Counting Down The Top 10 Hits Of 1965

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This week, we are looking back 50 years ago and counting down the ten most popular songs of 1965 as determined by Billboard Magazine. The songs YOU heard on great radio stations like WABC/New York, CKLW/Windsor, Ontario, Canada & Detroit, KLIF/Dallas, WLS/Chicago, KFRC/San Francisco, KILT/Houston, KQV/Pittsburgh, and KHJ/Los Angeles. And here they are:

10. "My Girl" (Otis Williams & The Temptations)
9. "Crying In The Chapel (Elvis Presley)
8. "Can't You Hear My Heart Beat" (Herman's Hermits)
7. "Help!" (The Beatles)
6. "Downtown" (Petula Clark)
5. "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" (The Righteous Brothers)
4. "You Were On My Mind" (We Five)
3. "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" (The Rolling Stones)
2. "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)" (Four Tops)
1. "Wooly Bully" (Sam The Sham & The Pharaohs)

1965 was a year where the British Invasion artists were still going strong, with groups such as The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Dave Clark Five, and Herman's Hermits. Also this year 33 year old Petula Clark debuted with her #1 song in January 1965 with Downtown. Motown artists such as The Temptations, Four Tops, The Supremes, and Junior Walker & The All Stars were also dominating the airwaves. Blue eyed soul groups like The Righteous Brothers started laying the groundwork for future groups such as Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels and The Box Tops. And garage rock music could be heard as well by groups such as The Yardbyrds, The Kinks, The Zombies, Tommy James & The Shondells, and The Animals. And the #1 song of the year was by a group whose leader was from Dallas: Sam The Sham & The Pharaohs!

One artist had a top 10 hit in January 1965 posthumously: Sam Cooke. A very successful R&B singer from the late 50s through the early 60's, he is considered to be the definitive soul singer of his time. On December 11, 1964, Cooke was shot to death in Los Angeles by a female motel manager that to this day was done under mysterious circumstances. He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame in 1986 and won the Grammy's Lifetime Achievement Award in 1999. Before his death, Cooke wrote and recorded a song in a genre that was popular in the early 60's: songs about current dance crazes. The song, "Shake", was recorded in November 1964 on the RCA label one month before Cooke's death. It was a hit and peaked at #7 in February 1965. It showed his ability to spot trends in music and "move with times". Quite a bit different style than his earlier songs. Here's a link to this great song:

Next week, a phenomenon hits Los Angeles radio and changes American Top 40 radio for the next 20 years.

See you next time.