-aided, deliberately hazy recollection of times he spent around the Strawberry Field orphanage run by the Salvation Army near his childhood home. From a technical standpoint, the recording is simply amazing. Lennon liked the first part of one take and the remainder of another. When George Martin pointed out they were in different tempos and keys and couldn't be edited together, John just said, "You can fix it." So Sir George did what hadn't been done to that point - he sped up one tape and slowed down the other. The almost imperceptible splice is at the 1:00 mark, right after "cause I'm..." There is a very minor difference in pitch from there to the end, but it's still a marvel of editing for the time. My apologies, because this clip is only the first 1:23 of the song. It's impossible to find the full video on YouTube or anywhere else online. You'd have to buy an official Beatles video collection for that. The unabridged version has the famous supposed "I buried Paul" line during the backwards passage at the end, where John claimed to have said "cranberry sauce."