The Top 10 Hits Of 1964

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This week, we're remembering and counting down the 10 most popular songs of 1964 as determined by Billboard Magazine.

1964 is the year generally credited for the beginning of the "British Invasion," a phrase that refers to the multitude of British pop/rock and roll stars to dominate the American music scene. Psychedelic bands such as The Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane were also getting noticed and their music played primarily on FM stations back then, locally in Dallas on KNUS-FM 98.7 (now KLUV-FM and owned by CBS Radio, the copyright holder of this blog). And The Beatles made their American television debut on The Ed Sullivan Show over the CBS Television Network on February 9, 1964. 73 million people tuned in to see and hear this British rock group who dominated the music scene for years. And the Motown Sound from Detroit was also driving the charts as well.

Below are the top 10 hits for 1964:

10. "Where Did Our Love Go?" (The Supremes)
9. "Last Kiss" (J. Frank Wilson & The Cavaliers)
8. "We'll Sing In The Sunshine" (Gale Garnett)
7. "My Guy" (Mary Wells)
6. "Everybody Loves Somebody" (Dean Martin)
5. "I Get Around" (The Beach Boys)
4. "Oh Pretty Woman (Roy Orbison)
3. "Hello, Dolly!" (Louis Armstrong)
2. "She Loves You" (The Beatles)

And the #1 hit for all of 1964: "I Want To Hold Your Hand" by The Beatles, written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney.

But there was another song from 1964 that charted overall at #54. In that year, you could still hear songs written about the most current dance craze. Bobby Freeman was an R&B singer from San Francisco whose last hit on the Billboard charts in 1958 was "Do You Want To Dance." But in 1964, he recorded his most successful Billboard hit, "C'mon And Swim" on the Autumn record label. Written and produced by Sylvester Stewart, this song has some "garage rock" undertones and really gets you going! Enjoy this great dance craze hit.