Unmistakably Phil Spector produced because it's loud and almost impossible to listen to without a good graphic equaliser. Once you've got the muddy middles under control and picked out Ronnie's voice under all the noise, this is a good tune. The Ronettes had already asked us to be their baby and they were referring to us as a newborn once again by declaring the depth of their emotional attachment.

On the back of their first hit, they were booked to go on tour with Dick Clark. However, Phil Spector wanted a quick follow-up to capitalise on their number 2 smash hit 'Be my Baby' and so told Ronnie Bennett to stay behind in the studio whilst the other two members of the group went on the tour. 'Baby, I love you' was recorded by Ronnie alone with help on backing vocals by Darlene Love, Sonny Bono and Cher. The track only reached number 11 in the UK and 26 in the US.

Released in the US only, Andy Kim reached number 9 in 1969 with a cover and more familiar to me, The Ramones did a morbid version in 1980, reaching number 8.

It doesn't sound it now because this song's title is part of the fabric of reality, but when I first heard this song, I used to cringe at the attempt at a malapropism. The first time I felt this toe-curling feeling was with the song 'Bird-dog'. Just typing that title makes me wince.

By now, The Beatles were massive news. This was backed up by the fact the album of the same name (their third, and first to contain all original compositions) was accompanied by a film, which contained all of the songs on side 1.

Because of its distinctive opening chord, you immediately recognise it, which is one of the key things a songwriter strives for. Unique moments are something that litter The Beatles back catalogue in fact.

This was a number 1 smash hit, obviously, even though it's nowhere near their best work.

You may be familiar with a guy called John D. Loudermilk. If not, you'll know from the name that he was an all-American songwriter. He wrote 'Ebony Eyes' for The Everly Brothers and 'This Little Bird' for Marianne Faithful (a number 6 hit in the UK).

Tobacco Road is a blues song (a folk song really) but became a standard across numerous musical genres. It reminds me rather of the stuff Suzi Quatro was doing in the mid-70s. It's a song that's definitely at the beginning of a genre which was growing in popularity - and then morphing somewhat into what eventually became Rock (think Status Quo-style), Prog Rock and Metal.

It reached number 6 in the UK when 'Nashville Teens' (an English group, believe it or not) covered it, produced by Mickie Most (who will pop up again before this list is done, no doubt!)

With a voice for the ages, Doris Day's name will be forever etched into music and film history as one of the all time greats. The mark of a great vocalist is someone who performs a song rather than just sings it. Here, she emotes - pronounces words like she means them and drifts from dreamy soft vocals to urgent and passionate. Such a lovely record.

Her first hit was in 1952 when, with Frankie Laine, she sang 'Sugarbush' and scored a number 8 hit. She had 13 top 20 hits in total including the impossibly famous songs 'Whatever will be will be' and 'Secret Love'. It's unbelievable really that 'Calamity Jane' was made in the 50s, it's so vibrant and the soundtrack still sounds fresh as a daisy.

'Move over Darling', like her first hit, reached number 8 and she only released one more single, the number 37 peaking 'Whatcha gonna do about it' in November.

This sounds like it was recorded on a Fisher Price tape recorder and Keith Richards is using a guitar he bought third hand from a car boot sale for 20p. I knew this song from an advert for Video Tapes, the one with the skeleton which was trying to convince you that you could record over the tape again and again and the picture quality wouldn't 'fade away'. Have you seen something recorded on video tape? What lies. Another of the 'Stones' hits this year also appeared on an advert. This time for Insignia body spray which was 'all over now' apparently.

It took three releases for the Stones to reach the top 10. First release 'Come on' stalled at number 21 and their follow-up did rather better, 'I Wanna be Your Man' reached number 12 in late 1963. 'Not Fade Away' hit number 3 and opened the door for thirteen consecutive top ten hits (eight of those were number 1s!). Although fundamentally different from The Beatles, this song announced them as legitimate rivals. For my money, the Stones were too eclectic and most of their members looked completely disengaged and bored when performing apart from, of course, Mr. Jagger who had at least seven people's enthusiasm bursting out of every single note he sang.

This song should have been called 'Needles and Pinzer' really because that's how lead singer Mike Pender pronounced it. Which makes me wonder whether his name was actually just Mike Pend? What's weird is that mid-way through the song, he sings 'That's how it begins-er' and rhymes it with just 'Needles and pins', without the 'er' on the end - so he could have just said 'how it begins'. I'm probably overthinking all this as usual.

The Searchers were the second group from Liverpool (joint second actually with the Swinging Blue Jeans) to have a hit in the US. 'Needles and Pins' was co-written by Sonny Bono (his second mention in the list). Whilst The Searchers took this to number 1, Smokie covered it in 1977 and this was another 1964 classic that The Ramones had a woeful stab at.

From where I'm sitting, sixty years on, The Searchers didn't seem to have any discernible personality. This song is a little bland, the cover of the single shows the four lads in white shirts and ties like it's the first day of term at big school and the title of their first album was, imaginatively, 'It's The Searchers'. It's a wonder anyone noticed them at all.

Incidentally, they recorded the song in German with the title 'Tausend Nadelstiche' which translates as 'A Thousand Needle Pricks'. Catchy!

If you're a couple of singers called Peter and Gordon, what would you call your group? They were a kind of prototype 'Proclaimers' in that there were two of them, they played guitar and sang and one of them had ginger hair and glasses.

Peter Asher was celebrity actor/chef Jane Asher's brother and, because she dated Paul McCartney in the mid-60s, got his hands on a couple of McCartney penned songs 'Nobody I Know' (Number 10 hit), 'I Don't Want to See You Again' (not a hit) and this song, 'A World Without Love' (which McCartney wrote when he was 16) which was a number 1 smash hit. It goes to show it's not what you know, it's whose sister's boyfriend you know.

Here's a good trivia question that you can play in your own time. Name five bands or artists whose first record went straight to number 1. If you said 'The Moody Blues' then you get one point. 'Go Now' was their first single and even though there had been plenty of songs with the 'we've just broken up so you'd better leave in case you see me cry' theme, this latest addition was supremely good. It was a cover version of the Bessie Banks song but they added an exclamation mark to the title for some reason - maybe they thought it added gravitas? The track has the air of a Bach tune - not unlike Whiter Shade of Pale.

This track is notable for the fact it was one of the first ever to have a pop video made to promote it. As this was shown on TV (and because it was a curious novelty which drew a lot of attention) so it reached a much bigger audience than those just played on the radio or played 'live' on Top of the Pops (which had started at the beginning of 1964) - a major factor in the track topping the charts.

The Migil 5 had a top 10 hit in March with 'Mockingbird Hill' (which was in the 'bluebeat' style, later known as 'Ska') but much better was this track (which even had a mad Saxophone solo so present in much of Madness' tracks), 'Near You' which only managed to creep up to number 31. At one time they had Charlie Watts (pre-Rolling Stones) playing drums for them and they began their existence as a backing group for Lennie Peters (later of Peters and Lee). Their name came from taking the first half of the names of members Mike Felix and Gilbert Lucas - (Mi & Gil = Migil) which is an awful name for a band. Almost as bad as 'ABBA'.

This was the last the chart saw of the group as subsequent singles failed to have an impact and the group split in 1971.

This was the Stones' fourth single and their first number one, which began a run of five consecutive number 1 singles. It was written by Bobby Womack and released in 1964 by The Valentinos. It reached number 94 in America but, having heard the Stones' recording of 'King Bee' and its efforless blues sound, DJ Murray Kaufman played them 'All Over Now' and inspired them to record their version nine days later.

Years later, Bobby Womack said in an interview that he had told Sam Cooke (the song's original producer) he did not want the Rolling Stones to record their version of the song, and that he had told Mick Jagger to get his own song. Cooke convinced him to let the Rolling Stones record the song. Six months later, after receiving the royalty check, Womack told Cooke that Mick Jagger could have any song he wanted.

Gene Pitney, who was already an international star, got to know The Rolling Stones through their manager Andrew Loog Oldham. Meanwhile, The Rolling Stones had only just started their recording career and so far had only released covers of R&B & Blues numbers. Mick Jagger and Keith Richards had barely begun writing at all, but when Pitney heard one of their earliest efforts, "My Only Girl," which had been recorded (though not released) by the English folk/rock artist George Bean, he decided to cover it. Pitney changed the title to "That Girl Belongs To Yesterday" and made it the first ever Jagger/Richards song to enter the US Hot 100 and the first ever commercial UK hit for a Jagger/Richards composition.

Given the intonation and dramatic nature of the performance, it's impossible to imagine Gene didn't write this himself!

A song which was originally recorded by Little Willie John (don't ask how he got his name) in 1956 and covered to death by numerous artists in almost every style you can think of. Madonna tried and failed, Beyonce can't sing so that effort was doomed before she opened her mouth and the less said about Christina Aguilera the better but Eva Cassidy and Peggy Lee both did the song a modicum of justice. In fact, Peggy Lee introduced some lyrics of her own to the song which are now considered standard and included in everyone else's versions of it.

I'm not sure why Helen Shapiro's career was struggling in 1964 because everything I've heard her do so far in my journey through the decade is accomplished, interesting and extremely commercial. Her version of Fever is flawless and her voice suits the song perfectly. It baffles me how this version only got to number 38. Maybe there was a vendetta against her by the radio hierarchy, which has been a thing more than once across the decades.

I'd wager Tanita Tikaram's vocal stylings on her song 'Twist in my Sobriety' were in part influenced by Helen's performance here too.

It ain't what you do, it's the way that you do it. That is to say, the original 'Um, Um' by Major Lance only reached number 40 in February, the way that he did it. However, Wayne Fontana did it differently and had a number 5 hit in October. Same song.

The lyrics tell of meeting a man who's in a sombre mood and just keeps singing 'um, um, um, um' - the singer having no idea what this means. Then, many years later, he breaks up with his girlfriend and starts singing 'um, um, um, um'. How do people come up with this stuff?

This track is sufficiently jaunty and foot-tapping to make you want to own a copy for those Sunday mornings when you're doing your odd jobs. That's what it reminds me of anyway.

Unique. The arpeggiated guitar and appropriated blues-vocals were quite a bit different to what was circulating at the time, in commercial circles at least. The song itself is a folk song called Rising Sun Blues whose origins could probably be traced back to the 16th century and it's ostensibly English, despite it being set in New Orleans.

Singer Eric Burden said he first heard the song in a club in Newcastle being sung by folk singer Johnny Handle. Producer Mickie Most (there he is again) was initially reluctant to record the song with the Animals but the reaction they got by playing it as a closer when on tour with Chuck Berry convinced him otherwise. He even went as far as endorsing its release despite it being four and a half minutes long - far too long for a single. It was edited down to just under three minutes for the US release.

This was the Animals second single and their first (and only) number one!

All I can think of when watching the promotional video (above) is that Eric really should have brushed his hair.

How lovely is Mary's voice? And what a nice introduction for many to the Motown sound. This was written by Smokey Robinson and you can just hear him singing it can't you? Mary was legitimately Motown's first female star and topped the US chart in May with this track. It reached number 5 in the UK but she never charted here again having used a clause in her contract at Motown to leave and sign up with Fox in the hope of bigger royalties and possible movie roles. It didn't quite work out that way however.

When I first heard this I thought it was another of those Lennon/McCartney tracks they'd not recorded themselves and was picked up by someone desperate to emulate their success. How wrong I was however - even though it totally sounds like a Beatles B-Side. It was written by Billy Jackson and Jimmy Wisner (who you might remember from 'Asia Minor' by Kokomo).

The fact it hit number 1 sort of bears out the fact it was the 'sound' that was being lapped up by the record buying public at the time but it was actually written in 1962 and released in 1963 by the Orlons as a B-Side to 'Bon-Doo-Wah' which scraped the number 55 spot in the US. Makes you wonder how these tracks get heard and covered doesn't it?

But for the date stamp on the video (above) you'd swear this is what Macaulay Culkin did straight after Home Alone.

This has all the hit-single ingredients despite its limited nature. Written by Doo-Wop and Close Harmony aficionado Richard Berry Jr. It's another song which is based on something much older, in this case 'El Loco Cha Cha' (which sounds like a 90s Ibiza anthem sung by someone like Ricky Martin). The song has been awarded and recognised by almost every important list or musical organisation from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Grammys, Rolling Stone magazine and the RIA amongst many others. There's even an international Louie Louie day on 11th April and they had a Louie Louie parade in Philidelphia every year from 1985 to 1989.

What sets this version apart from its predecessors (and the hundreds of future versions) is its chaos. It sounds recorded in one take and the vocalist isn't standing anywhere near the microphone. The drummer is on his own planet and sounds like he's recording his part in the back of an Argos, the guitar solo is totally improvised and you can't hear any of the lyrics but it totally works.

It was their only hit, reaching number 26 in the UK.

Whatever time and taste has done to this song over the last sixty years, this would have appealed to a huge demographic and not just those from a gentler generation. Kids, teenagers, adults and grannies alike would have had smiles on their faces throughout this two minute jaunt. It's got such a simple melody that you're singing along by the end of the song and its in your head forever.

Not just a throwaway single, it's also quite profound with Ken noting : "When you go to measuring my success, don't count my money, count my happiness".

Strange to discover this only reached number 31 when its such a famous song. There are quite a number of records like that, they didn't make an impact at the time but have endured beyond their natural place in time. Someone should write a book about that one day.

Talking about massively famous songs, here's Roy passing judgement on another human's aesthetic qualities like he's in a position to judge. Objectification aside, this was Roy's second consecutive number 1 after 'It's over' and his third of three career number 1s. It was in all probability the pinnacle of his career which slid alarmingly downhill after 'Pretty Paper' reached number 6 in November. Only one single (Too Soon To Know) reached the top 10 out of his next 13 releases.

Characterised by the thumping drum and guitar riff, this is one of the most recognisable songs of all time. Van Halen tried to capitalise on the fact by covering the song in 1982 but could only get their version up to number 47 in the UK chart.

Knowing Cilla as I know her - presenter of Blind Date - this song comes as a massive surprise (surprise). The vocal intelligence is supreme here - the dynamics are wonderful and the amount of passion she expertly delivers makes you actually feel something. Its one of the only times I've been able to hear her doing that 'harsh' voice she does without wincing. Everything about this track is great and I'd go so far as to say it shaped the direction of quite a few vocalists who were looking for an identity from that point on.

A Lennon/McCartney composition; you couldn't get less Lennon/McCartney than this, it's so unlike anything I'm aware they ever wrote which is indicative of their skill as songwriters really (well, Paul's, as it was mainly written by him). It's just as well it was given to Cilla as the Beatles' version (which you can hear on Secret Songs: Lennon & McCartney) is too frantic and straight.

Cilla followed up her two number 1s ('Anyone who had a heart' and 'You're my World') with this number 7 peaking seven inch.

I love the title of this song. It conjures up an image of someone sitting on the sofa in front of a broken television, drumming their fingers and looking bored going 'I've got literally nothing to do' or in Dusty's case 'I just don't know what to do with myself'.

Burt Bacharach and Hal David in full flow here and they managed to top Dusty's previous high of number 4 with 'I Only Want to be with You' by reaching number 3 with this in July. It wasn't written for Dusty however, it was first recorded by Chuck Jackson (unreleased) and then Tommy Hunt recorded his vocals over Chuck's backing track but it didn't chart. Dusty has started to sound like Dusty on this recording (just listen to the 'Summer Rose' part) which is testament to whoever led the recording session (it's reported that Dusty ran the entire session herself).

Having laid Sandie Shaw and Cilla Black side by side (as it were), I can hear quite a lot of Cilla in Sandie. I put it that way round because Cilla had a few hits before Sandie appeared on the scene. Whilst I much prefer Sandie's voice, Cilla had a better range albeit rather grating at times.

'Girl Don't Come' was one of those songs I heard very early in my life and then never again for decades until the internet came round. Even then, I could only find a foreign language version of it. I eventually tracked it down and it was as brilliant as I had remembered. It bucks the convention of what a hit single was at the time I think - even though it sounds a lot like previous single 'Always Something There to Remind Me'. It lacks a chorus but as it builds to where you think the chorus is going to be it doesn't disappoint you as much as you thought it would that the chorus doesn't actually happen (if you catch my drift).

Sandie's voice here is so pure, one that didn't need echo, reverb or any of the other double tracking techniques they used to hide sins. Her second single was supposed to be 'I'd Be Far Better Off Without You' but DJs preferred the B-Side (which was 'Girl Don't Come') and played that instead. It got to number 3 in December.

The Supremes were the original Sugababes in that their members kept leaving and being replaced until the Supremes were a bit like the ship of Theseus. If you're unaware of the paradox, the question goes - if you keep replacing damaged parts of Theseus' ship until there are no original parts of his ship left, is it still Theseus' ship? Well, the Supremes had hits without any of the original members but were they still the Supremes? Probably.

'Where did our Love go' settled at number 3 and 'Baby Love' followed it just one month later and went straight to number 1. It was written by the legendary team of Holland-Dozier-Holland and hit number 1 in the US too - in fact, it was the second of many, making them the first Motown act to have more than one number 1 hit (they scored five in a row at one point) and the most number 1 singles of any Motown act (they had 12!).

'Baby Love' was also one of only three American singles to top the UK chart between '63 and '65.

Peter Kay famously parodied this song by playing the part of the song which said 'Here she comes... walking down the street... snapping her fingers and shuffling her feet... she looked good...' and then saying 'How?' and proceeding to snap his fingers and shuffle his feet across the stage.

The song was originally recorded in 1963 by The Exciters but it was made internationally famous by Manfred Mann. The vocal is quite urgent, like Paul Jones really wants you to know about this woman he's just observed wandering down the road outside. I think my biggest issue with it is it's all a little bit Solomon Grundy. You know, the bloke who was born on a Monday and had grown up and popped his clogs before the weekend rolled round? In 'Do Wah Diddy', the singer sees a woman walking down the road, she holds his hand, walks to his door, has a smootch, falls in love and decides to get married all before verse three is out.

This was their first of three number 1 hits.

It's Leiber and Stoller again - producers this time on Dee Dee Warwick's version of 'You're No Good' in 1963. Betty Everett covered it later that year and hit number 51 in the US. Linda Ronstadt gave it a whirl in 1974 and hit number 1 in the US the following year.

Sandwiched between those was the version by the Swinging Blue Jeans which ascended to number 3 without much trouble. It was Sue Johnston (of Brookside and The Royle Family fame) who was dating the band's drummer who brought the song to their attention. They'd had a number 2 with 'Hippy Hippy Shake' in 1963 but 'You're No Good' would be their only other top 10 hit and their last until their final chart entry in 1966 with 'Don't Make Me Over'.

It's not psychedelia but you can definitely sense a seed of it underneath this creeping and atmospheric track.

Cilla owned some stunning songs didn't she? And I mean 'owned' in the way that Tina Turner and Freddie Mercury owned their songs. It takes a certain personality to abandon their natural parlance and become this whole other thing when they perform. I love Luther Vandross (for it was a song he covered in the 80s) but he couldn't lay a hand on Cilla's performance here.

As I've said previously, Cilla became something else when she turned her hand to presenting (it was the only version of her I was aware of growing up), watching black and white performances and listening to her records has given me an entirely different perspective.

Whilst this Bacharach-David penned track was originally sung by the wonderful Dionne Warwick, Cilla's version really brought something out that maybe even Burt and Hal hadn't originally intended. It reached number 1 after jumping from 28 to 10 and then number 2, it dislodged 'Diane' by The Bachelors for three weeks before being knocked off the top spot itself by Billy J. Kramer's 'Little Children'.

It was the best of songs, it was the worst of songs. Written and recorded originally by The Isley Brothers in 1959 when, during live shows, they covered Jackie Wilson's 'Lonely Teardrops' and extended the outro by encouraging a 'call and response' with the audience. They'd yell 'You know you make me wanna...' and the audience would yell back 'Shout!'. Once they'd developed this a little, they utilised the 'We-el-el-el' from Ray Charles' 'I Got a Woman'. This undeveloped version of the song reached number 47 in the US chart but was eventually classified Gold due to the fact it transcended time and space.

Joey Dee and the Starlighters used part of the song in their single 'Peppermint Twist' before Lulu got her sticky Scottish fingers all over the song. It was her first release (credited to Lulu and the Luvvers) which reached number 7 and she went on to have five more top ten hits before the decade was out. I remember 'Shout' being a staple of birthday parties in the 1990s. One of your classmates at 6th form would be having a 16th birthday party so their parents would hire the back-room of the local social club. They'd play 'Come on Eileen' and 'YMCA' but also Cher's 'Do You Believe in love' and whatever Steps had in the chart at the time. Then, totally out of the blue, the DJ would put 'Shout' by Lulu on and everyone would be singing it loud into the face of the person next to them because they'd somehow got their hands on several pints of alcohol despite the '16th Birthday' banners all over the walls.

I often wondered whether Lulu had to smoke and entire pack of cigars to get that rasp in her voice before recording this.

Marvin Gaye co-wrote this little ditty which only managed to get to number 28 when it was originally released in 1964 by Martha and her Vandellas - eventually climbing into the top ten when re-released in 1969.

It's a song with proper energy and loads of brass and musicianship and production skill and all the things you wish were present in music these days, despite it sounding like Martha Reeves is recording the vocal in a bathroom.

We used to take songs like this for granted and we wonder what exactly it is that's wrong with the new music we hear these days - it's that the human element is all but absent - in this song, talent is just oozing out of the speakers. Marvin Gaye actually played drums on the record (you can tell because they're always everso slightly out of time).

A signature song for Motown, it even calls out Detroit in the middle (Don't forget the Motor City). It was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999. The Kinks did a very flat cover of the song in 1965, The Mamas & The Papas covered it too but it only ended up as a B-Side to 'Words of Love'. The Grateful Dead and Van Halen had a go with little success but the most successful version was the Live Aid charity single that spawned from a union between Mick Jagger and David Bowie in 1985 and sat on top of the chart for four weeks.

More Motown shenanigans and another song from Holland-Dozier-Holland. It was the Supremes' first US number 1 single but stalled at number 3 in the UK, staying there for three weeks behind Herman's Hermits 'I'm into Something Good' and The Four Seasons' 'Rag Doll'.

This being their first single, they went on the Dick Clark 'Caravan of Stars' tour at the bottom of the bill. By the end of the tour, they were quite rightly top of it.

This is a brilliant example of the genre even thought it sounds like someone is clomping up the stairs in wooden shoes at the start. As with a lot of songs in my 1964 list, their quality made it quite obvious that there'd be a flood of cover versions over the years. However, with 'Where did our Love go', there are very few, probably because there's no way of replicating, re-imagining or improving on the Supremes' version.

Whilst I find a lot of this 'surf rock' nonsense irritating, I can see why it was popular at the time and yes they do have very good close harmonies. However, the nauseating falsettos and chirpy toxic positivity that leaps out at you is fine for a couple of seconds but then you've got to put up with it for another three minutes.

The story goes that Murry Wilson (the Wilson brothers' father) was a negative influence on the group, criticising everything, belittling Brian and his musical efforts. Having never stood up to his Father before, it's reported that Brian shoved Murry against a wall, fired him as the group's publisher and told him to leave the recording sessions during the recording of this song.

Whilst this sickly music had its place, Brian Wilson would of course go on to write some songs that showed his undoubted flair for musical composition, several of which will stand the test of time, probably for the rest of time. It's not ridiculous to include his name in the list of greatest ever song-writers alongside Ray Davies, Paul McCartney, Paul Simon, Carole King and Stevie Wonder.

'I Get Around' was the B-Boys first hit in the UK, reaching number 7. Even Mick Jagger said he liked it on an episode of Ready Steady Go!

Much covered but never matched, Dionne gives a performance here which must have made even Mr. Bacharach raise his eyebrows at how she managed to turn a good song into an all-time classic. This was Dionne's first UK hit, reaching number 9, though it would be 5 more releases before she saw the top ten again in 1968.

It's not just the vocal of course, the way the sentiment is laid bare, the piano riff, the exemplary string arrangements in the middle - it's quite the masterpiece.

The only notable (but nowhere near as good) covers were by Sybil (who reached number 6 in the UK in 1990) and Gabrielle (Number 7 in 1997).

Nothing that I've come across so far by Gerry and his mates has piqued my interest until this storming little ballad came along. Strange really that their first three songs (all number 1s) made no impression on me at all, neither did their fourth (a number 2 hit) 'I'm the One'. It was this comparatively less commercial single that made me reach for the volume button despite it having an air of Ken Dodd/Max Bygraves about it.

Written by the band themselves, it was released in 1964 by one-hit-wonder Louise Cordet. It failed to chart so Gerry & Co recorded and released it themselves. It reached number 6 and signalled a sense of maturity in their locker after throw-away ditties like 'I Like it' and 'How do you do' threatened to label them as paper-thin. It's the mark of a songwriter(s)/band who can write a song that doesn't sound like much on first listen but really grows with each listen until you start to really appreciate the depth of what you're listening to. Forget the hooks. It eventually became their biggest hit in the US, reaching number 4.

You might want to give Gloria Estefan's 'Trois Gymnopédies'-inspired version a quick spin too if you've got five minutes spare.

What a tragically underrated song this is. What it was doing reaching number 20 and then falling out of the chart is anybody's guess. This is a work of art and I'm baffled as to how someone like Tracy Ullman or Mari Wilson didn't cover it in 1983 - it would have climbed to the top of the chart without any trouble. I guess she didn't quite fit the Zeitgeist in 1964 despite Lesley reaching number 9 with 'It's my Party' just three months previously. They go on about how Vienna should have been number 1 - this should have been number 1 more.

Anyway, it was a song that came from the 'Brill Building' (which gave us 'Be my Baby' and 'Da Do Ron Ron') so I don't think they were too bothered by its relative failure.

Not the best name for a band, granted, but it was better than their original name 'Mustangs' and the fact actual Zombies hadn't found their way into the public consciousness. Since the 60s, I think every single human being on the planet has seen at least six Zombie films - in 1964, people were vaguely aware that a Zombie was a Voodoo-associated soulless ghoul but according to Keyboardist Rod Argent, vocalist Colin Blunstone had no idea what a Zombie actually was when they named the group.

In May 1964, the band won £250 in a beat-group competition organised by Watford Borough Council - signing with Decca and recording their first hit 'She's Not There' not long after. It sold a million copies and reached number 12 in the UK (number 2 in the US).

This track has even more of the psychadelia about it and was absolutely one of the most influential songs of the year. So many songs that followed later in the decade can be traced back to this song's construction, the vocal stylings and the production (The Kinks especially). I can even hear a lot of early 90s bands in the sound like The Levellers and World Party. Superb.

Whilst this is built on an overused basic blues chord sequence in a rock and roll style (and the fact it uses the exact same backing track as his 1957 hit 'School Day'), its the level of fun and the memorable lyrics (about getting trapped by your seatbelt so you can't ... I assume, go for a walk?) that make this a great single. 'Ridin' along in my Automobile' has to be one of the most recognisable and catchy lyrics ever.

The song reached number 3 and was bettered only by his 1972 number 1 'My Ding-a-ling'.

Third song in a row that was massively ahead of its time. It's bold and risky for a single release and its a living fossil which gives us music historians a glimpse into the evolution of pop music. This is a song which opened as many gates for other artists to explore unconventional song structures as any other trailblazer of the 60s. The wide backing vocals, the flam on the snare, the tempo changes, everything really.

Apparently, the bloke who wrote the song hadn't written one before and only did so because he told someone at the Brill Building that he was a songwriter and they challenged him to bring something in the following week for them to hear.

Shadow Morton was his name and despite him sounding more like a member of Sauron's army, he hired the Shangri-Las (a group from Queens in New York), immediately wrote a song for them and then had to go and get his hands on some 'seagulls and waves' sound effects. It gave the group their first hit, a number 14 peaking unexpected and incongruous hit.

Songs which change tempo or go 'off on one' usually annoy me but here, it sets a wonderful brooding emotion laced odd mood. You just want to know what's going to happen next, regardless of the fact there's not really a story going on. There's also a sense of tension as the chorus kicks in because you're never sure whether a Seagull is going to pop over your shoulder and steal one of your chips.

Stop the train. Turn the telly off. Shut the back door. Somebody broke the pop charts.

This song (and I can't actually prove this) probably kicked off the Rock music genre which in turn gave rise to Metal and Punk in the 70s. There was a rumour that Jimmy Page had played the guitar solo on this but that's since been debunked - you can see where Led Zeppelin came from however.

What a song though. Energy isn't the word; the entire song is a hook and I can't imagine any radio listener didn't put their coat on immediately after hearing it for the first time to rush down to Woolworths. The definition of a good single is one you wanted to a) buy and b) listen to over and over again. Both boxes are ticked here coupled with the fact it contains one of the great pop vocal performances of all time. Having said that, it wasn't even the best song of 1964 or, even the Kinks best song of the year!

The Beatles were finally drifting away from that straight simple pop music and searching for different ways to present their flawless melodies. This was their eighth single (I don't count 'Ain't She Sweet') and the second after 'Hard Day's Night' to sound quite mature, serious and as if some thought went into the construction. Their success in 1963 and their mind-boggling fame come the start of 1964 really afforded them the time, space and creative freedom to even consider writing a song like this and other unconventional classics in later years like 'The Night Before', 'Girl' and 'In My Life'.

The song is famous for its feedback note at the beginning which was captured accidentally when Paul played a note on his bass and John's guitar (which was leaning against the amp) picked up the feedback. The riff at the start is based on the one in Bobby Parker's 'Watch Your Step'.

This was their sixth number one of their total of seventeen!

This followed the same formula as 'You Really Got Me', using distortion guitar and a catchy riff with pretty much the same structure, tempo and vibe. It was like 'You Really Got Me' was a draft of this but then they perfected it and came out with an even better track.

The Kinks had hit number one with their first release and again with their third 'Tired of Waiting' but they were prevented from scoring three in a row by the Supremes' 'Baby Love' which was only number 1 for the two weeks that 'All Day' was at number 2. It was dislodged the minute 'All Day' fell to number 5 by The Stones' 'Little Red Rooster'.

Another Bacharach and David song which was originally recorded by Dionne Warwick in 1963 (but not released) and then by Lou Johnson who took it to number 49 in the US chart. Knowing there was a hit song in there, Sandie Shaw recorded this as her debut and watched it climb all the way to number 1 for three weeks, knocking Roy Orbison's 'Pretty Woman' off the top in the process.

The first the UK got to see of Sandie was when she debuted the song on the TV show 'Ready, Steady, Go!' which sparked sales of 65,000 in its first week. Its a song that really captures the attention of anyone who hears it for the first time and hasn't aged a day. This was the first of three number 1's for Sandie, the third of which was her Eurovision Song Contest entry 'Puppet on a String' in 1967.