Record of the Year Revisited: 1961

Original Record of the Year: Drifters - I Count The Tears

I think of 1961 as being the pre-Beatles slump. When I was doing my initial research 10 years ago I can remember not knowing many of the records and a lot of those I listened to went in one ear and out of the other. 

I also remember picking an obscure Drifters record as my record of the year so the task this time round is to look at the list of records, listen to a few and decide whether they're better than "I Count The Tears".

I feel my knowledge of 20th century UK Top 40 music is better now than it was 10 years ago and yet I still find myself looking at the list of records and thinking what the hell is that with a lot of them.

There may be some hidden gems but I don't have time to listen to everything I don't know. Besides I don't think I'm going to crown a record after just one listen.

It was the debut year for Del Shannon and in the last 10 years I've bought a compilation CD of his from a charity shop because I decided I quite like his music. It was also the debut year of Gene Pitney who I bought a CD of back in 1998.

The question is are any of the Del Shannon hits in 1961 or the sole Gene Pitney hit in 1961 better than "I Count The Tears"? I would say no.

The Drifters retain their crown.

Record of the Year Revisited: 1960

Original Record of the Year: Johnny & the Hurricanes - Beatnik Fly

My reason behind my choice for 1960 was that it was instrumental, modern for its time and different to the guitar driven rock n roll that sounds a bit samey. To be honest though if this hadn't appeared on an episode of Father Ted then it may not of been a candidate for the simple fact I probably wouldn't know it.

I stated there were several candidates for my pick which means on a different day I may have picked a different record. Is today one of those days?

New Record of the Year: Marv Johnson - I Love The Way You Love

Yes today is one of those days. What I've gone for is essentially a Motown record before Motown was a thing in the UK. Marv Johnson was a Motown artist and this record was penned by Berry Gordy. It was the 2nd Marv Johnson UK Top 40 hit and was the less successful follow up to his debut "You Got What It Takes", also penned by Berry Gordy.

Marv Johnson wouldn't return to the UK Top 40 after this until 1969 with 2 more hits that were actually Motown records.

Record of the Year Revisited: 1959

Original Record of the Year: Lloyd Price - I'm Gonna Get Married

Not only did I think this was the best record of the year, I thought it was the best record of the decade too. Even with my new choices for other years this would beat all of them.

It's not up against the other years though, it's up against other records of 1959. We're in an era where music generally improves as the years go on so competition is going to be tougher. Has it held on?

New Record of the Year: The Impalas - Sorry (I Ran All The Way Home)

It's close but in part due to this being a new discovery over the last 10 years I've picked it as my record of the year.

The Impalas were a one hit wonder and formed in 1958 and only lasted until 1961. It only made number 28 in the UK but was a number 2 in America so maybe it's not as obscure as I thought it might be. The Impalas are no household name though.

January Charts: 1993

Here are the new entries ranked from best to worst:

1. Duran Duran - Ordinary World

2. The Time Frequency - New Emotion (EP)

3. Arrested Development - Mr Wendal/Revolution

4. Naughty By Nature - Hip Hop Hooray

5. Dinosaur Jr - Start Choppin

6. Bon Jovi - Bed Of Roses

7. Little Angels - Womankind

8. Faith No More - I'm Easy/Be Aggressive

9. USURA - Open Your Mind

10. East 17 - Deep

11. The Beloved - Sweet Harmony

12. En Vogue - Give It Up, Turn It Loose

13. Pop Will Eat Itself - Get The Girl! Kill The Baddies!

14. Jesus Jones - The Devil You Know

15. Sunscreem - Broken English

16. Alice In Chains - Would

17. West End - The Love I Lost ft Sybil

18. Snap! - Exterminate! ft Niki Harris

19. Fargetta And Anne-Marie Smith - Music

20. The Farm - Love See No Colour

21. Prefab Sprout - Life Of Surprises

22. Trey Lorenz - Photograph Of Mary

23. Martine Girault - Revival

24. Del Amitri - When You Were Young

25. The The - Dogs Of Lust

26. Peter Gabriel - Steam

27. Gary Clark - We Sail On The Stormy Waters

28. Apache Indian - Arranged Marriage

29. Paul McCartney - Hope Of Deliverance

30. The Frank And Walters - After All

31. Lulu - Independence

32. Sugar - If I Can't Change Your Mind

33. 2 Unlimited - No Limit

34. Sultans Of Ping FC - You Talk Too Much

35. Alexander O'Neal - Love Makes No Sense

36. Def Leppard - Heaven Is

37. D:Ream - Things Can Only Get Better

38. Go West - What You Won't Do For Love

39. Leila K - Open Sesame

40. Belly - Feed The Tree

41. Cher - Many Rivers To Cross

42. SOUL SYSTEM - It's Gonna Be A Lovely Day

Who would of thought a naff 80s band would have the best Top 40 hit of January 1993. That's exactly what has happened. I generally don't like the music of Duran Duran and find the so called classics often irritating. However "Ordinary World" is an excellent song and despite it being after their 80s hey day many agree that this was their finest moment.

Rave music in a breakbeat hardcore sense had all but disappeared from the Top 40 by 1993. The nearest we get some some bouncy techno from Scotland with TTF making their Top 40 debut with "New Emotion" which has to settle for 2nd place.

Rap music was now starting to have a greater presence in the Top 40 and the 2 rap records by Arrested Development and Naughty By Nature sit in 3rd and 4th place respectively.

Below this we have some guitar bands who frequently made their way onto my Top 10 bands lists from around this time. The best of these was "Start Choppin" by Dinosaur Jr which I wouldn't have put as the best at the time but has probably aged the best. Further down the list is Alice In Chains with their debut "Would". It was seen as almost compulsory to have them on your Top 10 list by my peers, but I never truly thought they were as good as Little Angels who were a band I brought to the table.

We were yet to reach the point of pop music being deemed uncool. I remember unashamedly dancing to "Open Your Mind" by USURA at the school disco and I remember "Deep" being the last East 17 record where I could still admit that I liked them.

The worst record by some distance is "It's Gonna Be a Lovely Day" by SOUL SYSTEM. What they have done here is take the best bits of "Lovely Day" by Bill Withers and throw them away. Once left with the rubbish they get the worst rapper they can find to do a rap over it. Without going back and looking at the competition I would speculate this is quite possibly the worst January Top 40 hit of the 20th century.

As a result Cher's cover of "Many Rivers To Cross" has to settle for 2nd from bottom. I remember it really irritating me at the time. Likewise the band Belly just irritated me in general. Then at 4th from bottom we have some irritating rapping from Leila K on "Open Sesame".

Go West were an 80s band still hanging around with their estate agents music and at the time I remember questioning why. I also considered "Things Can Only Get Better" by D:Ream to be dance music for estate agents. 

Despite being into guitar music at the time Def Leppard were considered to be crap amongst me and my peers. Probably because they were too 80s though their best song was yet to come. Even Alexander O'Neal was past his best with "Love Makes No Sense".

Much of the middle of the table is solid if unremarkable music and this is probably why we arrive at this score.

Score: 50  

Record of the Year Revisited: 1958

Original Record of the Year: Poni-Tails - Born Too Late

My original pick celebrated the fact girl groups were actually quite good once upon a time. They used to harmonise with their vocals as opposed to being a marketing campaign like they are these days.

I can't remember how I first came across this record and made no note at the time of how I did. My knowledge of 50s records isn't great but it's been helped in recent times by Retro Charts Radio. It was listening to this which introduced me to a record that's made me change my mind.

New Record Of The Year: Buddy Holly - Early In The Morning

I thought I was pretty clued up on Buddy Holly records. He's a big name known for several records but this was one I didn't know of his. 

It was his follow up to "Rave On" and you could say that sequence is describing the future of raving on until early in the morning. It's also quite speedy for a 50s record which helps.

Record of the Year Revisited: 1957

Original Record of the Year: Patience and Prudence - Gonna Get Along Without Ya Now

I picked a record sung by kids because I found it an enjoyable listen. Most 50s records aren't very catchy but this one is. It's a breath of fresh air compared to it's competitors.

A disadvantage the more catchy records of 1957 had was that they tended to be ones I'd known all my life. The anthems if you like. As you've probably gathered I don't like to pick something too obvious.

I question I do have to ask myself though is can I honestly say this record is better than "Reet Petite"?

New Record of the Year: Jackie Wilson - Reet Petite

Well no I can't. I don't consciously remember the charts until 1987 but I also have vague recollections of some music around just before that and this was one of those records. It was rereleased in 1986 and was Christmas number one. It's a record I don't remember not knowing and at the same time I can place it at that point in my life.

For 1957 though this really does feel ahead of the pack and when you consider it's Jackie Wilsons UK chart debut and compare to what came next for him it more or less confirms it.

Record of the Year Revisited: 1956

Original Record of the Year: Little Richard - Rip It Up

I picked this one because it seemed to liven up the 50s. In my original post I said Little Richard was still performing as late as 2014 but since then he's sadly passed away.

My reluctancy to pick this record was the fact I'd known it and had heard of Little Richard for as long as I can remember. I mentioned it was a tough choice and sounds like it had some tough competition, but I can't remember if that was the case.

However I've now changed my mind and gone with something I don't think was part of the original competition because I didn't know it.

New Record of the Year: Deep River Boys - That's Right

I think it was last year that I first heard this record. I was looking through a list of songs and was inclined to listen to artists I'd never heard of and this was the record that stood out.

It also wasn't until I picked it until I discovered it was a cover of a Mills Brothers record, the group who did my Record of the Year for 1953. 

Like the Mills Brothers, the Deep River Boys were one hit wonders. They also formed long before the charts with their origins being in the 1930s.