Best Song: Tornados - Telstar
When I was picking my record of the year for each year of the UK Singles Charts I picked this record for 1962. It just sounds so futuristic for 1962 and different to a lot of instrumental rock that sounded the same. I have to say though there was a close rival to it which I will talk about in the review below.
Worst Song: Hank Locklin - We're Gonna Go Fishin'
Initially I thought this record was a piss take, but it turns out it wasn't. Hank Locklin was an American country singer who appears to have been held in high regard. I've never really got the appeal of country music generally speaking, it's one of those things I figured you need to be American to understand.
Top 40 Review
When I was reviewing 1962 for my best year search it sat bottom of the table until 2009 turned out to be worse. What it suffered from was the fact The Beatles hadn't arrived yet. The Christmas charts on the other hand benefits from the fact The Beatles had arrived.
This leads me onto the biggest rival for the best song which was The Beatles debut hit "Love Me Do". It was a tough decision not to pick it because it was such a significant moment for music, but if I'm honest I do prefer "Telstar" based purely on the record itself.
My issue with country music didn't help with this chart as it was the most prominent genre outside of pop music. That said, I thought "Swiss Maid" by Del Shannon and "Devil Woman" by Marty Robbins worthy of half marks. It was a zero for the rest of the country hits.
One of those country hits that got a zero was "Dear Lonely Hearts" by Nat 'King' Cole which was the last of his Top 40 hits before he died having been quite prolific with the hits for the previous decade.
In terms of Christmas music, this was the year of "Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree" by Brenda Lee which is a regular in the modern charts. There was also a version of "Jingle Bell Rock" by Chubby Checker And Bobby Rydell in there. Both got zero.
On a more positive note we have "He's a Rebel" by The Crystals, penned by Gene Pitney and one of the great records from that era.
Also worth a shout is "Sherry" by The Four Seasons which was their Top 40 debut and a record that was bringing music forwards in my opinion.
1962 did feel like a bit of an anomaly given the circumstances and this has proved to be true. The score for the Christmas charts is far better than both the best year score for 1962 and even further ahead of any other Christmas chart featured so far.
One thing to consider though is whether the quality of the Top 40 getting worse at Christmas time a more modern thing.
Score: 10.5
Table
A big lead at the top of the table for 1962. How long will it stay there?
No comments:
Post a Comment