UK Singles Chart: The 1960s

Before looking into the chart history of the 60s in any sort of detail, my perception of the 60s was that it was a decade of 2 halves, the first half being centred around beat music and the second half being more heavy and psychedelic but also with soul and folk music coming to the forefront of things.

Whilst my perception wasn't far off the mark, it certainly wasn't a simple case of 5 years of 60s part 1 and 5 years of 60s part 2.

I've known for many years that The Beatles debuted in 1962 and it is often said just how big an influence they were in changing the world of music. It should be no surprise to see that the music world hadn't really left the 50s up till this point, but what did surprise me was what little indication we were in the 60s there was. The first number one which to me is a 60s sounding number one was "How Do You Do It" by Gerry & the Pacemakers in mid 1963, just 18 months before the halfway point of the 60s.

The only music that seemed to have any sort of longevity in the charts was soul music. We had the Supremes debut in 1964 and would have at least one hit every year for the rest of the decade without sounding drastically different by 1969.

The beat era basically lasted throughout 1963 and 1964, the only bands who continued strongly after this, such as The Beatles, had moved on from their original sound, whilst many of the other bands were having their last couple of minor hits by 1965 if they hadn't finished already.

Then there was the folk music, which took off in the charts in 1965 but seemed to fade away towards the end of the decade.

By the end of the decade, the charts had a much more pop sound to them, but clearly this wasn't reflected in the world of music. You had some hugely popular bands such as The Doors, Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin who had little to no presence in the singles chart.

I think the best way to sum up the 60s charts is that it is a decade of change. After a slow start, new styles of music would come along and knock what was popular off the top, but it would never be too long until it would get knocked off itself by the next big thing.

I said in my 1969 post that it was best described as a big farewell party to the 60s and with the 70s on the way, a change seems almost inevitable.