Top 10 Best Hit Songs of 1962

Ugh…This year…

I’m sorry folks, I really am. I don’t want to start out the best list on this kind of note, but…good God, was this a terrible year. I can’t even make the argument that the songs I did like were particularly good when you have other, better years to compare this one to. After being assaulted with countless teen idols, novelty hits and dance craze cash-ins, this year just left me winded. If I never hear a song from this year again, it’ll be too soon.

It’s a shame I have to put it that way because I honestly do like music from the ‘60s. The Beatles, the Supremes, Simon and Garfunkel, Aretha Franklin, the Temptations, the Beach Boys, Neil Diamond, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Paul Anka: I like all of these acts! It just astounds me that a decade as significant as this produced a year so devoid of meaning, of passion, of soul. I look forward to getting back to this decade and covering another year from it. But in the moments after listening through the hit songs of this year, I just felt depressed, melancholy, morose, dismal, cheerless, downcast, and pretty much every other synonym for sad you could possibly imagine. Hell, even the best songs from this year weren’t that good. They mostly made this list by the virtue of being slightly less dreary to listen to than everything else from this year. In all fairness, I do like the songs that made the best list. I just wouldn’t go out of my way to specifically listen to them when there are better songs out there.

However, I do still need to pretend to be professional about this, so I’ll try to talk about the songs I thought were pretty okay from this year. As usual, we’ll start with our honorable mentions:

James (Hold the Ladder Steady) (Sue Thompson) [--; 17; 6 weeks]

I think this song is genuinely funny. Not sure if that’s what it was going for, but it got a chuckle out of me. It’s also just a fun song in general. I wish Sue Thompson had done more work like this song. I guess if there’s any consolation, this ended up charting higher and for a longer duration than ‘Have a Good Time’ did.

The Lonely Bull (El Solo Toro) (The Tijuana Brass ft. Herb Alpert) [--; 6; 9 weeks]

Instrumental songs were the saving grace for me this year. Between the nearly endless supply of homogeneous crap, it’s nice just to have the instruments do all the work without stupid lyrics or a terrible singer mucking it up. Sometimes, the music can speak for itself, and do a much better job at conveying its message than a vocalist with actual words could.

Lemon Tree (Peter, Paul and Mary) [--; 35; 2 weeks]

Oh my God, this definitely would’ve made the list if it had been an actual hit. Peter, Paul and Mary wasn’t an act I specifically grew up with, but one of my earliest memories was having my mom sing me ‘Puff the Magic Dragon’ as she was driving me home from school one day. As for this song, it just has a pretty composition and the three of them do a great job harmonizing. Maybe I’ll actually get to talk about one of their songs at length someday.

Don’t Play That Song (You Lied) (Ben E. King) [--; 11; 7 weeks]

I don’t think this song is as good as ‘Stand By Me,’ if for no other reason than the fact that it’s just not as iconic. That said I’m willing to give it a pass. Ben E. King still does a nice job selling his performance on this song and, frankly, I’d take an underwhelming retreading of ‘Stand By Me’ over most of what we got in 1962.

The Jam (Part 1) (Bobby Gregg and His Friends) [--; 29; 5 weeks]

Bobby Gregg has a fairly impressive legacy to his name. He did work with Bob Dylan and Peter, Paul and Mary, and worked on the electrified version of ‘The Sound Of Silence’ by Simon and Garfunkel. (Admittedly, that last one was done without Simon or Garfunkel’s knowledge, but it at least got the two their first #1 hit, so I guess the argument could be made that he did something good.)

Bristol Twistin’ Annie (The Dovells) [--; 27; 5 weeks]

Well, the number of songs about the Twist was so countless I guess it was inevitable that at least one of them would end up on this list. I’m still not exactly a fan of this dance, but I’ll take this song over other ridiculous dance crazes like ‘The Loco-Motion’ or ‘The Watusi.’ This one is kind of interesting in that it’s written in the third person, singing about a girl that twist and do so incredibly well. There didn’t seem to be a lot of dance songs structured like this from this year. I guess it makes it interesting at least.

Theme From ‘Ben Casey’ (Valjean) [--; 28; 4 weeks]

Expect to see more instrumental tracks further along on this list. This was actually the theme song to a TV show back in the early to mid ‘60s. I haven’t actually seen the show myself, but after hearing the theme, my curiosity is piqued. It has all these various tonal shifts that keep the listener on their feet. The whole thing almost feels like listening to the soundtrack to a silent film. So much seems to be conveyed through the music without a single word being spoken; that’s an impressive feat. Hell, this song might’ve gotten consideration for the list, if it had lasted longer in the top 40 or charted higher.

You Don’t Know Me (Ray Charles) [54; 2; 9 weeks]

Ah, Ray Charles. Can’t talk about the good music from the early ‘60s without mentioning him at least once, can you? Granted, I feel like his work from this year was not his best, not by a long shot. That said, when the year gave us acts like Chubby Checker, Pat Boone, Ray Stevens and Neil Sedaka, I’ll take whatever scraps I can get.

Something’s Got a Hold On Me (Etta James) [--; 37; 4 weeks]

Oh hey! Yet another song that would’ve made it on the list, and pretty high too, if it had been an actual hit. I hope I get to cover an Etta James song at length at some point. This is probably the song she’s most known for nowadays, and that’s mostly because people keep sampling it, but I can certainly understand why they would. It’s just a fun, upbeat song that oozes with optimism and joy. It’s like the narrator’s just in euphoria after discovering this thing called love. It’s a shame that the songs that sampled this are better known than the song itself nowadays. However, I’m glad there was at least some Etta James to keep things alive this year.

And with that, turn on your love lights everyone, because we’re counting down…

…THE TOP 10 BEST HIT SONGS OF 1962!

#10.

I’ve already said this before, but the music from this year didn’t have a lot of variation to it. I feel like, for every artist I heard going through 1962, there were a billion other artists exactly like them that were doing the exact same thing. You think music sounds terribly samey-sounding today? Go back and listen to the music from this period and compare the music from then to the music from now. Yeah, the music from now may feel a lot narrower and focused on targeting a very specific demographic looking for a very specific sound, but at least it’s more distinct. I can tell one awful song from another awful song nowadays. No one was taking any chances back in 1962; everything just sounded safe and identical. Of course, that just made me appreciate the artists that did stand out even more.

#10. Your Cheating Heart (Ray Charles) [--; 29; 5 weeks]

To be perfectly honest, I don’t think this is Ray Charles’s best song. I’m not even sure I would rank it in his top five. In fact, this song only barely made it on the list. Though, in all fairness, considering this song was released after ‘Georgia On My Mind’ and ‘Hit the Road Jack’, that’s kind of a tough act to follow. Also, I did enjoy this song more than the other hit songs Ray Charles had this year, which I didn’t find that much better than anything else coming out this year. So it at least has that much in its favor.

Interestingly, this song wasn’t originally by Ray Charles, but rather by country singer-songwriter Hank Williams. The original is regarded as a country music standard, one that country music historian Colin Escott has stated, “for all intents and purposes—defines country music”. Hank was inspired to write the song while on a drive from Nashville, Tennessee to Shreveport, Louisiana with his fiancée. During the drive, he described his first wife, Audrey Sheppard, as a “cheatin’ heart,” and, within minutes, dictated the lyrics to Billie Jean Jones. This version of the song was released in January 1953, and likely saw at least some of its success due to Hank’s death during a trip to a New Year’s concert in Canton Ohio.

Of course, the legacy behind the song is one thing. What about the song itself? Well, while the Hank Williams version certainly works well as a country song, I have an issue with it regarding the tone. The song’s trying to tell off the narrator’s woman for cheating on him and warn her that her guilty conscience will come back to bite her in the ass…and it’s delivered with this giddy, upbeat tone that makes it sound like the narrator is square dancing. Now, the Ray Charles version does a decent job reworking the song from a country song into a more soulful performance, and the tone seems to fit a little better. I’m not saying either version accurately depicts how one would react to finding out their lover was cheating on them, but I just find myself more drawn to the more passionate, almost crestfallen performance Ray Charles delivers on his version of the song.

However, I feel like this wasn’t Ray Charles’s best performance. The song’s still not exactly great, and Ray Charles himself sounds kind of like he’s on autopilot here. Though, his other songs were just slightly lower in grade than this one, and the rest of the music from this year was barely lower even than that. For what it’s trying to be though, I’m willing to give it a pass. Certainly is a shame that Ray Charles only ended up on the #10 spot on this list given that the man was fucking talented, but what are you going to do?

#9.

So, we’re all familiar with some of the big names in older music, the golden oldies: Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Ray Charles… Kind of a sausagefest we’ve got going on here. Aren’t there any older ladies that have withstood the test of time? Surely there are some famous older female performers whose music still manages to win over the general public!

#9. Vacation (Connie Francis) [--; 9; 6 weeks]

Connie Francis was the top-charting female vocalist of the late ‘50s and early ‘60s. Her singles predominantly stuck to the trends of the time, but her albums covered various genres, from R&B and country to Broadway standards and waltzes. As it happens though, this song was her only hit where she had writing credits on it. According to Francis herself, when the song was presented to her, it basically consisted of a single line and she wrote out the rest of the lyrics from there. It’s also interesting to note that one of the writers on the song, Hank Hunter, was also responsible for writing her previous hit single, ‘Second Hand Love’, and would go on to write two other compositions for her with ‘I’m Gonna Be Warm This Winter’ and ‘Drownin’ My Sorrows.’

Now enough about the background, let’s talk about the song itself. As you could probably guess from the song’s title, this is a song about letting loose and partying. Specifically, this is yet another song celebrating summer vacation, and it sounds like a fun song. Although, the song itself is kind of dated considering some of the things it talks about in regards to going out and having a good time: going to a drive-in movie, doing the mashed potato to a jukebox song, riding around in someone’s car beneath the moonlight, writing love letters to each other in the sand, that kind of stuff. That said, while it is clearly dated, I feel like that adds to the song’s charm. It’s just an earnest declaration of love for all those old-school pleasures of summer vacation. In a way, I guess it could be seen as the precursor to things like ‘Summertime’ or ‘Hot Fun in the Summertime.’

Of course, what unquestionably wins me over is Connie Francis herself. I’m sure others have said this before me, but she just has a wonderful singing voice. The way she sings the song just sounds like she’s inviting the listener out to enjoy all the fun times that summer has to offer. She sounds jubilant and excited, and she wants the listener to enjoy this vacation celebration as much as she is.

Despite many tragic occurrences, including her brother being murdered by mafia hitmen, she is still active as a performer to this day. She hasn’t had any hits since 1964, but she’s still performing. And honestly, I would probably recommend people that have an interest in the golden oldies check out her stuff. She’s a good performer, and while she’s released better music than this, it was still a breath of fresh air in an otherwise dull year.

#8.

Okay, so maybe I decided I liked at least one more dance song from this year. Leave me alone!

#8. Twistin’ the Night Away (Sam Cooke) [23; 9; 13 weeks]

It’s actually kind of surprising to me that, what Chubby Checker tried and failed to accomplish with his endless string of dance songs from this year, Sam Cooke managed to pull off with just one song. Bare in mind, it’s not like Sam Cooke was the guy whose music people would play to get the dance started. Slow dance maybe, but I don’t think of him as being a “let loose and party down” kind of guy. He mostly wrote soul music prior to releasing this song. Yes, he did release a few dance songs here and there, but I don’t think any of those other songs managed to groove in the way this one does.

What is it about a dance song from Sam Cooke, who really wasn’t well known for dance music, that makes it better than the dozen or so dance songs performed by Chubby Checker, who was pretty much a master of the dance craze? I guess the really obvious difference is that Chubby Checker can’t hold a candle to Sam Cooke’s voice. Just listen to his performance on this song! It’s so vibrant and full of life, and that’s the kind of emotion you would want to have being projected by the singer on a song like this.

I guess there are other minor differences outside of that I could highlight. For example, I notice that the tempo on this song is slightly faster than it is on most of the other dance songs that came out this year. That certainly helps to make it stand out and give it a bit more energy. For another thing, the lyrics seem to be less about getting the listener to move however the singer tells them to and more about describing how much fun everyone’s having doing these dances. More than anything, they seem to be about how the singer wants you, the listener, to have just as much fun doing the dance as everyone else is having. If dance music is meant to make people want to dance, then what better way to do that than to set up a friendly atmosphere for the listener to dance in?

Unfortunately, Cooke died two years later from a gunshot wound to the heart. There are differing accounts regarding the events surrounding his death, but the official statement was that he attacked a woman while drunk and she shot him in self-defense. I personally would rather not take a leaning one way or the other on this matter, since it sounds a bit too complicated for someone like me to address at length. Instead, I’m just going to conclude that this song is a nice enough dance tune, and does a much better job making me want to twist than the guy that actually started the Twist dance craze did this year.

#7.

Once again, we’re going to be venturing into country music. And who better to look at this time around than one of the most influential, successful and acclaimed female country artists of the 20^th century? Who better to continue my exploration of country music than one of the artists that successfully crossed over into pop music? Yes, who better to look at next than Mrs. Patsy Cline?

#7. She’s Got You (Patsy Cline) [78; 14; 8 weeks]

Much like in 2001, country music was one of the few genres from this year where I ended up finding something of quality to shine through the collection of dullards that populated the charts. Of course, unlike with 2001, that could mainly be attributed to this one artist. This was Patsy Cline’s final single to chart in the top 20, or even the top 40. And that’s a damn shame because she was a superbly talented performer. Most female country acts since her have been trying to capture the spark she carried, and it’s clear to see why if you hear any of her songs.

As one critic has stated, the main topics that good country music tends to cover are misery and drinking. I’m less inclined to believe the latter (what with the rise of bro country and that subgenre’s all-too-eager enthusiasm to indulge in debauchery). That said, misery and attention to detail seem to be areas where country music can work well. This brings us to the subject matter of this particular song: it’s a song about the narrator losing her love to another woman.

Not many details are conveyed regarding the break-up itself, but she still manages to convey the pain of having lost that person incredibly well. She talks about how she still has the material things that remind her of the times she and her love were together, but with the way the end of each verse is conveyed, it just rings of emptiness and meaninglessness, like all the material things that she’s accumulated from the relationship are now worthless without that special someone. Hell, even her memory of the relationship continues to haunt her!

And of course, that leaves us with the music. The production is pretty bare bones, being predominantly driven by piano and guitar, with a few background vocals. That is a good choice for a song like this; it just adds to the emptiness that the tone is trying to convey. It sounds like a song about a woman who has lost her very soul now that she’s lost her love, and that can especially be attributed to Cline’s vocal performance. There’s no bitterness or anger or even sadness in her voice, just a void where her love used to be. Nowadays, break up songs sound too simple and direct; just “I’m sad” or “I’m pissed” or “Good riddance” or “Shame on me”. ‘She’s Got You,’ however, conveys that there’s so much less than that, which makes it so much more heartbreaking.

Like I said, this was the last song of Patsy Cline’s to chart in the top 20 on Billboard. She would still see success on the country charts though, with another three singles placing in the top 20, and even another four posthumous singles after that placing in the top 40. Even the songs of hers that didn’t chart were still pretty good. For those into country music, I’d certainly recommend checking out Patsy Cline’s discography, both while she was alive and her posthumous music. I guarantee you won’t be disappointed.

#6.

Something you’ll probably notice about some of the artists on this list is that they have tragically passed away. Ray Charles died in 2004 from acute liver disease, Sam Cooke died in 1964 from a gunshot wound to his heart, and Patsy Cline died in 1963 in a plane crash. This next artist lasted a bit longer than the last two, having died in 1973. His death happened after he was being operated on in a hospital to repair two artificial heart valves that had been implanted in his heart two years prior. Nine days after he checked into the hospital, he died in the recovery room without regaining consciousness.

Why did I bring all of this up?

No reason really. Just couldn’t think of a clever transition into this next song.

#6. Irresistible You (Bobby Darin) [--; 15; 8 weeks]

Some of you might not realize this, but Bobby Darin was responsible for quite a few songs that people might remember but couldn’t quite place, such as ‘Splish Splash’ and the English version of ‘Beyond the Sea’. Even his version of ‘Mack the Knife’ is probably the best-known version in the popular consciousness, having hit #1 in 1959 and placed in the top 10 on the R&B charts. Much like Ray Charles, his work from 1962 was certainly not his best. In fact, this particular song was originally released the year before and only charted this year. Still, as far as white people taking inspiration from black music go, I’d take Bobby Darin over Pat Boone any day of the fucking week.

This was obviously Bobby Darin’s attempt to cash in on the Twist craze. Okay, maybe it’s not that obvious since he only mentions the Twist at one point in the song. Still, it’s a fun, more energetic take on the dance. And it demonstrates that, if done by the right artist, the Twist can be something that people would want to dance to. What helps this song stand out from the billions of other interpretations of the Twist is Bobby Darin himself. I won’t say he’s the most distinct singer alive; the guy’s vocals are about as generic and cookie cutter as one can get. However, I feel like that kind of works to his advantage in this song. He doesn’t try to fall back on any gimmicks or anything to make the song stand out; it’s just straightforward and earnest. The generic quality of the song actually acts as a strength in this case. It helps make its message sound more sincere and the music sound almost timeless.

His songwriting is what really helps him here. His choice of lyrics really helps to make this song sound new and fresh. It may just be another love song, but it mixes things up a bit by glorifying the person in question, making them seem like someone that everyone and anyone would fall in love with. Even the devil himself would fall for the subject in question! Angels sing on high in praise of this person! Bobby Darin wouldn’t see a lot more success by the time 1962 came to and end. He only managed three more top 10 hits from 1963 onwards. Still, while probably not his best work, I still think that ‘Irresistible You’ is at the very least one of the better songs to come from this year.

#5.

The Beatles are probably regarded as one of the most important rock acts of their time. It wouldn’t be until around the mid ‘60s when they would actually revolutionize rock music as we know it, but even with their early work there was still some level of quality. They were good enough that they washed away the turgid crap that polluted the pop charts once Elvis was drafted, and the rise of Beatlemania could be seen as the period when the music of the ‘60s truly started becoming as important and significant as people remember it to be today.

Before we had the Beatles though, the American people of the ‘60s had to make due with what they were given. As it happens, the act they had on hand would actually go on to influence the music of the Beatles in plenty of significant ways. It was also yet another power duo that pop music fans remember fondly to this day. Of course, if you know anything about the Beatles and where they took their inspiration from, this next act should need no introduction.

#5. Crying In the Rain (The Everly Brothers) [47; 6; 9 weeks]

If the Everly Brothers were where the Beatles took their inspiration from, I guess that would make this song a precursor to ‘Yesterday’. I’m admittedly not a huge fan of the Everly Brothers since I didn’t grow up listening to their music like my parents probably did. That said I do still like some of their songs. At their best, they were able to put together emotionally riveting pieces where the emotions behind the song spoke louder than the words did.

Let’s take a look at this song just as a demonstration of this. The song speaks of someone choosing to hide their tears from others by only crying when it’s raining. The tone of the song is what really makes it work here, and that’s especially helped with the acoustic sound. It gives the song a very somber aura, which matches well with the theme of the song. The bare bones production doesn’t make it sound bloated and over the top like what one might hear on the radio today. Just compare this to a more modern song that’s supposed to be sad, like Bruno Mars’s ‘Grenade’. That song tries so hard to set its tone that it ends up sounding ridiculous and you can’t take it seriously in the slightest. ‘Crying in the Rain’, on the other hand, just remains restrained and toned down through the entire song and it works a million times better.

I think it’s kind of funny that the Beatles took inspiration from the Everly Brothers. Once the Beatles finally arrived in America, the Everly Brothers wouldn’t see nearly as much success, with only two songs of theirs managing to peak in the top 40 after 1962. Sadly, Phil Everly, the younger brother between the two, died in 2014 from lung disease brought on by his smoking habits. In a 2014 interview, Don Everly stated that he had not gotten over his brother’s death, and I feel like I can understand why. I sure know I’d need to wait for stormy weather if I lost one of my siblings. Still, we can at least appreciate the contributions these two made to music with songs like this. Actually, this wasn’t the only emotional song to come out this year. For that, meet me at #4.

#4.

Something else you may have noticed about 1962 was that it was not exactly a great year even for already established artists like Ray Charles and Bobby Darin, at least in terms of their quality. In a way, that’s kind of tragic because these artists released good music prior to this year, and would arguably even release good music some time afterwards. Even in the case of artists whose quality didn’t completely falter this year, their work was still kind of erratic. Such was the case with this next artist. While he was a big deal just the previous decade and even arguably would go on to rekindle his star later on this decade, his work from this year certainly left much to be desired. That’s not to say it was all bad news though.

#4. Can’t Help Falling In Love (Elvis Presley) [57; 2; 11 weeks]

Did you seriously think I was going to talk about oldies music and not mention the King on this list anywhere? Sadly, much like with many established artists, 1962 was not exactly a good year for Elvis either. In fact, this particular song was from one of the films he made around this time. (Need I remind you it was his film career that would end up causing him to be viewed as little more than a joke by the end of the ‘60s?) Despite this, there is a reason this is considered one of his best and best-remembered songs from this time frame: because the song is legitimately good. I was seriously considering placing this song on the #1 spot, but ultimately decided that there were three other songs I liked more (which we’ll be getting to in a bit.)

First things first: let’s talk about the melody for this song. It was based on the classical French love song ‘Plaisir d’amour,’ written in 1784 by Jean-Paul-Égide Martini. The song in question took its text from a poem from the novel ‘Célestine’ by Jean-Pierre Claris de Florian. The original song is quite beautiful, and certainly something I’d recommend for any classical music lovers out there. Elvis’s version doesn’t do much to change the melody, but it’s still a surprising departure from his usual sound.

This isn’t to say that he never performed any ballads prior to this. After all, he released ‘Love Me Tender’ just six years prior. Even with that song though, there’s still some level of suggestiveness to its subject matter. In contrast, ‘Can’t Help Falling In Love’ is actually kind of straightforward in its presentation and doesn’t really have Elvis’s traditionally, sexually charged vocals. Instead, it has him putting himself in more of a vulnerable position, presenting himself as uncertain and confused by this thing called love. It feels like it’s just not something he’s used to feeling.

It’s a shame that the song was released as part of the soundtrack to the film ‘Blue Hawaii’. I cannot emphasize enough what a poor impact Presley’s film career had on his public image. This song is probably the best thing to spawn from his films. It just had a lot more longevity and was more classic than any of his films could ever have hoped to be. There’s a reason it’s this song that wound up being the closer for most of his shows after this year. Even if this isn’t his best song, coming from this year it was still a breath of fresh air.

#3.

As I said, instrumental pieces were probably the primary genre of music that I ended up liking from this year. Without the words getting in the way, it makes it a lot easier to just listen to the music, greater appreciate the structure of the melodies and harmonies and just focus on the instrumentation. Sometimes the music is able to speak for itself. Actually, as it happens, the top three songs on this list are all instrumental tracks. Furthermore, this first act I’ll be covering has had a hand in quite a few other projects and groups, particularly later on in its members’ careers. So, without further ado, I present to you Booker T. and the M.G.’s. 

#3. Green Onions (Booker T. & the M.G.’s) [53; 3; 12 weeks]

If you’ve been paying attention to my lists, you might recognize this group from an earlier list I posted. Specifically they made an appearance on my worst of ’69 list as a dishonorable mention with their abysmal cover of Simon and Garfunkel’s ‘Mrs. Robinson’. In all fairness to the group, I feel like it just wasn’t the right fit for them. Cheesy, elevator music reinterpretations of songs by more thought-provoking artists was just not their strong point. Fortunately, this next song serves as a great example of what the band was capable of when they were on their “A” game.  

I’m sure many of you are probably listening to this song and wondering, “Why is this song called ‘Green Onions’? Was it inspired by scallions or something?” I guess that’s as good a place to start as any. There are different accounts regarding where the name originated. Steve Cropper, the band’s guitarist, stated that the name was taken from the Green Badger’s cat, whose way of walking was what inspired the riff to the song. The band’s piano player and front man, Booker T. Jones, though, has given two different explanations for the song’s name. The first had him stating that it was “the nastiest thing I can think of and it’s something you throw away.” During a broadcast for a radio program in 2013, however, he said, “The bass player thought it was so funky, he wanted to call it ‘Funky Onions’, but they thought that was too low-class, so we used ‘Green Onions’ instead.”

Regardless of what inspired the song’s title, I’d still say the song itself is pretty damn funky. Booker T.’s Hammond B3 organ is the primary force driving the song, and it does a great job at doing that. Lewie Steinberg’s bass part helps offer support to the melody, along with Al Jackson Jr. on drums. However, it’s Steve Cropper who really shines on this song. His guitar licks might not be very prominent in the song, but they are enough to give it that smooth edge that brings the song together.

Since this song’s release, Booker T. and the M.G.’s released a number of songs all trying to capture the same magic that this song had. In fact, the song itself has been used pretty extensively in radio, television, film and advertising as well, and it’s not hard to understand why. The song is easily the best thing that this band has released (save possibly for Steve Cropper’s work with the Blues Brothers Band).

#2.

You know, I don’t think I’ve had the opportunity to really talk about jazz music in these reviews. No better time than the present! I really like it; I was in band in middle school (even though most of the songs they played weren’t actually jazz songs) as well as taking a class on it when I was in high school. The different styles and scales just fascinate me. I’m admittedly not really all that surprised that the genre didn’t really maintain much presence in mainstream pop, but I’m glad that it managed to thrive in its various subgenres and branched out and tried different things. We were still seeing some of it in the mainstream this year though, and as it happens, we got a pretty decent hit song out of the genre too.

#2. Midnight in Moscow (Kenny Ball and His Jazzmen) [21; 2; 12 weeks]

Interestingly enough, unlike Booker T. and the M.G.’s, Kenny Ball did have songs in his discography that included actual lyrics. They were decent enough; I wouldn’t go out of my way to listen to any of them, but I thought they were okay. Also unlike Booker T. and the M.G.’s, most of his music didn’t sound identical to one another; there felt like there was a lot more variety in his discography.

What this song actually does have something in common with is the Scorpions’ ‘Wind of Change’, in that it takes inspiration from Russia. This particular song is actually based on another song called ‘Podmoskovnie vechera’, which translates to ‘Moscow Nights’ and is one of the best-known songs outside of Russia. It was originally written as ‘Leningradskie Vechera’ or ‘Leningrad Nights’ by composer Vasily Solovyov-Sedoi and poet Mikhail Matusovsky in 1955, but a version corresponding to Moscow was created at the request of the Soviet Ministry of Culture. The lyrics speak of the narrator’s love for nights in the suburbs of Moscow, speaking of flowing waters of lunar silver and the sound of song or absence thereof. 

Kenny Ball’s version removes these lyrics (which is kind of a shame because they are quite lovely in the imagery they conjure), and instead opts to have the whole thing as an instrumental piece. The result is a smooth, energetic jazz number that, while probably not as pretty as the original, does still have a charm to it. The trumpet is primarily what carries the song’s melody, but I’d be lying if I said the trombone solo around the middle of the song didn’t get me excited. (Admittedly, that could just be because I played the trombone when I was still in school, but it is still a welcome variation to the song.)

Kenny Ball didn’t see a lot of success over in the US, but they accumulated quite a few hits in the UK (the biggest of which charted around 1962). The band continues to perform today, even after Kenny Ball’s death in 2013. His son Keith Ball now helms the band, which are presently under the name Kenny Ball Junior and his Jazzmen. Keep jazzing it up in here, fellas.

#1.

Now, there’s one particular song that appeared on the year-end hot 100 that I was sincerely hoping to include on this list: ‘Moon River’ by Henry Mancini. I was first introduced to the song through a friend’s cover of it, and honestly it was probably one of my favorite covers of his. And going back and listening to the original, I can safely say it was, without question, the best song that charted in this entire goddamn year. It has the sound of the kind of song you would hear in a film. Interestingly enough, it was in a film, specifically ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s.’ I haven’t actually seen the film myself, but this song certainly made a good case for me to do so. It’s just a masterpiece of a song! I love the vocals; I love the instrumentals; I love harmonies; I love the lyrics; I just absolutely love this song!

Sadly, it technically peaked higher the previous year, so it didn’t qualify for this list. I know I’ve let other songs slide despite peaking the year before the year they appeared on lists I’ve done before, but I promised myself around the time I released my 1982 lists that I would try to avoid having that happen again. Maybe I’ll get to cover it if I get to 1961 at some point? Regardless, it definitely would have been my #1 for this list if it had qualified. Since it didn’t, however, I’ll be going with the next best thing.

#1. Stranger On the Shore (Acker Bilk) [1; 1; 15 weeks]

Okay, let me be clear: just because I feel like this song isn’t as good as ‘Moon River’ doesn’t mean I think the song isn’t still good in its own right. It does at least have a few milestones to it that make it stand out. For example, this was the first British #1 hit single on Billboard after Vera Lynn’s ‘Auf Wiederseh’n Sweetheart’ in 1952. After that it would be followed by the Tornados’ ‘Telstar’, which would then be followed by the Beatles’ ‘I Wanna Hold Your Hand’. In that regard, the argument could be made that this song was what paved the way for the British Invasion. In addition, this song was the second of three songs by one-hit wonders that were named pop single of the year by Billboard (the first being Domenico Modungo’s ‘Volare (Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu)’ in 1958 and the third being Daniel Powter’s ‘Bad Day’ in 2006).

Now, milestones are one thing, but what about the song itself? Well, it’s actually kind of a contrast from Acker Bilk’s earlier work. Where most of his earlier songs were these loud, jazzy tunes, ‘Stranger On the Shore’ is a slower, softer, predominantly clarinet-driven piece. And honestly, I feel like the softer tone works in the song’s favor; it sounds a lot more emotional and atmospheric. The backing orchestra also helps; like with ‘Moon River’ it kind of makes it sound like the soundtrack to a film or TV series, and as it happens, it is! Originally it was written for Acker Bilk’s daughter and was called ‘Jenny’. After that, the song was used for a BBC TV drama series called ‘Stranger On the Shore’.

I know I’ve gone on about how much I hated this year all throughout this list and the previous list, but I feel like this song was the closest that 1962 got to having an honest-to-God masterpiece. I’m not going to say this was a great song, but it is still noteworthy, both for what it started and as a song in its own right. So there you have it folks: ‘Stranger On the Shore’ by Acker Bilk: my choice for the #1 best hit song of 1962.