Series 8 starts at the beginning of 1964. The breakthrough year for many British bands.
Episode 1
Only one song this week: I Like It by Gerry and the Pacemakers. A second single and a second number 1 for the Liverpool band. Written by Mitch Murray, it reached the top of the charts in June 1963.
There was an instrumental early on: Fly me to the Moon. This was a composition from 1954 by Bart Howard. A big hit for Frank Sinatra in 1964, but this instrumental is more likely to be that by Joe Harnell from 1962.
Episode 2
Two songs this week. First up The Hippy Hippy Shake by The Swinging Blue Jeans. Written in 1959 by the seventeen year old Chan Romero, it was a hit for him in the USA. The Swinging Blue Jeans covered the song in their 1964 recording that went on to be a Number 2 hit in the UK. And yes, we all danced to this at Poly and Uni concerts that year.
I have the recording The Beatles made in 1963 on the album "Live at the BBC" They played this song at all of their early gigs. Try the audio recording at the Star Club in Hamburg in 1962 on YouTube.
The only other song this week was the wonderful My Girl by The Temptations. Written and produced by Smokey Robinson and Ronald White, this (late) 1964 recording made it to Number 1 in the USA but only to Number 43 in the UK.
Episode 3
First up that huge hit Needles and Pins by The Searchers released in January 1964. Written by Jack Nitzsche and Sonny Bono, it reached Number 1 in the UK. They were still playing it on tour last year.
Then a very difficult song to recognise. Played faintly in the background of the girl's bedroom was I Think of You by The Merseybeats that reached Number 5 on the UK charts in May 1964. It was written by Peter Lee Stirling (born Peter Charles Green and later known as Daniel Boone). He also wrote I Belong that Kathy Kirby propelled to runner up in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1965.
Next up another classic - Glad All Over by The Dave Clark Five. Written by Dave Clark and Mike Smith, it was the band's first UK Number 1 in January 1964. It also reached the top ten in the USA.
Finally Little Children by Billy J. Kramer and The Dakotas. It was written by Leslie McFarland and Mort Shuman. Another big Number 1 hit in the UK in March 1964.
Yes, 1964 was a big year for British bands so this week not a single song from across the pond.
Episode 4
I knew the first song sounded like Manfred Mann, but Sha La La was one of their lesser known hits. Apparently it did reach No 3 in the UK in 1964. It was originally recorded by The Shirelles for whom it was written by Robert Mosley and Robert Taylor.
Next up was the theme music from Doctor Who. Composed by Ron Grainer, it was recorded in 1963 by the BBC Radiophonic Workshop under the control of Delia Darbyshire.
I first thought the jazz music in the gallery was by Dave Brubeck, but it was in fact The Believer by John Coltrane from his 1964 album of the same name.
Last of all came A World Without Love by Peter and Gordon, their first single released in February 1964. It reached No 1 in both the UK and USA. It was composed by Paul McCartney when he was sixteen but was deemed not good enough for The Beatles. Paul shared a room with Peter Asher when he moved into the London home of his girlfriend Jane Asher in 1963.
Episode 5
My Boy Lollipop by Millie Small was written in the 1950's by Robert Spencer. Also credited are Morris Levy and Johnny Roberts of the Cadillacs. It reached No 2 in the UK and USA for Millie in 1964. Apparently it was played at the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympics.
Wishin' and Hopin' by Dusty Springfield. What a treat to hear this wonderful song again with the incomparable voice of Dusty. Written by Hal David and Burt Bacharach, it was first recorded by Dionne Warwick in 1962 but was a big hit for Dusty in the USA in June 1964 reaching No 6 in the charts. However it was never released as a single in the UK due to another of Dusty's songs being in the charts. It was on her LP "A Girl Called Dusty". I had forgotten what a marvellous singer of soul music she was and so just ordered her greatest hits CD. I cannot wait to listen to "I Close My Eyes and Count to Ten". Thanks Vicki.
Miss Jamaica by Jimmy Cliff who also wrote the song, the second ska song of the episode. Released in 1962 in the UK on Island Records, it did not trouble the charts.
Episode 6
Only one song this week. I don't count non recorded songs on my list.
I'm Into Something Good by Herman's Hermits. A marvellous Gerry Goffin and Carole King composition, it was a Number 1 in the UK in September 1964. That instrumental intro was so familiar, I recognised the song after only a few notes.
Episode 7
Two songs tonight.
It's For You by Cilla Black. A song written by John Lennon and (mostly) Paul McCartney. It reached a chart high of No 7 in the UK.
You Really Got Me by The Kinks. Written by Ray Davies, it was released in August 1964 and reached No 1 in the UK in September and No 7 in the USA.
Episode 8
The last episode in the series and two songs.
Glad All Over by The Dave Clark Five. Their first big hit was written by Dave Clark and Mike Smith, released towards the end of 1963, it reached Number 1 in the UK in January 1964.
Let Me Tell You by Petula Clark. This single was released in 1963 and was composed by Mark Anthony, a name used by Tony Hatch who also directed the orchestral accompaniment. It failed to reach the charts, probably why I had never heard it before.
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